A very valuable article worth sharing.

Determining Your True Worth as a Business and a Creator

by Andrea Mansfield / Jun 29.11

I find the one word no one in a small business enjoys saying, let alone being inspired by is, “money”. I was the same way! I knew it was going to be crucial when I launched my business to get money savvy so I spent a little time every day getting comfortable with my value and true worth.

Many creative businesses want to see their hard work pay off, want to revel in their customers taking their creations home, and eventually they get around to thinking about their craft as a business. Moving from creative hobbyist to creative business owner is a shift only you can make and when you do you will be quick to judge your own worth.

Today I want to encourage you to determine your worth by evaluating what it is you are offering your customers-your expertise. Using low cost as a “unique” selling point will only devalue your hard work. You will be creating more for less and your process can be compromised. And there are plenty of inexpensive, cheap, on sale products similar to yours no matter what you create. You should want your customers to only have the BEST of what you can do.  And your best is not cheap.

Yes, you can still promote your products with discounts or sales, participating in programs such as Meylah’s Exclusive Deals, Heartsy, or Quite Unique.  The key is to find the right balance in the frequency of your promotions, being careful not to devalue your work.  You should be getting paid the full value of your work the majority of the time!

Let your expertise in your craft guide your true worth. Narrow your scope and learn all you can--that is a specialty!

When you declare your true worth I promise there will be the ideal customers waiting to buy from you-these ideal customers allow you to take your time honing your craft, give you time to burrow deep into your industry, while being able to be a one-person business! What do these ideal customers do? They pay you.

Would you rather 100 customers who pay you $1 each, or 1 customer who pay you $100?

Think about what it is you want to accomplish with your craft-Why you create it and why you sell it may be two different reasons, what are they? Are you comfortable producing and selling your work or should you reserve some mediums for yourself?

There is no value in trade. There is no value in free. And there is no value in cheap. Make your worth real--how much do you want to earn? Make it happen!