Pricing is such a controversial topic. Ethics gets in the way as you ask yourself, “Should I price low or is it alright to charge more?”

What is the right thing to do?

While others may have a different opinion on this, I believe it depends on how you want to be perceived as a business and a business owner. 

Charging low fees is perceived as having low quality.

Charging more is perceived as having better quality.

What happens when you charge low?

When you charge low, you are less likely to deliver more of what you’re capable of. Because you’re not paid well enough, you won’t devote enough time to research and discover how to give more value to help your clients better.

A low fee often translates to less time and less work involved (and although at times it doesn’t, that’s what it can potentially lead to in the long run). After all, when someone’s not paying you enough, work becomes exhausting, and it’s no longer fun. It’s just that – work.  

When you get to that point, you either stop doing it or continue delivering subpar results. 

It’s the same thing when you have an online course. If it’s priced too low, people assume it doesn’t have much content. Oftentimes, these are courses that they will start but eventually won’t complete, because they aren’t as invested in it. 

Does it apply to products as well? Absolutely. If a certain product is priced too low, do you think it was produced from high-quality materials? I don’t think so. 

What happens when you charge more?

When you charge more – you tend to deliver way beyond what the client paid for. You’d want to give them as much value as you can because these are the type of clients you’d want to keep coming back to you.

Charging more also allows your brand to grow.

Imagine yourself having a Hermes bag that’s worth thousands of dollars. Wouldn’t you want your friends to know about it?

People love attention and when they have something good, they know they NEED to share it with the world. It’s their bragging right. 

It’s the same thing for our services. We get more word-of-mouth referrals because past clients had a great experience working with us.

They get to brag about the fact that “they paid high fees” to enroll in your courses or coaching program or to buy your products!

But don’t get this part twisted.

Charging more is ethical because it allows our clients to get invested in our products and services more than when they pay low fees. 

Here’s an example:

I used to have a $397 one-on-one coaching program. I had 19 enrollees at that time. But only 2 people actually did the work and had tremendous progress. Although I’m absolutely happy that they trusted me, I knew I could’ve done more for the others if only they did the work. 

Then last year, I unveiled my $5,000 one-on-one coaching program. The investment was only available to a few people because I can only accommodate 6. It was way more expensive but so far, 5 out of 6 clients are heavily invested in it and are actually doing the work. They’re progressing really well in terms of clarity, focus, and financial achievements.

But how do we actually charge more? 

Simple – be so good at what you do. 

Looks easy, doesn’t it? But this is where most artists fail. Because actually doing things, deliberately practicing, and honing your skills can be the most difficult thing. 

Why is that?

It all boils down to discipline. 

Our actions have greater consequences. What we do and what we don’t do have a direct effect on our results. 

If you truly want to be able to earn what you desire, start by investing time to hone your skills. Because you can command higher rates only if you have great value to give your clients. 

Create more work and show them what you got. 

Scroll down, leave me a comment and tell me, how do you plan to start charging more?