I’ll add that there is a limit to over pricing of course, but that is not what we’re talking about here. I’m not sure anyone would opt to work five-times harder than they could to achieve the same amount of revenue. $10 per hour compared to $50 per hour if they could avoid it.

You can by a trash can at Wal-Mart for probably $5.99 and you can buy a trash can from some 5th Ave office furniture place for $1,400, we’re not talking either.

Large, high-volume corporations work on extremely low profit percentages. They bank on volume to carry their revenues, establish market shares, and have automated themselves so they can do that. They have huge payrolls figured in as well equipment to automate their processes.

Solopreneurs and entrepreneurs just aren’t in the position to do that. In fact, we don’t want to.

Most if not all of us, want low-overhead, little payroll if any, freedom to customize their schedules and work for who they want, and otherwise thread their lives as they see fit.

That is a much different business model than the producer of the $5.99 trashcan.

Can one price themselves out of the market? Absolutely. The key is to find the sweet spot in your line of work that puts you in the revenue you want, with the amount of work you want to do, and still allow time to live some of your dreams.

If I had a lawn service and marketed myself in a neighborhood where houses were valued at $75,000 to $100,000, how much would they pay me to mow their lawn?

Probably nothing. Probably not many would even take me up on it, but if some did, it’d be very low. People in that neighborhood can’t afford the service. They’d rather do it themselves to save the money.

So yes, if I go in and tell them $50 to mow their lawn, they won’t take me up on it. If I told them $10, some probably would.

Now, take that same lawn mower, same pair of legs pushing it around a yard, to a neighborhood where houses are valued at $250,000 to $500,000.

Do you think you’d get more work?

Do you think you’d get a higher rate for your time?

You betcha.

It’s a matter of finding your market.

You could certainly push a lawn mower around for a couple hours for $25 in a neighborhood of houses valued at $100,000 to $150,000; but why not get $100 or 125 for that same 2-hours just up the road a piece in a more affluent hood where people not only will pay more, but they don’t want to do their own lawns anyway. They are looking for someone to do it for them.

Toss in a report on their fertilizer needs and dry plant life as a heads up and they will appreciate the extra tip, and more than likely will ask if you fertilize lawns too.

Hope that helps.

When it comes to books and such, I could be persuaded to see how undercutting prices could be a good strategy, if you do not undercut so far that you de-value your material, but if you’re working hard to deliver a good product or service, I’m always going to lean toward charging more and attracting more lucrative clients. In short, you don’t have to start at the very bottom of the ladder.

Comparing a small business to health care is comparing apples to oranges. Health care is an industry problem, now a political one too.