Last night, I was a guest speaker on @Jill Hart's "Monetise your mission" mastermind inside her Client Acquisition for Coaches Community, and that is where I met the absolutely fabulous @Soph Newman. (I had my daugters school sports day and so I was a bit rushed and I forgot to post about the live, but I'll pop a replay up for you all soon.) We got into a great discussion about exactly this. How crucial it is to understand what every single minute of your time is actually worth. Sophie form the Good Girls Guide to Money has written a brilliant piece called Undercharging Isn't Generosity (It's Protection). If you have ever stared at a draft invoice, felt your chest tighten, and knocked ยฃ50 off the price before hitting send, you need to read her work. She hits on a massive truth that every entrepreneur needs to hear: what we love to call "generosity" is often just our anxiety buying insurance. We undercharge so nobody can accuse us of being greedy, and we disguise our people-pleasing as kindness. Sophie breaks this down into three specific traps that are quietly costing your business: - ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ - You get paid for a one-hour session but give them two hours, a follow-up, and extra resources you stayed up until midnight creating, just to ensure they can't possibly be disappointed. - ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ - You flinch and drop your own price before the client even has a split second to reply. Most of the time, they weren't even going to flinchโyou discounted the price just to avoid your own uncomfortable feelings. - ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฎ๐
- The old, broken script that making good money and doing meaningful, helpful work cannot exist in the same room. As Sophie points out, there is absolutely nothing pure or helpful about being broke. Before you drop a price or throw in an extra freebie again, Sophie recommends asking yourself a simple gut-check: "Is this generosity coming from my Soul, or from my Role?". True generosity leaves you feeling steady and gives from an overflow; "role" generosity completely empties you out just to keep you feeling safe.