We all probably know that women still earn 82 cents to every dollar a man makes, so we’re making 18% less in a typical employment situation. Maybe this is even why you went out on your own – because you were denied promotions or raises at your 9-5 jobs (or 9-9, in some cases).
But did you know that female creative freelancers charge FORTY-SEVEN PERCENT less than their male counterparts? We’re actually giving OURSELVES less equitable pay than our former employers. Can you believe that? I was astounded when I heard that statistic, but also in a way, I wasn’t surprised.
Because undercharging for goods and services is the #1 thing I coach my womenpreneurs on. Every. Single. One. of them need convincing that they are worth more than they’re charging, that people WILL pay it, and that they don’t have to apologize for asking for it.
I’m not here to make you feel bad about it – there are many reasons we do this. We’ve had to suffer that pay gap for decades, gotten passed up for promotions we deserve, continually been bombarded by both obvious and subliminal messages that women are meant to serve and that ambition is a dirty word. We’re told “you get what you get and you don’t get upset,” so we accept and sometimes even ask for the bare minimum, because our inner critic (which is a mishmash of every real critic we’ve ever had) is telling us “Who the hell am I to charge that?”
I’ll tell you, no one has ever said that to my face. And they won’t say it to yours. If anything, I get people saying “I fully believe that your services are worth what you’re asking, but I just can’t afford that right now.” It’s not easy to hear this, because I tend to fall in love with people and want to work with them so badly because I know I can help. But I don’t lower my prices to do this. I simply tell them I completely understand and that I’ll be here when they can afford me. And then I wish them the best and let them go.
It’s hard to hear no, but part of the reason it’s hard is because we think 1) people are judging us for charging too much (which is really a reflection of that person’s self worth and money issues, not yours), and 2) we’re never going to get clients to pay us what we’re charging. and It takes some internal work to get over the fear of raising our prices. But we MUST do that work ladies. It’s the most essential thing to secure an abundant, secure life!
I read somewhere that if no one is saying no because of your prices, you’re not charging enough. And that’s completely true. You have to get in the mindset that you’re worth what you want to be paid, and I swear you will naturally attract enough people who will agree with you! And these are the people worth waiting for.
So let’s go ladies – raise those prices!