Money is often a touchy subject for many business owners. I come across so many therapists who say to me, “I know I am undercharging for my services but I don’t know what to do about it!”.
If you find yourself nodding your head at this, I want you to know that you are not alone and that there is something you can do about this.
I’ve been there myself – as a therapist I would often find myself wanting to help my clients by working for a fee they could afford, even if this meant I was not making the income I really wanted to make.
Yet, one of my greatest learnings this year has been that as therapists and business owners we really do choose the income we make. The key is to start by identifying your desired income and then create your business strategy to help you achieve it.
The first place to start is to…
Get motivated about charging your worth. One way to do this is to get really clear on your expenses and outgoings.
Of course you should be keeping track of what your business expenses and outgoings are on a monthly basis, but I know that isn’t always the case. So if you haven’t done this up until now, you’ll find it a very beneficial experience, because you will get really clear on what it is costing you financially to be running your business. It will also help you get motivated about charging what you want to charge!
Your outgoings typically include things like: room rent, equipment, marketing materials, technology, insurance, heating and lighting, training and CPD costs, bank charges etc.…
What I suggest you do is take a moment now to write down all the expenses you have that go out. You will then need to add these expenses together to get an idea of what your total monthly and annual expenses are.
Next you need to do some sums to calculate your income..
You need to then minus your monthly/ annual expenses from your monthly/ annual income to arrive at your gross profit (that is the profit before tax) that your business is making.
If your gross profit is not as much as you would like it to be, then you will find it useful to work through the following questions. These questions will get you thinking about what income you would like to make and how you can achieve this desired income.
Read Also: What’s your money story?
Then get Planning (just like Hannibal in the A-team)..
I personally am a big fan of 90 day planning (and love it when a plan comes together!). So I take my overall yearly objectives and split them down into quarters. It feels more manageable to me to focus on business and income goals for the next 3 months, so I’ve given you the exercise I do myself to plan my strategy over 90 days.
So begin by asking yourself the following questions:
- What income do you desire to make over the next 3 months? (this should be a stretch and its what you desire to make not what you think you can make!)
- How much does this work out to be on a monthly/ weekly basis?
- How many customers/ clients/ transactions do you need to have to achieve this figure?
- What are the most profitable products/ services you have that will enable you to achieve your income goals over next 3 months
- What actions do you need to take now and over coming weeks to ensure you achieve your income goals
Read Also: Say yes to being a financially independent woman!
Being disciplined and saying “No”..
Now all you need to do is bring single pointed focused attention to only doing those tasks that you have identified above will help you achieve your income goals. You need to be disciplined with yourself and stop working on other areas that are not going to help you achieve your income and business goals.
By working in this way (and starting by figuring out the income you want to make and then figuring out how you will get there) – you can bring in the income you desire.
It’s Over To You…Have Your Say!
I hope you have enjoyed this three part series all about Money and Your Relationship with it. I’d love to hear from you with any comments, thoughts, insights you’ve had from reading these blogs that you want to share…just comment below 🙂
