The Energy of Money

Do you subscribe to the notion that those of us with spiritual and healing gifts should either work for free or receive very little compensation?

The question of how much to charge came up during my coach certification training. The excellent facilitators told us, "If you charge $50, there will be clients who want your services; if you charge $500, there will be clients who want your services; and if you charge $50,000 a year for your services, there will be clients who want to hire you."

I'm going to share with you a way to set your fees that is grounded in reality and allows you to practice the Law of Attraction/Deliberate Creation!

YOU decide how much to charge for your services, and the right and perfect clients are attracted to you. It really is that simple, even though I had doubts when I first heard this.

• Step 1: Decide how much you wish to earn during the year ahead. Go ahead, pick a number that stretches you, yet you know is achievable. (For most of you, I'd say double that, but go with a number that feels right for you!)

• Step 2: Prioritize your list of products and services so that you're doing what you love to do the most in your business. For me, it's a combination of writing, teaching, group coaching, and one-on-one coaching.

• Step 3: Determine how much time you wish to spend on each of these activities in order to earn your yearly salary. For me, it's 25% of my time writing and teaching, 25% of my time in group coaching, and 50% of my time coaching one-on-one.

• Step 4: Now it's simply a mathematical formula. If half of my annual salary will come from coaching one-on-one clients, and I want to maintain between five and seven individual clients per month, I'm able to set my fees based on realistic figures that will deliver the salary I want and deserve!

It doesn't matter what other holistic providers are charging! I'd go crazy trying to normalize my fees according to what others in my field are receiving.

Set your fees with your own vision and desire in mind, and then work that plan to completion. Once complete, come up with next years' plan - perhaps with a new mix of services and products and with a different fee structure. It's YOUR business, YOU decide.

The right and perfect clients really will be attracted to you.

Let me say a word about fear at this point, because I've been there. When my coach urged me to increase my fees, I was terrified. I had a full client load and it meant going back to my wonderful clients and telling them that my fees would substantially increase in a month's time. I was sure they would all bail on me!

Some did indeed bail; the higher fees were too much for them. But, just as my coach had predicted, new clients were attracted to my services at the higher fees. I wound up actually coaching fewer clients, and making more money, and both my clients and I were very, very happy. Would you like some of that?

I leave you with a call to action to start paying yourself the salary you so richly deserve!

• Visit or call your local Small Business Development Center and make an appointment for a specialist there to help you complete a business plan, to include income and expenses. DO IT TODAY!

• Take a class or read a book on how to start up your business, and put into action what you learn. It can be enjoyable to create your own business plan; it does not have to be hard unless you make it so. (If you doubt this, send me an e-mail and I'll elaborate.)

• If you are a holistic entrepreneur (or wish to be one in the future), work with a mentor coach who specializes in holistic business start-up. This investment is absolutely the way to easier and accelerated growth! My investment in a mentor coach saved me years of frustrating "trial by fire." I doubt I would be in business today were it not for her help.

I hope that this article will stir up some controversy and comments from my readers. As always, I love hearing your ideas and input.