How do you know when it’s time to increase your prices?
Here are 5 Signs it could be time to increase your prices:
- Demand is exceeding supply.
If you have more inquiries than you know what to do with or how to manage, it could be time to increase your prices. Unless you’re planning to scale your business to serve the increased demand, you can afford to up your prices and risk more people saying “No” to working with you. You don’t need every inquiry to be a yes.
- Your pricing doesn’t excite you.
I always say “Your pricing should excite you”. If a client accepting your proposal or deciding to work with you doesn’t leave you doing a little happy dance, you either need to revisit who your target client is, or increase your price to a point that you feel truly compensated for your work.
- Your expertise has grown.
You are not the same business owner you were when you started your business. You have more experience, more credibility, and more happy clients who are raving about working with you. Make sure your pricing has adjusted to reflect that level of expertise.
- Cost of delivery has increased.
Things change, including how much it costs to deliver your services. Factors like inflation, rising overheads, and investments in improving how you serve your clients are all factors that need to be considered when setting your pricing. If your cost of delivery has significantly changed but your pricing hasn’t, consider this your sign to make a change.
- You’re earning near minimum wage.
This one might seem obvious, but working for yourself should have more perks than being an employee! Sure, not every perk is financial (#flexibility), but if your hourly rate at the end of most projects is bordering on minimum wage, you need to charge more for your services.
And always, remember this: Your pricing should be based on your knowledge, experience and the quality of your product or service. It should NOT be based on someone else’s perception of your value.