Written by: Beryl Hedger, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
When it comes to mindset, it’s not like a switch that you can turn on and off.
It’s a belief that has been programmed in your subconscious. These beliefs are formed from your thoughts and feelings way down the inside of your brain.
These can either work for you or work against what you want in your life and your business.
A growth mindset will propel a business forward. The positivity will feed off itself and those around you, as the business grows and thrives, transforming your business into something bigger and better.
A negative mindset or fear mindset will stop you from achieving this growth mindset, the one thing you are looking for, success and prosperity.
As a Certified Master Neuro Coach or Mindset Coach for creatives, I see this a lot, one client will achieve things that you never thought were possible, but they have believed in themselves and that they can do anything.
Another client will struggle to make ends meet. Always chasing and never quite getting the success that they dreamed of. Following the sparkling lights.
Usually, this is because they are not pricing their products or services correctly or with confidence, to make a profit.
Sometimes even sell things at a loss because they are scared stiff of losing a client. This is called pricing themselves out of the market.
My thoughts on “Pricing as a Business Coach & Master Textile Artist”
When I was sitting in a corporate meeting the other day, someone queried me on why I charge what I do for my work.
With no emotion and no over-reaction or why are you asking me that, I answered clearly and precisely?
It has taken me over 50 years to become an expert in my field, as a Master Textile Artist, and business coach, and what I create is unique to every client. There is only one me and only one of this design. This uniqueness allows me to charge more for my work.
This is the same with my coaching.
As I get more and more clients, I gain clarity and confidence in what I do. I find my client's success and in turn growth. My clarity allows me to help clients faster to reach their goals, which will save them from the mistakes that I made in the past. And usually, it will save them money too.
When you have spent years learning your area of expertise, like me, and are comfortable with the choices you are making, you have the right to charge what you are worth. This is a growth mindset.
In the beginning, this can be hard for some clients to understand or see. Their mindset is not in the right place for growth in their business. Understanding your worth and value is as much about your mindset as it is about knowing your products or services.
I don’t deserve to make that amount of money
A money mindset is a funny thing. When you feel and think that you don’t deserve to make a good income from your products or services, you will never have the confidence to price accordingly. These thoughts will stop you from scaling your business and therefore affect your bottom line.
The key to your business success is to remove the gap between what you want for your business, what you are scared to dream for your business, and what you believe is possible for your business, today.
I remember
When I first started coaching, I always believed that if I charged more than $100, I would have no clients. If I had no clients, I would not have a business that I loved to do. So, for years I fought the urge to raise my prices. At least some clients and some income were better than earning nothing.
The problem with thinking and feeling this way is burned out if you burn out, you are not present for anyone including your family. You are not serving anyone. I spent years trying to find out why I was thinking how I was thinking and started studying the way my brain was affecting my business and my personal life.
Why did I have such limiting beliefs about who I was and what I had to offer the world? I had created limitations on my own thoughts and feelings.
Then I realized that my subconscious was trying to keep me feeling safe.
When I finally realized that I had to charge more to scale my business, I would quickly reduce the price again when a potential client’s feedback said it was too expensive.
What I did not realize was the market wasn’t dictating what I should charge, I was. It was my stinkin’ thinkin’ mindset.
Moving forward
I realise I needed to change. I finally bit the bullet and raised my hourly rate to what I wanted. I was scared, my brain was telling me, what are you doing, why are you putting me through this, is this the right thing to do.
I held my nerve because I recognized that this was just a story my brain was saying to me, to keep me safe from what I thought was going to cause me to fail. Instead, it helped me grow and serve more clients.
The mindset work that I had done over the years allowed me to rewire the subconscious stories in my brain.
From this work, I started to hear the same stories from my clients.
Here are 3 Mindset blocks that I have heard repeated over and over again by my clients.
These mindset blocks may be something that you are facing when pricing your products or services. Maybe these are something that you have heard yourself whisper to yourself.
1. Time and Value
It doesn’t take that long, so I should charge less.
This is your brain’s limiting beliefs in yourself putting up roadblocks. Questioning the services, you offer and the value of your offer.
Your expertise and years of training have allowed you to become faster and more efficient. It might only take you 3 or 4 hours to complete the task but think of the time you are saving your client if it will take them 3 or 4 days to do the same work.
What you are selling is a quick solution to their problem. The client is purchasing your expertise, not just your time.
2. I haven’t done this long, I’m new to coaching.
This is a new adventure, so I’m not an expert in the field to charge that much
You have started your own business as a consultant, but you feel this is a new role. What you haven’t considered is the years and years of training you did when working for someone else or working in corporate or like me, you have become certified in your area of expertise. I studied NeuroCoaching to become a better coach.
You chose to work independently to have a better quality of life and help more clients and now you are questioning the value you have to others.
Again, this is your mindset getting in the way of what you want.
Checking this limiting mindset at the door will allow you to charge what you are worth to your clients. You have value because of what you have done in the past.
3. Too scared to raise your prices.
I haven’t changed my prices for years, and if I do my clients will leave me.
I work with clients to evaluate their pricing strategies. Most people do not go into business to always struggle. They want to have a better life and be in a better place than they were when working for a boss.
They have dreams and aspirations.
When you don’t raise your prices, you are not respecting yourself. As your expertise grows, your prices should shift accordingly.
If you have to work with 15 clients every month to break even then you are not charging enough for your services.
Time for a Pricing Mindset change.
The importance of Pricing Mindset shifts
Many of my clients have said to me, that pricing scares me, and sometimes I will have to admit, it scares me too but pricing yourself too low doesn’t serve anyone, especially yourself. It will quickly lead to burn out and then you will not be able to serve anyone.
The negative mindset of self-doubt and fear will become a story that will quickly affect your business and your bottom line.
As you successfully work with more and more clients, you are building your expertise. With this expertise, your confidence and clarity will grow in what you are doing. This will allow you to build your team and therefore you will be able to offer your services to more people.
And this growth will allow you to reach your dreams and goals faster.
I want to know more.
As a specialist in Pricing Mindset training, I help clients reach their goals faster.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more information on my Pricing Mindset Training.
Beryl Hedger, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Beryl Hedger is the go-to person that helps artists who would like to get paid for their art.
She specializes in uncovering the mindset around the fears and limitations artists put on themselves when it comes to making money from their expertise.
She is a Master Textile Artist and Certified Master NeuroCoach with decades of experience in helping creatives reach their potential by helping them showcase their creative endeavors to the world.
