As I described in my previous post, mindset can play a huge role in the money business owners generate.  Another place to look for some money leaks is your pricing model.

Since my main market is the service provider, I’ll address that in this article.

Usually for service providers, we start by looking at either the fees per session, or what kind of packages/programs they are offering their clients. Too many people are still stuck charging hourly. I know this one well, having been a psychotherapist for decades! The problem here though is that you have to constantly be selling. One of my sub-niches is holistic practitioners, so let’s use an acupuncturist as an example. If you have a fee-per-session model, at the end of the treatment, you have to get your book out and ask them if they want to reschedule. Hopefully your client is “blissed out” because of the amazing treatment you just did, but what if they are in a rush and have to pick up their son from school. You will likely hear….”Oh, let me call you soon.” Then they get busy, or sick, or short of cash, and you lose the business.

Compare that with the holistic practitioner who has a six month PROGRAM. I like to structure this where some of the money is paid up front or there can be payments made, but folks know that they are paying for a longer term commitment and seem to have more “skin in the game” because they are paying even if they aren’t coming. (Of course we’d prefer that they come!) It works for them because the understand that you are holding a bigger vision that just a one time fix, and it works for you because it levels out your cash flow because you don’t have to constantly be selling and getting new people in the door.

Now let’s look at your model. Where do you see that you could make some tweaks?

And the final place we will talk about here is you owning your value. Have you done that yet? What is your time and expertise worth? The way to understand this is to look at the results your service gets for people. These are some questions that will help you get what you do in a bigger way:
What results to people get after working with you?
What problems do you help solve?
What did those problems cost them?
What intangibles (like confidence) do you provide?
What’s that worth to get?
What’s the lifetime value of the work you do?
What has not working with you cost them?

I guarantee that if you would take 20 minutes and just do some journaling on those questions, you will never again devalue yourself! Make time for this ever important foundational piece so both you and your clients have a better experience.

By the way, if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at Therese@HappyInBusiness.com.  I’d love to hear from you!

Blessings,

Therese

OK, here’s the deal…

You are going to spend at least one third to one half of YOUR LIFE working. So why not make it something that gives you joy?

Today’s article is about looking at your business not just as a ‘cash machine’ or a form of revenue generation, but more of something that becomes an extension of you…and your life’s mission. Deep stuff I know, but since we are gonna be putting in all those hours, at the end of the day, let’s find a way to make it matter.

Since this article is not your basic Marketing 101 type of article, I want to set up in the beginning who I’m writing to.

If you are the kind of business owner who understands that in some ways your business is like your ministry, I’m talking to you. If you feel called to fully express your gifts through your business, I’m talking to you. If it’s important to you to serve as many people as you can, I’m talking to you. And if you are passionate about leaving a legacy – then you are my people…So let’s get going…

Business as Your Ministry –

I’m not referencing here the traditional or religious sense of the word ministry. To me it means that you know that your soul’s purpose is being expressed through your business and the services that you provide. One of the definitions of ministry is “the act of serving.” You may be a coach or speaker or own a store. Your work can be done consciously or unconsciously. You can look for ways where you can show up more fully and be of greater service, or it can just be a way to collect a paycheck. You get to decide.

That’s the absolute first step. If you have the sense that your business is like your personal ministry, you stand in the knowing that you are here to serve and are committed to that. From that level of commitment and decision, everything else falls into place.

Fully Expressing Your Gifts –

We are here to make a difference in people’s lives. (OK, that may be my belief, but I like it and am keeping it!) Your business becomes effortless when you express your gifts in the world, instead of trying to be what other people want you to be. This is where fulfillment lives, where passion lives, and its cute little down the street neighbor, Fun, lives!

First you have to know what your gifts are. And a big hint…what you think is easy and comes naturally and likely gets overlooked as “Doesn’t everyone have that?” – That’s YOUR gift. Take an inventory of what you do easily that your clients are really blown away by. Notice your passion-meter. What gets you juiced to talk about or do? Show up more fully in your business and you’ll not only enjoy it more, but you’ll also attract the RIGHT kind of clients who will resonate with your unique energy, AND you’ll also make more money doing it.

Stuck on what your gifts are? Ask! Survey your clients or close friends/mastermind partners and ask what they see that you are gifted at. You will probably be surprised at what they see that you have overlooked. Next – assign a value to what they say that your gifts are. You have to really own how much impact you have, so discovering what your gifts are worth is a huge step in gaining entrepreneurial confidence! When you really get clear about how much value you bring, raising your rates and being paid what you are worth will be easy.

Leaving a Legacy –

What will your footprint be? When you are gone, how will you be remembered? By the lives you touched? For the contributions you made? From the children you so tenderly raised?

Is legacy something that you strive for, or a thing that just happens when you show up and do your work in the world?

It’s my belief that sometimes we get so bogged down with the daily ‘to-do’ list that it’s easy to forget that we are here to make a difference. What would change in your business if you regularly tapped into that place in you that could hold the longer vision of what’s possible.

This legacy stuff on one hand feels a bit big and scary. But on the other hand, it can be energizing when you tap into the knowledge that your ideas and contributions will outlive you. I remember years ago meeting a copywriter and her big dream was “to be an influence.” It hadn’t occurred to me at the time that my scope was any broader that the local folks I was working with, but her soul knew that her purpose here was to influence how people thought and to help them open up to new possibilities.

What will it be for you? It’s not something I want you to ‘work’ at or stress over, but do give it some thought. If you create that new product, can you see the ripple effect? Imagine that 100 people work with you, and that work effects 10 of their friends, and five more down the road, in their networks. Can you see the endless possibilities?

So my wish for you, my dear reader, is to really do some thinking about the meaning of your business and the difference you make in the world because of it. Own your vision in a big way! We need that from you.