Montrealmom.com
  • Being Mom
    • Planning /Pregnant
    • Mom of Infant
    • Mom of Toddler
    • Mom of Schoolage Child
    • Mom Of Teen
    • Mom of Twins or More
  • Life
    • Time Management
    • Work & Entrepreneurship
    • Family & Relationships
    • Childcare & Education
    • Money
    • Me.
  • Fun
    • Event Calendar
    • Crafts & Activities at Home
    • Organized Activities
    • Outings
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Disney Fun
  • Food
    • Recipes
      • All
      • Baby Food Recipes
      • Beef
      • Beverages
      • Breads
      • Desserts
      • Eggs & Dairy
      • Fish
      • Pasta
      • Poultry
      • Salads
      • Sauces & Dressings
      • Sides
      • Snacks
      • Soups
      • Vegetarian
    • Menu Planning
    • Nutrition
    • Entertaining
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Safety
    • Home & Garden
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Weight Watchers
    • Shopping
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • DIY
    • Living Green
    • Montreal
  • Travel
    • Family
    • Travel Tips
    • Disney
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Entertainment
    • Apps & Tech
    • Automotive
    • Products & Services
    • Toys
  • Directory
    • Activity Centers
    • Caterering / Pret À Manger
    • Classes
    • Home Services
    • Parties and Related Services
    • Photographers
    • Professional Services
    • Services
    • Services for Mom
  • Work with Us
  • About
    • About Us
    • In the Media
  • Contact

Montrealmom.com

  • Being Mom
    • Planning /Pregnant
    • Mom of Infant
    • Mom of Toddler
    • Mom of Schoolage Child
    • Mom Of Teen
    • Mom of Twins or More
  • Life
    • Time Management
    • Work & Entrepreneurship
    • Family & Relationships
    • Childcare & Education
    • Money
    • Me.
  • Fun
    • Event Calendar
    • Crafts & Activities at Home
    • Organized Activities
    • Outings
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Disney Fun
  • Food
    • Recipes
      • All
      • Baby Food Recipes
      • Beef
      • Beverages
      • Breads
      • Desserts
      • Eggs & Dairy
      • Fish
      • Pasta
      • Poultry
      • Salads
      • Sauces & Dressings
      • Sides
      • Snacks
      • Soups
      • Vegetarian
    • Menu Planning
    • Nutrition
    • Entertaining
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Safety
    • Home & Garden
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Weight Watchers
    • Shopping
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • DIY
    • Living Green
    • Montreal
  • Travel
    • Family
    • Travel Tips
    • Disney
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Entertainment
    • Apps & Tech
    • Automotive
    • Products & Services
    • Toys
  • Directory
    • Activity Centers
    • Caterering / Pret À Manger
    • Classes
    • Home Services
    • Parties and Related Services
    • Photographers
    • Professional Services
    • Services
    • Services for Mom
  • Work with Us
  • About
    • About Us
    • In the Media
  • Contact
LifeMoneyParentingThoughtsWork & Entrepreneurship

Worth-It Wednesday

written by Tanya Toledano

I often take the “wordless” route on Wednesday, but this week I had a different thought.

There’s an issue with which many mompreneurs struggle and I have been wanting to write about it for awhile. The issue is charging the appropriate amount for the services we provide, the advice that we give and the products that we create.

Many of us end up as mompreneurs because we pursue our passion for something and when we’re doing something that we’re passionate about, it often comes easily to us.  That  doesn’t always feel like work.  Combine this with the fact that so many women are nurturing by nature and want to help others.  The result is that we want to help, it’s easy to help and because it’s so easy, we feel guilty about charging anything significant for doing it.  Actually, some of us don’t feel comfortable charging anything at all.

This is an issue with which I personally have struggled, but I’ve been getting better at it. 😉

That said, I find I often need to remind others that they are worth it and how much value their service/advice/product is worth.

I once gave a whole ‘talk’ to a friend’s daughter who didn’t want to charge me for an afternoon of being a mother’s helper.  I told her that she had to remember that not only is her time valuable, but that there was value in it for me (the customer) given that I was able to clean up the house in half the time because the kids were not running around everywhere.  Understanding that she was just “starting out” on her new ‘career’ path, I agreed that she might charge a little less than an experienced babysitter, but I reminded her that she had to charge SOMETHING.  I told her that I wanted her to practice asking for a fee because if her Mom & I had practiced that from a young age, maybe we’d be more comfortable putting a value on our work as adult women.

I plan to teach my kids the same lesson.  And it’s not about entitlement.  It’s also not about raising kids who won’t do anything for free.  In our house pitching in with chores is part of being a family and it is not attached to money.  The lesson is that when you choose to embark upon a “career” – be it in babysitting, tutoring or being a camp counsellor, that your skill set and your time are of value and you are deserving of compensation for that value.  In short: You, and the service, advice  or product that you provide are WORTH IT.

A few weeks ago, I read a post by Carla Young of MOMeo Magazine and she spoke about overcoming the fear of charging what you’re worth.  I emailed it to several colleagues and I want to share it with you as well.  To read it you can just click here.

Although this is something I speak about often with other mompreneurs, it’s one of those things that although we know, we have to remind ourselves and like most things in life we have to practice. So this is something I’d like to remind you:

The knowledge & skills that you have accumulated through research, study & experience all took TIME and likely cost you money, as well. This is the reason the ideas, answers and recommendations come to you so easily. That is worth something. In fact it’s worth a lot to someone who is looking for those very ideas and recommendations. You can provide them with assistance that will not only save them time but can help them to generate income.

Crafters often feel that anything they get for selling their crafts is just a bonus because they’d have made them anyway, and love doing so. Allow me to remind you: Your time is still worth something. And when that big order of handmade anything comes in..then you’re working under pressure. You’re not only incurring the cost of production materials but you are now rescheduling your days to meet your order deadline. This is not something being done during leisure time anymore…this is a business. You need to factor in your time and price your goods accordingly.

I can go on and on about how the client buying your quilt has neither the time nor the desire to learn & do, but just wants to gift a gorgeous quilt to her daughter away at college. I can remind you that the client who asks for your marketing advice has neither the time nor the ability to complete his degree, intern and put in ridiculous hours for a couple of years prior to making his next marketing decision. That’s why he wants and needs your help.

Never gouge. Price yourself fairly, but always remember that you are WORTH IT.

If this doesn’t speak to you, then think about setting an example for your kids: By modelling that your work and skills are of value, they will learn that theirs are as well. Continue to model that there are times when you do things for free and that not everything is attached to money: volunteering, certain responsibilities around the house and helping out a friend. Model the difference.

Value yourself as much as your clients do. If your client doesn’t value you, then you’ve got the wrong client…Move on until you find the next client who does. And you will. You know why? BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT.

Do you struggle with this issue or have you in the past? I’d love to hear about it

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday with realizations of self-worth,

Tanya

Worth-It Wednesday was last modified: March 4th, 2016 by Tanya Toledano
6 comments
1
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Tanya Toledano

previous post
THANK YOU!
next post
Thankful Thursday-To the Best. Community. Ever.

You may also like

My First Blog Post

June 6, 2011

My interview on CBC Homerun about Calgary Mom Going on a Housework Strike

October 19, 2012

Netflix Just Made Bedtime a Whole Lot Easier!

November 18, 2015

montrealmom.com is 6 Years Old Today!

January 18, 2016

Family-Friendly Viewing? Netflix has you covered with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air & & Full House!!!

May 27, 2015

Katy Perry, COVERGIRL & Girls Growing Up

July 22, 2014

A Letter to My Graduate

June 18, 2013

Wireless Wednesday

June 8, 2011

My Unintentional Happiness Project

February 4, 2013

Back To School: 4 Tips for Talking to Teachers – A Guest Post by Montreal Mom Amy Fish

September 1, 2016

6 comments

Shari November 23, 2011 at 10:48 am

Yup – this one speaks to me and a certain someone who is modelling herself after me – for better and ahhh, for worse.

Reply
Tanya November 28, 2011 at 7:09 am

I am sure more for the better, Shari! Have a great day!

Reply
Julia November 27, 2011 at 10:42 pm

Love it, Tanya. Took me a while to read the post – but you hit the nail on the head. Funny how it is so hard to believe we have value for others (perhaps because what we are doing is coming easy to us). But when hobby turns into business – the ‘worth it’ approach has to be there. Will send this out to others…often!

Reply
Tanya November 28, 2011 at 7:13 am

Thanks, Julia. It is strange when you think about it, yet so many of us do it. You are right that there is a turning point when hobby changes into business. As you say, the worth-it approach must be there, and as long as we stay true to who we are, that’s more than OK-its necessary! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

Reply
Anna February 7, 2013 at 11:15 am

so glad to have read this. while i struggle to charge accordingly as i live in this “let’s never pay bloggers anything” world, i never thought about the additional aspect that my children are watching, and learning, and i would like to teach them well.

Reply
Tanya March 4, 2013 at 9:44 am

That’s the idea, Anna 🙂 Glad to have brought you a different perspective!

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • GIVEAWAY: Enter for Your Chance to WIN One of Fifteen Family Packs of Four Passes to See the Montreal Advance Screening of Marvel Studios’ ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

  • GIVEAWAY: Enter for a Chance to WIN One of Ten Family Packs of Four Passes to See the Montreal Advance Screening of Disney’s Strange World!

  • NEW! Pre-K Program in the West Island at Inventor STEM School!

  • It Took Me Over Two Years To Let My Guard Down…and Less Than Two Days to Test Positive.

  • GIVEAWAY: ENTER for a Chance to WIN One of Five FAMILY PACKS OF FOUR PASSES to See the Montreal Advance Screening of Disney and Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ !

Subscribe to our Newsletter

  • #GIVEAWAYALERT Who would like to see the Montreal Advance Screening of Marvel Studios’ 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quant… https://t.co/lzjoGC9Ohk

    01-Feb-2023

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Must share that I LOVE @TommyBahama -and that it’s available online in #Canada 💗 Not only are the dresses the BEST…… https://t.co/mHrgGKHFIc

    12-Dec-2022

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • #GIVEAWAYALERT ENTER for a chance to WIN one of 10 FAMILY PACKS OF FOUR PASSES to see the Montreal Advance Screenin… https://t.co/FRs4UGrUqU

    08-Nov-2022

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Still looking for a Pre-K program with an enriching and educational experience in a half-day format? You'll be thri… https://t.co/xyrdoJ4SGd

    15-Aug-2022

    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • #GIVEAWAYAlert Who would like to see the Montreal Advance Screening of Disney and Pixar's 'Lightyear'?!? ENTER… https://t.co/riTuuYJQgM

    07-Jun-2022

    Reply Retweet Favorite
team-teluspg-mom-badge

Archives

Categories

LATEST FROM INSTAGRAM

Follow on Instagram

AS SEEN ON TV

Subscribe to montrealmomTV on YouTube to be the first to see Tanya's latest videos.
  • Our Family’s Experience with the Ford Expedition

Subscribe to our Newsletter

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
  • Periscope
Footer Logo

© 2016 montrealmom.com. All rights reserved  |  Powered by Red Dream Studios


Back To Top
We use cookies on our website to give you the best experience on our website. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT