Are you afraid that people who need you can’t afford you? And is this one reason why you discount your fees at times?

I was talking about the topic of my new workbook  Emotional Pricing~ How to Feel Great Charging What You’re Really Worth, and a colleague said to me, “I don’t know about all of that. I don’t feel right charging a ton of money—what about people who truly need help but can’t afford a lot?”

First of all, isn’t it interesting that she immediately assumed that charging what you’re really worth is a “ton of money”. Hmmm. You can bet that it will be hard for her to charge enough money because she assumes that it is just too much!

But here is the real issue: the fear that people who need you can’t afford you. So let me be clear about something: If you want to make more money, you need to work with a target audience who can afford to pay what you need. There simply isn’t any other way to say it, or do it.

I am very passionate about my work and I want to help the world as well, so I make sure I charge my full fee and make great money. Otherwise, I have no time and I feel resentful. (If people are not paying you enough money, it takes a lot of clients to pay the bills….) If I didn’t make enough money, I would eventually have to close my business and take a full-time position somewhere. And before I got to that point, I would experience a lot of deprivation and frustration with how little money I was earning. I doubt I would be in the best frame of mind to really do my best work. Being under financial stress is incredibly draining.

So I charge my full fee. Then, to “give back,” I do a certain amount of pro bono work that I feel really helps the world. I donate some of my time to causes I feel strongly about.

Years ago I heard the “Rule of the Three Fs.” Do your work for your full fee, do it for free, or flee. The point of the Rule of the Three Fs? Don’t discount! So, one way to feel like you are giving back is to do just that: give back. Charge your full fee and decide to donate a certain percentage of your time to a cause that could benefit from your work. It is a much cleaner way of doing business.

Doing a certain amount of pro bono work on the side can be very satisfying. Many powerful business women become strong pillars in their respective communities because they give back some of their time to causes and charities that are personally important to them. For example, I will occasionally do free seminars for organizations in my area that service disadvantaged women. Some of these women are domestic abuse survivors, or have lived their entire lives far below the poverty line. I care about these women, and know full well they can’t afford my fee, so I will do seminars a couple of times a year on how to ask for a raise, how to negotiate or how to raise your fees. I will talk with them about the pattern of underearning and discuss ways to stop underselling themselves.

These women are not my “target market” – they simply can’t afford me. But rather than discount myself or offer a sliding scale, I’ve found other ways to “give back.”

So stop with all the bartering, sliding scales and discounts. Charge your full fee. (Your “full fee” may still not be high enough. You may need to raise yours fees. But that is a different subject.) You’ll make more money with fewer clients if they pay you enough. Then use some of your time to truly give back to the world.

TIME TO EARN MORE?

If you would like to earn what you’re truly worth and step into greater abundance, please see Mikelann’s Unlock Your Earning Power toolkit.   Identify what has been holding you back, learn the skills to ask for more and start earning at your true potential. For both self-employed and salaried women.