Two Ways to Find the Value of Your Work
Setting prices for your work is intertwined inextricably with how much YOU value what you do. If that's the case, how do you find the value of your work?
Two ways to find out the value of your work
First, if you have any yet, ask your clients what they think about your work. Ask them what your strengths are, and what the value of working with you is.
This can be hard and scary, but they’ll tell you if you make it safe to tell the truth.
The other way is to talk to the part of you that knows your worth. Here’s a real conversation I had with the part of me that knows the worth of my work.
C: (for Christy) May I talk to the part of me that knows the worth of my work?
P (for Part): Yes.
C: I’m afraid to ask, but what is the worth of my work?
P: This is a hard conversation for you. You don’t want to look. It’s easier to skate and not have to own who you are and what you do. Then no one can criticize you for not doing it well enough.
C: So the issue is not about me knowing the worth of my work, but about owning it?
P: Yes. You already know the worth of your work.
C: Dang. You’re right. That’s hard. It’s easier to pretend I’m not that great at my work than it is to claim it and possibly fail.
P: Yup.
C: Any advice?
P: Get honest. Start claiming what you do well and stop pretending.
C: Whew. Okay. Thanks.
Talk to the part of yourself who knows your worth
If you want to have a conversation with the same part of yourself, here are some possible questions:
- What is the worth of my work?
- How do you know?
- What else do you want me to know/be/do?
It’s child’s play to blame the economy, or the difficulty in selling something with more intangible benefits (like art), or the blindness of our culture to the value of creativity.
But what you can control are your own beliefs and the behaviors that emerge from them.
In my two coaching programs: Design Your Day Job and Sell Your Art Peacefully, we work to identify the value of your work and price it. If you’d like to chat about whether either of these programs are right for you, book an appointment here.
It's worth to shift your focus inward
I don’t need to spend much time wanting the world to be different. I have so much inner work left to do when it comes to pricing, visibility, and marketing that I’ll never run out.
How about you? Let me know in the comments below.