Do you know, in my first few years as a Celebrant I could not help but sell myself short. Literally. I absolutely couldn’t stop myself. So keen I was to get bookings that I would obligingly give discounts when asked and even offer them when they weren’t asked for!
I basically did anything price-wise that I could, if I felt that it would stop any wavering during the couple’s decision making process. I really wanted to be booked and so back then it seemed better to offer my services for less than to not be booked at all.
Then a few years down the line, I toyed with the idea of raising my prices. I had never raised them before, and I knew that it was time to do so. My expertise and reputation had flourished. My diary was consistently filling up and I was now attracting my ideal couples too, but the work I was doing to produce awesome ceremonies was not really being reflected in my price. Yet I hesitated and talked myself out of it. And it wasn’t until a few years after my initial feelings that I had the confidence to do it.
It is totally okay and normal to feel uncomfortable about money and how you approach it as a self employed business person. But what is not okay, is to stay in that zone of discomfort and do nothing about it.
In both of my scenarios above, I stayed in my discomfort zones for too long, much longer than I should have. I put a lot of it down to not having Celebrant support around me, to help me believe (more quickly) in myself, my services and my prices and also to boost my confidence to get me into that frame of mind faster.
Nobody expects you to be a savvy, confident business owner and negotiator from day one, but you do need to do all that you can to get better at being that person.
Whatever your fears, problems and issues are with money as a celebrant, and your approach to it, there is always a solution around the corner. It’s just that often we need help seeing what the solution is.
In this latest podcast episode, ‘Let’s talk money’, I delve into the mindset issues that can swamp us as Celebrants and stop us from moving our business forward and from earning the potential that we can earn. Many Celebrants harbour self-sabotaging attitudes towards money without even realising it.
So listen now (or download the episode from Spotify, iTunes or Stitcher) for more info on how we can break these barriers down and promote a healthier attitude towards earning and making money.
Plus, you’ll want to hear me telling the story of how I reacted when I was first asked to confirm my price during a wedding meeting. Cringe-fest!
Pssst: We still have spaces left on our money workshops coming up this March, where we’re going to be digging deeper into everything mentioned in the podcast, as well as looking into your sales process and mapping out how we can improve it to generate more sales. We’ve limited numbers so we can work closely with attendees. For more information about our workshops, go here.
The Celebrants Collective is a membership platform for Celebrants, from all over the world, who want to undertake ongoing career development on a monthly basis. From live Q&A sessions with industry experts, a Resources Room and Learning Lounge full of useful and regularly updated celebrant-related material, to celebrant-related articles and tutorials, the Collective is about empowering Celebrants to be the best they can be. Take a look at our full benefits here.
Ps. Have you joined the Celebrants Collective Facebook group. Made up of almost 1500 Celebrants worldwide, it’s a great spot for support, advice and camaraderie. Come and join us now.
