“I feel awkward asking for that much.” The editors of Clirium’s Magazine hear this in nearly every other interview—from makers, consultants, photographers and beauty professionals. Women who pour years of effort, time and the best materials into their work, and still end up working at a loss.
Our editor-in-chief, Victory Naydenova, admits she regularly scolds her sister Anna—the subject of Issue 13 and founder of the SPAGIRY brand—for still not charging what her work is worth. The story is familiar to many, so let’s break it down.
Why we undercharge
Fear of rejection. It feels like a fair price will send the client away. In reality, the ones who leave were shopping on price alone—and would never have become loyal clients.
Pricing the beginner you used to be. We remember how we started and keep valuing ourselves as if experience, taste and skill haven’t grown.
Invisible work. Clients see the finished piece, not the redos, the sourcing, the learning, the messages and the packaging. If you don’t count that work, nobody will.
The formula
Price = materials + pay for your time + overhead + business profit
- Materials: everything that goes into the product or service—supplies, packaging, shipping. Use real receipts, not estimates.
- Time: hours per piece or session, including prep, messages and revisions, multiplied by the hourly rate you’d accept working for someone else in your field.
- Overhead: studio space, tools, training, website, ads, marketplace fees, taxes—add up a month and divide by the number of orders.
- Profit: not greed, but money for growth and a cushion for slow months. A business without profit is a hobby you pay for.
Example. A maker spends $30 on materials for one wall piece, 8 hours at $25 an hour, and $15 in overhead per order. Her cost is $245. With a 30% profit margin, a fair price is about $320. If she sells it for $150, she’s effectively paying her customer out of her own time.
Price is also presentation
As Anna Perepelkina puts it in her interview with the magazine, price should be a consequence of quality, not its only proof. Show your process, explain your materials, collect client photos and reviews, and make the unboxing memorable.
Three common pricing mistakes
- Forgetting platform fees. Marketplaces, payment processors and shipping eat into every sale. Build them into the price instead of absorbing them.
- Pricing by competitors only. Their costs, speed and quality aren’t yours. Use the market as a reference point, not a ceiling.
- Discounting by default. Constant sales teach clients to wait. Save offers for real occasions and loyal customers.
How to raise prices without losing clients
- Give notice. Tell regulars a month ahead and let them buy at the old price.
- Raise in steps. A 10–20% increase lands more softly than a jump.
- Refresh the value. New packaging, a certificate of authenticity, a handwritten note.
- Don’t apologize. “Sorry, I had to raise prices” tells clients you don’t believe in them. “Starting November 1, pricing is…” is enough.
- Build a range. Good, better, best options give clients a choice and take the pressure off one number.
One question to ask yourself
If your best friend did the same work, at the same level and with the same care, what would you tell her to charge? Probably more than you charge now.
A fair price respects you and your client: it lets you keep doing quality work without burning out or cutting corners on materials.
Figures in this article are illustrative. Talk to an accountant for tax and financial planning.