May 10, 2025 • 10 mins
Feeling unsure if you’re charging too much? In today’s Ask Allison, I’m diving into why your fee might feel off, how to tell if it’s your pricing or your business model that's out of alignment, and the key steps to recalibrate your pricing structure for long-term growth. Most importantly, I’ll help you shift from self-doubt to clarity—so you can set a fee that not only reflects your value but also aligns with the impact you want to make. Prefer video? This episode is also available to stream on our YouTube channel!
Sponsored by TherapyNotes®: TherapyNotes® just made documentation way easier with TherapyFuel™, their new AI-powered tools. Instantly generate progress notes, summarize client history, and even transcribe sessions with TherapyFuel™ Scribe. Plus, check out new features like AutoPay, secondary insurance claims, and Referral Rewards. Try it now and use promo code Abundant at TherapyNotes.com for two free months!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links, where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
I'm worried I'm charging too much.
What do I do?
So first I'd like to thank TherapyNotes for
sponsoring Ask Allison.
I have talked about TherapyNotes for years.
(00:48):
I know they're features by heart.
You probably do too, but I want to
talk about what truly sets them apart.
They genuinely care about your experience.
It is not just about troubleshooting.
They actively implement user-suggested features like their
new AI notes and automated client payments.
Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and
wants you to love it too.
Plus, they're independently owned, which means no venture
(01:10):
capital and no pressure to prioritize investors over
customers.
That independence allows them to keep prices fair,
to focus on innovation, and to prioritize customer
experience.
With over 100,000 therapists already on board,
they have proven that you don't have to
compromise success for quality.
If you're ready to see for yourself, try
TherapyNotes free for two months with the code
(01:32):
abundant at therapynotes.com.
All right.
So I get it.
The question can be really uncomfortable, and I
want you to know it's okay if you've
been questioning if your fee is too high,
but here's the thing.
It's not a simple yes or no question
and answer situation.
There are two distinct groups of people when
it comes to this issue, and today we're
(01:53):
going to talk about the group that might
actually be charging more than they should.
If the fee doesn't feel right for you,
it might actually be too much.
But before you start stressing out, let's break
it down.
I want to first acknowledge group one, those
of you who feel like you're charging too
much, but when you dig deeper, you realize
it's more about your mindset than the actual
fee.
(02:14):
This is the vast majority of people who
are wondering if their fee is too high.
This group might be dealing with imposter syndrome,
feeling like they're not good enough, or the
fear that no one's actually going to pay
the price they're asking.
They might not be getting a ton of
clients at that fee, and so they're wondering
maybe the fee is the problem.
The fee's not the problem.
It's your marketing.
And while these feelings are real, they don't
(02:36):
mean your fee is too high.
You just need to get comfortable stating it
and seeing that clients are, in fact, happy
to pay it when your marketing is on
point.
This is where the fear of rejection or
judgment comes into play.
It is natural for people in group one
to feel the way they feel when they
raise their rates.
But I promise you, when you keep practicing
saying your fee, you keep saying it's not
(02:58):
leading to rejection because your marketing is solid,
you're going to find your rhythm.
Eventually, you're going to settle into a place
where saying your fee feels comfortable.
And if you're in group one, I strongly
suggest getting some support, whether that's the Abundance
Party or one of our other programs.
It does get easier over time to raise
your fees and to market so that people
pay them.
(03:18):
And there's usually some deep mindset stuff that
you can work through.
All right.
Today, we're actually talking about group two.
These are the people who have been charging
a fee for a while.
And despite everything looking fine on the outside,
something feels off inside.
You may have set your fee at some
point because it felt like the right thing
to do.
Maybe you were looking around.
(03:39):
Everybody else is charging this really high amount
where you live.
Maybe it's a high cost of living area.
But over time, it hasn't felt quite right
anymore.
And I get that.
It can happen to many of us.
It's happened to me.
And it's important to address this.
So why the fee you set might not
be right anymore?
It's about alignment, essentially.
So I'll tell you a personal story.
Back in 2017, I raised my consulting fees.
(04:02):
The demand for my services was growing.
My calendar was fully booked.
I had a waiting list for my $5
,000 three-month consulting package.
And so I thought, OK, well, there's a
lot of demand here.
Let's raise the price and relieve some of
the time.
I shifted to a new offering that was
one month, three sessions for $3,000.
(04:23):
This was encouraged by a coach.
It seemed like a reasonable adjustment.
And within a month, I had several people
take me up on it.
But even though I was getting clients, something
inside me felt really uneasy.
I wasn't sure why.
I felt like the model wasn't quite sitting
well.
It wasn't about the money.
And it wasn't about feeling unworthy.
(04:43):
It was just this gut feeling that something
was off.
And I tried to ignore it.
I tried to just push through it because
this is what we do in business.
We push through discomfort.
But after reflecting some more, I realized my
initial gut feeling wasn't about charging too much.
It was about how I was delivering my
services.
What I was really struggling with was the
purpose of my offer, not necessarily the price
(05:05):
tag attached to it.
So that fee was kind of a red
herring.
The more individual work I was doing with
clients, with consulting, the fewer resources I had
to serve a larger group of people.
My business was growing.
But the way I was delivering my services
didn't align with my purpose anymore.
My purpose wasn't about working with just a
(05:26):
few clients at a time.
My bottle was about helping more people build
successful practices.
So by sticking to an individual model, I
wasn't able to do that.
I was limiting myself.
So despite the fact that my fee wasn't
necessarily too high, it was still not aligned
with what I wanted to offer and the
impact that I wanted to have.
And it led to this huge shift.
(05:46):
I decided to retire my individual consulting packages
for a while, and I created the Abundance
Party.
And that shift allowed me to serve a
much larger audience at a much more accessible
price point.
And it felt really expansive.
It felt aligned with my purpose.
In full transparency, I was able to make
more as well.
And once the Abundance Party was really rolling,
(06:07):
I could consider offering individual again, but not
until I felt like the party was out
there able to help the people who couldn't
afford individual consultation.
So here's the thing.
When you are in business for yourself, it
is not just about what you charge.
It's how your fee aligns with your vision
for your work and your life.
If your fee feels off, it's not necessarily
(06:27):
that you're too much, but it may be.
It's because the offering might not be right
for where you are in your business and
what you're wanting to do.
So if you're feeling like your fee is
not aligned, whether it's a red herring or
your actual fee, I want you to do
some self-reflection.
First, I do not want you to mistake
not getting clients.
And I've said this a few times already.
(06:48):
Not getting clients is not the same thing
as having your fee being misaligned.
You're not getting clients at the fee that
you're at because you haven't honed in on
your marketing well enough.
That is a sign you should join the
Abundance Party, not change your fee.
Let's break down what to do if it
truly is a fee alignment issue.
I want you to do the inner work.
(07:08):
The first step is always to take a
hard look at your feelings.
Are you uncomfortable because of money, shame, or
imposter syndrome?
Is it the discomfort coming from the structure
of your offering or the way you deliver
your services or your overall business model?
Spend some time getting really clear on why
your fee feels off.
Next, I want you to consider a different
business model to see if that makes sense.
(07:29):
Maybe you want to be doing more groups
because they light you up more.
You definitely wouldn't charge the same amount for
your group per person as you are for
your individual appointments.
So see if maybe that's something that fee
discomfort is pointing you to.
Align your fee with your purpose.
Your fee could support your overall business and
your personal goals.
So for me, the individual consulting model was
(07:50):
no longer in alignment with my desire to
help more people.
If you are feeling burned out or stretched
too thin, it might be time to reconsider
the type of work you're doing and how
you're offering it.
There are so many ways to be really
creative in how you structure your services while
maintaining a fee that feels good for you.
And fourth, I want you to know it's
a process.
It's not a one-time thing.
Keep in mind that your fee and your
(08:11):
business model are not set in stone.
As your practice grows and evolves, your fee
may need to evolve too.
Constant reflection and course correction are a normal
part of business.
You may need to adjust your pricing or
your offerings as your practice matures as you
offer different things.
That's okay.
It's just a part of creating a business
that really aligns with your needs and values.
(08:33):
And I think it's really great to have
some discomfort that pushes you to look at
that so that you're not just in this
career doing the same exact thing for 30
years.
So at the end of the day, the
fee you charge should feel expansive.
It should feel aligned with your personal goals.
It's likely to feel uncomfortable when you first
(08:53):
increase your fee, but if you are getting
clients and you've had your fee for a
while and it is still feeling confining or
uncomfortable, listen to that inner voice and see
what might be underneath it.
Whether that means raising or lowering your fee,
remember you are worthy no matter what you
charge.
Your value is not tied to the price
that you put on your services.
It's about the work you do, the impact
you have on your clients.
(09:14):
There's no amount of money that we can
actually put on the life-changing work that
we do.
If you're struggling with pricing or you want
some guidance on how to navigate it, I've
created a worksheet to help you explore your
own fee structure, make the right decisions for
your practice.
It's the setting your fees worksheet.
It's completely free.
DM me the word sheets to receive this
week's worksheet and I'll send you that link
(09:35):
and it has all the other previous free
worksheets too.
If you need help with any of this,
the Abundance Party has your back.
You can't afford it.
It is very affordable.
So I want you to DM the word
party if you're on social or if you're
listening to this on the podcast, I want
you to look at the show notes and
click the party link.
Thanks for tuning in.
(09:55):
I will see you all later.
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
Therapy Notes is the way to go.
Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo
code abundant for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Allison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
(10:18):
slash links.
If you're listening, you probably need some support
building your practice.
If you're a super newbie, grab our free
checklist using the link in the show notes.
I'd love for you to follow rate and
review, but I really want you to share
this with a therapist friend.
Let's help all our colleagues build what they
want.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links, where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
I'm worried I'm charging too much.
What do I do?
So first I'd like to thank TherapyNotes for
sponsoring Ask Allison.
I have talked about TherapyNotes for years.
(00:48):
I know they're features by heart.
You probably do too, but I want to
talk about what truly sets them apart.
They genuinely care about your experience.
It is not just about troubleshooting.
They actively implement user-suggested features like their
new AI notes and automated client payments.
Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and
wants you to love it too.
Plus, they're independently owned, which means no venture
(01:10):
capital and no pressure to prioritize investors over
customers.
That independence allows them to keep prices fair,
to focus on innovation, and to prioritize customer
experience.
With over 100,000 therapists already on board,
they have proven that you don't have to
compromise success for quality.
If you're ready to see for yourself, try
TherapyNotes free for two months with the code
(01:32):
abundant at therapynotes.com.
All right.
So I get it.
The question can be really uncomfortable, and I
want you to know it's okay if you've
been questioning if your fee is too high,
but here's the thing.
It's not a simple yes or no question
and answer situation.
There are two distinct groups of people when
it comes to this issue, and today we're
(01:53):
going to talk about the group that might
actually be charging more than they should.
If the fee doesn't feel right for you,
it might actually be too much.
But before you start stressing out, let's break
it down.
I want to first acknowledge group one, those
of you who feel like you're charging too
much, but when you dig deeper, you realize
it's more about your mindset than the actual
fee.
(02:14):
This is the vast majority of people who
are wondering if their fee is too high.
This group might be dealing with imposter syndrome,
feeling like they're not good enough, or the
fear that no one's actually going to pay
the price they're asking.
They might not be getting a ton of
clients at that fee, and so they're wondering
maybe the fee is the problem.
The fee's not the problem.
It's your marketing.
And while these feelings are real, they don't
(02:36):
mean your fee is too high.
You just need to get comfortable stating it
and seeing that clients are, in fact, happy
to pay it when your marketing is on
point.
This is where the fear of rejection or
judgment comes into play.
It is natural for people in group one
to feel the way they feel when they
raise their rates.
But I promise you, when you keep practicing
saying your fee, you keep saying it's not
(02:58):
leading to rejection because your marketing is solid,
you're going to find your rhythm.
Eventually, you're going to settle into a place
where saying your fee feels comfortable.
And if you're in group one, I strongly
suggest getting some support, whether that's the Abundance
Party or one of our other programs.
It does get easier over time to raise
your fees and to market so that people
pay them.
(03:18):
And there's usually some deep mindset stuff that
you can work through.
All right.
Today, we're actually talking about group two.
These are the people who have been charging
a fee for a while.
And despite everything looking fine on the outside,
something feels off inside.
You may have set your fee at some
point because it felt like the right thing
to do.
Maybe you were looking around.
(03:39):
Everybody else is charging this really high amount
where you live.
Maybe it's a high cost of living area.
But over time, it hasn't felt quite right
anymore.
And I get that.
It can happen to many of us.
It's happened to me.
And it's important to address this.
So why the fee you set might not
be right anymore?
It's about alignment, essentially.
So I'll tell you a personal story.
Back in 2017, I raised my consulting fees.
(04:02):
The demand for my services was growing.
My calendar was fully booked.
I had a waiting list for my $5
,000 three-month consulting package.
And so I thought, OK, well, there's a
lot of demand here.
Let's raise the price and relieve some of
the time.
I shifted to a new offering that was
one month, three sessions for $3,000.
(04:23):
This was encouraged by a coach.
It seemed like a reasonable adjustment.
And within a month, I had several people
take me up on it.
But even though I was getting clients, something
inside me felt really uneasy.
I wasn't sure why.
I felt like the model wasn't quite sitting
well.
It wasn't about the money.
And it wasn't about feeling unworthy.
(04:43):
It was just this gut feeling that something
was off.
And I tried to ignore it.
I tried to just push through it because
this is what we do in business.
We push through discomfort.
But after reflecting some more, I realized my
initial gut feeling wasn't about charging too much.
It was about how I was delivering my
services.
What I was really struggling with was the
purpose of my offer, not necessarily the price
(05:05):
tag attached to it.
So that fee was kind of a red
herring.
The more individual work I was doing with
clients, with consulting, the fewer resources I had
to serve a larger group of people.
My business was growing.
But the way I was delivering my services
didn't align with my purpose anymore.
My purpose wasn't about working with just a
(05:26):
few clients at a time.
My bottle was about helping more people build
successful practices.
So by sticking to an individual model, I
wasn't able to do that.
I was limiting myself.
So despite the fact that my fee wasn't
necessarily too high, it was still not aligned
with what I wanted to offer and the
impact that I wanted to have.
And it led to this huge shift.
(05:46):
I decided to retire my individual consulting packages
for a while, and I created the Abundance
Party.
And that shift allowed me to serve a
much larger audience at a much more accessible
price point.
And it felt really expansive.
It felt aligned with my purpose.
In full transparency, I was able to make
more as well.
And once the Abundance Party was really rolling,
(06:07):
I could consider offering individual again, but not
until I felt like the party was out
there able to help the people who couldn't
afford individual consultation.
So here's the thing.
When you are in business for yourself, it
is not just about what you charge.
It's how your fee aligns with your vision
for your work and your life.
If your fee feels off, it's not necessarily
(06:27):
that you're too much, but it may be.
It's because the offering might not be right
for where you are in your business and
what you're wanting to do.
So if you're feeling like your fee is
not aligned, whether it's a red herring or
your actual fee, I want you to do
some self-reflection.
First, I do not want you to mistake
not getting clients.
And I've said this a few times already.
(06:48):
Not getting clients is not the same thing
as having your fee being misaligned.
You're not getting clients at the fee that
you're at because you haven't honed in on
your marketing well enough.
That is a sign you should join the
Abundance Party, not change your fee.
Let's break down what to do if it
truly is a fee alignment issue.
I want you to do the inner work.
(07:08):
The first step is always to take a
hard look at your feelings.
Are you uncomfortable because of money, shame, or
imposter syndrome?
Is it the discomfort coming from the structure
of your offering or the way you deliver
your services or your overall business model?
Spend some time getting really clear on why
your fee feels off.
Next, I want you to consider a different
business model to see if that makes sense.
(07:29):
Maybe you want to be doing more groups
because they light you up more.
You definitely wouldn't charge the same amount for
your group per person as you are for
your individual appointments.
So see if maybe that's something that fee
discomfort is pointing you to.
Align your fee with your purpose.
Your fee could support your overall business and
your personal goals.
So for me, the individual consulting model was
(07:50):
no longer in alignment with my desire to
help more people.
If you are feeling burned out or stretched
too thin, it might be time to reconsider
the type of work you're doing and how
you're offering it.
There are so many ways to be really
creative in how you structure your services while
maintaining a fee that feels good for you.
And fourth, I want you to know it's
a process.
It's not a one-time thing.
Keep in mind that your fee and your
(08:11):
business model are not set in stone.
As your practice grows and evolves, your fee
may need to evolve too.
Constant reflection and course correction are a normal
part of business.
You may need to adjust your pricing or
your offerings as your practice matures as you
offer different things.
That's okay.
It's just a part of creating a business
that really aligns with your needs and values.
(08:33):
And I think it's really great to have
some discomfort that pushes you to look at
that so that you're not just in this
career doing the same exact thing for 30
years.
So at the end of the day, the
fee you charge should feel expansive.
It should feel aligned with your personal goals.
It's likely to feel uncomfortable when you first
(08:53):
increase your fee, but if you are getting
clients and you've had your fee for a
while and it is still feeling confining or
uncomfortable, listen to that inner voice and see
what might be underneath it.
Whether that means raising or lowering your fee,
remember you are worthy no matter what you
charge.
Your value is not tied to the price
that you put on your services.
It's about the work you do, the impact
you have on your clients.
(09:14):
There's no amount of money that we can
actually put on the life-changing work that
we do.
If you're struggling with pricing or you want
some guidance on how to navigate it, I've
created a worksheet to help you explore your
own fee structure, make the right decisions for
your practice.
It's the setting your fees worksheet.
It's completely free.
DM me the word sheets to receive this
week's worksheet and I'll send you that link
(09:35):
and it has all the other previous free
worksheets too.
If you need help with any of this,
the Abundance Party has your back.
You can't afford it.
It is very affordable.
So I want you to DM the word
party if you're on social or if you're
listening to this on the podcast, I want
you to look at the show notes and
click the party link.
Thanks for tuning in.
(09:55):
I will see you all later.
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
Therapy Notes is the way to go.
Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo
code abundant for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Allison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
(10:18):
slash links.
If you're listening, you probably need some support
building your practice.
If you're a super newbie, grab our free
checklist using the link in the show notes.
I'd love for you to follow rate and
review, but I really want you to share
this with a therapist friend.
Let's help all our colleagues build what they
want.
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