There’s this… thing you want to do.

It’s been on your to do list for a while now, and on your mind for even longer.

It’s going to be huge, epic, world-changing, paradigm-shifting!

If you could only get started…

Sound familiar? 

If so, you’re not alone.  There are plenty of smart, high achieving people out there who struggle with procrastination — even when it comes to things they think and say they desperately want!

And this is especially true if you also suffer from the Imposter Complex. (Around here we say Imposter Complex instead of imposter syndrome, and here’s why.)

Because procrastinating is one of the six behaviours of the Imposter Complex — that AWFUL feeling that we dread experiencing… being found out... The other shoe dropping... Being unmasked... We know better than everyone around us that WE ARE THE Imposter. We are CERTAIN of it. And it’s just a matter of time before “THEY” find out.

The Imposter Complex wants to keep us out of action (because that keeps us safe). Except: when you stay out of action, you deprive us of the gift you are. The gifts that you’ve been given. You deprive of us the YOU that we need.

If you’re a coach, service provider, or entrepreneur, this is especially dreadful for you, because it means you’re avoiding the very things that would help you grow your business, serve more people, and create your Impeccable Impact.

Lie number seven of the Imposter Complex — “you’re not ready yet” — is intimately associated with procrastination, it tends to show up right after you’ve decided to do the thing, and it is a seductive and tricky beast because it seems so rational.

It suggests that you MAY be ready ONE day… that day's just not today. Yup. It's giving you slack, all right.

Just enough slack in the rope to tangle yourself into the loop of inspiration -> preparation -> frustration -> procrastination -> inspiration…

It disguises itself as the oh-so-logical argument that you just need a little more — experience, education, time, whatever.

I say you’re ready enough. 

And?

No one was ever fully ready. For anything. 

Don’t let that stop you.

5 Ways to stop procrastinating now

Of course, if you’re out here Googling “how to stop procrastinating” you want some tangible tips... 

A caveat first: I don’t believe in hustling or “hustle culture”.  I don’t believe in just jamming things through for the sake of ticking off the box on your to do list.

I think that procrastination can also look like deep discernment. Thoughtfulness. Judiciousness. Care. Not rushing in and causing damage.

So the type of procrastination we’re discussing here is the type that’s popping up because somewhere deep down you don’t believe you can do the thing — not the type that might stem from being burned out, out of alignment with the work, or being a cog in a capitalist machine that values productivity over people, m’kay? 

Cool. As long as we’ve got that cleared up, here are some suggestions to help you stop procrastinating: 

1. Remind yourself of everything you’ve already done. If you suspect your procrastination does stem from Imposter Complex, from a fear that you’re not really ready to do the thing, then the best remedy is to remind yourself of all the things you’ve already done. As you sit down to make the call or write the book or step up to the mic to deliver the talk that will change EVERYTHING, think about how everything you have ever made, delivered, sold, created, drafted, crafted, survived, healed, and done is coming together. Right here and now. For this very purpose. For this very moment. Whew!  It’s a lot! Good job. And? It proves that you absolutely can do this. Because you have.

2. Call on your supporting cast. Some people are what author Gretchin Rubin calls “obligers” — they will move mountains to fulfil a commitment they’ve made to someone else, but when they’re just making a commitment to themselves… meh.  If that sounds like you — or you just like the feeling of outside accountability — then call in someone from your supporting cast to hold you to your word. Tell a bestie, a coach, a partner, or a teammate that you plan to do the thing by a particular deadline, and then ask them to hold you accountable. It can work wonders!

3. Break it down into tiny steps. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, as the old saying goes. If the end goal feels overwhelming (giving a TED talk, writing a book, starting a business, etc.), then start by breaking that goal down into its smallest component parts. What’s the smallest step you can take that will constitute progress on this today? Researcher and author B.J. Fogg suggests that tiny habits are the key to success, so break that goal down as small as you can possibly go.
   
   Instead of committing to writing a page a day, for example, what if you committed to just writing one sentence? If you do more than that, you’re winning! But even if all you get is one sentence written, that’s one more than you had yesterday. Bonus: The Imposter Complex has a harder time arguing that you’re not ready enough to write one sentence, so this might help quiet those doubts long enough to get started.

4. Go deep. If you continue to struggle with procrastination, we need to explore why. Everybody has days when they don’t feel like working — but if your procrastination days outnumber your productive days, there’s a reason. Your tendency to procrastinate may come from an excellent place. Maybe your fabulous values of temperance and analysis simply want to make sure that you’re doing your work at your best. Maybe it’s true that you are in the 0.1% of the population who actually DO work best under pressure. Maybe the task at hand is just not tapping into your creative genius. I totally get it.
   
   There are two kinds of procrastination: active and passive. If you’re an active procrastinator, this just may, in fact, be your style. But can we agree that it causes you undue stress and anxiety nonetheless? And if you’re a passive procrastinator, it may be a function of being paralyzed by the enormity of the work ahead. In either case, understanding your tendencies and that procrastination is a place we hide out in when we are having a hard time coping with the Imposter Complex will help you overcome it.

5. Eliminate your distractors. Now, don’t let that “going deep” introspection derail you even more! When it’s time to get to work, be honest with yourself and eliminate your preferred procrastination distractions: hide your phone, turn off email alerts, log out of Facebook, disable your Netflix account — whatever it takes! Then remind yourself that you can go back and do all those things once you’re finished with the task at hand. It just might be the carrot and stick you need to get going. 

All good suggestions, right? And… perhaps easier said than done. 

But when the litany of reasons you can’t do the thing start piling up…

You’re not smart enough.

Wise enough.

Brave enough.

Charismatic enough.

Gorgeous enough.

Spiritual enough.

Wealthy enough…

Just remember this: You’re ready enough to take the first step. 

And it could be that the first step is enough to propel you forward toward your dreams. 

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Click here for my free training:

Five ICONIC shifts leaders use to overcome Imposter Complex.

There's this phrase around the internet: "Success is never owned; it is only rented – and the rent is due every day." 

And I want to disagree. Vehemently. 

We have a funny relationship with success, and it’s certainly one of the places where Imposter Complex most likes to hide out. 

(And I call it Imposter Complex instead of imposter syndrome for a good reason — but this is true whatever you want to call it.) 

You CAN own your success, even when you doubt yourself, even when you think it can't be replicated, even if you fear it's temporary ... it's YOURS.

But Imposter Complex would have us doubt all of that. 

It would have you think that successful people don’t ever doubt themselves. (And therefore, if you experience self doubt, you’re not successful. QED.)  

It would like us to believe that when (if) we reach a certain level of success (somewhere farrrrrrrrrrrrr beyond where we are currently, obviously), then we will know for certain that we are successful. That we are no longer imposters.

It pretends there is some bright line that separates the imposters from the truly successful.

But the truth is that actual imposters don’t experience Imposter Complex the same way successful, thoughtful, driven people (frequently women) do. In fact, the idea of the Imposter Complex is rooted in the idea that it shows up in objectively successful people. 

Successful folks still doubt themselves

No matter which lie of the Imposter Complex is keeping your belief about your capacity at bay, the best and only way to wriggle free is by deepening into the TRUTH: that successful people absolutely do experience this.

Actors, sports professionals, business people, entrepreneurs, parents… it seems about 70% of people at some point will experience the feelings to some degree (though the data is still insufficient and heavily English-language and North American-focused). 

Want names? 

Maya Angelou, Emma Watson, Michelle Obama, Mindy Kaling, Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, Tina Fey, Natalie Portman, Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, Amy Schumer, Gillian Jacobs, Lena Dunham, Padma Lakshmi, Jennifer Lee, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Samantha Bee, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Cara Delevingne, Joyce M Roche, Cheryl Strayed, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, Robert Pattinson, Einstein, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Lopez, Natalie Portman, Daniel Radcliffe, Amy Adams, Chris Martin, Jodie Foster, Renée Zellweger, Amy Poehler, Lady Gaga, Michelle Williams, John Steinbeck, Meryl Streep, Anne Lamott, Chris Martin, Jerry Seinfeld. 

Plus the hunnnnnndreds of Rockstar Leaders I’ve coached that I can’t name here. 

I’ve even heard tell that there were writings about the experience of the Buddha and Jesus Christ but just can’t seem to find sources on this.

This to say: You are in excellent company.

That’s why I take such delight in collecting stories of the great and the good who feel the same way you do.  (And believe me: whenever a new one pops up, my people make sure I see it!)

For example:

“Have I ever doubted myself? Have I ever not? I feel self-doubt whether I’m doing something hard or easy.” — Sigourney Weaver

“Even though I have been in politics for a long time, I have been First Minister for four years, there will be days when I think 'should I even be here? Is somebody about to find me out?’ [...] I don't think there is a woman alive, particularly working-class women, who don't experience that at some point in their lives, and probably quite regularly.” — Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish First Minister.

“So I have to admit that today, even 12 years after graduation [from Harvard], I’m still insecure about my own worthiness. I have to remind myself today, You are here for a reason. Today, I feel much like I did when I came to Harvard Yard as a freshman in 1999 … I felt like there had been some mistake — that I wasn’t smart enough to be in this company and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove I wasn’t just a dumb actress.” — Natalie Portman

“The first problem of any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you are getting away with something, and that any moment now they will discover you. It’s Impostor Syndrome, something my wife Amanda (Palmer) christened the Fraud Police.” – Neil Gaiman

“I go through [acute impostor complex] with every role. I think winning an Oscar may in fact have made it worse. Now I’ve achieved this, what am I going to do next? What do I strive for?” — Lupita Nyong’o

“There are an awful lot of people out there who think I’m an expert.  How do these people believe all this about me?  I’m so much aware of all the things I don’t know.” — Dr. Margaret Chan, Chief of the World Health Organization

“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.” – Maya Angelou

In fact, Oprah famously says that every person she has interviewed — including Barack Obama and Béyonce — have asked her the same question as soon as the cameras were off:

“How was that? Was that OK? How’d I do?”

How to move past it when you doubt your success

If successful people still doubt themselves (and I think it’s fair to say they do), how do we move past it?

How do we own our success? 

The Imposter Complex wants you to doubt the value of your contributions and your successes. 

Don’t let it.

Go Inside First

We must look long and hard and close at the TRUTH about our successes.

This requires us to KNOW ourselves; our strengths, our values, how we do what we do.

And uncomfortably, this means we have to look at what we have DONE.

I call this Bolstering your Authority Thesis.

When was the last time you listed every.single.thing you ever did brilliantly well? Every.single.thing you delivered, sold, created, influenced, decided, authored, won, crafted?

When was the last time you listed every.single.thing you have survived? Every.single.thing you have healed and fixed and released?

Yes, I’m talking about that grade 7 science fair project and the time you asked for the business and the time you raised your hand and the time you claimed what you knew and the time you overcame THE THING and the time you had the hard conversation and the time you risked the heartbreak and the time you called them in and the time you did NOT tolerate it and the time you broke the record and the time you chose you and the time you did not back down and the time you got back up and the time you said yes when you meant it and the time you dug deep in spite of the fear and the time they recognized you but you realized the recognition of your self was more valuable. All those times. 

And then some.

When was the last time you did that?

Oh… you haven’t ever?

And why not?

We struggle with owning up to our accomplishments because we don’t PAUSE in celebration. We don’t rest in celebration to integrate the hard work. We’re on to the next thing. Wanting to want, not wanting to get.

Celebration offers us the chance to remember that there was once a time when you believed what you have just done was not possible.

So yes. Get every.single.thing you’ve ever done written out. Keep on writing until you have run out of paper then buy another ream. You’ll know when you’re done.

And on an on-going basis, track your wins. All of them.

DAILY.

Because in doing so, you are building a new narrative. One that celebrates your resilience and tenacity and helps you to recognize all the times you've stood in your doubt at this very precipice of your desires. Of expansion. Of a breakthrough.

Get Outside

And ONCE you’ve done that internal analysis of your capacity — or, in other words, realized that you are a badass — THEN you have a fighting chance of believing people when they tell you that you are truly remarkable. 

(I highly recommend you believe them. It’s the arrogance of the Imposter Complex that has you disbelieving them after YOU’VE already done the analysis.)

But you MUST go inside before you can receive what others on the outside are telling you. And when you’re there, gather it alllll up. The reference letters, the sweet tweets, the cards, the emails. Gather it all up and hold the sacredness of accolades as true. Feel the gift of the acknowledgments and notice how the doubt of your capacity starts to melt away.

You did things. All the things.

Those are your successes, and nothing, nothing can take those away from you.

You don’t have to pay the rent with your hustle or grind or more success.

Time does not dull or diminish those successes. 

They are yours to keep — if you will own them. 

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Click here for my free training:

Five ICONIC shifts leaders use to overcome Imposter Complex.

“Speak up!”

“Post on social media!”

“Toot your own horn a little.”

“You have to talk about what you do so people can hire you…”

Oh, if only it were that simple. 

Often, a fear of speaking up or being seen is a symptom of a person struggling with Imposter Complex. 

(By the way, here’s why I say Imposter Complex instead of Imposter Syndrome).

It shows up when there’s a conversation going on around you (digitally or in real life) and you have an opinion… but can’t quite form the words to get it out.

It shows up as writer’s block when the cursor blinks maddeningly at you, daring you to write what you really think…

It might show up for you somewhere else — in a meeting at work, at a party with friends, in opportunities to promote yourself, or anywhere your voice might be heard.

It’s usually a version of one of the 12 Lies of the Imposter Complex rattling around in our brain: “You have nothing useful to say.” 

This is a blatant lie, of course. Because you? Have big plans. You have big ideas. And these big ideas require us to play bigger and build a platform that — GULP — requires us to speak up and speak out. 

But when we believe this lie, we say nothing. We don't communicate with our audience, our clients, our fans. We pass up opportunities to share our message (what message?) and don't collaborate with our peers (everyone knows more than I do about the topic!). And we miss out on growth, learning, and connection.

Unfortunately, many of us were taught — implicitly or explicitly — that it wasn’t safe to speak up. Girls and women in particular are taught that to be quiet is to be “good” from an early age. We’re disciplined in school for talking out of turn. 

For some, the trauma associated with being seen is real. And for Black, Indigneous, and People of Colour and other marginalized people in particular, that feeling of being unsafe can be very real. 

So we learn to keep quiet. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t speak out of turn. (And when exactly is our turn?)

When I ask the members of my Facebook group how the Imposter Complex shows up for them, I get answers like:

"I stay quiet & small"

"I’m passive"

"I'm the best kept secret"

"I wish I could just say things"

"I wonder which voice is mine vs. others"

"fear of being seen"

"playing big vs. small"

"I second guess myself"

"I minimize my visibility"

"I’m the last to speak up"

"I have nothing to say"

"promoting myself feels like heavy lifting"

"avoiding tasks that put me out there to get rolling (like follow up)"

Any of that sound familiar? 

How a fear of speaking up & being seen might manifest for you

Depending on which of the six behavioural traits of the Imposter Complex you most often experience, you might experience the self-doubt of Lie #4 in different ways:

If you’re a people-pleaser, you might find you don't want to "bother" people with your unoriginal thoughts. If you tend to compare, you’re always comparing what you want to say with what others have already said (and probably finding your version lacking). If you tend to diminish, you’re going to get stuck on the idea that not only has it been said before, but it’s been said better. 

No matter which behavioural trait is keeping you from speaking your truth in the way that only you can, the solution is to remember that your people want to hear your take, your version, your view.

How to speak up & be seen — even when the Imposter Complex tries to tell you not to

How you actually find your voice will vary from person to person — but remember that it is your voice to find, and that your people will want to hear what you have to say.

A few practical tips to get you started:

• Take note of when you do feel confident speaking up and when you don’t. For example, a friend of mine often feels uncomfortable speaking up for herself with clients — but if her team members need something, she has the courage of a mama bear to speak to the client. Interesting…

• Plan ahead. If your fear of showing up and being seen is truly about an event (ie: speaking up in a meeting, going live on Facebook, sharing your prices with an interested person on a sales call), writing down what you want to say ahead of time and practicing is a great way to start. But don’t just practice the words; practice the feelings of confidence as well.

• Take imperfect action. The Imposter Complex wants to keep us out of action — one of its sneaky tricks. Allowing yourself the freedom to take imperfect action disrupts its plans.

• Call in your people.  As I’ve said above, your people are rooting for you. They want you to win.  So stack the deck in your favor. Invite a few ringers to the audience to start the applause or ask the first question. Ask a friend for support when you have to make a difficult phone call. Invite your besties to be the first to like your new thing on social media. It’s like priming the pump, and believe me that even if they are the first to join you, they won’t be the last. 

When you fully embody your Iconic Identity and start sharing the full expression of who you are and the important work you’re creating, lots of magical things start to happen. It’s inevitable. 

What’s also inevitable is that some people in your life may not really understand it. And, this will likely sting a bit. Your work will be in being okay with it.  And that may not happen right away. 

However you deal with these folks, remember one final inevitability that WILL occur as you start to speak up, be seen, and do your important work:

The people who GET it will show up. They are your fans, your champions, and your new source of inspiration and motivation.

So practice speaking up, showing up, playing a little bigger. You may be amazed at who is watching.  

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Click here for my free training:

Five ICONIC shifts leaders use to overcome Imposter Complex.

One thing I love most about my work with Your Impeccable Impact is the transformations I get to witness and be some small part of as participants work through their stories and come out the other side with a new Iconic Identity.

This was especially true of recent YII grad, Mara Glatzel.

Meet Mara. Iconic Identity: Visionary

Mara is an intuitive coach and writer, focusing on self care and sovereignty, host of the podcast Needy, and a passionate advocate for helping people get their needs met. 

By her own admission, she spent years following me, reading emails, consuming the Imposter Complex content I was putting out, and keeping an eye on what I was doing for some time, convinced she wasn’t ready for the work, perhaps, and also extremely discerning about who she works with.

But once we got on a Breakthrough Call together, it was a case of right place, right time. 

“What is really brilliant about this program that I didn't know to anticipate, was how much I was going to love the coursework itself,” Mara shared. “The coursework is really comprehensive. And it is really, really, really well done.”

Illuminating challenges and bringing them to light

Right away, Mara found the coursework illuminating things she had an inkling about before, but the work brought them to light in a new way.

Mara realized she was “not really standing in my own leadership or taking up space in my own life.” She said, “I had been just using myself and extracting from myself without any thought to what I needed. I had stretched what I gave myself, what I gave myself, what I gave myself for so many years, but I had these edges where I thought, well that's reasonably enough.”

Mara’s dominant behaviour of the Imposter Complex is diminishment, and apart from diminishing around her work and accomplishments, she was also diminishing her own needs.

Despite her work coaching others around their own self care, Imposter Complex had convinced her that she was only allowed to give herself what was “reasonable.”  (Reasonable compared to what? Or defined by whom? Imposter Complex isn’t really concerned with those sorts of details.) 

“And something happened to me during this program…” Mara shared. “On that last day, I shared about wanting 23 hours of rest every one hour of work. I'm now literally working towards that model now, because it takes so much self belief to believe, that's enough.”

Trying on her Iconic Identity

In our fast-paced world of hustle culture, internalized Puritan work ethics, and Capitalist notions of productivity, the idea that one hour of work in every 24 could be enough….That’s visionary.

Mara had to practice trying on that identity, seeing how it fit, inside the safe spaces of the Your Impeccable Impact community and coaching calls.

“The reason that I was so discombobulated inside was because I was prioritizing the perfection of the work,” Mara admitted, “and only giving myself just enough to be okay, but never giving myself enough to thrive. So I would say that's the shift that I've made over the course of the time of working with Tanya is that I'm finally really attending to what I require and it's a lot more than I ever would have allowed myself before.”

Reaping the fruits of her labours — and her rest

What’s truly wonderful — and perhaps amazing to some — is the way in which that tenderness, that tending, that rest is paying dividends in Mara’s business. And we’re not just talking about time off or hours saved, but cold hard cash.

“It is continually astonishing to me how investing in myself and my geek out joy and happiness brings greater dividends to my business,” Mara shared. “You know, since the time when we started working together (over 12 weeks), I’ve secured the amount I used to bring in over the course of 12 months.”

Even with (or indeed, because of) all her attention to her needs, her drive for more rest, her giving more to herself, Mara had her best sales month ever, and is leading more expansively, (plus some other good stuff you might want to stay tuned for).

The takeaway:

Mara’s work in Your Impeccable Impact helped her realize that, although she was preaching self care to her clients and audience, she wasn’t in integrity with how she was treating herself. 

That behaviour was diminishment, because she wasn’t listening to what she truly needed, and was giving herself just enough to keep going.

But once she saw that, and realized that she is the vehicle for her work in the world, her priorities became clear.

As she stepped into her Iconic Identity as a Visionary, she realized she needed to attend to her own needs so much more than she had been allowing, letting go of any Imposter Complex thoughts of believing it was too much, or worrying what others would think.

And once she did? Once she opened herself up to the possibilities that more care, more rest afforded her? The results were dramatic. 

By caring for herself, she was able to give more of herself to her role as a Visionary, and the results showed up in her business and her bank account. 

“Through this work, I’m getting caught up to my bigness.”

And to me? That’s everything. 

If you’re interested in exploring how you too might discover your Iconic Identity and tame the Imposter Complex, click here to book a Breakthrough Call with me. It’s a free opportunity to explore your next steps and to see whether or not the Your Impeccable Impact program will help you take them. But mostly, you’ll gain clarity.

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Click here for my free training:

Five ICONIC shifts leaders use to overcome Imposter Complex.

Because I work with a lot of coaches, entrepreneurs, and visionaries, one of the ways the Imposter Complex often rears its ugly head is with questions around pricing, charging for services, and how to get paid what “you’re worth”. 

It’s no surprise to me that the Imposter Complex has something snarky to say when we try to attach a dollar value to our work. (And, if you’re curious, we say Imposter Complex instead of imposter syndrome because it’s more accurate, as I discuss in this article.) 

Because it feels like one thing to put the work out there for free (or for a very low fee) — but it feels like something else entirely to say, “I’m worth this (much higher, much scarier) dollar amount.”

In fact, this is so prevalent for my people, that this is just a sample of what people have said when they join my Facebook group around how Imposter Complex is holding them back:

• "I think that others don't think I'm worth paying"

• "I’m comparing myself to others who use their gift & get paid well for it"

• "I doubt the value of what I'm doing"

• "I always undercharge"

• "I can never get paid what I deserve"

• "I don't make the money I should be"

• "I’m not asking my worth"

• "I’m allowing offers below my value"

• "I give away too much"

• "I question the true value I can bring"

Ouch. 

This frequently shows up as the behaviour of diminishing that keeps you playing small and questioning the value of your work. 

Or you might find that you fall back on perfectionism: to prove your “worth,” you dig in with over-preparing, refining, polishing, perfecting and never delivering. 

(Curious about which behaviour of the Imposter Complex is standing in your way? Click here to take the free Imposter Complex quiz.)

So what can we do about it? 

How to determine “what you’re worth”

The first part I want to unpack is the “worthiness” discussion — and the fact that what you charge or how you value your work actually has little if anything with your intrinsic worthiness. That's why I’ve put getting paid “what you’re worth” in quotation marks.

You are worthy, no matter what you charge. Period.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t answer the question of what rate to put on your website or how to answer when someone asks what you charge. 

From a purely economic standpoint, it seems much easier to assign a value to a physical product than a service. With a product, there are tangible costs one can tally up: cost of raw materials, labour and production, distribution and shipping, marketing and advertising, research and development, and so on. One can add together those costs, add on a percentage for profit, and voilá! There’s the price.

Except, it’s rarely that simple. 

There’s the question of supply and demand. If you’ve got the last roll of toilet paper in the city, well… We found out during the pandemic how much value people will place on that.

There’s also the question of profit margins. Did you know that typical retail prices are fully double the cost of production or more? Fine jewelry typically retails at triple the cost to the designer. Luxury items can be even more than that — which is how you get plain white t-shirts that cost hundreds of dollars versus a pack of six that cost just a few.

With services — and luxury services at that — it gets even more complicated. 

There’s a wonderful maxim in the freelancing world that says, essentially: when a customer pays an hourly rate for, say, coaching or graphic design or copywriting, they’re not just paying for the hours it takes the vendor to complete the work; they’re paying for the years of education and experience that person brings to the job as well.

If you’re in business, you’ve probably noticed that you can hire service providers at a wide range of prices. Someone might pay anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars for a new website, as an example, and everywhere in between. And, like a nice bottle of wine, you can often get good quality and value at a variety of prices. The $300 bottle is not necessarily intrinsically better than the $30 bottle.

My point is that your “worth” is not a fixed value — and it’s not something you can determine by comparing yourself to what the rest of your industry is doing. 

Pricing, value, worth can all start with external factors, like what other people are charging, but then have to take into account that one totally unique and irreplaceable element: you.  Your education, years of experience, insights, and so on. 

Because there are so many factors involved in deciding pricing, value, and “worth” in any industry, hopefully you can start to detach your personal self-worth from the dollar amount you place on your work. 

Deciding what you’re “worth”

Deciding your “worth” and the value of your work is essentially a very personal question and decision, but I’ll share just a few ideas to help you arrive at a dollar amount:

1. Consider how much you want/need to earn and work backwards.
   This is, in essence, a supply and demand problem. Start with the monthly or annual amount you want to earn, work out how many clients you can manage or hours you want to spend working, and then divide. That’s your rate.  Alternately, take your current rate and multiply out how many clients or hours you need to reach your earning goals, then decide if that’s realistic. Remember: gross revenue is not the same as take-home pay. Consider what you might want to earn to do more with your business as well, like hire more team members, help more people, or create more freedom or income for yourself.

2. Move up incrementally.
   Of course, when people do the exercise above, they frequently realize their rates will not realistically get them to their goals — and that can trigger fear around raising rates. One of the simplest ways to work through this fear is to make an agreement with yourself to raise your rates incrementally. For example: if you’re currently getting paid $25 per hour, you agree with yourself that once you’ve signed 3 new clients, you will raise your rates to $35 per hour, and will continue to raise your rates by $10 an hour for every 3 new clients you sign. You’re welcome to tell yourself that if it ever becomes necessary, you can go back down to your old rate — but I would bet you will find that won’t be necessary.

3. Do your research.
   If you’re new and completely unsure where to start, it’s OK to do your research to see what the “going rate” is for what you do — just remember that you don’t need to stay at that introductory rate forever!  See number 2 above.

4. Test what the market will bear.
   Of course, there is sometimes going to be a ceiling or natural limit to what the market will bear. For example, if you are a coach for beginning business owners, and you would like to charge $50,000 an hour for your services, you may struggle to find clients — not because you’re not “worth” that amount, but because the pool of brand new business owners who can afford your rates will be smaller. This has nothing to do with your worth and everything to do with product/market fit. And usually the only way to determine this is to test it. 

How to raise your rates — without doubting your worth

Once you’ve made the decision to raise rates, all the negative self-talk and naysaying saboteurs/gremlins/inner critics will almost certainly start to show up for a feeding frenzy. They’re your first obstacle — not the clients! And they hate nothing more than clarity. 

So that’s what you must feed them: a steady diet of straight talk.

Say this, loud and proud:

I am raising my rates because: 

1. I know the value of my worth and it’s time that I was compensated accordingly. (This may mean saying “no” to brain-picking or “trade” offers, too… your call). 

2. I know what I need to do to grow my business, and raising my rates will allow me to create more. (More of what is up to you). 

3. I have done my due diligence and I know what the market will bear. (Because you HAVE). 

4. I know the value of my worth and it’s time that I was compensated accordingly. (This bears repeating… saboteurs like to pretend they didn’t hear you the first time).

The other tool I like to rely on is the Yum & Yay folder. Essentially, it’s the list, or folder, or place in your computer where you save all the wonderful things people have said about you and your work

(You do have a place for that… right?)

Revisit as needed when the self-doubt gremlins would have you questioning if you’re really “worth” what you’re charging for your work. Chances are, your people will have had quite a lot to say about that — even if you need to be reminded that they said it. 

Finally, remember that other people’s opinions are just that. A friend of mine, a copywriter, charges $300 per hour for projects, and had someone actually say to her, “That’s how much I pay my lawyer. How can you justify prices like that?”

The point is: She doesn’t have to justify it. Her work speaks for itself, and she’s found plenty of clients more than happy to pay it. That person simply wasn’t her ideal customer. 

In short: Charging what you’re worth is an inside game much more than it is about other people. Confront those voices of the Imposter Complex and you will be well on your way to the compensation you want and deserve. 

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Five ICONIC shifts leaders use to overcome Imposter Complex.