Do You Know Your Business Worth?

Coyote knows how to create your business worth

Jill Doneen asked me a great question about how to know what you’re worth. In her words:

I see a difference between asking for what I'm worth and asking for what I want. Those are different. I have no way of putting a number on what I'm worth. Worth? What does that even mean? I can tell you how much money I want in order to put my attention with your Body Wisdom and do my “thang” for 90 minutes. But worth? I don't know.

Hung up on semantics? Maybe. But words are powerful, and I have a policy of being careful with mine when possible. I tend to blow up my household when I'm not careful. Sigh.

Here's my two cents:

I completely agree. Words are very powerful, as are our intentions. I think the confusion is between your self-worth and your business worth. To me, knowing your "business worth" means what you need to not only survive, but thrive in your life. When it comes to business, it's not so esoteric. Your worth is based on logic. It has to take into consideration your experience, what the market (your tribe) will accept, and what your intuition is telling you. Therefore, your worth now becomes a "want," something to strive for and to set intentions toward.

As an example, when I first started freelancing, I went on several freelance job sites. A potential employer posted a job for an experienced writer who can write blog posts. I thought, great! I know what I'm worth based on my 20+ years of experience and what the going rates are in the marketplace for experienced writers. I place a bid for the job based on how many hours I knew it would take, plus my experience, in other words...my "business" worth. The potential employer came back and said that my bid was too high. He wanted to pay me what came out to be $2/hour. It was super-easy to turn down the job, because I knew my worth.

Here are 3 ways to understand your business worth:

1. Your experience. How much experience do you have in your particular market? It’s usually three categories: Beginner (0-2 years of experience), Some experience (3-5 years), or A lot of experience (6+). In general, beginners need to charge slightly less than a more experienced person in your chosen market. There are exceptions, but this is a general rule.

2. Research your market. Doing a search on what is being offered for salaries in your chosen profession whether freelance or in the job market is a good idea. If you are a coach, healer, artist, writer, what is your competition charging and how much experience do you think they have? Spending an hour or so doing research will help you see where you fit into the marketplace.

3. Your intuition. Because I’m all about a new way of doing business, I bring my intuition on board with knowing my business worth. After I know where I fall in the market as far as experience and what the market will pay, I call on my intuition to help clarify what I should charge.

Do you have a different formula for determining your business worth? Tell me about it by leaving a comment. If you’re interested in more discussions like this one, consider joining the Wise Woman Society.

Wise Woman, Jill Doneen can be found at the Luminous Muse Healing. Her Body Wisdom experience is amazing and will help you find harmony in your body.