Raise Your Prices: The Solopreneur Self-Worth Shift

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The first 9 months of going full-time as a solopreneur were brutal, but then I landed a solid long-term client and then a really big long-term client.

Suddenly, I went from the throes of depression to being so busy I could barely sleep.

I reached out to a friend about how happy I was, but I was also a bit overwhelmed with how to handle the sudden influx of requests.

Without hesitation, she said, “Raise your prices.”

I have gone back to that conversation so many times over the years.

I remember exactly where I was when she said it.

My hourly rate over the years went from $25 → $40 → $65 → $100 → $120 → $150 → $390. For other projects, I was making $500 to over $1,000 an hour.

My road to success has been a long one, but I never stopped going after it.

Raising my prices along the way was crucial to my growth.

Tip #1: Believe clients when they say you are undercharging

I look back at my early work versus what I was charging, and it is clear that I didn’t understand my worth or what I brought to the table.

I was just so happy to have the work.

Over the years, I had so many clients and peers tell me that I could and should be charging more.

I remember completing a new website for a client early on. It was beautifully coded, SEO-friendly, user-friendly, mobile-adaptive, and visually pleasing. I charged them less than $5k. When I was handing the website off to the client in our final meeting, she pulled me aside on her way out of my office and said, “I just want you to know that you could have charged more than twice as much, and my boss would have paid it.”

I raised all of my website prices the next day, and my requests for work never diminished.

Tip #2: Better clients usually pay better

The more I raised my prices, the more I enjoyed the clients.

I was the only person in town who placed my price ranges on my website, and it helped eliminate all the unwanted inquiries and wasteful first meetings.

It sorted out people who were starting businesses with no idea how to communicate effectively.

It also brought in a higher level of quality clients who wanted the best product and were more than willing to pay for it.

Tip #3: Higher prices created more demand

The simple law of supply and demand has always been a catalyst for my business. When people saw that I wasn’t accessible, wasn’t cheap, but was selective, they only wanted to work with me more.

Raising my prices not only gave me more money per project, it created more security.

I had a wait list of up to a year for a decade, and knowing that allowed me to plan my finances and calendar accordingly.

Because I always had a wait list, I never had to spend money on advertising.

I encourage you to listen to the people around you that are speaking into your life.

If you are being told that you could charge more, do it.

There is a direct correlation between self-worth and attracting money through our careers.

Self-worth shapes what you believe you deserve.

It will impact your behaviors toward income, how you allow yourself to be visible to others, and what you will tolerate.

Now, when I see someone undervaluing their high-quality work, I assume that mindset will eventually impact the outcome.

Your hourly rate or price per project says more about you than it does about the money.

I promise you that if you value yourself, others will, too.

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