Starting your own business means that for the first time it’s up to you to name your price – the value and worth of what you do.
Many of us set our rates based on what we’re not too scared to charge, instead of on a calculation of what we do, how long it takes, and what value it has. Setting the right rates is crucial to reaching financial goals, but knowing what your business is actually made of is what will get you closer to your dreams.
When I transitioned to working with clients, I charged hourly and felt anxiety about each hour. Was I as efficient as competitors? Was I fast, and needed to charge more? Was I slow, and not worth my own price? I spent my first year in time-for-money mode, alternately berating myself to charge more or to hurry up.
Left dizzy by the push-pull of hourly billing, I decided on a flat-rate retainer for my work. But I found myself continuing to over-work to “earn my keep” while worrying clients weren’t getting what they’d paid for. I was still stuck in time-for-money mode and wondered if ever I’d get to see the benefits of running my own business.
This story is echoed by many of my clients. Without knowing what you do, how long it takes, and what value it has, you get stuck in the time-for-money anxiety loop indefinitely.
I found my way out of the loop by putting to work for myself the core skills I’d been using for my clients: organizing, prioritizing, and planning. I knew anxiety came from feeling I was working all the time but I wasn’t sure what I was working on. So I tracked it. All of it.
I realized I was at my desk “on call” all day, but I wasn’t working on one thing for hours. I was burning through tasks, which, through tracking, I learned were the daily activities I was using to run my business. For the first time I found out what my business was actually made of!
Acting as VA to myself, I moved into project management mode and developed task lists based on what I did with my time – teamwork, blogging, professional development, client projects, outreach and connection, etc. I built a weekly structure of recurring time-blocks for specific tasks and used a timer to keep myself on schedule. I’d found out what I did and how long it took – but what about the value?
Looking at my work organized and listed in front of me, the value of tasks became obvious. I learned that once you know where your time is going, you’ll see clearly which insignificant tasks take too much of your time and need to be cut, which valuable tasks don’t get enough of your time and need to be prioritized, and which necessary tasks still need time – but not your own.
My clients are also learning where their time is going versus where it should be going. They recognize that to focus their own time on the most valuable work, they need to cut unnecessary tasks and delegate the necessary tasks to someone competent and reliable.
While I’ve never stopped tracking my time, I have stopped under-selling my value. I still work by retainer, but I keep my dreamy hourly rate in mind at all times. I’ve increased how much I make per hour by tracking my time and knowing what tasks should receive my attention – and how much of it for how long. I do more now than I have ever done, with less stress and more fulfillment than in past years.
Are you ready to put your time where it should be going and get paid for the value of your work, too? I can help you cut, delegate, and get down to business.