Why Your High Prices May Really be too Low

by Mark Silver

Published on this site: May 17th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

I was a paramedic for over 8 years. By the time I left, I had reached step nine in the union pay scale, which means I was making $25 an hour, or $37.50 at time and a half, and a whopping $50/hour for double time.

It was a lot of money, and rated as one of the highest paying paramedic jobs in the U.S. Some of my colleagues were earning $80-$100K a year through doing a lot of overtime. Me, I was working part-time at that point, trying to get a business started.

When you decided to go into business, you knew that you had to charge more than you were paid at a job. But, it may never have dawned on you the true difference between being an employee, and running a business.

There are a lot of miniscule tasks that need to be done.

• Marketing.
  
• Accounting.
  
• Organizing the office.
  
• Buying supplies (either online, or running out on errands.)
  
• Writing and editing materials.
  
• Invoicing.
  
• Researching technology (computer applications, website technology, audio technology, etc.)
  
• Troubleshooting problems (time on hold with tech support).
• Continuing education, growth, and learning.
  
• Customer support.

When I was a paramedic, my employer paid people to handle all of these details. Do I pay myself, or someone else, for all of these details? Well, I didn't know how to at first. But, you'll burn out if you don't.

And, where did your dreaming time go?

Before you started your business you dreamed about helping people in the way you do now. You were in a training school, or you played with your business idea as a volunteer. Before it was a business, it was a hobby, and it occupied a certain amount of your dream time.

Once you get into business, the fit hits the shan, and you are so busy with all of these details, that the dreaming-creative time that got you going in the business in the first place kinda leaks away. I'm guessing you probably don't spend much time now dreaming your business forward.

Well, guess what? Your customers are depending on you for all of these things:

1. Top quality product or service.
   
   
2. Customer support.
   
   
3. A well-run business that invoices, follows-up, and takes care of details on time.
   
   
4. Creativity and growth in continuing to help them.

You probably set your prices thinking only of item number 1, without really thinking about numbers 2, 3, and 4. That means you are only charging for 25% of what you need to do. No wonder you feel as if you are on the gerbil wheel!

Does that mean I have to quadruple my prices?

Not necessarily. Pricing is a combination of head and heart. And, there is one spiritual secret to pricing which makes the whole thing a lot easier.

Keys to Funding Your Whole Business

1. 80% to 90% of the iceberg is under water.
   
   Those four categories I listed? Get four pieces of paper, and start brain and heart-storming all of the tasks, projects, dreams, and details that go along with each of those categories. By doing this, you will start to get a realistic view of your business, and so you won't get sunk like the Titanic by a piece of the iceberg you didn't see.
   
   
2. Feel the prices.
   
   Sit a moment with what you charge for your product or service. (Take your customers out of the picture entirely.) This is just between your heart, what you offer, and your prices. How does it feel? Do your prices feel great? Do they feel "kinda-sorta-okay-but-not-really?" Or, do they feel heavy, horrible and gut-wrenching? Hmmm...
   
   
3. The spiritual secret to value.
   
   When you sell something to someone, it is not an exchange. They are not trading you money for your product or service. It looks that way on the surface, but the spiritual teaching is quite different than how it appears.

Everything is the Face of the Divine, and the Divine is the Source of everything. For your client or customer who is struggling with a problem, you provide your product or service to help them. In doing so, to them you are a manifestation of the Divine Quality of help, support, caring. Well, guess what? You aren't actually God, you are just a manifestation and expression of God. So, that means that in addition to your Divine nature, you also have your human, dependent, needy nature as well. You also have need of provision, caring, and help. This means your customer is the Face of the Divine for you, a manifestation of the Divine Quality of provision, help, and support.

It requires a great deal of humility on your part to ask for, and receive, a price that truly supports you. This doesn't mean your prices need to be sky-high, but it also means you can't allow a 'false humility' to keep your prices artificially low. Ask in your heart, once you have the truth of all the details your business actually does, and see what pricing might support you to be in a loving, generous space with the entire shebang that is your business.

This can be quite a mind-bender of a teaching, because we are so used to thinking in terms of "transactions." But, considering that our spiritual nature is a part of the One Unity that exists, then Who or What is transacting with Whom? In both directions, to you and to the client, it's the Divine giving from the Infinite Source.

Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com