I love money. Like love it, love it.
When I worked in Corporate America, someone else was always in charge of determining how much money I made. I had a performance based compensation plan and my effort didn't always match my income. In fact, some of the months I worked the hardest I earned the least. It was THEEEEE worst, and made me resent work so often! When I learned about this whole virtual assistant world I was PUMPED to learn that I could set my own prices!
And before we go any further, I want to remind you that YOUR worth is not relegated to your hourly rate. YOU ARE PRICELESS. Some people will charge less than you, that doesn't make you better, some people will charge more than you, that doesn't make you inferior.
So when I first set my prices I went through the exercise of
DESIRED STARTING MONTHLY INCOME / CAPACITY = HOURLY RATE
There's some more math in there like operating expenses, taxes, etc. but you get the gist :)
That was great in the beginning, but after the first few months, I knew I had to raise my prices because my skills were stronger, I was taking on additional roles and completing more complex tasks.
When I first started my hourly rate was $25, one year later, it was more than 4x that. WHAT?!? Where else can you give yourself a raise where you QUADRUPLE your salary?!?! NO WHERE.
When I was teaching, I made a whopping $500 more each year.
There is no set rules for when and how to raise your rates. #bummer It really comes down to feeling confident and comfortable with what you charge.
It's okay to raise your rates on your current clients, in fact I encourage my 1-1 coaching clients to raise their rates with their current clients after working together for 3-6 months (I have a script if you need it, just message me) because their skills have gotten stronger, they have more experience, they are more proficient and they are probably taking on more of a leadership role.
Don't keep your prices stagnant! Give yourself the permission and freedom to change your prices as needed. Again, you can raise your rates when you have additional experience, when you have more knowledge, when you've learned a new skill set, when you are adding additional value, when you're offering more strategic services or taking on more of a leadership role - whenever you feel confident and comfortable raising your rates! Try raising them $5 - $10 an hour and see how you feel.
It's totally normal to have some fear about raising your rates. Been there, felt that. It's scary! But I pinky swear promise you, someone out there is charging way less than you, and someone out there is charging way more than you. There are clients for everyone at every price point.
Every time I raise my prices (years later) I still get nervous, I still have the fear --- but I do a f*ckton of mindset work and it always works out. I promise you, your career won't be over when you raise your rates!
Now, go give yourself a raise!
コメント