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When Your Prices are Too High or Expensive

We all need to make a living and we want to get paid a fair and lucrative price for the products or services we offer in our home businesses—but sometimes we might be charging too much or the economy may shift and what we are offering is simply too expensive for our market. While lowering prices may be painful and obvious, there are some pitfalls that go along with dropping prices that should also be avoided. Your prices should match the market you are selling too, as well as be comparable to your competitors and provide a reasonable value. They … Continue reading →

Competitive Pricing: Are You Offering Comparable Products and Services?

Earlier today, I wrote an article about how to research your competition and compare various pricing structures. It is important to keep in mind that when you are looking at what other businesses in your industry are up to, that you truthfully consider what products and services you are offering and whether they are comparable. If you are going to charge comparable prices, you really need to be offering comparable services. For example, if you offer housecleaning and maid services, look at your competitors—not just at their prices but the value of the service that a consumer gets for the … Continue reading →

Researching Competitive Pricing

As small business owners, we know intellectually that we need to set our prices in such a manner as to be competitive with other businesses in our industry and area, but figuring out how to go about that can be another matter. The first step in establishing competitive pricing for your products or services is to do some research to find out what is going on in your market. Initially, you need to define what your market is and who your competitors actually are. In this day and age, that can definitely go beyond geography. For example, if you are … Continue reading →

Can You Justify Your Prices?

I have written before about the process of figuring out what your pricing should be in your home business—including how tough it can be to sort out exactly whether to charge by the hour, the project, or some other way. One thing that will come up, especially if you have set your prices on the higher end of the scale, is whether or not you can justify the prices you are charging. When I write of “justifying” your pricing—I do not mean defending the prices you have set for the products or services you offer in your home business. I … Continue reading →

Should You Offer Credit and Payment Plans?

One of the main concerns and considerations for anyone starting and running a business is how to manage payments. Whether we take cash, checks, money orders, Pay pal, credit cards or other types of payments is a major decision (and one that often has to be revisited) to be made. Depending on the type of business you operate, whether or not to take credit payments or arrange payment plans with your clients or customers may be an issue that comes up. If you decide to take credit card payments, you will likely want to do some research as to what … Continue reading →

Setting Prices–Charging by the Hour, Project or Product

One of the first, and most challenging tasks in establishing a home business is deciding on a pricing structure. This can be especially daunting if you are entering into a new line of work or don’t really have a good grasp on what would be appropriate or “typical” in your field in your area. That’s where a good feasibility study or taking time to do some research can pay off. Still, before you hang up your shingle, you’ll need to know how much you’re going to charge. I used to do a lot of checking on those “how much you’re … Continue reading →