Dear Dolphins,
“If I wanted to become a tramp, I would seek information and advice from the most successful tramp I could find. If I wanted to become a failure, I would seek advice from people who have never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would look around me for those who are succeeding, and do as they have done.”—Joseph Marshall Wade
I just got my 131st review of “The Wealthy Spirit” on amazon! Here’s what it said:
Wah. I was a little disappointed of course – we all like to have good reviews. But it made me sad for the man who wrote it, because I suspect he must have trouble valuing himself and asking for what he is worth.
I had trouble with that concept myself. But I knew that people grow in skills and experience and then become more valuable to their clients or employers. After all, you don’t pay the same salary to the new hire as you do to the 20-year veteran.
But is it greedy to ask for more money?
When I raised the price of my telecourse from $2,500 to $3,500, a friend commented that it was a big percentage increase. I told her it wasn’t a percentage increase – it was a VALUE increase. I could see the value that my clients received and my expertise in helping them attain better jobs, higher pay, more clients, the house, car, vacations, and life they wanted made my price worth it.
When you are in your own business, you don't have anyone to tell you that you deserve and are getting a raise. You have to give yourself a promotion to a new level. Set a goal for yourself of the amount of money you want to earn. Prepare a budget that includes everything you want – the kind of house you want to live in, the car you want to drive, lifestyle you want to live, vacations, travel, dinners out, and plan adequately for taxes, retirement savings, etc.
A friend of mine told me the story of how she once asked for only $2,500 for a salary. It was only later that she discovered that $2,500 didn’t even cover her expenses. She said when she realized that she tried to renegotiate, but by then she said the man had lost all respect for her.
One of my clients in my Financial Stress Reduction® Workshop was a smart, charismatic woman who had also developed an 8-week workshop business helping people with relationships.
One evening in around the third or fourth class, she was complaining about how she was unhappy with her income and wanted to make more money. She was charging $400 and wanted to charge $800.
I suggested that, for the next week, she ask for $800 from all her prospective clients. She did, and was completely shocked that three people signed up at that price! She couldn’t believe it, but I reminded her that I was charging even more than that, and she had paid it.
“Yes,” she said, “but you’re teaching people about money.”
“Yes, and perhaps finding the man of your dreams, having the perfect father for your children, living with the person you love for the rest of your life who treasures you and treats you like a queen, is worth a lot, too,” I countered.
That shifted her thinking right away.
What comparisons are you making that keep you from charging the money you want?
Every business owner needs to pick two important numbers in their business: - How many people do you want to serve each month?
- How much money do you plan to charge them?
Multiply these two numbers and see if it gives you enough money to pay your bills comfortably, save for the future, pay off your debts, buy a house, go on vacation, and live the life you desire.
If not, you have to pick a higher number!
It sounds simple enough. Just pick a higher number and ask for it, right? But I know it’s hard to get the courage to ask for the money you want alone in a vacuum, with all of society’s pressures surrounding you, and your old habits of not asking keeping you locked in to a financial reality that is less than you deserve.
Here’s a story about that from “The Wealthy Spirit”:
