How to Raise Your Prices Without Fear

You’ve been working hard, honing your craft, making a difference with your services.

You’ve been showing up for your clients and giving the best of yourself every day. Doing what you love – what you are naturally good at – is such a great feeling! And getting paid to do it is the cherry on top of that self-made sundae.

Best yet, you’ve been helping your clients in massive ways to improve their own lives, in multiple ways.

But there comes a point in every entrepreneur's journey when a little inner voice begins niggling at your brain. It starts out as a mere whisper. But as time goes on, that little voice becomes more forceful. You can no longer ignore her.

“It’s time to raise your prices,” she says matter-of-factly. “It’s been long enough. You’ve upleveled your skills. You’ve earned the right to do this. Besides, we’ve got big plans and you need to do your part. Stop undercharging and increase your prices!!”

Your logical mind knows she’s absolutely right.

But your tenderhearted, fearful mind wishes she would zip her lips because raising your prices is scary!

As a money mindset and business coach, I meet women all the time who have all kinds of fears about their prices.

Some people are afraid to increase their prices. Some people are even afraid to set prices at all for fear they will be the wrong prices!

There are tons of reasons why we struggle with this and all of it relates to money mindset and the beliefs you hold. There are deeply ingrained beliefs about your programs or services. And there are things deep down inside that you believe about yourself as a woman and a business owner.

I’m going to share the fears that many of my clients deal with and how to allow those fears to melt away. All it takes are a few mindset shifts and a little support from others traveling the same path.

What’s so scary about increasing your prices?

I’ve been coaching women entrepreneurs for 9 years and these are the top questions they ask me. I give them my honest answers and we examine the underlying causes of these fears:

Will I lose my clients if I increase my prices?

Yes, sometimes you will. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Putting your business out to the world is really an offer to serve. No matter what you do for a living, you’re providing a solution to someone’s problem. As you promoted your offers, you attracted people who resonated with your message and your mission. They were an energetic match for you at that time.

When you raise your prices, you’ll find new people who are an energetic match. Some people will no longer match with your new levels of service and pricing and will fall away.

This is a natural, normal cycle. You see it in nature with the approach of autumn. The oak tree’s old leaves change colors and blow away. Will the tree die? Of course not! It’s preparing for new growth in the spring.

It isn’t healthy for the tree to hang on to the old leaves. And it isn’t healthy for you or your clients to keep doing things the old way for the old prices. Renewal and growth is a sign of healthy change.

And you have to know that you don’t lose all your leaves (clients) like the tree does. Some fall away and others will stay.

Money mindset is a vibration, a state of awareness and wealth consciousness. And what do you know about vibration… like attracts like.

Mindset shifts you can make to release the fear of losing clients:

• Trust that you will always attract clients who are willing and happy to pay your prices.
• Along the way, you’ll attract some people who get triggered by your higher prices. Their purpose is to show you who you do and don’t want to work with.
• If some clients no longer resonate with you after you raise your prices, you are setting them free to find what they need that will suit them on every level. It allows them to grow and meet the people and opportunities that are the next right ones for them.

Remember the old song Garden Party? My favorite lyric says, “You see, you can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.” It’s true! I love that song!

Yes you will lose some clients. It’s okay. There are more people waiting to welcome the new upleveled version of you, and they are ready to be your next best clients.

Will people be upset with me when I start charging more?

Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.

If they do, know that is their choice. It has nothing to do with you. If someone gets angry or upset or judgy with you when you raise your prices, it’s not anger toward you, it’s their own complicated relationship with money. They are bumping into their own money blocks.

I hear people say, “I would NEVER pay that much for a [fill in the blank, with pack of gum, haircut, car, pomegranate…].” But they would pay that much for something else in a heartbeat.

What does that tell you? That people will find a way to pay for things they value. It’s all in their mindset.

Clients tell me all the time that when they invest in themselves through coaching, they immediately start valuing their time, their worth, and themselves more. The same is true for your clients.

When your prices reflect your value, you’ll attract people who appreciate your services and won’t bat an eye because they believe in investing in themselves.

Mindset shifts to release the fear upsetting people about your new pricing:

• Focus on finding your ideal clients because they will value themselves enough to know that they are worth every penny they invest when working with you.
• Remind yourself that you don't have a business if you aren’t making money, you have a hobby if you aren’t making money at it. Hobbies are wonderful, but I am here to tell you that your passion and gifts are worth putting a right price on and can absolutely be a lucrative business.

You can't be everything to everyone and you can’t set your prices to please everyone. Not everyone is your ideal client. But the ones who are will LOVE your prices and be aligned with paying them for your special service or product.

What if I make other people in my industry upset and turn against me if I price my services higher than theirs?

This really does happen in some industries. There is often a “going rate” that may have been set by someone in the industry. Making things even more touchy, there may be an unspoken implication that they made the pricing decision that was best for all and imply “that it’s the law of the land.”

But guess what!

You don’t have to follow their plan or more importantly - you don’t have to subscribe to their money mindset limitations. You will survive even if people in your industry don’t want to support you as you value yourself and your business more and more.

Mindset shifts to release the fear upsetting people about your new pricing:

• It’s okay to charge more than the other people in your industry.
• It is okay to charge as much or more than your mentor or teacher.
• It is okay and natural to outgrow the limits of where you started.

Success means becoming your own version of something unique and amazing and valuable at a price that lights you up. Those simple mindset shifts will attract ideal clients who are ready for the transformation you can bring them. Those clients, happily paying for the services they value, enable you to create money, freedom, and creative time in your business.

These fears are common among all kinds of healers, teachers, artists, heart based business owners, and many women entrepreneurs.

Heart based, conscious entrepreneurs love helping people and the planet. We tend to forget that the heart-to-heart, individualized attention, personal customization, and the convenience we give clients is incredibly valuable…and worth the price you want to charge.

There may be many in your industry, but there is only one YOU with your expertise and unique processes. You are worth more than you may think you are!

Women who come from corporate industries where they are underpaid and undervalued have a lot of trouble stepping confidently into charging for their solopreneur services. They may never have had to think about what they got paid because their boss or manager decided for them, or the industry dictated it. Or there may have been a cap on their salary or the fees they were allowed to charge. It can be scary to start putting a dollar amount on doing your own thing and learning to value your gifts and talents.

Putting our pricing out there triggers our natural survival instincts - there is safety in the herd.

If your money goal is to make $250,000 next year, you have to decide if you want to sell a ton of products or services for a low price, or a few products and services for a higher price. The answer will help you determine what mix of things you want to offer and how many people you’ll need to see them. 

None of us wants to be kicked out or left behind!

It’s normal to be afraid. It’s normal to feel scared when you raise your prices.

It’s okay. You can do scary things. You already have done lots of scary things. For an entire year I made it my mission to do scary things! It forced me to grow and become better.

There is this cool thing that happens when you charge more for what you do.

You start to do what you do better.

Your clients get more amazing outcomes.

And you create the money that frees you up to serve more people.

The decision to raise your prices empowers you to make impactful decisions with the money you earn – decisions that make this world a better place for women, children, animals, nature, everyone, and everything!

It’s not your natural trajectory to keep yourself small and underpriced. In nature, those creatures don’t thrive.

Think about flowers. The ones that hang back and hide don’t get the sunshine and water they need to thrive. They wither and die.

Step out of the darkness and let the light shine on the fears you’ve been holding on to.

Will you lose some customers? Perhaps. But you’ll open the space to find those who will appreciate the value you provide.

Will you upset people if you raise your prices? Maybe. But that’s not because of your price increase, it’s because of their own money issues, money blocks and money story.

Will others in your industry give you the side eye? Could be. But so what? You do YOU. There’s no rule, “unwritten” or otherwise, that says you have to play follow the leader.

When you follow nature as your guide, you realize that no apologies are necessary. When’s the last time you heard a waterfall apologize for being too noisy? Absurd, right? Let your power flow naturally, powerfully, and without a hint of shyness.

Increasing your prices can be a scary thing. Calling out your fears and changing your mindset can be challenging. But doing it with the support of other women walking the same path makes it so much easier.

If you’d like support on pricing and money mindset with a natural approach, be sure to join my private group Soulful Women Entrepreneurs where I talk about this and other topics to help you thrive in your business.

You’ll find other women in business with the very same fears. Some are just beginning to realize they’ve been holding themselves back. Others have broken through to the other side and will encourage you to do the same.

We’ll all have your back as you raise your prices without fear and blossom and grow into the prosperous entrepreneur you are meant to be.