What Are You Worth?

So I'm getting a lot of positive feedback about the gifts I've been giving to my list lately. By the way, if you're missing out because you're not on the list, go to my New Success site and get in the game. So if you believe you can't truly get something of value for free, I'm proving you wrong every time I send an email to my list. :-)

I've been thinking about "rates" lately. Specifically, if you are in the kind of business where you charge an hourly rate for your services, you should listen up today. Or even if you quote prices based on how long something will take you to accomplish, this is for you too.

Here's what's interesting.

Most people set prices in a certain way, if they choose to go out on their own and either start a business or provides services by working for themselves.

"Average" people (and of course, anyone reading this certainly desires to be much more than "average" but bear with me, it's key to the comparison/contrast here) would take a look at the going rate, and see wht hte market will bear.

Then they would take a look at their own experience and perhaps education (if that's a factor) and set a rate.

See, most people would largely look at external factors, with a pinch of experience, and select a rate based on that.

Here's the problem with that kind of reasoning. First, your checkbook can never outperform your self worth. In other words, the going rate might be $500 an hour, but if you don't really believe you're worth that, you're never gonna get any clients. Or if you do, there will be problems with them: they won't be happy with your work, they'll be too high-maintenance and make you work twice as hard, or they'll flake out on paying.

At the other end of the spectrum, most people set their hourly rate too low.

Again, the going rate might be $500 an hour, but the average person finds all sorts of reasons why they're not worth that much. Maybe they don't have a college degree, maybe they don't have enough work experience, maybe they haven't done that particular kind of work in awhile. Whatever the reason, taht's low self-esteem talking. By undercutting your rate, you could certainly find a lot of clients who are looking for a deal, but you'll burn out quicker because you're working too hard for too little money (might sound familiar if you've ever had a JOB!)

So what's hte answer?

Well, there is no answer. You know me better than that - I don't provide answers. I'm not preaching "truth" here, I'm just offering a perspective that's different from the norm. Oh, and one that happens to have made me piles of money as well. (See a pattern there?)

Another way to look at it would be to DISCERN an appropriate rate to charge. Meditate on it. Relax about it. Don't think about what it's gonna take to pay your bills, or how much you think you can squeeze out of people. And by all means, don't make it about what you think you're worth. YOU ARE PRICELESS, trust me on that. This is not about YOUR self-worth.

This is about the way you THINK about money and the way you think about people PAYING YOU with money.

IF you can relax, and see what figure comes to mind - what figure feels peaceful, what feels right. Then you can't go wrong.

And this figure will change as you continue to work on your prosperity consciousness. And if you were ordinary, you would attribute an increase in your rates to an increase in business, or the fact that you have more experience NOW than you had THEN. But I know you're not ordinary - you are extraordinary. And you know that your checkbook cannot outperform your self-image.

So as your self-image contineus to improve - as you continue to strengthen and stretch your prosperity consciousness, you will naturally see an appropriate time to raise your rates.

Sometimes it happens for you.

In fact, one day someone offered to pay me three times what I was making at the time, for SEO copywriting services. THREE TIMES! But that never would have happened if I hadn't consciously been focused on wealth. If I didn't believe I was worth it, I would have found a way to sabotage the project, or the offer never would have arisen. But they did and I took it and I felt good about taking it and to me, that was that sign that it was time to raise my rates.

Once I tried to raise my rates too soon. I was trying to get higher-end clients, and there was something specific I wanted to buy, so I thought "I'll just raise my rates!" So I nearly doubled my rate. But my consciousness wasn't ready for it. And my first client at the new rate was a pain in the ass. He took up so much of my time (I charge by the page, not the hour, so high-maintenance clients actually earn me LESS per hour than "easy" clients) that it almost wasn't worth my time. So I had to take a look at WHY I attracted that particular situation.

ButI could go on in a whole different direction on that one...

Hopefully, I've given you another perspective on how to set your rates for services. Any questions, you can always email me.

P.S. This works for ebay sales as well. My hubby just posted an ad for the very laptop I'm working on - it's 3 years old, and I want a new one ASAP - we set a price, set an intention, and the thing sold in FIVE MINUTES on eBay. Now some might say "Oh, clearly the price you set was too low. You couldv'e gotten more." I say, Maybe. But who cares? The price we set was the price we felt good about - it came to us clearly. And I have no doubt that the person who bought it is the person who's meant to have it next.

Man, I love the law of attraction.

Here's your QoD:
Are you selling yourself short, or wasting your time pie-in-the-sky dreaming? What do you sell (time, effort, services, products, your time at a job, etc.) that you could re-evaluate and re-price? Will you take these steps today?