Why I Was Scared to Charge $$$ (but did anyway)
The entrepreneur’s journey often fits neatly into the archetype of the mythic Hero’s Journey. In short hand, amidst the joy of engaging work you choose, a lot of it sucks - it feels really hard.
As entrepreneurs, we come up against our shadows, our worst fears, our angry demons… and for many us - mostly women - that means at some point we have to face something many of us would rather avoid, maybe forever.
We have to charge….(drum roll…) money….even when we don’t want to.
I didn’t want to charge and I could think of a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t… why if I was an heiress I would go on not charging forever, why I should never have to face those fears, why I could fall in love with tinkering as a way of life.
But as a single mother with two kids to feed, that’s not an option. The universe has other plans for me - fears have to be faced.
So let’s go ahead and name them:
Rejection: - this is the big one. My idea is no good and once I put it out there under the flashlight, everyone will see that and I will have to face it. Bad idea. No one buys it - no one believes it’s WORTH anything. Whoah. Big one.
Commitment: - this is another big one for me. As long as we’re just playing around, no one feels very bad if I skip a newsletter… if I drop the whole thing next month, if I only half show up. But what about going all in - well, That’s. Just. Scary.
“Not Good Enough” - I know Gratitude Buddies is both good enough and not good enough, depending on the prism it’s being viewed through. I decided to put it out there anyway. I’m leaning into the ‘good enough’ and the room for growth.
Getting It Wrong - wrong price, wrong offer, wrong day of the week. Who knows. All of it. Maybe wrong.
Judgment - probably a lesser one, but I’m human. I’m sure fear of judgment is in there somewhere.
Ultimately, I’m charging because it’s the next step on this Hero’s journey and it’s time. And here’s another thing: part of me knows that unless I claim its value first, Gratitude Buddies can’t reach its potential. And the so-called universe can’t do its work to help it get there.
So I decided to say, this is valuable, I believe in it and I am going to stand behind it. Even before it’s ready, even the parts that aren’t good enough…
What happens next is anyone’s guess…. but I want my fellow women entrepreneurs, and my fellow Gratitude Buddies, to claim for themselves what I am claiming for myself: YES, you get to have meaning AND success. We came here for that. Now let’s see it realized into our lives.
In naming the price, I am doing MY part - I’m throwing my hat in the ring. I’m looking my fears in the face.
And I am saying this OUT LOUD to whomever will listen: for less than ONE Therapy session you can build your network with us, mindfully and meaningfully, for a whole year. AND we will be standing by you on the day that you say: this is worth something and here is the price.
So with that, you have my warm welcome to join us - and maybe as a Founding Buddy, with some perks for the lifetime of GBs. ❤️
