What do Raising your Fees and Skydiving Have in Common?

One of the quickest ways to improve your quality of life as a coach, consultant or other self-employed service professional is to structure your fees and rates in such a way that you’re earning more money in less time. And if you aren’t willing to reduce the amount of time you spend with clients to increase your hourly income then the only way you can do this, outside of creating passive flows of income, is by increasing your fees.

I find that one of the biggest obstacles that people have to increasing their rates and charging what they deserve is simply the fear of an unknown outcome. When I work with clients for the first time they often assume the worst before they even try it. And to be honest, what’s the worst that can happen if you raise your fees? You hear a couple “no’s”. That’s about as bad as it can get. And as long as you hear a couple “yeses” along the way then it’s all good.

So what does all of this have to do with skydiving?

I can vividly remember the fear that I had when I made my first of 47 jumps from an airplane. Actually the fear came BEFORE the jump. I was scared to death on the drive to the drop-zone and on the plane ride up. But to be perfectly honest, once I was out of the plane in a free-fall, I didn’t have anything else to do other than enjoy myself. I wound up having one of the most incredible experiences of my life and started on my skydiving certification two weeks later.

The fear is often in the build-up and speculation about all of the “bad things” that might happen. But the truth is that as long as you have a solid game-plan there’s really nothing to be afraid of once you make the jump.

Here are 4 quick steps to a solid game-plan:

***Determine exactly what you want to earn and how many hours you want to work
***Outline a fee-structure that will support this goal
***Always focus on value when communicating your fees
***Make the jump and enjoy yourself…it just might be the best ride of your life