The Gritty Virtual Assistant Blog

Why is it that whenever the subject of low rates comes up (i.e., people charging rates that could not possibly be anywhere close to profitable, especially for what they are deliving to their clients), there are always several people who bring up the words "judgment" and "competition?"

The idea of competition is such a pedestrian notion to me; it’s non-existent in my world as I don’t compete with anyone but myself. It’s never had anything to do whatsoever with who was attracted to me and my services or how I obtained clients. And regardless of what anyone else thinks, it has nothing to do with how you attract and obtain clients, either.

A lot of what you hear in these conversations are excuses and rationalizing.

And that’s too bad because those who don’t charge profitably are being deprived of an opportunity to learn how they could do better in their businesses. Instead, they are enabled to continue to be mediocre and operate out of ignorance and poor understanding of business principles, instead of being empowered to become more knowledgeable in business and gain more confidence in themselves and what they offer.

When people don’t charge properly, they rob their business of being financially solvent and profitable. Undercharging businesses attract a far less desireable clientele, which makes the business so much harder and less pleasant to run. At the same time, they also in turn miseducate a large part of the marketplace to expect something for nothing.

If people could get over this ridiculous idea that the topic has anything to do with competition, we could instead have more meaningful conversations that might actually help those folks learn a bit more about running their business better.

I guarantee you, almost every single one of the people undercharging has most likely not done any business planning. With proper business planning, they would see how short their rates fall in building a self-sustaining business. They would begin to see that they don’t have to work with everyone, only the people and markets that are the best fit. And that they could actually make more money doing so.

Granted, most new business owners are unsure of themselves, and lack confidence, which is a large part of the issue. Lots have absolutely no business training or experience whatsoever. But with knowledge comes power, and as they grow in their business smarts and begin to work more with clients who value what they offer and are willing to pay for it, their confidence grows as well.

These things grow in stages–it’s always a journey. But we can’t help people in their journey when conversations are effectively shut down by tired, puerile concepts, and those who don’t have the fortitude to say something different.