…Or They Could Just Pay You
No, not everyone can do what you do
Imposter syndrome can show up in sneaky ways. So sneaky, many fabulous entrepreneurs don’t even know when it’s happening.
So, I find myself having to repeat questions like this a lot:
👀 “Hey, I thought this was going to be a beginner-level course. Why are you giving yourself months of extra work by developing Ph.D. level appendices, resources, and optional “further exploration” study paths before you launch?”
👀 “So let me get the straight… you use only ethically sourced, all-natural, organic, fairtrade ingredients in your tested and proven formula that you have about 100 5-star reviews for… and you’re selling it for less than $10?”
👀 “Your client literally JUST told you that you’ve changed their entire relationship to movement. That doesn’t sound like you’re just teaching your clients things they already know!”
A lot of my most brilliant and talented clients and colleagues are in the habit of seriously undercutting themselves.
When pressed, a lot of them admit to having a secret fear: that anyone could do what they do. Therefore, what they offer isn’t that valuable. Therefore, they must charge bargain basement prices. Or stuff a bunch of extras into the package to sweeten the deal. Or both.
Not true.
Let’s dismantle this fear, shall we?
Let’s pretend that you have no God-given talent whatsoever…
It’s not true, but a lot of you are worried that it is.
So let’s pretend that it is.
You came into your field utterly talentless But, you’re an entrepreneur who has:
👑 On-the-job experience
👑 Studied and trained
👑 Practiced
👑 Honed your process
👑 Tweaked your formula so that you can get your people better and better results
👑 Reflected on how to get your people better and better results
👑 Tried and failed and learned from the failure and kept trying
If most of that list applies - even if you have no God-given talent - you should probably still be charging more and offering less.
Because:
👑 Your time is valuable
👑 Your effort is valuable
👑 Your perspective is valuable
👑 Your experience is valuable
Too many women entrepreneurs don’t realize just how valuable. So let’s get into it.
Your Time Is Valuable
Maybe, maybe someone could do what you do... if they spent just as much time studying, training, practicing, and learning on the job as you have.
What is that for you in hours, days, weeks, months, years?
So, let’s say someone could just “do what you do” if they also put in that much time…
… Or they could just pay to take your class, get coached by you, or buy the product you’ve already assembled.
And if “all” they get from buying from you is a few hours, days, weeks, months, or years freed up, isn’t that valuable AF?
For real, are you saving them YEARS of effort they don’t have to put in??? Charge accordingly.
So, um, sure. Maybe they could do what you do if they put in exactly as much time. But if they buy from you, they don’t have to.
Your Effort Is Valuable
But it’s not just time that you put in.
You worked at your work. You tried hard.
You were stretched in every way imaginable as you put in the effort to be able to do what you do. Your mind was expanded. Your emotional capacity was forced to grow. Your relationships were put to the stress test.
You experimented and honed again and again to give your clients the best ever experience. And you keep on experimenting and honing so that your offers keep getting better and better.
You made awkward mistakes and had painful failures that you had to learn from.
You had to weather challenging conversations. You had to navigate naysayers and bad-fit clients and mentors.
You had to tell people “no.”
You had to own up to your fuck ups.
You had to face your fears to get this good.
You had to battle your demons to even open your business at all.
Aren’t your blood, sweat, and tears valuable? Isn’t your rare courage valuable? What about your perseverance and the lessons you only learned because of the mistakes you were willing to risk making?
So, sure. If they are also willing to go through allll of that for as long as you did, maybe they could “do what you do.”
Or they could just pay to work with you or buy your product.
Your Perspective Is Valuable
You love what you do. You think about your work in the shower, while driving, while walking your dog. You dream about your clients. You journal and reflect on how to keep getting better at doing what you do.
How many people have that much passion for this work? To think about it after the day’s tasks are done? To read about it as much as you do? To have as many conversations? To follow all the thought leaders? To watch your watchlist, listen to all the podcasts and read all the books that you do?
You’ve had the passion, the love, and the focus to notice patterns, track results, and test out what works. To mine failures and mistakes for important lessons.
You need love for that kind of focus. You need passion and commitment. And girl, you know not everyone has that for this… or everyone would be doing what you do.
You do what you do better because you love it. If they don’t have that same love for this work, then it’s going to save them a lot of disappointment and get them much better results if they invest in someone who loves to do what they do not.
Your Experience Is Valuable
There are many things you can only learn by doing.
You could read a book about how to fly a helicopter, but that doesn’t mean you can fly a helicopter.
You could watch an instructional video on how to perform a heart transplant, but of course, that’s not enough to then be trusted to lead the surgery.
This is why there are flight instructors. This is why there are attending surgeons. And this is why they aren’t cheap.
So, stop assuming that the existence of how-to books, podcasts, courses, recipes, or programs cheapens your wildly valuable experience.
They could try to learn how to do what you do by cobbling together countless freebies, YouTube videos, and generic courses and still not be anywhere close to getting the outcome that they want. Or they could just pay you.
Say It Like You Mean It. And Charge Accordingly.
YOU need to believe that your time, effort, perspective, and experience are valuable.
That way, you can market your offer in a compelling way, because you can confidently explain what people will get out of it.
That way, you can price your offer in a way that makes you excited to make the sale- not exhausted at the prospect of fulfilling it.
If you could use some help building belief in the value you bring to the table, I’d love to be your Marketing Confidence Cheerleader. You can start by stepping into your Evil Queen Era- a 5-day, free course you can complete in 10 minutes or less a day. It’s all over email: you get a secret video sent to you once a day for 5 days- so you can follow along at your own pace.
