Life Lessons in Value with Guest Blogger, Desirée Grace
by babysitting. Since I want to encourage my budding businesswoman, we started by discussing our Target Market and the 4 Ps of Marketing:
• Target Market: 4 neighbors with 3+ little kids who could likely use help
• Product: My daughter’s services (we’ll refer to her as E) as a babysitter or Mother’s helper.
• Place: Within walking distance of our home.
• Promotion: We made a flier detailing her qualifications:
o Completion of a babysitting course at the local community center
o Straight A student
o Safety Patrol during her 5th grade year
o First-degree black belt
o Completion of all Red Cross swimming courses
o Good with kids and animals
o Cute picture of my kid dressed appropriately and
smiling—underlining the responsible and friendly aspects of her personalityo We also rehearsed “the approach” aka introducing yourself, smiling, looking adults in the eye, and extending a hand for a handshake
• Price: This sparked a surprising conversation…
Mom: We have old market data, which is not an ideal starting point for determining your hourly rate, but it’s better than no data. While it’s been a few years, we paid your babysitter $8 per hour to start and later increased her pay to $10 per hour. I think you should charge $9 per hour until you get some experience.
E: That seems high, but they did tell us in class to charge an extra $1 per hour for 3 kids, and an extra $2 per hour for 4.
Mom: Great. That was what I did when I babysat. More work should yield a higher hourly rate. Trust me, 4 kids is a lot more work than 2. What do you think about $9 for your starting rate? You invested in training. You could wait and see what a potential client offers you in case they think you are worth $10 per hour.
What followed was a conversation about not listing her hourly rate on the flier and waiting to see what the market thought she was worth.
E: But what if the moms talk to each other and I am paid $10 by one and $9 by another? The mom paying more might feel like she is being cheated.
Mom: Or the mom paying less will feel bad and raise your hourly rate.
E: It’s not just about the money, Mom.
Mom: Of course not, but you need to earn what you are worth, and you are worth $10 per hour if the customer thinks you are. It’s all about perception—how the market sees your value.
We resolved to see what the market dictates and not publish her rates on her flier. I am trying to teach her not to undervalue her qualifications, the value she brings to the market, and her time.
Are you doing the same thing as my 11-year-old? If you feel guilty or uncertain about charging the market rate, or, potentially charging more if you offer better or differentiated services, STOP.
Perception is reality, and if your customers value what you offer, as they should, thank them, keep them, and find more customers like the ones that value you.
Data-point for your consideration: I stopped babysitting for a family with two terribly behaved brats who paid me $1 less per hour than the other families with well-behaved kids. That freed up my time to focus on the families that offered more rewarding work for more money.
Hopefully, you are smarter than a fifth grader and find customers who value what you bring to the market. If you're not sure how to put a number on your value, I know a consulting firm that is ready to help you. River Heights Consulting: Elevating Your Business to New Heights!
Desirée Grace is a coach, advisor, consultant, and mentor with 30+ years as a senior leader in the electrical distribution and manufacturing sectors. She builds brands, grows revenue and motivates teams, facilitates strategy and execution, and offers special expertise in helping offshore companies enter the North American market. An experienced professional who enables win-win outcomes for organizations and their partners, find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/desireecgrace.
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