CEO SZN | For Faith-Driven Photographers and Creative Entrepreneurs on Online Marketing, Messaging, Sales, Nervous System Regulation, Wealth Identity, and Photography Business Strategy.

[45.] Why "Just Double Your Prices" Doesn't Work [Aligned Pricing Series pt. 1]

• Skye Edmonds

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Pricing isn't just numbers and figures; let's delve into the crucial alignment of pricing with one's self-belief and how to avoid the dreaded pricing wobble. I'll reveal why an approach like doubling your prices isn't the golden ticket for everyone and touch upon the nuances of the 'pricing stretch' that can challenge and grow your business.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Six Figure Photographer podcast. I'm your host, skye Edmonds. With 20 years of experience in portrait photography and 16 years as a photographer educator, I have a more holistic approach that addresses the whole photographer, starting from the inside out. The purpose of this podcast is to activate women into their wealth identities as the CEO of their business and to expand their income and their impact through mindset, work, nervous system regulation, energetics, somatic connection and business strategies so that they can step into their next level, self and become the bold, visible face of their brand. Hello, hello and welcome to the Six Figure Photographer podcast. I'm Skye Edmonds, your host, and I am very glad that you are here.

Speaker 1:

January is finally, finally, almost over. I don't know about you, but why does January feel like it's like 70 weeks long? It is the longest month of the year, in my opinion. With February fast approaching, I decided to celebrate the month of love by talking about pricing in the next few episodes. Wait, love and pricing do these things go together? Right now, you may be feeling a ping in your body because love is not the word that comes up for you when it comes to your pricing, or at least the process of pricing your work. Well, I want to help you change that, if you are open to it.

Speaker 1:

I've taught thousands of photographers over the past 16 years as a coach and photographer educator, and pricing seems to be one of the top concerns. Each week, I still see photographers struggling over the same issues with pricing as they always have been, even though some of the variables have changed, like the market being vastly different. What is causing the most headache and heartache for photographers isn't necessarily what do I price my 8x10s at or how should I price my albums, though all of that does play a role in it. It's the mindset work that goes into. I know I need to raise my prices, but it doesn't take one long in the photographer world for you to hear this phrase, whether it be other well-meaning photographers who have been in the business longer, or maybe they have seen more success, or perhaps it's being preached from a photographer coach or educator something along the lines of just double your prices.

Speaker 1:

First, I want to acknowledge the many photographers that hear just double your prices and say hey, yeah, you're right, I should. And then they do and boom. Their whole business shifts and they began attracting a new clientele. They start bringing in that fat cash and all is right in the world. But then there are many photographers who hear just double your prices. And it's a punch to the gut. I know I need to. They say, but I just can't. Or they say things that sound good, like well, I want to make sure that there's an affordable option for people. Or they do raise their prices and it's so uncomfortable they wobble and waiver and most eventually go back to their old pricing. I've said this a thousand times and I will probably say it a thousand times more Most photographers, they don't have a pricing problem.

Speaker 1:

They have a self-value problem. They have a mindset problem. They also have a big time marketing problem, but maybe I'll do marketing messaging for the month of March. Now, before I really get into today's message, I wanted to tell you about a new private podcast I'm starting, which will be linked in the show notes below. In February, I will be launching a private podcast for photographers who want to learn how to do in-person workshops or who want to learn how to create an online course for photographers. If you like the idea of bringing in an extra thousand to $10,000 per month, you're going to want to listen to this podcast.

Speaker 1:

I've made seven figures with online teaching for photographers and another separate seven figures doing in-person workshops. Now, full transparency. The in-person workshops did not bring in seven figures in one year. I would make six figures each year that I ran them, minus 20-20 of course, if those numbers make your nervous system kind of freak out a bit, first, that's a normal reaction for a nervous system to have and second, I didn't get into photographer education for those numbers. It was about helping photographers grow their own business and help them save time or avoid some of the pitfalls that I ran into.

Speaker 1:

It was my second year as a photographer. I started selling business forms on an old photography forum called I Love Photography. Only the OGs will remember that one. I sold that packet for, I think, $99. Essentially, I was good at something that many photographers found to be a hassle or didn't have at all as part of their business structure. My product helped serve them by protecting their business and their boundaries, helping their business be more polished and professional and save them time creating forms when they could be with their family or, you know, out creating art. In the mid-2000s, mom-tographers and I use that term endearingly were stepping into the industry in a big, big way and many not all, but many wanted to be both respected and make a respectable income, and I helped them do that with my product. I'm very proud of my small beginning.

Speaker 1:

Imagine getting paid to share your knowledge with others. Get paid to help photographers improve their business or their skills, or even their confidence, to save time avoiding the mistakes. You've made and we've all been there. Believe you me, I've made some doozies, but I've learned from them all. Okay, so I could go on and on, but I want to save that for the new private podcast. The link for the wait list for the podcast is posted below in the show notes. Join it to be notified as soon as it's available for download.

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In today's episode I'm going to talk about the dreaded pricing wobble. If we aren't operating in what I refer to as aligned pricing, we will waver or be unsteady in our pricing. We won't show up fully to back up those prices with confidence, and our clients will know what do I mean by aligned. To be in alignment means your thoughts, your beliefs and actions are all in integrity with what you desire. If you desire to have a luxury photography business but your pricing is mid-market and your marketing isn't conveying luxury, you, my friends, are out of alignment. If you say that you are a worthy, confident photographer but you give in to pushy clients and have little to no boundaries and your prices change month by month depending on how you feel you are out of alignment. We can say we are ready for, and desire, epic results in our business as a soul-led entrepreneur. But if our thoughts, our beliefs and actions are not supportive of that or aligned, and we keep thinking, speaking, feeling and acting the same way as always and we'll simply not get the new results we are hoping for. If you've been here for a while, you may know what I'm going to say.

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Next. It's at this point many will blame the market or newbie photographers, because it's way easier to blame some outside force rather than look within. Okay, hot tip on changing your life. If you want to up-level your life or your business, you have to believe in what you were trying to become or create before you see the results or circumstances change. If you want to become a six-figure photographer, you have to see yourself as it already before you get that result. How does she show up? Show up as her.

Speaker 1:

You know that feeling you get in your stomach, throat or chest when someone inquires about your new pricing or your pricing period, that squirmy, squirmy feeling. Maybe you get a lump in your throat or suddenly the room feels hella hot, your energy is off or you struggle to make eye contact. It's like that TikTok sound. Nobody's gonna know. They're gonna know. How will they know? They're gonna know. Yes, I love TikTok. I have boundaries with it, but yeah. So I'm gonna link a clip to that sound because it illustrates that squirmy pricing moment Perfectly. That'll be linked in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

You see, my specialty as a photographer coach is helping photographers address that squirmy feeling rather than focusing on how their wall art happens to be priced. Don't get me wrong Wall art pricing is an important part of business strategy and getting to that six-figure photographer level. But that's not what I cover on this podcast, as there are many other fabulous coaches out there who do. I love the self-concept and mindset work of it. What Did you say? Pricing brings out your worthiness issues. Pricing brings out imposter syndrome and causes you to procrastinate until the cows have done gone home, because who is gonna pay for that? Come sit by me, my friend. On Wednesdays we wear pink. I've so been there and it's so strange to me because, as a photographer educator, selling my online products and courses. I've never really had a pricing issue there, but my photography I've gone up and down based on how much I've elowed myself that month and how dysregulated my nervous system was.

Speaker 1:

Not that last sentence was a slap to the face. I'm speaking about my story. I've been very open about how I have struggled with low self-value and my worth in the past and how that's impacted every aspect of my business, even and, dare I say, especially when I was making $20,000 to $30,000 a month. Because money doesn't solve this issue, you've got to do the inner work. Money, more money. It's just an amplifier to what's already inside.

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If we aren't aligned with the prices of our services, we will wobble, baby wobble. I'm gonna go deeper into this over the next few weeks, so be sure you've subscribed to the podcast so you don't miss an episode. But pricing isn't just numbers, it's energetics. We must energetically back our prices. This is the key to eliminating the wobble for good.

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Why does wobbling matter? Why can't I just let y'all just wobble as you want? Because when we wobble, our clients can feel it or sense it. Nervous systems talk to one another on a subconscious level. Whatever energy you are vibing on can be picked up by a potential client, even through written word. Even right now, as you were listening to this, your nervous system is using what's called neuroception to get a feel for if I'm safe and trustworthy or if I'm full of shit. Because we are the leading energy of our business, we set the standard. When we wobble, we often attract clients who also wobble. Now their wobbling looks different than ours because their role in our business is different. We wobble to sell, they wobble to buy. Let me say that again we wobble to sell, they will wobble to buy. It's that simple. That's why it matters.

Speaker 1:

In the past, whenever I've had a wobbly client, it was a sign that I needed to reflect on what I may have done or allowed or wobbled on to set the stage. Each client is a learning lesson. If you are open to it and get that ego out of the way, because that ego can be loud at times, how dare they? But you don't learn when the ego is in charge. And when you don't learn, you repeat Horse people. Hello to the horse people who may be listening, but horse people will know what I mean by this. But clients are like horses and I do not mean this in a negative way, but if you've spent any time in close proximity with a horse, that horse will reveal to you all your shortcomings. It's going to reveal all that you are and all that you are not. That feisty pony will reveal to you all your energy leaks.

Speaker 1:

Speaking of energy leaks, I no longer believe in the concept of quote unquote energy vampires, at least not in the traditional sense. When you are leaking your energy and that usually happens with a lack of boundaries that serves as the chum to attract people who like to feast on leaky energy. If you shore up your energy leaks, voila no more energy vampires. It's pretty interesting how that works. If you're having trouble with boundaries with clients, DM me on Instagram and let's talk. That's one of my favorite topics.

Speaker 1:

On the other hand, our wobble can repel potential clients too, clients who are ready to buy and make a sound investment with a confident business professional. If they sense your wobble, they may not know why, call it a gut feeling, but they will be repelled and move on. You are always being magnetic to something or someone and you're always repelling just like a magnet. The question is are you attracting what you want and repelling what you want, or is it the other way around? Wobbling over pricing is about what we are making the numbers mean about us. Who am I to charge a $500 session fee? Who am I to charge $2,500 for a branding session? Who am I to charge $600 for a limited edition session? Now, if you're not driving in your mind's eye, imagine doubling your pricing and imagine yourself telling others your new session fee and your new portrait collection prices. How does that feel? How does that feel in your body? Did you get any dings or pings? If so, lean into that. Ask yourself what's going on.

Speaker 1:

I remember a long post of mine on that same photography form I mentioned earlier, and the post was titled Am I worth a $75 session fee? I asked it because I was actually aligned and energetically backing a $75 session fee, but I had this little issue come up Just as I was starting my business in April of 2004,. I was talking about putting up an image display at a local children's clothing resale shop, as well as setting up a studio to do some images there. The lady insisted insisted that I only charge $35 for the session fee, as that is what the last photographer who was in her store did, and she was very successful. Now you cannot see me, but I am using air quotes around the word successful. And, mind you, this woman told me all of this. She said this to me about my session fee when, just 10 minutes earlier, she told me how the same photographer and I'm going to give you a trigger warning here, though I'm going to say it very gently this same photographer unalived herself due to the stress in her business because she was so busy. And again, quote unquote, successful. God just still breaks my heart 20 years later. Thanks for watching.

Speaker 1:

Let's get back onto topic. So I had been on this photography forum since November 2003,. So I already had a few months learning about pricing, respecting my time and myself. At that point it was also apparent that I had a natural talent and I was a very quick learner. I knew already that I wanted to be higher priced, lower volume, business-wise, and was very thankful to be surrounded by some of the best in photography giving their time to help new photographers. That's one of the reasons why I created this podcast and the spirit of that forum.

Speaker 1:

The real problem with wobbly pricing is that when you wobble, you won't show up to market properly If you cannot energetically stand behind your pricing. The last thing you're going to want to do is get in front of your friends and family and strangers that you want to hire you and say these are my prices or this is how I value my time away from my kids, because essentially that is what pricing can be considered right. You will have resistance in talking about your pricing, and resistance isn't just a mind thing. You can feel resistance in your body. Essentially, if you market it all, everyone can feel your energy coming through your body, aka your nervous system, and it will be screaming don't hire me, folks, I don't fully believe my time is worth it. Or perhaps it's not about your time. We can also wobble in our pricing if we feel we cannot deliver to the standard that pricing will demand. If I buy a $5,000 custom branding package on price alone, it speaks to not only the results I'm going to have, but the experience I will have along the way. It's about results and experience compared to, say, a $500 branding package Even deeper.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes we bristle at the idea of raising our prices, even though we know we should, because more money means more responsibility and if you are already near burnout, this may be a red flag for your nervous system, though a little side note. In truth, raising your price does often mean more responsibility in the sense that you are catering to a higher level client. But with the higher prices you may find that you work less for more money. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you. A lined pricing is all about being comfortable AF in your pricing. Comfortable as in an old Britney Spears t-shirt you've had since high school, or perhaps Green Day was more your thing. Comfortable is often the enemy of growth and greatness.

Speaker 1:

Now, as I start to wrap up, let's talk about what I call the pricing stretch. I always want how I price things to give me a bit of a stretch. At least in the beginning. I wanted to challenge me a bit, maybe even make my nervous system raise its eyebrows a bit and say bitch, what are you up to now? If you grew up in the 90s, like me, you probably played video games. I was obsessed with Super Mario, brothers and Zelda. When it comes to gaming, chances are your kids are, and video games have taught us many things, some good and some not so good. But the biggest lesson is this Right before you go to the next level, you have to slay a few things or defeat a boss or two when I want to move into the next level of pricing.

Speaker 1:

Often there is a limiting belief I need to tackle or something hiding within my self-concept I need to uncover and bring light to. Who am I to charge? This Turns into who do I need to become or unbecome to charge this? Even now, as my business is rapidly expanding and I'm about to release a new program that will double or triple that growth in 2024, I'm preparing now for who I need to be to hold that expansion and stretch. For example, gone are the days when I just write appointments and meetings down on paper. I'm a total paper nerd. I love paper, but now I'm all about digital scheduling. There are a lot of options out there.

Speaker 1:

When we just double our prices, what happens for many photographers is that new pricing creates a strain versus a stretch. The nervous system, aka your moneymaker, can adjust to a stretch. I will teach you my process of stretching and how I become aligned to my pricing in my body in my next episode. But this is important. When we strain in our pricing or in anything in our business let's say jumping on reels when your body is screaming no, when we strain, we go into survival. In other words, we activate our nervous system.

Speaker 1:

When our nervous systems dip into survival mode bite, flight or freeze, the first thing that happens is we lose access to the prefrontal cortex of our brain, which is our thinking center, our logical, rational mind we start to operate out of our limbic system a primitive part of our brain which is non-logical and very emotional Not the good kind of emotions, but the need, your reaction kind of emotions. Think of it like your 13-year-old self being allowed to be in charge of your business. Oh my God, I cannot believe. My client just said that to me. Well, she's got another thing coming if she thinks she can get away with that.

Speaker 1:

No thanks, just double your prices doesn't work for many photographers because it causes us to hide. When we hide, we don't market, and when we don't market our business, people won't hire us, and when we aren't hired for our services, we go out of business. One of my coaches said this to me in 2021, and it was like a gut punch your current pricing measures, your current beliefs, damn Ouch. And let me make it clear a line pricing, energetic pricing all that doesn't necessarily mean high pricing. I know you, I know so many of you are settling and you're hiding behind things like I just want to be affordable. That sounds really good if it comes from a pure place. But is it? What would it mean about you if people thought you weren't affordable? And we also have to be careful that we don't insult clients by assuming we know what they can afford and when. They cannot Remember that thing about growth Growth it rarely ever feels good, but it is good. Next week I'm going to talk about pricing your work and your services intuitively and I'll share how I align with my clients Intuitively and I'll share how I align my pricing energetically to both my business and to my body.

Speaker 1:

Okay, what did you think about today's episode? Did anything resonate with you? I would love to hear about it. If you feel inspired, I would love it if you would take a moment and rate and review my podcast on Apple. It's not for my ego's sake. It just lets Apple know that people are enjoying the podcast and more people will then be able to hear the message that I'm sharing. As always, I appreciate my listeners. Thank you for being here. Austin, texas you are still my number one city in the US as far as listeners go, with all of you there, you need to check out my final in-person workshop in Austin this April. It's going to be epic and just might be the creative spark that you've been looking for in your business. That said, this weekend I did have someone sign up from Florida, from California and Idaho, so of course, you don't have to be in Texas or Austin to attend Until next time. Thank you for listening to the Six Figure Photographer podcast.