Today, we’re bringing you the final post in a 4-Part Series called Master Your Pricing by Alison Ellis, owner of Floral Artistry and Real Flower Business. Please feel free to leave comments and questions for Alison at the end of the post! Thank you, Alison, for taking the time to share your expertise with the BB Community. We appreciate you!
If you’re going to be your own boss, it’s up to you to give yourself a raise from time to time.
Here are 2 good reasons you should give yourself a raise:
#1. When you work to perfect your craft & provide outstanding service, you deserve a pay increase from time to time. As with any profession or artistry, your skill & experience play a part in your rate.
#2. When you charge a bit more for your work, it may allow you to make better work—because you can now use higher quality materials, or you can spend a greater amount of time/skill to add the value for your client.
Oh, and let me add a third reason.
#3. If you’re currently not charging enough for your work, when you finally raise your prices a bit, you can actually turn a higher profit without increasing the number of events you have to book.
I’ve been teaching and preaching to florists for years about charging what you’re worth and following industry pricing guidelines in my Flower Math course (ie. applying markups on flowers & supplies, adding a design fee, delivery & set-up, breakdown, etc.), but once you’re consistently creating work “beyond industry standards”, how do you charge move than the standard and give yourself a pay increase?
It’s not always easy to recognize when you deserve a raise. We all wear our own money shoes. Which means we can instill our own money beliefs on our customers from time to time. It’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of always starting with the minimum when quoting a job, which hinders the ability to grow your sales (and hence, give yourself a pay increase!), since you’re always filling orders at “your minimum”.
It’s easy to believe, “no one will spend more than my minimum”, but it’s not always easy to stick your neck out and ask for a little bit more. However, a customer may happily spend more to get what they want—even if you wouldn’t personally spend this much yourself!
Don’t get stuck in your own money beliefs when it comes to pricing.
“More than my minimum” allows me to do more creative work, which my customers can appreciate because they’re also experiencing more value.
By charging “more than my starting price”, the results are arrangements with more flowers, or more high-end blooms, plus I can build my portfolio with more expensive work that attracts more clients who want that work at that price point….and in time, this higher price point may become my new “minimum”.
In my own business, when I have $125 or $150 for a centerpieces there’s a noticeable difference in what I’m able to include in my recipe to fulfill that order vs. a $75-95 centerpiece.
When I’m adding my 6th rose to a $150 centerpiece I usually notice, “Wow, this is really full and beautiful.” I can be more creative and create more beauty with more money in the budget.
By charging “just a little bit more”, I’m actually creating a win-win. The client gets exactly what they wanted and I get to make more beautiful and fulfilling work!
So how should you approach a price increase? In order to give yourself a pay increase, you can start by bumping up your minimum on centerpieces by $5 or $10? What if you sent out a few proposals at $25 above your minimum on bridesmaids’ bouquets?
What does your customer get for this slightly higher spend? A nicer container? An extra rose or two? Some peonies or orchids or blushing bride protea? How can you make that “little bit more” count so that the customer experiences the value?
If you’re currently aiming too low on your pricing, check out Part 2 of the Master Your Pricing Series: Setting A Minimum.
Thanks for making the time to read my blog series and thanks so much to Amy for sharing my Real Flower Business “stuff” with your loyal BB readers.
If you enjoyed this 4-part pricing series, you may also be interested in this recent live chat from my Facebook group, How much does a florist make? You can click here to watch.
Keep doing beautiful work, floralpreneurs! xo. -Alison
Catch up on anything you’ve missed in this 4-Part Series here:
Part 1: Pricing on the spot
Part 2: Set a minimum
Part 3: Stay in the driver’s seat
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