Pricing and Boundaries for Creative Entrepreneurs

As a creative entrepreneur, setting prices that suit you and putting boundaries in place is essential to running a successful business. 

It can be tempting to ask yourself "Is this price reasonable for other people?" when determining your fees, but that’s the wrong question to ask!

The truth is, your prices are subjective and personal, and only you know your financial needs and goals. To ensure a sustainable business, it's crucial to determine prices that will serve you first and foremost.

Your prices need to cover not only business expenses but also personal expenses- health insurance, groceries, rent or mortgage, and other necessities of life. 

So, the question I invite you to ask yourself is, “Are these prices realistic for me, and my needs and goals?”

It's important to figure out what your income goals are, as your financial needs and goals are something that only you know. Your audience, your clients, your customers have no idea what's going on with you. 

And vice versa, you do not know all the ins and outs of other people's financial situations. We can't be running our business trying to judge other people's wallets and bank accounts. It's just impossible! 

Remember: Every price range has an audience that can afford it. 

And by determining prices that work for you, you can then speak to the people who can afford your offers and services, instead of trying to guess who will buy it.

A little story from my photographer days, where I learned the importance of setting boundaries and profitable pricing!

I took on a project for a start-up T-shirt company. Despite agreeing to a fee of $200 for a two-hour shoot, I ended up staying for six hours and taking hundreds of images! 

I had overextended myself and underpriced my services. 

The thing is I was so enthusiastic about the project! It was with people who were my age (most of my other clients were way older) and they were getting their business going. I was so pumped about getting to be part of it! However the issue was I really didn't have a good sense of my own boundaries, around my time, energy or prices. 

So while I didn't regret doing the shoot, I certainly regretted giving it those extra hours, and for charging so little for so much work. Whether you're working in person or virtually, it's important to set boundaries around your time and energy otherwise it can become problematic and even lead to burn out.

It's a bit different when you're working on an art piece for example, when there's no set amount of time that you're going to give it, you're just going to work until it's complete. That's a different scenario, but still, you need to price appropriately for how much time you put in.

And I know, it can be really easy to just kind of slip up and let yourself go overboard or over give or go into perfectionist mode, right? 

The thing is there’s a difference when you’re breaking your own boundaries and disregarding your needs, and when you’re choosing to make an exception to your rules.

I enjoy my clients so much that certainly sometimes we go over our allotted time, whether it's, you know, 5 or 10 minutes… But these days, that's always a conscious choice. I know exactly how to say, “Hey, we're wrapping up, what else do we need to cover?” Or,  “Anything else you want to share before we finish?”. So I have those time boundaries clear, and now if I do go over them, it's a very intentional choice if I feel like I have the time, capacity, and energy. 

(And it's not an imposition on me or them!)

So, setting your prices and boundaries as a creative or spiritual entrepreneur is a crucial aspect of running a successful business. By determining prices that serve your needs first and foremost, speaking to the audience that can afford them, and upholding your work boundaries you'll be able to build a sustainable business and avoid burnout.

If you are a creative, spiritually inclined entrepreneur who needs some help in bringing more joy, impact and well-being into your life and business, I’d love to hear from you! 

Book in your free wealth consultation to see how I can support you! Wealth Coaching for Creative Entrepreneurs — Real World Creatives