“Charge what you’re worth” is catchy advice… but it’s also kinda crap.
I get what they mean.
I really do.
But words matter.
And the truth is… you could never charge what you’re worth.
Because your worth as a human being?
It’s not measurable.
It’s not negotiable.
It’s priceless.
“But Lee you know what they mean”
I do, but do others?
Ive seen absolute beginners want to charge $500 an hour because some video told them they are worth it.
They might be, but their skills are not.
What you can price?
Your skills. Your experience. Your ability to solve real problems for people who need what you know.
That’s where the pricing model lives.
Not in your soul.
Not in your self-worth.
In the transformation you create through the work you’ve mastered.
Give your gifts.
Sell your skills.
For example: anyone can “run ads.”
Mash a few buttons and voila – ads, YAY!
That doesn’t mean they understand offer structure, pricing psychology, creative that stops the scroll, proper targeting, bidding strategies, data analysis, or what to fix when nothing’s converting.
Hell, half the people I’ve helped with ads came to me after watching 14 YouTube videos that “should’ve worked”… and didn’t.
“I followed exactly what they showed me…”
No, you didn’t. I’m looking at what you did, and this ain’t it.
“Well I might have changed it a little bit, they’ll finally admit…”
And that makes all the difference. You didn’t know what to change and what to leave alone.
And even if you did,
Context matters,
Execution matters,
Experience matters.
This is why you hire a pro.
And this is why a pro charges more.
Because “charging what you’re worth” doesn’t mean slapping a high number on your feelings and hoping people pay it.
It means charging based on the results you can create and the skill you’ve built to create them.
So here’s the difference most people miss:
Know your value = internal
Know your skills value = external
This is why “charge what you’re worth” misses the mark as a motivational statement.
Both matter.
But only one of them gets you paid.