How to pay yourself (Germaine's Gems)

If you know me, then you know I have a podcast with Shyriah (hey girl) called The New Kids (go rate us on Apple Podcasts). On that podcast, Shyriah and I talk about many things, but one of our more reoccurring lessons to the listening entrepreneurs is about not selling yourself short and pricing your product/service appropriately. Why is this important? Well, I'm sure that many of us who are full-time, part-time, or sometimes entrepreneurs enjoy what we do, we also do it to make money and when you undercut/undervalue yourself, well, no money. Think about it, I'm sure you put in a lot of time, effort, and energy into meeting your client's needs, with the goal of their satisfaction and compensation for your work. Why shouldn't you be compensated properly for the product/service that you are providing? 

Many first time entrepreneurs struggle with pricing themselves appropriately, either because they don't want to alienate their customer base or because they are unsure of their worth, so, with many things, the first step that I recommend is to do your what? RESEARCH. Search out similar brands/services in your area or in markets with audiences that you want to attract. Now, I'm not saying that you have to go scope out Target or Amazon, but it's important to familiarize yourself with realistic competition and gauge their price-points. Now, depending on your industry, that information may not be available so gather what you can, ask around, and put the work in to better understand the high, medium and low points for what you're offering to the industry. 

Next? TAKE STOCK. If you are product based business, think about what goes into getting the product from creation to the customer. What does it take for you to have a finished product, ready to go? Do you have design costs? Shipping? How much time does it take for you to get a product together? How many products are you trying to ship out a day? If you are a service based business, how much time are you allocating to your client? Is it the same for every project? 

After you've done these steps, it's time to take the next big leap. Think about a financial goal you want to achieve with your revenue. It could be rent, paying off a car, vacation, whatever. How many products would you need to sell or clients you would need to service in order to reach that goal within a reasonable timeframe? Make note of this information to help you set your baseline pricing. 

Pricing is one of those subjects that I'm noticing a lot of people struggle with. We put so much work into creating something meaningful and enjoyable, but we fold when it comes to setting a standard in which we receive what it is/we are worth. You also need to pay attention to your audience. If your brand/products are luxury based, then you should be working to craft a strategy that focuses on this demographic. It is not easy, but when you think about this big box brands, everyone started from somewhere. You won't see the needle move if you are not putting in the work behind the engine. 

We've all heard the saying "quality over quantity" and there's even a cute gif floating around the interwebs that highlights the process between cheap, quality and turnaround time. Let it sear into your brain as a lesson for what you want to offer your customer base and how you craft your brand image. You are worth the price.