Your Fun & Profitable Online Business · Episode 26
How to Raise Your Prices Without Feeling Weird or Guilty
Raising your prices is often emotionally harder than it is technically complicated. The goal is not to prove your worth. It is to choose a price that reflects the value you create and gives your business room to breathe.
Press play and make the number support the business
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Price is not personal worth
Move from “Am I allowed to charge this?” to “Does this number work?”
When pricing becomes proof of your worth, every increase feels personal. A healthier question is whether the price supports the value, the delivery, and the business you are trying to build.
The number starts to feel like evidence about whether you are good enough, generous enough, experienced enough, or likable enough.
Now you can evaluate cost, capacity, transformation, sustainability, and the experience you want to create.
Most resistance to raising prices is not about knowing how to change the number. It is about what the number means. Old money stories, fear of losing clients, and worry about judgment can turn a straightforward business decision into something deeply personal.
1. Check your math before you check your feelings
Start with what the offer actually requires: time, tools, delivery energy, overhead, and the income the business needs to generate. A price that cannot support delivery eventually creates a cost somewhere else, often in the form of burnout or resentment.
2. Anchor the price to value, not just time
Your expertise, perspective, process, and ability to help someone reach a result are part of what the client is buying. Becoming faster and better at your work should not automatically make that work worth less.
The question is not “Am I worth this?” The question is “Does this price support the value and the business?”
3. Give the increase a purpose
A new price can feel easier to stand behind when you know what it makes possible.
4. Let the experience rise with the price
You do not need to pile on bonuses to justify charging more. A thoughtful onboarding document, check-in, or other small improvement can support the client experience without creating extra busywork.
5. Communicate the change with intention, not apology
If existing clients will be affected, clarity matters more than a long explanation. State what is changing, when it changes, and what they need to know. The goal is confidence, not defensiveness.
Practice saying the new number
Write the new number down and say it out loud. Resistance is information. It gives you something specific to explore instead of letting a vague feeling of weirdness make the decision for you.
Your action step
Choose one offer and run it through this quick pricing check:
- What does it cost you to deliver?
- What does the business need it to earn?
- What price would feel energizing to receive and sustainable to deliver?
- Write that number down and say it out loud.
- If resistance appears, get curious about the belief underneath it.
Questions about raising your prices
How do I know when it is time to raise my prices?
Look at both the numbers and the delivery experience. If the current price does not support costs, income goals, capacity, or value, it is worth reevaluating.
Do I need to add more bonuses when I raise my price?
No. Improve the client experience when it is genuinely useful, not simply to earn permission to charge more.
Should I price based on time or results?
When you are newer, an hourly baseline can help you understand sustainability. As your expertise and results become clearer, the value of the transformation can matter more than the number of hours it takes you to deliver it.
How should I tell existing clients about a price increase?
Communicate the new rate and timing clearly and confidently. You do not need to bury the change in a long apology or pile on extra bonuses to soften it.
Run the numbers on your price
Use Wendy’s pricing calculator to make a more grounded pricing decision based on your goals, delivery, and sustainability.
Read the full episode transcript
Episode 26 transcript: How to Raise Your Prices Without Feeling Weird or Guilty
Why raising your prices feels so personal
Hey there, and welcome to episode 26 of Your Fun and Profitable Online Business. This is the podcast that helps you build a business that feels profitable and full of possibilities. I’m Wendy Muzzy, money coach, online business strategist, and I help women entrepreneurs make more money and feel good doing it.
Today, we’re diving into something that I get off and ask. How do I raise my prices without feeling weird or guilty? Friend, if you’ve been undercharging or second guessing what your offers are really worth, this episode’s for you. Let’s talk about what’s really going on behind that pricing discomfort and how to shift it.
Okay, let’s be honest. We don’t usually resist raising our prices because we don’t know how. We resist because of how it feels. Words like guilty or greedy or too much creep in. And even though we know this logically, many of us still hold on to weirdness around pricing because there are old money stories, fear of losing clients, and worry that people will judge us.
The problem is when your prices don’t reflect the value of your offer or your capacity in your business, you pay for it in other ways like burnout and resentment.
Price is not proof of your worth
But here’s the thing. Most women business owners I work with are already undercharging. And this is because they’ve tied their worth to the price tag. Ugh.
This will continue to be an issue until you realize holding your prices too low isn’t being kind. It’s being unclear, it’s confusing, and it’s keeping both you and your clients super small.
When you raise your prices, you’re not just adjusting the number. You’re shifting the container for what’s possible. And when done right, it doesn’t push people away. It helps the right people lean in.
Your business isn’t charity, friend. And pricing isn’t about proving your worth. It’s about reflecting the value of the transformation you provide.
Here’s the good news. Raising your prices doesn’t have to be a big deal, but it does mean getting clear and confident. Let’s break down that process.
Number one: check your math
The first thing you have to do is check your math. You’ve got to start with the numbers. What does it actually cost you in time, tools, or energy to deliver your offer? What do you want to earn per month, per year? Does your current price support that?
If you don’t know these pieces, no worries. I have a pricing calculator at wendymuzzy.com/pricing that helps make this part easy.
Number two: anchor the price and value, not time
Number two, anchor the price and value, not time. If you’re thinking, but it only takes me an hour, you’re missing the point.
People aren’t paying for your time. They’re paying for your expertise, your perspective, your process, your results, the list goes on and on.
Raise your prices based on the transformation you provide, not the duration of time it takes for you to deliver it.
Also of note here, if you’re just starting out, I do recommend figuring out what your price per hour should be so you can start to make progress towards your income goals. But once you’ve had about 10 clients go through your offer, it’s time to price based on the results, not on the time it takes for you to deliver the results.
Number three: give the raise a purpose
Number three, give the raise a purpose. Raising your prices can feel easier when you know what it’s for. Are you looking for more time? Less burnout? Are you saving for something?
This helps you create conviction in the process and especially as you start to communicate it with your clients.
Number four: raise the experience too
Number four, raise the experience too. If you’re feeling weird about charging more, add a small touch to make the offer feel elevated.
This could be an onboarding document or a bonus check-in or surprise printable. You’re not doing this because you have to though, you’re doing it because it supports the container you’re creating for your clients.
Number five: announce the increase with intention, not apology
All right, number five, announce the increase with intention, not apology. This step is optional, but if you’re raising your rates for all of your clients, not just your new ones, here’s how to navigate it.
Don’t over-explain. Don’t pile on bonuses to soften the change. And don’t post a disclaimer paragraph. Just state the change confidently. Maybe even celebrate it.
Here’s some language to try. I’ve refined and upgraded this experience, and the new rate reflects that. Simple as that.
People will mirror your energy. If you say it like a big deal, they’ll pick up on that in a good way.
Your action step: practice the new number
All right, let’s get to your action step. Pick one offer. Look at the numbers and ask, what price would feel energizing to receive and sustainable to deliver at?
Then write that number down. Now say it out loud. See how it feels after you say it a couple of times.
If there’s resistance, explore it. If it feels exciting, it’s probably time to change it.
And if you’re ready to price with confidence, I have a training and calculator at wendymuzzy.com/pricing.
You are allowed to charge more
Look, raising your prices doesn’t have to feel scary. It’s not about being worth it or having a certain number of followers or needing a permission slip.
It’s about honoring the value you create and giving your business room to breathe and support you too.
But if you need permission, here it is. You’re allowed to charge more.
This is Your Fun and Profitable Online Business. And you don’t have to feel weird about it. But if you find something that pops up, I can help you.
Go to wendymuzzy.com/moneymindset, and I can walk you through the process of how to uncover some of your money beliefs and really bring them to the surface.
Also, all these links are in the show notes. It’s wendymuzzy.com slash the episode number. So this would be wendymuzzy.com/26. And you can find all of the links in the show notes.
Until next time, happy price raising!