WAHM - Are You Charging Enough? You Could Be Losing More Than You Think!

For many work at home moms, deciding what to charge for their products or services is a common problem. Setting my rates was one of the hardest parts of starting my virtual assistant business. I didn't want to charge too much and miss out on a potential customer who couldn't afford me. At the same time, I didn't want to charge too little and not be taken seriously by someone I wanted to work with.Do you ever struggle with this? For a lot of us, it can be tempting to set our prices on the lower end of the spectrum. Sometimes we're not sure of our worth. Sometimes it just seems like less of a hassle to charge less. That way we don't have to work so hard at convincing others of our value.But if you're not charging what you deserve, you can lose out on a lot more than potential earnings. Here are some of the problems I encountered because I wasn't charging enough, or because I wasn't sure what to charge:- I wasted many hours on work I wasn't properly paid for. That is time I can never get back, which would have been better spent playing with the kids or looking for clients who were able to pay what I was worth.- I ended up working for clients who weren't a good fit for me. Your price is one of the factors that helps you define your target market, and help your target market identify you. If someone isn't willing to pay what you believe you're worth, you have to wonder if they truly value your skills and what you can do for them.- I missed out on potentially good opportunities because my fee was too low for the client to consider me "in the game."- Finally, I found that when I wavered on my rates, I would avoid bidding on some projects that interested me. Sometimes I wasn't sure how to charge for a project, or how I could justify my prices.So, you can see all the problems that not charging enough can cause! It's a lot more than not earning as much as you should.To avoid these problems, it's important to find out what your target market is willing to pay, and why you're worth it to them. A business coach helped me determine my worth, and how to find clients who were willing to pay my fee. It also helped me a lot to research my competition, and see what they were charging, and think of ways I could make myself more valuable and charge more.For work at home moms, our time is extremely valuable. You need to make sure you're earning all you can for the work you do. Then you will have the freedom you desire for the more important things in life.