Do you charge what your worth?

Depending on what your profession is in the pet industry, your level of experience, whether you are a solo-prenenuer, have a corporate company – figuring out how to charge what you are worth can be a daunting task.
Some professions in our industry have some standards of what to charge, for example: dog trainers, pet sitters, veterinarian services and so forth.  But what if you offer a service or pet product that is new, unique or just not the average service?  How to you craft your rate sheet on what you should be charging in order to maintain a healthy and growing business?
What would your hourly rate, or your monthly retainer fee be?  Do you account for your overhead, materials, travel time, your hours, etc.? 
Recently I spoke about this very topic with Trevor WilliamsCreative Counselor and Owner of The Brand Counselors
So Trevor you have been running your own business for nearly 2 years now, and have an extensive career in advertising and marketing for 20 years prior.  What the first thing would you say to the new pet entrepreneur who is trying to figure out what they should charge?
TW: Take a look at your competition. What are the standards in the business – based on experience, geography, etc.  Is their market exactly like yours? Is your market more local, national or global?  Do you have unique offerings which are more valuable?  When calculating your fees you must include an hourly value for your time-whether you are performing a service or time spent creating or managing or overseeing production/distribution/marketing of the product.  Your time is valuable!
Yes, our time is incredibly valuable – I think many pet professionals are still learning this, especially those new to the industry, new entrepreneurs and don’t realize this!  I know you have worked with many different industries and of course some pet professionals in helping craft their marketing and branding for their business.  What do you see as their biggest struggle when it comes to pricing?
TW: Not being  consistent, giving too much away for free and then being in the “well  just this time I can give it to you for this price.”  Whether undervaluing or overvaluing (that often comes from lack of doing any competitive analysis and market analysis and understanding market demand and industry trends).  When you overvalue we find that people are looking at the short term, focused on the quick buck as opposed to focusing on  establishing a brand.  I find that when entrepreneurs undervalue their business it comes from insecurity about their own product or service.  You have to believe in what your selling.  And if you’re not confident figure out what it is that has you feeling like an imposter or not worthy. 
Oh that is so good.  I definitely see so many pet professionals giving away their services for free, or on the complete flip side expecting other pet professionals to give their services away at no cost.   This could be a entire article on it’s own!
Would you suggest a formula or quick and easy way a new pet entrepreneur with a unique service could use? 
TW: Formula for pricing beyond a simple raw materials, (time or product), plus variable expenses and fixed expenses, the standards vary by industry and then by product and service when it comes to what the margins will be and what is considered.  Having a business plan helps a great deal. The time and energy it takes to write up a business plan yields a very high return b/c it becomes your business roadmap. 
 From you own experiences, what would you say not to do?
TW: I have a few!
▪   Avoid trading services – it gets into a very gray area – sometimes it can work but often one side feels that they haven’t gotten the right value for their work. 
▪   Don’t expect every potential customer to be right for you – if they can’t afford your services – they are NOT the right customer – and that’s ok.  Again, this is where doing a business plan that factors in market share, customer profiles, etc. 
▪   It’s better to just exchange prices and pay each other. 
▪   Avoid doing free work for “exposure” or the promise of more work in the future. Respect your work and others will too.  
Anything else you want to add?
TW: Give a lot of thought to you’re pricing strategy. Come out too low and it’s hard to raise prices quickly. Come out to high and try to lower prices people question the value of you offering.  And when you charge too little you’ll only attract customers who are more interested in price than in your particular product and service and will not be loyal over time.  
Thank you Trevor, this is incredible and invaluable information that all pet professionals need to take into consideration.  
PET PROS: What do you think, did this help you? Have another question about this? Please comment below.]]>