Almost anyone who has a knack for certain business practices may have found themselves in the position where you help people with their companies so that you can sharpen your skills, then at some point you discover that those people are willing to take your free work but not paid services. Well today that stops! I have identified the single most common reason why people work for free instead of getting paid; LACK OF CONFIDENCE!
How do I know this? Because I was that person: That person was me.
I developed an interest in business, contracts and bookkeeping when I was a kid. Instead of going outside to play (I suffered from bad allergies as a child), I prefered to stay indoors and read books. My favorites were business reference books that showed how to write business letters and the elements of a contract. And if I were feeling adventurous, I would read the credit card agreement and privacy policies that came in the mail. Then, I would take my newfound knowledge and make a ledger where I would track the chores or tasks that I did for my family members. I would charge for walking to the store for someone and even completing extra chores around the house. Eventually my family members would have balances owed, and I would collect so that I could use my hard-earned money to buy candy or something from the ice cream truck. I enjoyed running my own business!
As I moved into my teens and adulthood, I continued helping people with their businesses and even won a championship in high school for Business Professionals of America. However, somewhere in my mid-20s, I began to feel that because business acumen had always come to me so easily that no one would pay me for my services because I just didn't work hard enough. You see, I was also clouded under the thought that in order to be successful, the work had to be grueling and if it came too easy, then that meant that "I" was doing something wrong! Boy, was I way off! Anyway, I soon traded my dreams of running my own business for working for others and it never really clicked for me because deep down inside I felt that I already knew what the business owners were trying to tell me and more often than not, I was right.
So then it happened, I began listening to my inner voice and told myself that I would make it happen. I would run my own company! Then, I allowed doubt to creep in decided that I needed to give my services away for free so that i could "prove" to people that I knew my stuff and was worthy of being paid. Well that was a HUGE mistake! I had many people lined up to take advantage of my free services and some even told me that I should be doing this for a living because I was just that good! I thought, WOW! This person will definitely become a client. But I soon discovered that those people ended up falling off and once I announced that I was making my business legitimate and charging for my services, those people had less issues that they needed me to help with and some even hired other companies to handle their needs!
After dealing with disappointment, I had to get to the root of why I allowed myself to get in this position and then as clear as day, it popped into my mind. I did not have the confidence in myself that people would pay me; so they didn't. Point blank. And I know this is true because when I was a child and had no idea about energy, confidence, or anything, I just knew that if I did a task, that I required payment. And my family members obliged. I set expectations and I received. I had no other worries. So, I had to go back to my past, to reshape and expand my future. It took that child to help me gain the courage that I needed to move forward in my adult life!
Today, I have released all doubts about whether or not I am qualified to get paid, because my work speaks for itself and has done so for many years. In fact, charging what I am worth is the greatest way to build business because I energetically attract the right people for my company who are interested in working with me and will benefit from my services. I create the business that I want and I let it flow. So, if you can relate to what I have shared, do yourself a favor and get paid. Trust me, you're worth it!