a business and a life that you love and this is Q&A Tuesday. That was an odd move, but

let’s go with it. Today’s question comes from Deann and she writes:

“Hi Marie. A friend turned me onto your show and I’m really enjoying your episodes

and guests. I’m a 45 year old mother of 2 boys and I’m going back to school to study

health education and pursue my passion of leading women outdoors to help them nurture

their body, mind, and spirit. I’ve been leading outdoor activities for years with

friends and acquaintances. I’m in the beginning stages of defining my services and creating

my website. My problem is charging for what I do. My friends have told me I should charge

for my outings and now that I’m creating a business I know that I have to charge, but

the thought of it makes me uncomfortable. Maybe because I don't truly value myself?

I’m confident leading women outdoors but I’m not confident asking for the cash. Thanks

for all that you do and your wonderful team too. Admirably, Deann.”

Deann, this is a super common question and so many people I know, especially women, have

trouble when it comes to asking for money for something that they love to do and they’re

really good at it. But here are three tips to help you get more confident asking for

the cash.

Step number one, you need to get nice with price.

So first we need to shift your mindset. Nine times out of ten people get more value out

of something they pay for. They really are invested in the experience and usually more

invested in getting results. So example from my own life, I love when a spa asks me to

put down my credit card to hold an appointment. First of all, it makes sure that I don't flake

out on that appointment and, second of all, I always notice that when I pay for my spa

appointment in advance, when I’m there I pay more attention to the advice they’re

giving me on my skin and I do a better job keeping up my skin after the appointment.

So while there are exceptions, you have to realize when people pay for your services

you’re actually helping them get more value.

Step number two, and I love this one, you have to have a “pay me party.”

You sound like you have some awesome friends that really want to support you in charging

for your services. So here’s what I want you to do: invite them all over, have some

green juice or white wine or whatever, and then you’re gonna have all your friends

put you on the spot about charging for your services. Now, you’re gonna do this in 2

rounds and I want you to use this script.

Your friend will say: “Hey Deann, I’d love to book an adventure. How much do you

charge?” And then you’re gonna say: “Fantastic! The price is X. Let’s get you booked right

now.”

So I want you to do this again and again and again until talking about your price becomes

second nature. Then you’re gonna do round 2. This time your friends are gonna ask you

about booking an adventure, but you are the one that’s gonna have to bring up the price.

The reason I want you to do this is because this situation is actually gonna come up as

you grow your business. So here’s your script for round 2:

“Hey Deann, hey girlfriend! I want to book one of your adventures.” And now, Deann,

you’re going to say: “Awesome! We should book you a spot right now. It’s a million

dollars for a 3 hour nature walk.”

Of course you can insert your real price or just get comfortable saying it’s a million

bucks because, who knows, maybe it should be. Maybe your participants get to drink from

a chocolate river or ride satin unicorns or pick fruit from a money tree.

The point is, your “pay me party” is the perfect way to get comfortable saying, “I

charge X.” Now, the point here is you can’t just think this is a good idea. You have to

actually do it in order to get comfortable charging.

Step number three, make it simple and sexy to get paid.

This is one of the best times ever to be an entrepreneur because it’s so simple and

sexy these days to get money from people. So Square is one of the most popular mobile

POSs, so point of sale systems, and in just seconds it can take your iPad or your iPhone

and turn it into a sleek and modern cash register. I love going into local shops that use Square

because it just makes it really easy to fork it over. Feels like magic.

I bet that you’ve given your friends a ton of free outdoor adventures over the years,

so what’s really gonna get you over the money hump is if you actually start charging

your friends. And what better way to do it than at the “pay me party”? You should

get yourself set up on Square right now and whether you charge your friends a buck or

if somebody wants to book an adventure at your current rates, let them pay you.

So let’s wrap up this money adventure on a real deep Tweetable.

“The courage to charge for what you do comes from charging for what you do.”

What can I say? Practice makes money. That was my A to your Q, Deann, and I really do

hope it helps. Now I would love to hear from you. Have you ever felt uncomfortable charging

for something that you’re really good at? Or have you been able to make it over this

kind of money hump and you have other tips and suggestions that you feel could help Deann?

Let us know.

Now, as always, the best discussions happen after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,

so get your butt over there and leave a comment now.

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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world really needs that

special gift that only you have and, yes, you can charge for it. Thank you so much for

watching and I’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.