I realised I needed to work on my self-worth when it came to my employment income a couple of weeks ago when I got asked to provide a quote for a job. I don't normally get asked this. Normally I get offered a job with a set rate of pay and I either accept or decline it.
This time, I had people saying to me "we really love your work, are you available on this date and how much would you like for doing it?"

I didn't quite know what to say at first. Lucky it was over email so I emailed back and told them I would email them back the following day with my quote as I was just leaving the house. My first thought was, "well I normally get paid about $30 an hour, they want me for ten all up, thats $330, maybe I should quote that." But that felt wrong, it felt way to cheap and I felt my time was a lot more valuable that than. "Am I game to quote as high as $500?" I thought. That felt better, yet I was still a little uncomfortable with that. It felt high to me, but I didn't think it would be high to the company and I really didn't want to undervalue myself.

I called a friend who had also been asked for a quote. I told him that I was thinking of maybe quoting $550 but I was nervous about that. Was it too much? He told me he wasn't doing it for less than $1000 for the day and was prepared to walk away from it if they said that was too high. I thought I'd be clever and wait and see if they said yes to his quote before I sent mine in, that way I could comfortably ask for $1000 too but they took a long time to reply to him so I nervously typed out my quote for $750 (which felt like a huge stretch for me) and than at the last minute, right before hitting send, something compelled me to change the 7 to a 9. A massive, mind bending stretch! Was I really worth $950 for essentially 3-4 hours work?? I didn't hear back straight away which made me even more nervous, "they don't think I'm worth paying that much for!" I panicked! So I spent some time reading SOGR, saying some positive affirmations and doing some tapping on my self-worth. And guess what happened within an hour or so of doing that??? Thats right, I got a response thanking for my quote and asking how to formalise the booking for me!

Also thrown into the deal is flights as the job is in a different state and my own private chauffeur! I've always wanted to know what its like to have one of those greet me at the airport holding a name board with 'Shannon' on it!

Love Shannon

Shannon,

I think it’s wonderful that you got the $950, but I’m wondering if maybe you need a good agent to handle these kinds of things? (Not that it’s easy to get a good agent, but then, I imagine that the right ‘vibe’ would guide you to him/her or her/him to you.)

I read how the Beatles have said that it was their manager that really made their success possible. He set it up so that they could do what they did (music and performance) without any concern about the money part.

I also read David Letterman had this kind of issue, until he got a good agent.

By the way, I don’t think this is a ‘simple’ matter of defining one’s self worth. I’ve read a few good marketers who say that a lot of it is you have to create ‘percieved value.’ For instance, while he was alive Van Gough’s art was considered almost worthless. I’m guessing his brother – who did most of the work of trying to sell the art – was probably not a great marketer or salesman, though he loved his brother dearly and believed in his genius.

It seems, creating ‘perceived value’ is an art, like selling Coca Cola as compared to RC Cola. How truly different are colas? Why does one dominate while so many others have so little market share?

I’ve only read of a few people who did a great job of selling their own wares. A couple that come to mind are singer Al Green (Let’s Stay Together, Love And Happiness) and artist Pablo Picasso. Al wrote and sang his own songs and famously promoted himself to success. There is a story of Picasso, where he was having dinner and an admirer came by and gushed praise on the painter. Picasso took out a pen and dashed a drawing on the tablecloth, and sold it on the spot to the man,… for $10,000.

Well, I doubt this post will be of any great value to you, but I’ll throw it out anyway.

I’ll just add this thought from A-H:

“When you come into alignment with You, now you are constantly upon the path where you will be guided to meeting places with people all over the planet. It will feel to you like you have an entourage that is preceding you that is lining up all of the best of life just for you … like meeting someone in the elevator or like having someone be your server at a table or waving to someone in traffic or meeting on a street corner somewhere. There are all kind of rendezvous' that are taking place that are meaningful to you and to the other because every person that you meet, no matter how unplanned or unimportant the meeting may seem to you, every meeting with every person is a rendezvous and a vibrational match. Everyone! Nothing just happens.” Abraham-Hicks

May you create a lovely entourage,

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by Phil:
Shannon,

I think it’s wonderful that you got the $950, but I’m wondering if maybe you need a good agent to handle these kinds of things? (Not that it’s easy to get a good agent, but then, I imagine that the right ‘vibe’ would guide you to him/her or her/him to you.)

May you create a lovely entourage,

Phil

Hey Phil,
I actually do have a great agent, which I can say was brought to me through a long chain and events and people. He's enabled me to do many wonderful exciting things and has long seen my 'percieved' value long before I did. I guess thats why he took me on in the first place. I think its just taken me a long time to catch up to him in terms of the value I place on myself and my work. He's fought to get me in front of people that I didn't think I was worthy of being in front of.

Just recently he's got me also working for him picking out talent which was a good eye opening experience to be on the otehr end and seeing others percieved value.

I totally agree though Phil about needing a good agent and entourage to take care of the paper work side of things. I've met many people who have thought that by handling that side themselves, they'd make more money. A story I always tell people who want to undercut their agent is about the time I got offered a job and the people in charge of it asked me if I wanted to include my agent in it or not, hinting that if I did, I wouldn't have to pay him his ten percent comission. I said no, I wanted him included. Lucky I did, the payment for a person without an agent representing them was $4500 LESS than someone with one! I would have saved myself the ten percent comission but lost out on quite a few thousand more!

The reason this job wasn't done through my agent was because its a different field from what he normally works in, but its one I'm thinking of tapping into and getting him involved in.

I just read in a book today actually about creating your percieved value and a point the author made was setting a price for your work and believing your worth it and not settling for less. So if someone else comes along and wants to hire me for a similiar job but offers a lot less and I say yes I would be 'lowering' my self worth, I dilute my self worth in the market. And I also doubt they would appreciate my work as highly if I did it for a lot less than if I instead said "no, this is my fee."

A lot of people have said to me I should be offering my work to certain people for free. I use to do a lot of free work, now I refuse. Not because I think I'm too good for that but because I now value my time and myself much more highly and I know I deserve to be rewarded for what I do. And the more free work I did for others, the more I got asked for freebies. I only get paid offers now.

Anyway, this has turned out to be a very interesting discussion and got me thinking about a few things!

Thanks Phil!

Shannon

Shannon,
What an awesome experience to have!!! And how it must have made you feel. I'm really happy for you.

On the flip side, wouldn't a deserving customer be worthy of receiving good work without a high price tag?

It is rare that a contractor or service tech walks away that I feel he has given value comparable to the dollar amount I pay him. It does happen. For instance, I love paying my boat guy. I think he could charge more, but not too much more before the exchange becomes worthless to me.

It is a difficult thing to do...to name your price and have both parties benefit and be worthy of cost and service.

That is awesome, you surely inspired me, thanks Shannon

quote:

Originally posted by annievt:
On the flip side, wouldn't a deserving customer be worthy of receiving good work without a high price tag?

.

What counts as a high price tag though? For me what I quoted this company, which was double what I was comfortable with, was a high price tag for me. But for the company that is hiring me, its not high. In fact a friend of mine who works in a similiar industry to the one that is hiring me said that would be a bargain for them. That they had gone to the trouble to locate him and I, specifically for this job.

This was something I thought long and hard about after I put my quote in and was worried that it was too much. I came to the conclusion that a high price tag is an individual as you and me. I reminded myself of this a lot while I waited to find out if they accepted my quote or not.

You're right though, it can be difficult to name your price and hope that both parties are happy. I wonder now how much more I could have quoted and gotten! Not that I wish I had of quoted higher, I'm extremely happy with what I'm getting. Its a figure I've been putting out there. I feel like it was the universe saying to me "do you really value yourself at $1000 a day? Prove it!!"

Now to turn it into a daily occurance!

Shannon

quote:

On the flip side, wouldn't a deserving customer be worthy of receiving good work without a high price tag?

Annievt,

It seems to me, how much to charge for something has more factors than you’re considering. For example, I have a story from my own experience.

As backdrop, this story took place a long time ago, when a hundred dollars was worth a heck of a lot more than it does now.

I was a freelance pianist and keyboard musician. I’d occasionally play parties solo or with other musicians in groups. I tried to set my rate according to what I heard others were charging. And/or as my expertise and experience increased I’d try to raise my rates accordingly. (Little did I know at the time, these were NOT the only critical determining factors.)

Anyway, I got to where I thought I might try charging a hundred dollars if I were to play a private party, though it seemed to me it might be a little steep. (I rationalized I could always come down in price, but it would be harder to go up.)

And then, one day I got a call to play a private party in an exclusive area of town. When the lady asked me how much I charged I tried to stay calm and said, “A hundred dollars.” There was a short silence on the line and then the lady said abruptly, “I can’t pay that.” I didn't say anything and there was another short pause. Then the lady suddenly said, “How about TWO hundred?”

It took me a quick second to get my composure and respond, “Sure, of course, that would be fine.”

You get my point?

Even now, in my current job, it took me years to get used to the idea they pay me what they do, for the work I do. Compared to what it took for me to be a musician it seems absurdly easy.

Also, a few years ago, a rich man said to me, "Money is the easiest thing in the world." For him it was, and I think he was trying to tell me it could be for me too, if I just can somehow 'get it.'

What I’m saying is, there are many things that go to determine the cost or value of things or services, beyond the idea of whether a customer is deserving or worthy of receiving good work.

And also, the price someone pays for some thing or service and the thing’s real value are often out of whack and vary according to what each person perceives as valuable. (For instance, I tried reading a Harry Potter book but got bored, while millions have thoroughly enjoyed them.)

Btw, it’s my hunch or belief, from what I’ve read from you, that you could easily be making twice what you are, and with less effort, if you just used your present capacities differently.

Phil

Way to go Shannon! Cheering for you.

I think there is a real exchange of value when the price is right. I think there are some instances where free is good, but I think more often than not, when free is given, there is less value because the person receiving is not giving anything for the value they receive.

Shannon,

Congratulations on your succesful stretching of your Value Muscle

God bless you,

Caroline
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Thankyou Caroline and Dawn,
I also noticed looking at my payslip the other day for my day to day job that my pay rate had increased. Not by a huge amount but enough to make a difference at the end of the week. I also decided that I wanted to change to a job where I got paid penatly rates (double pay) as I only get it on public holidays which is not very often. I haven't changed jobs but I got penalty rates today because of my time inbetween shifts which is going to make a massive difference to my next pay check, and there is a lot more public holidays coming up that I'm working all of them which will be a massive cash check!

Phil, I've had that hunch as well about making much more money more easily and always wondered about it. Its just about using my present capacities differently!

Shannon

I have a story that is probably relevant to this thread becausei t revolves around perceived worth and value.

It involved a friend of mine who was at an exhibition demonstarting his company's new software. The Software was state of the art and had amazing functionality. Not only that but it was cheaper than anything else on the market. They were busing all morning giving demonstartions and they had plenty of interest - but no buyers! They could not understand why because they felt they had the best product, and were giving the best value, on the market.

They had a break for lunch where they discussed what was going on and they came back after lunch and did exactly the same thing - with one change. They doubled the price!

During the afternoon they were swamped with orders. In the morning what had happened was that people simply did not believe that the software could be that good at the price that was being asked.

In the afternoon the price was aligned with the perceived value to the buyers with amazing results.

Some one famous once said that a cynic is one who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. When I started on this journey, I was afraid to put a price fir my services for fear that I couldn't deliver value. As I progressed in this certain of thinking, one thing became clear.Price is simply a tool, much the same way as money itself is meaningless without attaching a use to it. A dollar's worth of value is different in a third world country and a developed country, just as the price of real estate differs from state to state in large countries like the US. Wally's example of a painting being worth considerably less than a gun to a hunter who needs it to get food, is as relevant today as it was a 100 years ago and is really useful to keep in mind , and of course from SOGR point of view, as we begin to see more value in ourselves, we begin to give more value too! Congratulations Shannon

Another story that I've heard on this subject is how an IT company was recruiting for a position. They advertised the job over a couple of consecutive weeks or months in a relevant trade magazine. The job description and requirements on each of the ads were identical.

The only thing they changed was the money being offered. On one week they advertised it as $25k a year, the other at $100k.

There were five times as many applicants when it was advertised at $25k!

Phil...I live in a rural poor area. Even the towns I live near have very small affluent neighborhoods. I grew up near wealth, but have not experienced it in a long time. Most people I live near and work with, live on a shoe string and cannot afford to buy their kids school lunches and fix their cars, let alone pay for some service I might offer. Even if they did, population wise, if I hit up everyone for a dollar. I might have 60,000 dollars because that is how many live in my county. The fact that every once in a while, one of these poor beggars pops around with avery large estimate to provide service just means I can get the same service elsewhere for less. The market is a factor. Local wages and cost of living are a factor as well. I can drive an hour or two or three and that changes.

When my landscape guy started telling himself his time was worth more, he started losing business to others. I guess he could have rode out the storm and waited til only exclusive clientele who would pay him more came out of the woodwork, but I don't know which trailer park they are living in

Yeah yeah I know...there may be a wealthy educated professional person living in one of our trailers who is willing to pay. That could be another false perception.

Annievt,

Do you want to hear stories of people that transcended their locale?

There is the one about the boy in a little village in South America. This was back in the 60’s when the Russians put the first man in space. The little village had one TV and everyone watched on TV the news about the Sputnik. Later, many of the boys played and made makeshift space capsules out of discarded cardboard boxes and whatnot. They loved playing, until after awhile the adults laughed and made fun of them. Then they stopped playing astronaut.

One didn’t. He believed he could become an astronaut. He stopped playing but in his mind he kept imagining being an astronaut. Long story short, thru many ‘coincidences’ he managed to get to the United States. Later he joined the Air Force and became a jet pilot. He went so far as to become a member of NASA and decided he enjoyed the ‘behind the scenes’ work more than being an astronaut, so that’s what he did. But, to me, the point is, he went for his dream even though no one believed it was possible.

There is another story, about a ‘trailer park trash’, a man living in a dumpy trailer park. He loved to write fiction and tried submitting his books for publishing, but just kept getting rejections. One day he finally through his manuscript in the trash. His wife, though, fetched it out and submitted it again. It got published and that was the beginning of Stephen King’s career.

Here’s a general question for you. Do you suppose you could, by thinking differently, make your life WORSE? If so, then isn’t it possible, by changing your thinking, you could make it better?

Phil

quote:

Here’s a general question for you. Do you suppose you could, by thinking differently, make your life WORSE? If so, then isn’t it possible, by changing your thinking, you could make it better?

Powerful way to consider thought. Thank you, Phil.

I remember hearing a story once about someone (Martha Stewart, I think) who was selling pies at a price consistent w/ the market, but they were not moving well. When she raised the price significantly, they sold like crazy.

Great thread!

I have a similar situation in some Excel programming side work I've been doing, except I usually end up under-bidding jobs. My last job in particular was a good sized one and I way underestimated my value.

More recently, though, a bid of mine on a job was kicked back to me because the person said I did not provide enough details of my experience. So, I sat down and gave a more detailed background for myself, and then raised the bid price by $50. I may not get that job because of that little trick, but I felt my time in having to provide more detail was worth the $50. The other person may not see eye to eye with me on that, but I think it was a big step in me getting what I'm worth.

Interesting stories being put on here. Brabed I think its a great step towards getting what you want. I've been getting quite a few shifts lately where I'm getting paid double. I haven't had a job in awhile where I got double pay and had been putting out there I wanted a new job that came with that. I'm still in the exact same job, its just by the way I've been rostered on that I'm getting double pay for at least one shift at week. Let me tell you how fabulous it feels to see I'm getting paid half a weeks wage for one day's work!

I just recieved an email from the client, just to tell me that the job was very well recieved and I had been given lots of great feedback. Any other jobs in the future, they are going to use me again for them!

You know Annie I decided against a lot of other's peoples ideas and beliefs to not do certain jobs for certain companies because I want something more exclusive. I feel sometimes like I am riding out the storm while waiting for exclusive clientele to come out of the woodwork and pay me well, instead of tiny little jobs with very small paychecks that I'm not actually interested in doing. I want to give up quite a lot. But now I have one exclusive client, it does raise hope that I'll attract more.

My Dad use to know a multi-mullionaire who wore old worn clothing and drove an ancient, beat up old truck. He looked more like a bum from the streets than a hugely successful business man!

Shannon

The talk of 'trailer park trash' brings to mind the story of actress Hilary Swank. She lived in a trailer park while she worked on her dream to become an actor. Now she has two oscars!

Shannon