How do i determine what to charge for my services

How Do I Determine What to Charge for My Services?

This is the most asked question people have when starting a service business. Pricing is always a tricky art. It requires research and experimentation. The wrong price could drive your customers away, or it could even break your bank. The right price could draw a ton of money and make some you very happy clients.

My own rates vary depending on the type of service I’m supplying, the location my customer lives in and the size of my customer’s business. My price always increases as my knowledge increases.

Some of my services are in high demand, so I can charge more. Some of my other services I am one in many that customers can choose from, so my rate needs to be more competitive. If I work for a larger company, they tend to be able to afford more. Individuals have smaller budgets.

What you charge is dependent on the market, as well as your own unique marketing and business angles. The best way to determine what price is right for your business is to do some research. The following suggestions should help you with your research:

1. How much is your service worth to your client?

Ask around. Ask your customers what they would be willing to pay for a particular service. Just come right out and ask or conduct a survey. Ask other businesses what they are charging for their services. Call and pretend to be a potential client. Find out how much they would charge you. Look for articles and forums in your field where you can ask other consultants what they are charging. Many will just come out and tell you or give you a price range.

2. How much is your client base willing to pay?

Price is generally based off of perceived value. If your customer is going to be saving money or making money from your product or service, then depending on how much they will make or save can determine how much they are willing to pay. In some areas of service, charging too much can cause your customer to go to someone cheaper. In other fields, not charging enough can cause your customer to think your quality isn’t what they are looking for. You need to remain competitive and stay within the normal range of your services.

3. Are you charging enough to make it worth your while?

The important part of owning a service business is to make a profit. You need to take a look at your expenses. Make sure that what you charge is more than what you are bringing in. A good formula to follow is:

Expenses + Time + Knowledge = Price

Expenses: Your price should take into consideration any expenses you will incur. Time: The time you plan to spend on the project should be taken into consideration.

Knowledge: Your price should be commensurate with your knowledge. If you are bringing years of experience to the table, your price should reflect that.

When deciding how much to charge do your research first, then experiment. Test out different prices and rates to see what types of reactions you get from your clients. You can always adjust accordingly with your next client.

Internal meditation can also make your heart happy…

Internal Meditation Can Also Make Your Heart Happy…………

Meditation is good for your heart. This is the message recently (in the year of 2006) conveyed by the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study reported that transcendental meditation (TM), a relaxation technique reduced the risk factors of coronary heart disease in a 4-month clinical trial. Significantly reduced insulin resistance and lower blood pressure were found for patients who meditated. These patients also had more stables functioning of the autonomic nervous system that controls heart and other involuntary muscles.

There is closed relationship between stress, meditation, and heart health. It is evident that severe emotional and physical stress raises adrenalin levels or sympathetic drive, which in turn can lead to higher blood pressure or in worst case, may even transiently impair the ability of the heart to contract well. Stress can also cause the body to become less responsive to insulin, which is a hormone that controls the amount of sugar in the body. If you are already pre-diabetic or have metabolic syndrome, risk factors for heart disease, this condition will worsen. Meditation or any activity that can reduce stress levels is useful to improve blood pressure or metabolic syndrome.

What affect your brain is connected to what your heart functions. Emotional distress affects part of the brain function, which affects the sympathetic drive and so, the heart. The happier your brain is, the better your heart functions.

What is meditation? This is simply the practice of closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing as you go into a state of deep rest. It is a technique that can benefit not only your mind but also your body. It can actually reduce your risk of collapsing from heart problems by modulating your body’s response to stress. In short, meditation is a practice that involves calming your mind and body.

TM is an effortless technique practiced for about 15 to 20 minutes twice daily. It allows a person to attain deep rest for the body and mind. A suitable time to meditate is when the person is not feeling tired, hungry, or irritated. He or she should feel comfortable and be in a positive frame of mind.

Drugs cannot effectively reduce stress levels and should not be considered as the primary approach. A happy, spiritual or emotional heart is basically good medicine. This is an advice from a friend of mine who is also a consultant cardiologist. So, perhaps you may wish to consider meditation as one of the alternatives to help you reduce your stress level.

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How to get more names in your client database

How to Get More Names in Your Client Database

When you are building a client database, you can’t just pull a bunch of names from the White Pages, and you can’t grab any Email address you see off the Web. Your client database should be made up of interested, relevant contacts who are seeking advice and information relevant to what you offer.

Your client database is essentially the center of many other marketing efforts. Your newsletter draws its mailing list from this source, without the list of addresses you’d have no one to mail to. Analysis of which marketing efforts are paying off can also be done through your database — if you track how the names were added, you can tell where the bulk of your contacts are coming from.

The Sources That Build Your Client Database

Your database contacts need to include people relevant to your practice who are seeking you. The list is made up of:

— Every person who requests your information (that «Contact Us» form on your webpage)
— Every potential client who comes from other sources, but made the effort to contact you on their own
— Local attorneys who do not compete in your practice areas — Any outside vendors you use/consult
— Your local friends and relatives
— Other professionals who are in a position to influence people who view them as the guru of their industry

Networking is a big part in building your client database for your marketing plan. You may be friends with a great dentist; include his office on your database and suddenly your newsletter may be showing up on the table in his waiting room.

Proper Database Management

Even before you get all these names for your client database you should have a plan for how you’ll manage them. Good client database management software should:

— Integrate with any current client management software you have.
— Be able to track how a client was added to your client database.
— Sort your contacts through multiple filters to determine effective marketing strategies, top referrers, etc.
— Allow for easy entry of contacts who reach you by phone or in person.
— Automatically add a new entry from the contact form on your website.

As with any kind of email marketing plan, you do have to be careful about making sure you’re only sending your information to those clients who informed you they want to receive it. A client asking for your personal injury handbook once may decide they’re not interested in getting your newsletter month after month once their case is settled. You should always have clear unsubscribe or opt-out instructions on all your database-driven marketing plans.

How a home business may protect you from the housing bubble

How a Home Business May Protect You From the Housing Bubble

Not everyone agrees there is a housing bubble which will have an impact on the entire economy, but how about one that has an impact on you? If your home was devalued, even temporarily, do you have the cash flow to sustain your credit or allow you to sell your home without getting into debt? In the US today, many people live in homes which have positioned them in a loosing financial situation. How can a home business improve your financial position and protect you from the potential effects of a housing bubble?

First, many people have W-2 income as their only source of income. While a job is certainly a great way to trade your time for a consistent flow of money, it also provides you with the fewest tax advantages which means you end up paying more to Uncle Sam than those who also run a home business on the side. For example, many CPAs and tax planning specialists can show you how to deduct part of your home expenses, your cell phone bill and even costs to maintain and operate your vehicle, legally, if you are able to document that you actively work on your home

business each day. This can turn expenses you are already paying for, into tax deductions. That’s money in your pocket! Money saved can be reinvested into growing your business or applied to paying off your mortgage more quickly.

Protect yourself and protect your hard earned home equity by improving your cash flow and avoid running close to the edge of the value of your home compared to the debt owed in your mortgage and any home equity loans. Be sure you consult with a tax professional and a CPA to properly plan the tax benefits you can receive from having a home business. Apply those savings to building your savings and also to paying down your mortgage as quickly as possible. The more equity to have in your home, the more insulated you are from possible effects of the housing bubble and also from the effects of personal and professional emergencies.

How to market your business online

How To Market Your Business Online

How to Market Your Business Online

Many business owners see the web as the «Promised Land» for creating new revenue for their organisation. Whilst this is certainly true, these companies fail to take into account the difficulties of the overcrowded marketplace they are entering into. Many business owners have the misguided belief that: «If you build it they will come». These sentiments should be reserved for Hollywood movies. In actual fact, nothing can be further from the truth. From the start of their endeavours, their sentiments should have been «If you Market it they will come». Marketing is the key to any successful online business.

There are numerous ways to generate traffic to a website, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Budget lines for these marketing methods vary dependent on the industry you’re in, so upon deciding your marketing method, it is essential to check out your competition in these areas to determine budget.

Online marketing methods

Pay per click (PPC)

There are many PPC services available. The most widely known is Google AdWords, whilst others include Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter. PPC will give a business immediate Target Traffic. In most cases a working PPC campaign can be setup in a matter of days. PPC also offers the clearest track ability in terms of sales and return on investment (ROI).

There is only one major disadvantage to PPC and that is the cost associated with it. These are payable even if it does result in a conversion, therefore there is a possibility of spending more than you make on the sale. To check out the cost associated with your selected industry I suggest using the Google keyword tool and follow the instructions.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

If PPC is a sprint; SEO is a marathon. The short term effects of SEO are very limited, although once an effective SEO campaign is in full swing, its effects don’t incur any charges for a click through. This type of marketing provides a wealth of traffic through long tail and short tail keyword search terms. Unfortunately it is much harder to calculate ROI with an SEO campaign.

If you’re looking at procuring long term business on the web, SEO is simply a must and the sooner you start the quicker you will make money with this method. It is always a good idea to look at your competition for the natural search term before the creation of your website. Look at the number of results for your key industry terms. This can be found by typing in your term to a search engine. In the results on the right hand side you will see how many other people are targeting that term. Anything above ten million results and you’re probably looking at least six months of hard work to get to the position you want to be at, the first page of the search engine results.

Another thing to look at is page-rank. Don’t obsess over this but check out the page-rank of your top twenty competitors using Google toolbar. If most of your competitions page-rank is above four then you are going to need a very weighty budget.

Shopping Feed

If you’re planning to sell products online, a shopping feed should be a serious consideration for immediate traffic. Most shopping feeds can be configured and automated with a one time setup, however this can vary depending on your content management system. The majority of shopping feeds do have a cost per click associated with them but it is normally far less than that of a Google Adwords campaign or such like. There are also a number of free shopping feeds such as Google Base and MSN product search beta (invite only). When looking at a shopping feed it is essential to check their target area as many are limited to the USA. The main pitfall to consider with shopping feeds is they allow for easy price comparison so if your mark-up is extreme you could easily be priced out of the market.

Social Media

Social media is a great source of converting traffic; as a recommendation from social sites are normally treated by users like a recommendation from a friend. This being said social media requires a lot of hard work.

If you have an inward approach or don’t spend a lot of time on your chosen social site, then it is a pointless exercise. On the other hand; if you’re constantly helping other social users by outwardly directing your content, then social media can be a great part of your marketing plan. If you’re just using social media to promote your own site (inward directed) then you will struggle to see a great deal of difference in site traffic.

Once you have considered all these factors you can then begin investigating budgets for online business success. If you’re looking for more help then we suggest hiring a consultant or visit our consultancy site for more great tips.