Are you telling people that your time isn’t valuable? Especially if you bill based on your time in your business — you need to hear this.

If you are quick to offer “free consultations” which are either veiled sales calls or services with actual value that you should be charging for – you need to hear this.

You might be telling people your time isn't valuable if....

1. You do stuff for free that other people charge for.

Why aren’t you charging? Do you have expenses to travel to a potential customer just for a meeting? Does meeting with them keep you from performing tasks for other customers?

Have them put some skin in the game. Even if it’s just a $50 fee that they can put toward their future purchase. This will save you from late cancellations or no-shows and raise that bar just high enough so you weed out those who aren’t as serious about working with you. Don't do for free what others in the marketplace charge for.

2. You answer calls and emails when you should be unavailable.

The quickest way to get people to forget that you’re human? Answer the phone 24/7. Most of those messages are not emergencies, but we treat them like we have to answer right when we see them. (We're still working on this one, ourselves!)

So take a weekend off. Have dinner without touching your phone. Do not answer emails or calls when you’re supposed to be “off the clock.” Just because we have these tiny computers within reach at all times doesn’t mean we have to be available to the world on behalf of our business. Your family will thank you.

If you’re worried about not being prompt, set up an auto-reply for your evenings and weekends to let them know you’ll respond as soon as you’re back in the office and who to contact if it’s indeed an emergency.

If you're used to answering the message right when you see it – go ahead and write your response but schedule the reply to go out at 8 a.m. the next business day. In time, people will see the timestamp and learn not to expect a response when they email you their burning questions at 11 p.m.

3. You are too nice when someone is just being rude.

We’ve talked about this before, but some 1-star reviewers are just mean. Meanies don’t value your time and can make you feel like you owe them even more time (without compensation). You don’t have to bend over backwards or cave to their every demand. Sometimes the best way to tell a meanie that your time is valuable is to tell them something like this:

I want you to be happy. I’m not able to make you happy. You might find assistance with (name their problem) by reaching out to (name other people who offer those services). And then send them on their way rather than spending even more time with someone who won’t be satisfied.

4. You don’t stick to your word.

You say you charge for a product/service, and then instead you do it for free or at a discount. It goes something like this — you tell someone your price, they agree to it, then when it comes time to pay up and ask for the money it’s not awkward — you just make it awkward.

Maybe you just need an easier payment processing system like Square or Wave, maybe you need to ask for payment up front to avoid that “icky” feeling when it comes time to collect. Maybe you need to learn some different ways to phrase the question. Try something like: “Will you be paying cash or card today?”

5. You aren’t charging enough.

Watch Now

If you can't charge enough for your product or service to create and sustain a profitable business, you don't have a business. You just have an expensive hobby.

Knowing how much to charge and being confident in that price is crucial to running a business. If you question the value, your customers will too. If you can't say your price loudly and confidently, how will others believe you when you tell them what it's worth?

Need ideas? Check out our blog: Stop undercharging and start valuing your work.

If you need a blast from the past with Bon Qui Qui after seeing those gifs watch the Welcome to King Burger skit here.