Charging Your Worth
A lot of times when you have big brands reach out to you and want to collaborate, sometimes they feel that just because they’re a well-known brand they’re somehow doing you a favor by partnering with you. I’m sharing some tips to manage those situations.
Today I’m talking about knowing your worth, and it comes courtesy of a situation I had recently where I was offered much less for an offering that I typically charge a lot more for. I was offered two figures for what would ordinarily be a four-figure offering. So I wanted to share with y’all how I handled it, and give you some tips on how you manage those situations.
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So, a lot of times when you have big brands reach out to you and want to collaborate, sometimes they feel that just because they’re a big brand they’re somehow doing you a favor by partnering with you. So often they feel like they don’t have to pay you, or they don’t have to consider that you charge for these sorts of projects. They will often lowball you and come in with a really low rate or might offer you free stuff as an exchange.
Here are some tips to manage those situations:
Know your rates, know what you’re worth and don’t lose sight of your value. For me, that formula comes from a number of things; the number of years and the time that I’ve been working and doing my craft, it also comes from the loyal community - that’s y’all – that show up consistently and rock out for the offerings that I put together. I also think about my expertise and the amount of time and investments I’ve made into developing myself; my yoga teacher training certification, any time of business development training I have done. I factor all of those things in because I have invested in my education and that’s money I’ve put in so that I can then charge money for later. Additionally, I think about the quality and number of partnerships I’ve had in the past and the value and impact of my vision.
For example, when I was first starting off, obviously I didn’t have the community that I have now – I was just beginning. But I have felt so strongly about my vision, what I wanted to create and impact I wanted to have that it has always been what I’ve led with and what I believe is so valuable. Although I had to build up my worth, I didn’t shy away from charging. I knew the value and impact I could have and had confidence in what I could bring forward. I kick off with the energy of you would be lucky with work with me, you would be well-advised to work with me. That’s really the energy we want to pull up with that confidence.
The more work that you do and the more things that you’re able to succeed in and accomplish, that is also a part of the increase in your worth and value. Which means those rates is going up boo!
Know the market. Knowing your worth and being able to computer that formula should let you get to a point where you understand what you charge for the different offerings that you provide. Another thing you want to consider sometimes is what is normal in the market? Like looking at what is an average rate for something that I’m doing out in the general market and where do I sit within that range? You want to do a little bit of research on that as well. I really go with a gut feeling; do I feel going about charging this amount? What is the first number that pops into my mind when I think about this type of project? A lot of times because we’re prone to undercharging ourselves I’ve had someone tell me that whatever you’re thinking about charging…double it. People will pay you! People will pay you what you’re worth, they will pay you what you charge.
Basically when you have a situation where somebody is lowballing you and you know your own worth you’re able to come back to them and say thank you for thinking of me for this opportunity but my normal rate for this is XYZ. Or if somebody hits you up asking to pick your brain or ask you questions you can say hey, this falls under my consulting services, here is a link for you to book some time.
Do not, I repeat, do not get starstruck by big brands and get stuck doing shit for free!
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There will be certain specific times where it may make sense to do something for free. For example, when I’m working with community organizations, I will offer them a way lower rate that I would normally or sometimes even for free. It’s really when I know that I’m not going to be making a lot of money from something I stretch it as much as possible; I get as much content as I can to promote something in the future. For example, when I did the yoga retreat in Malibu it was a retreat I broke even on, I might have even lost a little bit of money. But I used the photos, the video, to be able to promote for the following retreat. You want to leverage the opportunities that you do get even if they’re not necessarily paid, but you do need to check in with yourself and ask does this feel good? Does this feel like I’m being taken advantage of?