Belief is all it takes...
When I started Share Impact I worked out what prices I should be charging for my business, in order for it to work but I didn’t truly BELIEVE it was possible to sell at these prices.
I had all these negative beliefs about what Social Entrepreneurs would be willing to pay to get the services and support they needed.
I thought rock bottom, basement prices, right? Prices that would never enable me to leave my job and run a sustainable business but might get me a few sales. And I use to tell myself - well that will be enough, I can make do on that if I’m living my dream.
But that wasn’t really true.
I didn’t want a few sales. I wanted a sustainable business which I knew could support me and my family, that paid fair and decent wages (not just minimum wage) and most importantly delivered the IMPACT I wanted to see in the world.
I didn’t want a business that I had to work all the hours in only to never see my family. I’d didn’t want to always work on my own and never have a team. I didn’t want to get to the end of each month and only just be able to afford all my business bills and feel deflated because I couldn’t invest in the impact projects I dreamed of supporting.
So, I had to get serious about the prices I needed to charge.
I had to work on my money MINDSET and those limiting beliefs about what people would be willing to pay.
First I had to allow myself to believe it was possible (even when deep down I still doubted it).
Then I had to challenge the rhetoric I heard in social enterprise circles that there was never enough funding, no one wants to buy from us, we can’t sell at market price or higher, people don’t value what we do. I started to see all this negativity in the sector and realised I had to be part of that change too.
I created A DIFFERENT STORY about what social enterprise could be (without any evidence) and what would be required to make this happen.
I started to share it with others.
And you know what this amazing thing happened.
I discovered there were already amazing social enterprises having financial success, making money, paying their staff higher than market rate, living their values and delivering real impact.
There were also others who wanted to believe this was possible and more again who already did.
They had been there all along but the people I was surrounding myself with weren’t looking for them and so weren’t seeing them, and neither was I. They/we were focussed on the negative beliefs and only hearing those stories.
It’s true that when we start believing something different we start seeing it appear. And we start living it ourselves. Which is where the real transformation comes in.
It turns out:
🌱 social enterprise is the new model for business, the world over
🌱 you can protect people and planet whilst making a profit
🌱 there are people and businesses wanting to generate and use profit for good not private shareholder gain
🌱 there are people and businesses looking for products and services that deliver IMPACT, added value and who recognise the need to pay more sometimes (because for too long weve undervalued everything - Planet, natural resources and people).
🌱 the world is abundant with money and we create the shift needed to TRANSFORM our world one social enterprise at a time.
With this shift in mindset I secured those coaching clients willing to pay £2500 for 8 weeks coaching, they were out there and happy to pay that amount. After working with me some said they would have paid more for the value and support they gained from me!
My prices aren’t high they reflect my true VALUE, cost and profit. Notably I don’t profit from the profits I make.
[Struggling with mindset? What would you like to believe? Look out from the trees - you might just find what you’re looking for]
Share Impact helps organisations measure and communicate their social or environmental impact so they can confidently communicate: why they exist, the difference they make and why others should care.
We provide research & evaluation services; training; consultancy, business mentoring and communication management with a focus on social impact measurement and reporting.
Want to find out more about how we could help your organisation? Get in touch here