#2: Charging What You’re Worth | A Client’s Journey to Confident Pricing

KEYWORDS

entrepreneurship, pricing strategy, value, business growth, virtual assistant, financial freedom, client relationships, self-worth, business strategy, mindset

SUMMARY

In this episode of Stories and Strategies, Angeline Smith shares the transformative journey of Rachel, a virtual assistant struggling with pricing and burnout. Through a structured approach, Angeline helps Rachel identify her core issues, understand her value, and develop a pricing strategy that reflects her worth. The conversation emphasizes the importance of knowing one's value, overcoming fears related to pricing, and implementing strategic changes to attract the right clients. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own business practices and consider how they can apply these insights to achieve financial freedom and sustainability.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

🔹 Highlight #1: The Triage Approach to Business Challenges
"Your business has a lot going on, and we could easily get pulled in different directions trying to fix everything at once. But right now, pricing is the most critical issue. If we tackle this first, it’ll have the greatest impact—not just on your revenue, but on your time, your energy, and your ability to build a sustainable business."

🔹 Highlight #2: Pricing Sends a Message
"Your pricing sends a message. And right now, it’s saying, ‘I don’t see my own value.’ But we’re going to change that. Because higher prices don’t push away the right clients—they attract them."

🔹 Highlight #3: Own Your Pricing with Confidence
"If you don’t believe in your pricing, neither will your clients. Rachel initially feared raising her rates, thinking she’d lose business. But pricing is a filter—when she confidently owned her new rates, she attracted clients who valued her work instead of bargaining her down."

TAKEAWAYS

• Entrepreneurship can lead to burnout without proper pricing.
• Identifying core issues is crucial for business transformation.
• Your pricing should reflect your true value and expertise.
• Quantifying your value helps in setting appropriate rates.
• Creating service tiers can enhance client engagement.
• Fear of raising prices is common but can be overcome.
• Higher prices can attract clients who value your work.
• Understanding your expenses is key to setting income goals.
• Mindset shifts are essential for confident pricing.
• Regular self-assessment can lead to business improvements.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Show Intro
• 1:53 Introduction to Rachel's Story
• 3:37 Triage | Identifying The Symptoms
• 5:42 The Diagnosis | Challenges & Impact
• 6:57 The Solution | Building an Effective Pricing Strategy
• 10:39 The Recap
• 14:45 Consider This | Questions for Listeners to Ponder
• 15:23 Download My FREE Business Strategy Self-Audit Workbook
• 16:09 Until next time...Be Well, My Friend! 🙏🏾

Transcript

Angeline Smith (00:01)

Welcome to Stories and Strategies. I'm your host, Angeline Smith, a business strategy coach and accountant with over 20 years of experience helping women entrepreneurs thrive. In this podcast, I'll share compelling stories of entrepreneurial challenges and achievements, both my own and others, to inspire and empower you. Together, we'll explore how to develop a growth mindset implement actionable strategies, and build a profitable business that lets you live life on your terms. This is Stories and Strategies. Let's get started.

Angeline Smith (00:46)

Hey! I'm Angeline. Welcome back to Stories and Strategies. So tell me, as an entrepreneur, have you ever felt like you're doing all the work, but still not seeing the financial rewards you deserve? You're working hard, giving your clients everything you've got, but your income, it's just not lining up with your effort. In this episode, I'm gonna tell you about Rachel, a virtual assistant whose story might sound a lot like yours. She was overworked, underpaid, and stuck in a cycle of burnout. We'll dive into how I helped Rachel transform her business by addressing one of the most common challenges entrepreneurs face, pricing. But don't worry, this isn't just a story about spreadsheets and numbers.

It's about knowing your value, overcoming fear, and charging what you're truly worth.

When Rachel booked a strategy call with me, I could tell she was at her wit's end. She opened with, Angeline, I feel like I'm running in circles. I work all the time, but I still can't make ends meet. What am I doing wrong? Sound familiar? Yeah, listener, I see you nodding. Entrepreneurship isn't for the faint at heart, is it? 

Upon getting started, I walked Rachel through my Business Strategy Self-Audit Workbook. I told her, this workbook is like a diagnostic tool for your business. It'll help us pinpoint where things are breaking down.

As we went through it, Rachel shared that she had 12 clients. 12? My first thought was, Rachel, that's a full workload for an entire team, let alone one person. She exhaled and nodded. I asked, do you feel like you're able to give each client the attention they deserve? She hesitated.

Honestly, no, I'm just trying to keep up. As we continued, it became clear that Rachel's pricing was at the core of her struggles. Her rates were so low that she needed a massive client load just to survive. I said, Rachel, we're going to approach this like a triage in an emergency room.

When a patient comes into the ER with multiple issues, doctors don't treat everything at once. Instead, they prioritize the most urgent problem, the one that, if unaddressed, could have the greatest long-term consequences.

Your business has a lot going on and we could easily get pulled in different directions trying to fix everything at once. But right now, pricing is the most critical issue.

If we tackle this first, it'll have the greatest impact, not just on your revenue, but on your time, your energy, and your ability to build a sustainable business. We're going to stabilize the foundation so you can stop feeling like you're in survival mode and start making intentional strategic decisions for your business.

Rachel's situation had all the classic symptoms of a pricing problem. First, she was overworked. Your stretched so thin that you're not delivering the quality you want, I said. She nodded. I used to love what I do, but now I dread Mondays and Fridays. Second, she resented her business.

It's not giving me the financial freedom I dreamed of, she said. I thought being my own boss would be better than this. And third, she was afraid. If I raise my rates, my clients will leave me, she said. I leaned in and I told her. that fear is valid.

But staying in this cycle isn't sustainable. The right clients will stay and the wrong ones will leave to make room for better opportunities.

I explained to Rachel, your pricing doesn't reflect your value and is holding your business back. She frowned, what do you mean by value? Let's break it down, I said. How do your services help your clients? Rachel thought for a moment. Well, I take a lot of admin work off their plates, scheduling, emails. Invoicing. 

Exactly, I said. For example, one of your clients charges $150 per hour. By outsourcing 10 hours of admin work to you each week, that frees her up to earn $1,500 per week. That's $6,000 per month. You're not just an expense to your clients, Rachel, You're a revenue driver.

She looked surprised. I've never thought of it that way. And that's the problem, I said. Your pricing sends a message. And right now it's saying I don't see my own value. But we're going to change that.

Once we identified that pricing was at the core of Rachel's challenges, we mapped out a strategy to help her raise her rates confidently and position herself as a premium provider. This wasn't just about picking a number. It was about ensuring her pricing reflected her expertise, her impact, and her long-term business goals. Here's what we did. Step one.

We identified her costs and set a clear income goal. I asked, how much do you need to earn? She sighed and said, enough not to feel panicked every month. I nodded. Okay, now let's get specific because enough is a moving target. And if we don't define it, you'll always feel like you're coming up short. Together we broke it down. We listed her essential business expenses, things like software, marketing and taxes.

Then we factored in what she actually needed to pay herself to cover her personal expenses, savings, and the lifestyle she wanted. When we landed on a number.

I asked, how many hours can you realistically work each week without burning out? She hesitated, then said, definitely not the 60 plus hours I'm doing now. I'd love to work closer to 30 or 40 hours per week. Great, I said. Now we take that total income and divide it by the number of hours you're willing and able to work.

That gives us a baseline for what you need to be charging per hour. She sat back and exhaled. I've never looked at it this way before.

No wonder I've been struggling. My rates don't even allow me to reach this number unless I work myself into the ground. Step two, we quantified her value. We broke down how her work contributed to her clients' revenue, not just their convenience. I helped her see that by outsourcing admin tasks, her clients weren't just saving time, they were unlocking opportunities to increase their own income.

Step three, we researched market rates and created strategic service packages. We looked at industry benchmarks to ensure she was pricing competitively while highlighting her unique skills. I told her, instead of making clients choose between yes or no on hiring you, let's give them structured options. 

We built tiered service packages that gave her clients choices, making it more likely they would opt for a plan that best fit their needs instead of walking away. Step four, we worked to shift her mindset and overcame fears. When it came time to finalize her new pricing, Rachel hesitated. I'm scared my clients will leave, she admitted.

I reassured her, and if they do, bless and release them. That just makes room for clients who truly see your value and are happy to pay for it. We refrained her thinking. Higher prices don't push away the right clients, they attract them.

Pricing is more than just picking a number. It's about setting up a sustainable, profitable business that reflects your expertise and the impact you have on your clients. After working through Rachel's pricing strategy, here's what she and you can take away when it comes to charging what you're worth and owning it with confidence. 

Let's recap:

First, define your income goals and expenses. 

Before you can price your services correctly, you need to know what you actually need to earn to sustain your business and lifestyle. Rachel was charging rates that barely covered her bills, let alone factored in savings, taxes, or reinvestment in her business. We build her pricing around real numbers, not guesswork.

Ask yourself, what are your actual monthly business expenses? What's your income target? How many hours can you realistically work each month?

Second, quantify your value to your clients. If you struggle with pricing, it's often because you're looking at your services as tasks instead of outcomes.

Rachel saw herself as just a virtual assistant. But in reality, she gave her clients back hours of their time, allowing them to earn more. One of her clients was able to generate $6,000 more per month because of the hours she freed up for them. Yet Rachel was undercharging for her impact. Here's a lesson. Clients don't just pay for the work you do. They pay for the value they get.

Ask yourself, what measurable impact does my work have on my clients? If they didn't have me, what would they lose? 

Third, create service tiers to give prospects choices beyond yes or no. One of the biggest shifts we made in Rachel's pricing was how she presented her services.

Instead of giving clients a flat hourly rate, we structured tiered service packages that provided clear options for them. Here's why that's powerful. When clients see a single price, they think, can I afford this? Yes or no? When clients see three tiered options, they start thinking, which of these work best for me?

Did you notice that no wasn't even an option for prospective clients to consider in this new pricing scenario? This subtle psychological shift makes it easier to convert prospects while positioning you as a premium provider. 

Ask yourself, how can I package my services into structured options instead of just quoting a rate? 

Fourth, and finally, own your pricing confidently. Because if you don't, no one else will. Here's the hard truth. If you're hesitant about your rates, your clients will pick up on it. 

Rachel initially feared raising her rates thinking she would lose clients.But pricing is a filter. When she confidently owned her new rates, she attracted clients who valued her work instead of bargaining her down.

Your pricing is not just about making more money. It's about positioning yourself in the market as someone worthy of premium rates. 

Ask yourself, what do I need to change in my mindset to start charging with confidence?

At the end of each episode, I'd like to leave my listeners with some questions to consider. I do this with the hope that you can take away something tangible from the story and apply it to your own situation. Take a moment and consider these two questions:

First, what are three specific ways my services help my clients save time, make money, and solve a problem?

Next, if I were paid double my current rates, how would that change the way I approach my work?

Rachel's journey started with my free Business Strategy Self-Audit Workbook. This workbook walks you through an assessment of 11 key areas of your business operations based on the best practices for service-based entrepreneurs. It'll help you identify what is working well and where there might be room for improvement. 

Download your free copy today at asmithstrategies.com/workbook.

Again, that's:  asmithstrategies.com/workbook  

There will also be a link in the show notes.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of stories and strategies if Rachel's story inspired you, I encourage you to reflect on your own journey and take the next step toward building a business that reflects your value. Don't forget to follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode. 

Until next time, be well, my friend.  🙏🏾