Spirituality in Business - Pricing Your Services

Mark Silver

Founder and Healer

http://www.HeartofBusiness.com

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/

Spirituality in Business: Pricing Your Services

Table of Contents

About Mark Silver – Founder and Healer .................................................................... 4

Can You Make Your Business Work Without Crushing Your Spirit? ................................ 5

Raising Your Prices without Breaking Your Heart ........................................................ 7

The Wackiness of Resonant Pricing ......................................................................... 10

Whether or Not to Publish Your Prices ..................................................................... 12

When Making a Profit Feels Greedy and Selfish ........................................................ 14

Mixing Spirituality and Business .............................................................................. 19

Legal Disclaimers

All contents copyright 2012 by Mark Silver and Heart of Business, Inc. All rights

reserved. No part of this document or accompanying files may be reproduced or

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This ebook is presented to you for informational purposes only and is not a substitution

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the author and all associated contributors.

While every effort has been made by the author and all associated contributors to

present accurate and up to date information within this document, it is apparent

technologies rapidly change. Therefore, the author and all associated contributors

reserve the right to update the contents and information provided herein as these

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for any errors or omissions if such discrepancies exist within this document.

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Readers results will vary based on their skill level and individual perception of the

contents herein, and thus no guarantees, monetarily or otherwise, can be made

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4 Spirituality in Business: Pricing Your Services - http://www.heartofbusiness.com/new-here/

Copyright © 2012 Mark Silver & Heart of Business, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Mark Silver – Founder and Healer

Mark is a fourth-generation entrepreneur who has run

a distribution business, turned around a struggling

non-profit magazine, and worked as a paramedic in

the San Francisco Bay Area.

He is the author of seven different in-depth programs

and a number of other smaller teachings and classes

for entrepreneurs. Together they form a

comprehensive entrepreneurial wisdom academy

curriculum.

A designated Master Teacher (“muqaddam murrabi“) in his Shaddhilliyya Sufi

lineage, Mark is currently studying for his Masters of Divinity with a specialty

in Ministry and Sufi Studies.

As a coach, consultant, mentor and spiritual healer, he has facilitated more

than 2000 individual sessions with entrepreneurs and has led hundreds of

classes, seminars, groups and retreats. His weekly writings and teachings are

followed by thousands of people around the globe.

He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Holly, twin sons Sam and David,

two cats Rafi and Kira, and all the rain you care to soak up.



Can You Make Your Business Work Without Crushing Your Spirit?

This is the question, isn’t it? I mean, mixing spirituality and

business; that seems like such a fantastic idea, doesn’t it?

Sure. From a distance.

Because when you get closer, it always almost looks like the need

for money and making money wins out over spiritual and ethical values.

You know there is no such thing as “get rich quick”- and you know you’re not afraid

to show up and do the work that needs to be done. Yet you might be trying to find

your way, and, just maybe, having a hard time balancing your practical needs with

your spiritual ones.

So, you might be wondering: “Can I really build a business that makes me money

AND fulfills my spirit?”

And, I say to you, the answer is, unequivocally, Yes.

I’m Mark Silver, the founder of Heart of Business, where we’ve been putting money

and spirit into the mix since 2001- and thousands of heart centered business owners

have tested our ideas, so we know they work.

Here’s What We Can Do For You

Share effective business practices. Our clients get clients, make money

and thrive. Sometimes this process is quick and clean, sometimes it’s messy

and takes a bit longer, just like life. But, with the right perspective, it’s always

interesting and you can get there too. Imagine having a business that is filled

with clients and money.



Provide a real spiritually-based perspective. Remember how I said that

how you view your business is a matter of perspective? Well, our perspective

is based on a 1400 year old unbroken lineage, where we have our own

teachers keeping us humble and honest. You’re not going to get made up,

off-the-cuff, fly-by-night spirituality here.

Demonstrate ethics. It seems like it should go without saying, but spiritual

presence doesn’t always mean ethical practices. We’re ethical. If I write more

trying to convince you how ethical we are, then it would come out sounding

strange. Just know that I care more than I can express that my kids- and

yours- be proud of what we’re doing.

What do you get?

Is it time you joined over 7000 heart centered micro business owners who are

seeking to build a business that thrives, is ethical, and spiritual?

Would you like to receive heart-centered, spiritually-authentic and down to earth

business advice delivered right to your email every Wednesday.

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/new-here

As a special “thank you” for taking action today, you’ll also get a 3

chapter workbook, “Getting to the Core of Your Business,” that will help

you change your perspective so you can create a bigger, better business

that is also spiritual and ethical.

And it goes without saying (though I’ll say it anyway)- I’ll never share,

rent, sell, or trade your information without your consent.




Raising Your Prices without Breaking Your Heart

After you've been in business for a while, you start thinking

about whether you should raise your prices. Sometimes this

happens when one year ends, and another is about to begin.

Other times, this happens when you realize that you've been

working for the same rate for a certain number of years, and

you're thinking it's time for an increase.

It can be an agonizing question. You want to be paid an amount

that feels good and supports you well, but you also don’t want

to alienate people or shut down your business.

And it’s not an idle question. You can raise your prices too much and see “die off”

from your active customer list. By the same token, you can continue to underprice

yourself, and that keeps people away, too, and may keep the wolf at your door.

What to do? What to do?

A Few Words about Pricing

One of our most popular and most-referred to articles is on pricing. So, let me add a

few more eye-opening thoughts that should make this whole process much easier.

First, raising your prices is inevitable. Maybe not every year, maybe not even every

other year. Are you paying the same price for shoes that you did in 1984? Prices go

up.

I’m also guessing that you may not be taking into account the true price of your

offers. One client realized she was only accounting for her time in front of a client,

and not on the administrative time required, the marketing time required, and prep



time before and after the client, the continuing education of her own self-

development, etc. For every client hour there were 1-3 additional hours needed to

really care for that client.

Okay, I think you’re getting it. You probably know whether your prices really need to

inch up a bit or not.

And if it’s A New Offer?

A client was about to launch a new offer, and we were talking about it the other day.

She was struggling with how to price it because it was radically different than any

other offer in her business.

I told her to 1) make it easy for new people to buy and 2) make it significant enough

of a price so that it felt good and she could keep offering it.

Comfort and stretch.

If it’s a new offer you’ve never made before, find the price you’re comfortable

offering and stretch just a little bit. My experience has been that the price you are

completely comfortable with in theory will probably feel too low once you actually

start engaging with paying clients.

So stretch a little bit to avoid needing to raise your prices two weeks later.

A Little Pricing Trick

There are pricing ranges, where one price feels very similar to another. For instance,

whether I spend $16 or $19 on something won’t really affect my purchasing

decision, but the extra $3 multiplied by 10,000 sales may help out the business

tremendously.

Similarly, a massage that is price at $80 or $95 is a very similar price to the buyer,

but to the massage therapist, that $15 per client, times 30 sessions in a month,

times 12 months means an extra $5400/year.



You can jump from one price range to another, for instance from a $65 massage to a

$110 massage, but that would require a step up in your marketing and how you

describe your service.

As you sense into your next price, see how far you can go in your own heart while

staying within the “price range.” It’s all a little subjective, so don’t worry about hard-

and-fast lines, they don’t exist. Just feel into it.

Time to Tell the World

Of course, telling your clients about it is a different story. But, they may already

know.

And you? Is it time to raise your prices or are you happy with them?



The Wackiness of Resonant Pricing

Havi today posted about resonant pricing, and how she had

adapted our Your Right Price exercise to her and Naomi’s own

ends. It’s an amazing little exercise, and in the spirit of

generosity, I thought I’d post the pdf for anyone to download.

Your Right Price pdf.

The design of the pdf is a few years old- I’d love to update it and prettify it, but the

information is rock-solid. It’s an excerpt from the larger Guidebook, which has what

used to be all and is now just many of our foundational teachings in it.

What you’ll need to use it.

You’ll need some way to go inside and check your heart. I have a method called the

Remembrance, which is a Sufi spiritual practice that anyone can use. It’s very

simple, and you can get our free workbook that has a complete how-to of it here:

Getting to the Core of Your Business. (It also includes the fabulous Unveiling Your

Jewel exercise, which is finding your uniqueness, your USP, in an unassailable, non-

gimicky way.

If you don’t use the Remembrance, use another method of accessing your intuition,

your heart, your deep knowing. It’s also incredibly helpful to do the exercise in a

group. As Havi described in her post, and as I did in the comments to her post, it

really builds your confidence to hear other people reflect your resonant price back to

you. You can learn to trust it that way.

Just my gift to you, prompted by Havi’s wonderful description.

And, as a ‘nother little gift, here’s a teaching I did on why buying or selling

something is NOT a transaction, and why it’s okay to “sell” something as sacred and

beautiful as the amazing work you do.

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/pdf/yourrightprice.pdf

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/pdf/gettingtothecore.pdf



Sufi Teaching on Pricing (mp3). (An excerpt from a past six-month Opening the

Moneyflow Course.)

Enjoy! And let me know if you have any questions, problems, or pushbacks.

It IS pretty wacky spiritual stuff.

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/Audio/pricing.mp3

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/moneyflow

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/moneyflow



Whether or Not to Publish Your Prices

In The Business Oasis, our online business community, one of

the members wrote: “I am unsure if it’s a good idea to include

my fees in my brochure and on my website.”

Good question: do you or don’t you include your price? If you

don’t include pricing, are you being coy and deceptive? Or, if

you include your pricing, will someone who’s interested say

“No” before they even have a chance to consider?

What happens when someone sees your price.

Well, what happens when you see a price? The price brings the whole idea of

whatever the offer is into concrete, grounded here-and-now-ness. You see the price

and all the dreams of what it will be like to have whatever the offer is, suddenly

become real.

The price represents a choice point.

When you are reading a website, brochure, or what-have-you, you may not be ready

to make a choice. And so when the price pops up, it’s reminding you that the choice

is waiting.

Remember that the moment of purchase is a sacred moment- it’s a moment of great

intimacy. Someone is giving to you, and you will be giving to them. Instead of them

receiving your marketing, perhaps anonymously, suddenly it becomes a two-way

relationship. That’s increased intimacy.

When someone is considering increased intimacy, they tend to have a lot of

questions, and they want those questions answered before saying ‘Yes.’



Sounds like a great argument for hiding your prices?

Except it’s not. You see, if someone isn’t ready to make a choice, they’ll just glance

at your price, take it in, and file it away for when they’re ready.

But, if someone IS ready to make a choice, or even just moderately close to ready,

and your prices are hiding, there is no choice point. No here-and-now-ness to your

offer. Your reader will begin to wonder: “What are they hiding? Can I afford it? Are

they just trying to get me to call so they can do the hard-sell on the phone?”

The price is actually a lightening rod.

So, what happens in a prospective client is they have questions pop up while they

are reading about your offer. Then, if those questions aren’t answered in your

writing, the pressure builds. And builds.

And when the price pops up, all of that energy jumps, just like a bolt of lightening.

It’s another one of those ‘both-and’ situations.

Yes, publish your prices. AND make sure you’re answering as many questions as

possible.

Is that it? Just always publish your prices? What do you do?

For instance, I may have a question about looking foolish in an art class.

But, do I want to admit I’m worried about looking foolish? Maybe not.

And, if not, then it’s much easier to say: “Well, heck, I ain’t payin’ that

much for an art class.” When, that’s not actually true at all- I may well pay

that, or more, for an art class, if I know I don’t have to look foolish.



When Making a Profit Feels Greedy and Selfish

On the surface it seems absurd. Of course it’s okay to have

some money for yourself. It’s okay to take care of yourself.

It’s okay to make a profit.

And yet when it comes time to actually collect enough money

from your clients and customers, you balk. By “enough” I

mean an amount that’s actually fun and full-feeling, instead of

scrape-by-just-enough-ish. You give discounts. You give pro

bono work. You give away the farm.

Because maybe it’s not okay to have more than just enough,

when so many people have so very little.

What’s true about this whole profit thing?

Honoring Your Heart

I always like to start with acknowledging a truth: our global and local economies

have tremendous injustices built into them. The power and reach of industrialized

nations is built on wealth stolen from other parts of the world that remain

impoverished and in debt. In our communities there are many people who have

tremendous access to money living their lives side-by-side with folks who are

homeless and having trouble keeping themselves fed and clothed.

My heart aches remembering these realities, as does yours, I’m sure. Your impulse

to not want to profit off of other people’s pain is completely appropriate, and needs

to be honored.

It becomes even more complicated when you enter the picture.



Life Is Expensive

In western culture our lives cost a lot. Owning a home, raising kids, and running a

business runs the expenses up quickly. Add to that the rising costs of food and fuel

over the last two years and bare minimum living expenses seems uncontrollably

high.

The trouble of course is that there are some choices you can’t easily make. The way

a city is designed effects whether your family needs a car or not. Doing the right

thing and buying food that is sustainably grown costs a lot more than the

commercial, non-organic version.

It’s a heart-tussle for sure. I remember back in college living on very little money,

and I’m shocked at the difference twenty years of inflation and rising responsibilities

and expectations cost.

And you want to pay for a yoga class on top of that? Oy…

Stop! Just Slow Down a Moment…

The chaotic, frenetic state that can start to spin when you try answering the ills of

the world and your own financial needs is not helpful. First stop. Take a gentle

breath. Return to your heart.

In returning to your heart, bow your head in humility. I don’t know why the world is

in such a crazy mess. I don’t know why reality is the way it is. And I surely don’t

have the power all on my own to make everything all better.

The first step in healing is acceptance of what is. It’s such a simple step, and yet so

hard to face. Homeless on the street, the cost of living, the amount of money you

need to be comfortable. And when did “comfort” become a dirty word?

Acceptance… This is how it is right now.



Instead of giving into the frenetic resistance that your ego wants to jump into,

working through a thousand item to-do list trying to make it all better, notice the

grief you may have in your heart for how things are.

That grief is helpful. The frenetic chaos isn’t. Through grief one can find acceptance

and even love. Once you touch into acceptance and love, you’ve got access to some

righteous power to make a difference in this world of ours.

Grief and acceptance isn’t collapse. It isn’t saying you don’t want to help make

things better. It’s just facing the truth that the river has already flowed this far, and

this is where we are now.

Standing in the here and now is the most stable, powerful stance you can take.

And about that profit?

Acceptance of the World Includes You

When you’ve discovered that you need a certain amount every month to be

comfortable, then that’s what you need. That’s what is. If you have the chance to

bring that much in through your business, that’s fantastic.

To ask for and receive enough so that you can be cared for and have a stable

foundation under you is so critical. Without comfort, without a little ease in your life,

without stability, it’s really hard to access generosity and creativity.

And without generosity and creativity, it’s hard to fully serve others.

My Advice: Get Comfortable First

If you’re concerned about whether you’re taking too much, I want to first encourage

you to reach a level of acceptance and comfort in your monthly needs. Catch your

breath. Pay your bills. Take that yoga class.



If what you offer to people is honest and of service, if people are benefitting, then

accept the gratitude and support that comes your way. You give your all to your

clients, allow your clients to give similarly to you.

Take a moment to notice your heart. How does your heart feel about receiving as

much as it gives? How does your heart feel to be included in the flow?

After Comfort Comes Sufficiency

Once you’ve worked on your business and you’ve become comfortable with asking

for more money, then things become easier. You reach a level of comfort, the panic

stops, and you catch your breath.

Now that you’re in more flow, you can start to ask yourself “how much is enough?”

The CEO of Whole Foods realized one day that he had more money than he needed,

so he reduced his salary to $1 a year.

Whatever you may think of Rick Warren, the evangelical Christian author and pastor,

when he started making much more money than he needed, he started “reverse

tithing.” He began donating 90 percent of his income and keeping 10 percent.

Paula, who cuts my hair every four weeks because, you know, I’m just not a hippy,

hasn’t raised her rates in years. She tells me, “I could, but, hey, we’re making plenty

of money. I don’t need any more, so why should I raise my rates?”

Notice that all three of these people made their decisions after they had attained

some level of comfort.

Now It’s Your Turn

When you are doing honest work in the world to serve others, it’s okay to be

included in the flow of giving. Please don’t take on trying to solve all the worlds ills

by refusing to let your clients and customers experience the generosity of giving to

you.



I realize it may not be as simple as this because of the emotional baggage we carry.

Yet if you can shift from frenetic fixing to grieving, and if you can find acceptance of

your need for comfort, you might find more spaciousness to ask for and receive a bit

more than you have been.

Once you find comfort and catch your breath, you can decide on how much is

enough.



Mixing Spirituality and Business

What do you get?

Is it time you joined over 7000 heart centered micro business owners who are

seeking to build a business that thrives, is ethical, and spiritual?

Please visit http://www.HeartofBusiness.com/new-here and enter your name

and email, and you’ll get heart-centered, spiritually-authentic and down to earth

business advice delivered right to your email every Wednesday.

And, as a special “thank you” for taking action today, you’ll also get a

3 chapter workbook, “Getting to the Core of Your Business,” that will

help you change your perspective so you can create a bigger, better

business that is also spiritual and ethical.

Join over seven thousand other heart-centered business

owners who also subscribe.

http://www.HeartofBusiness.com/new-here



Spirituality in Business - Pricing Your Services

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