This is a guest post by Marleen Martinez, a copywriter and content creator specializing in the Orlando film and entertainment Industry, who is also a member of AWAI's GRO Business Incubator. 

[Alternate title]
The Sky Is Falling!
(Pricing Nightmares of the Monetarily Tongue-Tied)

Picture this:

I; a frankly funny and cheerful business owner.
Them; potential clients with what looks to be an exciting and challenging product or service.

Everything is going great! And then the horrible money monster rears its head.

My throat closes up, my palms and armpits break out in a cold sweat, and my mind blanks as I forget all the lessons I’ve learned about dealing with the money question.

I blurt out a number after the fifth time I’m asked about my prices and the moment I do I know I screwed myself because the workload is too high for the amount I am quoting. But the client is insulted anyway at the amount I asked for.

“You charge too much!” they say, flailing their arms about like my grandmother after a night of too much parcheesi. “You’re so unprofessional!”

I don’t get a chance to reply because I get called a gouger and then the Zoom call abruptly ends.

I breathe deep and try to calm down, but I get a call from a current client. They’ve been doing business with the previous client and heard about my price gouging. Now they want to get a full accounting of what I do for them for the amount I charge.

As I open the laptop to start the arduous task of itemizing the invoice, I get a notification from Yelp! An account has been opened under my business name by the first client just so they can warn the world about my evil, money hungry ways.

I am ruined. I can’t pay my rent, I can’t get my dream dog, and worst of all, someone just asked for their money back and I’ve spent it all! I step outside to take a deep breath and the sky opens up, pouring itself all over me.

A car drives flies past and splashes a wall of water over me. A duck passing by honks and runs at me because I am in the way of its walk and I run off into the stormy night crying “why didn’t I have a price list ready!”

Sound familiar? 

If you never want to live through an experience like that, you can learn what Marleen is learning about how to lead the money conversation. Check out Ilise's course from Domestika, "Writing a Winning Proposal"