“Can I get the friend discount?’” “I’ll give you ____ (anything except money).”

It probably makes you want to bang your head against the wall because on one hand you don’t want to ruin a relationship, but, let’s face it, you need to make money as a business owner.

So how do you tell your friends and family that you need money to live? (Wild concept huh?)

Step 1: You’re going to have to take a good look at yourself and ask, “Am I really worth what I’m charging?”

Which means: Do you really believe you have what it takes to charge for you services & products? If you answered yes, congrats! You’re ready for step 2.

Step 2: Gear up to explain that you can’t do free work. Don’t worry, we’ll make it super easy and stress-free.

Start off by acknowledging their interest:
“Hey _____, thanks so much for showing interest in my business, it means a lot!”

Then explain why doing something for free is actually hurting you more than it is helping.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to provide _____ for free because it would put me in the red. That means I’d be losing money since I’ll be investing time and supplies.”

This step is important because most times people don’t understand how much labor, supplies, education, and experience is worth. It’s not always their fault they’re just not the expert on your business so it’s up to you to explain to them why charging for your services and products is necessary. It also educates them why doing something for free is a little impractical for you and other business owners out there! 

If you can’t charge full price here are a few other ways around the, “doing it for free” option:

If you would still like to offer a discount continue with: “I’m still stoked you’re interested in it so if you like I can do it for $____.”

Note: Use this sparingly because you don’t want to be known as the, “discount friend.”

ALWAYS make a profit even if you do something at a discount. And in return for doing something at a discount ask them if they could promote it for you and tag you.

If this seems a little too much to ask for, dont worry, we get it. It’s probably weird enough that you are doing it for free.

If you’ve taken anything from this is — don’t do anything for absolutely free.

If you are getting something: Some money, hella exposure, a great amount of experience + testimonial, or guaranteed referrals then it isn’t for free now is it ;)

Another way to get around it is to do SOME of it for free. 

Here’s what I mean by that:

When I was a brand new copywriter I opened my services up for 2 free test projects in a Facebook group in exchange for testimonials. No more, no less. This is key people! Those Facebook groups have very interested business professionals who LOVE free services and its important to stand your ground.

You’re probably wondering, “Hey, you JUST said not to do anything for free. What gives??”

Fair enough, my reasoning at the time was that I needed some social proof as a brand new writer and I wanted to get my feet wet. But the biggest part was #impostersyndrome. I didn’t think i was worth any money at the time.

Of course if you know what you’re doing or have more confidence than my 22 year old self, don’t do anything for free! Discounts sometimes, free never.

Now let’s say they are desperate. They NEED what you are selling but they swear they can’t meet you halfway with your discounted prices. What do you do??

Ask them to support you for free :)

Free ways to support business owners:

• Follow you on social media, comment, like, and share your posts

• Opt-in for your freebies

Moral of the story is this: BIPOC business owners should not feel guilty about charging for their services & products. It is important for us to grow so we can also uplift our community, so charge for those services and products!

Do you agree? Message me and let me know!