My Biggest Lesson of 2016

Ola chic meninas! It’s day 2 of 2017 and most of us are getting ourselves back into our normal routines or trying out new ones that incorporate new resolutions or easing off old bad habits. Anytime a new year rolls around, I like to reflect back on the previous year and make some notes. I tend to reflect on my biggest successes, lessons and so forth. Today I decided to share with you, my biggest lesson of 2016.

Ever since I could remember, I have been a creative soul. Once I started experimenting and putting my passion to work, I slowly started providing print services to family, friends and that turned into strangers who would randomly contact me – yay for organic customers! If you browse our instagram account, you’ll see that lately we have been extremely active.

Anyways, I always had a tough time charging people for my services though. I would probably ask 5+ people “is this too much to charge?” , “is this worth it?” and 98% of the time I was told that I am “undercharging” or that the pricing was spot on. I remember once my cousin told me, Amanda, you’re only making $10.00 on this, what the hell is wrong with you! Ha, to go back in time…the things we would change.

It seemed that every price point needed justification, validation and a shit ton of research. Which, in all fairness isn’t always a bad thing.

You research a cost to see how much your competitors are charging. You justify it by the quality, labour and time it takes to create and design. You validate it because you just want a second, third and in my case a 5^th opinion just to make sure. But when does that whole vicious cycle of self doubt end? Does it ever?

In 2016, the biggest lesson I learned was that it’s OK to put a price point on your work and NOT feel guilty about it. This goes for everything though. A small business owner, a personal trainer, a blogger…the list goes on. Time is money and our time is valuable.

The problem I constantly faced (and sometimes still do) was understanding that my PASSION and something that I enjoyed doing for fun and as a hobby is now a service and a product that I am providing to somebody else.

In 2017, I decided that I am no longer going to hold back and be afraid of putting a price tag on my work. Not everything is for everyone and if someone does not see value in what I am providing them at the price I am offering, that’s fine.

Wishing you all a fabulous New Year, may everything that you wish for come to you with grace. May be you be challenged, strive and grow in 2017. We cannot wait to see what the year has in store for us, a lot happens in a year!

Stay chic meninas, xo.