One of the biggest hurdles faced by concierge is coming up with the “right” pricing structure, and knowing when to raise your rates. As a concierge, what do I charge? How do I price my services?
In the beginning without guidance, you can easily waffle back and forth with what to charge for your services.
Most people do a google search and copy ( and sometimes undercut what they perceive as their “competitors”. I don’t normally encourage people to start out this way, although you do need to know what you’re market will pay…
Here’s the thing. In the beginning, it CERTAINLY takes some trial and error to price your services in a way that people say YES, but also in a way that COVERS your overhead too! You know… those things like gas in your car, your cell phone bill, your insurance, the cost to advertise and network… ALL those things need to be covered by the income you’re BRINGING into the business! Otherwise, you don’t actually have a business.
And then even once you perfect your pricing … there will be the time to consider raising your rates.
3 Signs That You Need to Raise Your Rates
1. You have more work than you can handle.
If you find yourself overscheduled, overcommitted or scrambling to finish your work week after week – it MAY be time to increase your rates!
2. Your rates have been holding steady for more than a year.
Many business owners are so afraid to raise their rates that they’ll “lose” clients. But there is definitely a way in which you can raise rates and STILL Keep your clients without them jumping ship!
3. The cost of doing business has gone up.
If you’re a business owner who is continually improving, streamlining systems for clients and making it easier to work with you, then you likely have more overhead than when you first started your business. It’s important to keep track of your ongoing budget and expenses and use the numbers to figure out a fair price increase that will cover the cost of staying in business (this is a reality that MOST concierges never think about).
I know talking money isn’t always the easiest thing to do when you’re a business owner. There’s always a LOT of things that pop up like: do I deserve to increase my rates, what if they won’t pay it, if I’m the cheapest then I’ll get all the clients…
But don’t let your fears get in the way of making GOOD BUSINESS decisions!! OMG!! That was truly one of the biggest hurdles I had to get over!
Being a nurse by trade, I had to train myself to NOT let my nurse brain make money decisions!! Because the nurse in me would have been out of business by now – practically giving all my time and resources away for free! In that case, I would have been a non-profit!
Perhaps you have been sensing that it’s time for a rate increase? Maybe you’ve been scared that you’ll lose clients? Or maybe you’re still starting out and haven’t quite figured out the BEST way to price your services!
If you’ve missed one of my prior posts, I talk about how the ONLY WAY you will sustain as a business is through creating recurring revenue – otherwise each and every day you have to be out their hustling for 1 new client after the next after the next…
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Welcome readers! If this is your first time reading my blog, thank you for stopping by! As a concierge who has built a successful business, I have decided to help other budding entrepreneurs do the same! As the Founder of The Concierge Academy, I write about specific topics and marketing strategies that Work for our industry!
It’s not always easy to build a service-based business. Many see it as an intangible, but you can build a profitable and flourishing concierge business!
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