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Knowing your Worth
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A lot of new business owners struggle with pricing accordingly and Krislyn and I talk a little about our struggles and remind ourselves we are worth it!
Hey guys, welcome back to the hub. It's Carrie Ann and I have Kristin with me again. And I'm so excited that she's on the episodes with me so much more now. Um, today we're gonna talk about pricing, guys, because this past week I really struggled with something personally as a business owner. And um I got outbid for a uh job and I started rethinking everything. Like, am I doing my business right? Am I doing it wrong? Should I reprice everything? So Kristin and I are just gonna talk about pricing a little bit with our businesses. And um, yeah, Kristin, has that ever happened to you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, 1,000%. I had a conversation recently where um I was encouraged to know my worth, but by the end of the conversation, I was told that my pet sitting prices were too high. And although it's understandable without a doubt, um, I have to remind myself that I do this as a full-time job. I've been doing this for eight years now, and you know, I pour a lot of myself into this to make sure that I'm more than just your babysitter that's gonna sit on there.
SPEAKER_00That was like a lot of the same things that like literally ran through my head all weekend long. Is that I have done this for a long time, and this is my business. I'm a legit licensed insured business. I have overhead, I have stock, I have things that keep this business going. It's not just a hobby. It may have started as a hobby many, many years ago, but it's not a hobby anymore. It's a full-fledged business and you have employees. So, like we need to really think as big business owners, but we're baby businesses. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I feel like just being your everyday community supporter kind of is a little bit difficult too, because you get a lot of requests, hey, can you donate this? Can you do this? And so it's not that your work isn't valuable, but it's almost seen as like just something extra that people get. And so it's almost like you have to really establish yourself and be like, no, like I want to be respected for the work I do. And even though it's just balloons, or even though I'm just sitting with the kids, like I'm still doing important work and you need me, right? Like you want your event to be beautiful, you want to be able to leave your house and feel confident, whatever that looks like. And you can't do that without someone who truly, genuinely cares.
SPEAKER_00So, what do you think then? I guess the question would be what separates us from the uh, like you said, like local high school babysitters, or for me, like other people who are starting this as a hobby for themselves.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I really like that term, like a hobbyist, because I think that's so true. I think in these kind of service industry worlds, there's some people who are really doing it as a hobby, and then there are some people who are doing it as um a profession. And really I feel respect for both because that's how it started off for me, right? You know, it's like that's how we started off. And so I um I don't know, I think there's a lot that goes that goes into that altogether.
SPEAKER_00Um I've thought about like maybe getting together with some of these other hobbyists and seeing kind of where they're at. Like, are they gonna take this into a full-fledged business? Test the waters, yes, and see like even if they are gonna take it. Like, I want to encourage them, like I said there on other episodes, there's enough business for everybody. Like, you look in your community and there's you know, five real estate agents and a bunch of insurance people, like there's enough business for everybody. Um, I just want to make sure that they're like us knowing their worth too. Like, if they're doing this and I'm doing this, I know how much of I know how much balloons cost, I know how hard it is to lug everything to where you need to go and to set things up and get on ladders and stuff like that. Like, maybe I want to be there to encourage them to know their worth too. Like you are doing a labor-intensive job. Like, are you?
SPEAKER_01Can you imagine being paid if we would have had someone tell us that five years ago, like where we would be now, you know, because that's something that's been a real experience throughout my journey, is starting off literally at $7.25 an hour because that was the minimum wage. And so I felt like that's what I deserved at 16 to finally working my way up now where I can get paid $25 an hour. And so in an eight-year period, that is a big, big jump.
SPEAKER_00It is, but the quality though, from when you started in 2018 to now, you have way more experience under your belt. You have extensive training and you like free train over and over. Right. Um, and that's where I do it. Like I continue my education in art and I continue um learning the best practices, the safest practices for things. And it's just a similar thing that like it's like any business, like you want good quality work, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you have to do that. And I think that's something that's kind of important in remembering with like the people who we have as hobbyists and the people we have more in a professional role, is that it all comes down to who is the right fit. So for some people, for some of those consumers who are trying to book, they're gonna want someone who's a hobbyist because that's what they can afford in their budget, or you know, that's kind of what they're going for on their realm of things. And then for some people, they're gonna want someone more professional. So I feel like that's kind of a good reminder, too, is that when you have someone who says, oh, you're too expensive, or oh, you know, you're over the top or whatever, it's like I'm not a good fit for you. And that's okay because that leaves me the space to be a great fit for someone else. Right. So that's something I really like to remember in myself. And I like how you talk about that overhead. And I really don't think people realize all of the extra things that we're paying for or we're contributing to just because we want to be a lavish part of this community. And so I don't know, I just feel like that's really important to remember all of the things that go in behind the scenes and what that is paying for. So when I'm asking for that $20 an hour, it's not just because, hey, I need $20 an hour for this, it's really covering all of the different things. So I think that's important, especially with your balloons and all of the stock that you had. Like if only people knew how much money worth of stuff you had, then they would be like, oh yeah, this is definitely worth my time and investment.
SPEAKER_00Stay tuned. I got some really fun videos that will be coming up to show you kind of behind the scenes. Cause I think a lot of people, like you just said, don't know. And I think that's the way with a lot of businesses, like people don't know unless you are in it, you're in the thick of it doing it. So if you want encouragement, if you want to have a consult with me and Krislin's and we can help you build your business and make sure you're priced right, or if you just want to bounce ideas off of us, reach out to us at the Thrive Hub for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would definitely be happy to help. And the only other thing that I really want to mention is just continue to value yourself in the work that you do because something I've talked about is there have been times that I've accepted jobs that have paid me less. And then as I'm doing those jobs, I'm not happy with the work that I'm doing. I don't feel like that I'm able to be my best self because I'm not getting paid my worth and my value. And so there is so much power and feeling valuable and feeling worthy. And so it is almost guaranteed, whenever you are paying more, you're going to get a better experience because they feel valued and they feel worthy, whatever that looks like, whether that's decorations or care or any type of service industry. I just really think it's important to remember your value, remember all of your experience. And then also really, really tap into your local reviews too. I feel like that's a great way to show your value without having to explain it yourself. Are those good reviews? And then it also helps you stay in the right mindset when you are thinking, man, am I too expensive? Is this going wrong? To be able to look back at your reviews and see things like she was so reasonably priced, or she did a great job. It's like, okay, no, I'm I'm not reasonably priced for everyone, but I'm reasonably priced for my audience. And that's what matters.
SPEAKER_00I love that.
SPEAKER_01And we're gonna end on that, guys. Thank you for joining us on the Hub today.
SPEAKER_00See you next time.