Day 14: How to Know If You’re Charging Enough (Without Comparing Yourself to Everyone Else)
- kbives9
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
🗓️ This post is part of a 90-day blog series designed to help micro-business owners grow profitable, sustainable businesses without burning out. Each day includes tools, insights, and simple actions you can take right away.
One of the hardest questions for any small business owner to answer is:
“Am I charging the right amount?”
If you charge too little, you’re exhausted and underpaid. If you charge too much, you worry people will ghost you or go elsewhere.
And when you’re surrounded by others in your industry charging wildly different prices, it’s hard to know what’s “fair.”
Let’s be clear: There is no perfect number. But there is a pricing strategy that works for you — and it starts by asking better questions.
🤯 The Real Reason You Struggle With Pricing
Most people price emotionally:
“This feels like what people can afford.”
“I’d personally never pay that much, so I can’t charge it.”
“I’ll just start low to get people in the door.”
The result? You work long hours, feel resentful, and wonder why your business isn’t growing — even though you’re “busy.”
The truth is: Low pricing is often the most expensive mistake you can make.
🧠 Step 1: Set Your Income Goal First
Before you price your service, ask: How much do I need to make this business sustainable?
Let’s break it down:
Start with your monthly income goal (what you need to pay yourself and cover business costs).
Estimate how many clients or sales you can realistically handle each month.
Divide your goal by your capacity to find your minimum viable price.
Example:
Income goal = $5,000/month
You can handle 10 clients/month
That means you need to charge at least $500 per client
If your offer is priced at $200… something has to change: your pricing, your audience, or your capacity.
💰 Step 2: Consider the Value, Not Just the Time
Hourly rates limit your earning potential. Instead, price based on:
The outcome you deliver
The transformation the client experiences
The problem you solve
If someone pays you $500 for something that saves them 10 hours a week, helps them earn $2,000, or reduces their stress dramatically — it’s worth it.
People don’t buy hours. They buy results.
📉 Step 3: Know Your Real Costs
Even if you’re a one-person business, your time isn’t free.
Be sure to account for:
Software subscriptions
Admin time
Taxes
Marketing costs
Missed opportunity costs
✅ Use a tool like Google Sheets or Wave to track your income and expenses monthly.✅ Need help setting pricing based on margins? Try Zoho Books or the Profit First calculator.
👥 Step 4: Stop Comparing Yourself to Everyone Else
There will always be someone charging more — and someone charging less.
Your pricing should reflect:
Your unique value
Your financial goals
The experience you deliver
Your business model
Don’t compete on price. Compete on clarity and outcomes.
Your dream clients aren’t shopping for the cheapest option — they’re shopping for someone they trust to help them get what they want.
🎯 Track It in Your Dashboard
Inside Taking Care of Business – Together, we help members track pricing, income, and client capacity in one central dashboard.
Even without the program, you can create a weekly or monthly review using:
Google Sheets or Airtable
Mouseflow (to monitor site behavior and conversions)
A “Money” tab in your planner or notebook
Every pricing decision becomes easier when you have data — not just feelings.
✨ Bottom Line
You don’t need to justify your pricing to the internet. You just need to make sure it works for you — your time, your life, your goals.
And if your current pricing doesn’t support that… it’s time to raise it.
Need help figuring it all out? We’ve got you.
📝 Catch Up on the Series:
Day 1–13 Blog Archive
➡️ Coming Tomorrow: Day 15: Why Delegating One Task Could Save You 5+ Hours This Week
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