In the immortal words of Sonny & Cher, “love doesn’t pay the rent.” As important as it is to love what you are doing, you are offering your services to make money and to do so profitably to cover your costs and meet your financial requirements. Accordingly, the services you offer must be properly priced. Factors to keep in mind include the value of the service, the value of your time, and what competitors are charging.
First, consider your costs in offering the service. If you are a musician, there are tangible costs of owning an instrument, renting studio space, social media accounts, and other material costs. Second, think about the value you bring to your clients. Do you have a unique skill? For example, there are a greater number of people offering guitar lessons than harp lessons. Are you already established in your field such as a comedian who already has numerous paid gigs?
In the end, it is easier to reduce prices than to raise them so you can start a little higher and if you are not bringing in the customer volume you desire, you can lower prices. When it comes to pricing, another common phrase to keep in mind is, “if you lose money on each sale, you can’t make it up in volume.”
Symposium allows its experts to set up their pricing. We have also kept our fees as low as possible and set minimums accordingly. We offer a few guidelines to help experts to be as successful as they can be.
When setting pricing, make sure that you can cover your costs. If your offers are priced too low, that impacts Symposium’s abilities to cover the costs associated with running the platform and we will have to pass the costs on to you—something we want to avoid. If you’re new, look at the other listings in your categories, then consider pricing yours competitively with them. Your time is probably more valuable than you think, and pricing requires thinking like a business person.
Good luck with your offering and remember Symposium is always here to help you.
