Have you been doing things for free for a while and would like to start charging now? I am asked many times how to charge for your services when you have been offering them at no cost. Maybe because you were doing internships, or because you didn't dare to get paid or you feel guilty or something similar.
It is something very frequent and normal, do not think you are the only one, but it is true that you have to change this situation as soon as possible for two reasons:
- If you want to live from your profession you will have to charge. If not, as I often say, you do not have a business, you have a hobby and, moreover, cara.Your current customers may feel annoyed if, suddenly, and without notice you start charging them for something you did for free.
But that does not scare you, if that is your case this is something you can do:
Always notify in advance.
You can say something like:
“I wanted to inform you that from X month my sessions / programs / services are no longer free. I would love for us to continue working together because in this time you have achieved A, B and C and we can achieve much more. If it seems good to you and you are interested from X month the rate will be X euros. ”
At this point you have the option of offering savings for a limited time. For example, you can continue the previous message saying:
"As a thank you for this time that we have worked together, during the first month / the first session /… you will have the special rate of X euros, from there the price will be established. I await your response and if you are no longer interested in telling yourself that it has been a pleasure working with you. "
As you can see, it is an assertive and polite way of saying it. The rest depends on the other person and you have to be willing to let some clients go, because not everyone will want to take the plunge and that's fine, it's normal. When you are a professional and you charge for your services, you are aware of this and accept it.
If you feel guilty…
Something also very frequent, think that there are many ways to help for free and that you are bankrupt is not one of them.
You can give free talks, write a blog with recommendations, a podcast, videos, have a limited number of free clients per month, make donations (anonymous or not).
You decide, there are many ways, but not charging the only thing it does is devaluate yourself professionally.
What I always recommend if you do something for free is to do it in a limited way, either to a limited number of clients or for a limited time, but do not do it out of shame or fear or because you do not know how or how much to charge, that is nothing professional and if you want to dedicate yourself to it you have to start making decisions like a serious businesswoman. Start with a message like the one I suggest and get going now.
