Spoiler Alert: If you are looking for a pricing guide telling you exactly what to charge for your photography services, you are in the wrong place.
After talking to hundreds of photographers, I’ve realized that most photographers don’t consider creating a life of freedom when determining their pricing for photography services.
And I’m willing to bet that one of the reasons you have started a business is to experience some sort of freedom.
That’s why today, you will learn the questions you must ask yourself to price your offers for the freedom you desire.
Whether you are just starting out, already have pricing, are confident or not, or need help knowing where to begin; you will discover if your pricing is taking you to the freedom you desire.
PRICING FOR FREEDOM
Before you even think about pricing, we must determine who we are serving and what we will provide them to solve their problem. Create an offer your ideal client can’t refuse because it takes them closer to reaching their business goals.
Once you have your offer(s) put together, the next step is determining what it really takes to execute it from beginning to end.
This data is vital to pricing your package. Grab a timer if you are still determining how long it takes you to do each task! You may be surprised how long you spend on each task.
Start with how long you believe it takes, set the timer, and get to work. Make adjustments to your original guess so you are working with accurate numbers.
Questions to ask yourself
Now, the real work begins to gain some pricing for freedom clarity. Here are the questions you need to determine the answers to:
- How much money does your business need to make?
- How much money do you WANT to make?
- How many hours per week and weeks per year do you want to work?
- What are the costs associated with each offer?
You’re ready to do some math once you answer these questions and determine how long it will take to execute your offer.
First, determine your business hourly rate. Take how much your business needs to make each year and divide it by how many hours you dedicate to working per year. This is your business hourly rate.
Next, determine a price point for your offer. It literally can be anything. Now, take your price point and subtract your costs to get your profit number.
Then, divide your profit number by the number of hours it will take you to execute the offer.
Boom – that’s your hourly rate for that offer at that price point. If this number is lower than your business hourly rate, you’re undercharging. 😉
But wait…
This is the MOST IMPORTANT part you must factor in to prevent burning yourself out.
Once you are settled on an offer price equal to or greater than your business hourly rate, determine how many clients you need to book at that rate to meet your business monetary goal.
If you need to book 300 clients to meet the goal but don’t have the time or space to take on 300 clients…well, then…you need to raise your pricing.
BONUS
The last and final step BEFORE you start marketing your offer is to mark off vacation days in your calendar.
Work-life balance doesn’t just happen; we have to create it. And if we take action to develop boundaries, we avoid entering the burnout zone.
Looking for more business growth tips?
Share in the comments what you want to know more about, then check out these related articles:
Be the first to comment