How do you decide what to charge for your services or products? This has been a question I have asked over and over and over again ever since I started my own business is 1994.
Some say you need to charge what you are worth. Well who decides what someone or something is worth? Some say if you charge too little people won’t value what you offer. Others say if you charge too much you will look selfish and appear to be all about money.
So again comes the question. How does one decide how much to charge?
Over the years my fees have increased for certain things like my private sessions. In the beginning I struggled with my own self worth so it was hard for me to even charge anything. I wanted everything to be free. I loved what I was doing and my desire to help others was very strong and deeply rooted. On one hand I needed to support myself but on the other hand I felt unworthy of receiving because I believed I wasn’t good enough. Of course offering everything for free is not sustainable in this society and it was completely based on fear.
As I began to heal my relationship with unworthiness I began to feel good about charging for my services. As my sense of self worth increased, I started to see the value in what I was offering and I would feel good about increasing my prices.
In the last 3 years I have continued to ask new questions:
“Am I charging enough or too much?”
“Am I offering enough value for what I am charging?”
“Is it affordable for those who really need it?”
These questions were still based on fear. So I started to look inward for guidance and ask my heart. I would get clear amounts and it would feel good then slowly but surely doubt and fear would once again sneak in.
So this week I was reflecting on what I charge for my monthly “Heart Led Living” membership. I was intuitively guided to charge $15/month and members receive direct access to me as their healer and coach every week on live calls. I received a vision of offering more to my members.
Well my ego went on a rampage saying “no one else is offering live access for that price. If people want direct access to a coach or healer they should be paying about $200/month. People are paying $100/month memberships for just content and videos, not live access. You are already giving too much away. You are undervaluing yourself.”
You see went it comes to the ego there is nothing that will ever be good enough. Again I found myself struggling with what I have been told about what others were or weren’t doing and the so-called rules around what to charge. If I charge too little people won’t value what I offer. If I charge too much the people who need it won’t be able to afford it or people will think I am overcharging and only in it for the money.
Well I finally got to the root of it all this week. In a brilliant moment of awareness and alignment I completed freed myself from the fear of what I should or shouldn’t do and the fear of what others are doing or might think about what I am charging.
You know when you “get” something intellectually? You understand it in your mind and it makes sense but it hasn’t fully integrated as a deep truth yet. Then there is the miracle that happens when you “get it” on every level. Something clicks and your knowing goes beyond our limited mind. Well it clicked big time for me this week and I felt a shift that rang truth into every cell and every part of my being.
I realized that the answers to the questions above do not exist. No one can answer what your product or service is worth. No one can put a value on what you offer or what you do. The is no reasonable answer that would satisfy the ego mind. The is no right or wrong amount.
The key is to follow your heart, trust your intuition and let the divine Spirit within take the lead.
So I decided I will charge what I am guided to charge, PERIOD. I will follow my heart and stop second guessing or questioning what others would do. I let the Divine Spirit within guide me on every other decision so I am choosing to let it guide me with this one too.
My other holy shift came in when I realized that what I charge has nothing to do with value or worthiness. What I charge simply just is what I charge. When there is no story around it, it just is what it is.
Suddenly I had a clear vision of my monthly membership of $15/month including even more gifts. Members will receive monthly meditation downloads, free online yoga videos and so much more!
OMG I can over-deliver without undervaluing me or my services! I can extend love and let my heart lead me all the way. It felt like true alignment. I love to give freely from the depth of my soul. It actually feeds my soul to give. Offering more value for such a low membership price is not undervaluing what I am gifting, it is alignment with my heart’s path. When I let go of the story and aligned with the guidance I freed myself to follow.
So the next time you question the value or worthiness of you or your services, stop and take a deep breath, give over your story and align with your heart. People put so much emphasis on money and it creates so much resistance and stress, which by the way blocks abundance. When you surrender everything over, trust your intuition, let your heart take the lead and take inspired action when you feel the nudge your relationship with money and every other area of your life will expand in the most miraculous way.
If you would like to learn how to release the burdens of your past (including unworthiness), trust your intuition and lead with your heart with unshakeable confidence check out my book “Heart Led Living ~ When Hard Work Becomes Heart Work”.