Let's talk about money...
Thoughts on spending, setting prices, self-worth, and transparency
Hello friends,
I’m taking a little departure this week from personal essay/ memoir writing to talk about something else that’s been on my mind lately:
Money.
Specifically, I’ve been thinking about pricing structures, and how hard they are to establish when you’re a tiny business owner who wants to a) make your services accessible, and b) make a living.
I’ve heard plenty of people in the business world give the advice: “Never justify your price.” It makes you seem weak, they say, or like you’re open to negotiation.
“Just say your price, then stop talking,” a teacher once told me in a business class.
While I agree that we shouldn’t have to argue or prove our worth to anyone, I think there’s a fine line between justification and transparency. And I am a huge fan of transparency.
I’m thinking about all this today for two main reasons:
I’m leading a retreat this fall, and every time I lead a retreat, I agonize over the price. How many tiers of pricing should I have? How long should early bird pricing last? How many scholarships should I offer? How many discounts should I give? Should I just stop worrying and trust that it will all work out?! It makes my head explode.
I saw a retreat advertised recently that is literally four times the price of my fall retreat… and that price doesn’t even include students’ lodging! Granted there are some notable differences: that retreat has two teachers instead of one, it’s a retreat centered around psychedelics rather than yoga, etc… So it’s not apples-to-apples, but still… Seeing the price they advertised set me spinning.
After I let myself spin out for a while about the price of this other retreat (How the heck could anyone justify charging that much? Who could possibly afford to go? How many people will sign up? Should I have charged more for my retreat?!), I paused. I realized that I actually had no idea what these facilitators were paying out of their own pockets to host the retreat, or what exactly went into hosting an event like this.
I also realized that it didn’t matter. Everyone can charge whatever they want to charge. People will either pay it, or they won’t. Some teachers attract a certain clientele who are able and willing to pay a lot; others attract those who will pay less. To a large degree, how we set our prices determines who we attract, and who we rely on for business.
Do I want to rely on folks who can pay over $4000 for a weekend retreat? Not especially. (Though if anyone wants to pay me that much, I will gladly accept! ;))
What I do want is to create experiences that are beautiful, supportive, accessible, and diverse. Truthfully, what I want is to make everything donation-based, and to trust that those who have more resources will pay more, while those who have less will pay less. I want to believe that, with a little more awareness, we can work together to ensure everyone has access to what they need.
But if this is ever to have a chance, more awareness really is key.
Just like I don’t know the out-of-pocket cost for this other retreat, most people don’t know the out-of-pocket cost for the retreats I lead - or for anything else we buy, for that matter! All we see is the cost of other, similar things. And then it’s up to us to decide, “Does this feel worth it to me?”
So in the spirit of raising collective awareness, I’d like to do something bold: I’d like to give you a look behind the curtain for my September retreat.
First, let’s take a gander at the out-of-pocket costs:
Scenario 1: 20 people (19 paying students)
Retreat rental fee: $8885
Wire transfer fees: $75
Catering: $4138
Gas/ travel: $120
Insurance: $200
Total out of pocket cost: $13,418
Ave cost/ student (incl 3% cc fees): $728
Scenario 2: 12 people (11 paying students)
Retreat rental: $7300
Wire transfer fees: $75
Catering: $2445
Gas/ travel: $120
Insurance: $200
Total out of pocket cost: $10,140
Ave cost/ student (incl 3% cc fees): $870
You may notice that these budgets do not include the hours I will spend teaching and facilitating (~25 hrs), or the hours I will have spent planning, organizing, advertising, etc. (~100 hrs). This is purely the money that will be leaving my bank account in order to host this retreat.
You may also notice (if you’ve looked at the event listing on my website) that the prices I’ve advertised are not much higher than the above “average cost per student” figures. In other words, I’m charging just enough to maybe net a couple thousand dollars (before taxes), as long as at least 15 people come.
“Okay, so why don’t you just charge more, Abby?” you might be asking yourself. And that's a fair question.
The answer is, quite simply: because I didn’t want to raise my prices too much from what they were last year.
The reason I set the prices that I set last year is that, when I looked at other weekend yoga retreats in the area, $650-$950 was the median price; I didn’t feel like I could reasonably charge a whole lot more than that, and still have enough people sign up. And to be honest, getting people to sign up was more of a priority to me than making a bunch of money, since I had already had to cancel several workshops and events that year, and I just wanted to be able to do my work in this world! Maybe it wasn’t the savviest business decision, but I frankly didn’t care. (Also, as a side note, 24 people ended up coming, and even though I only made ~$3000 before taxes, it was one of my absolute favorite experiences of all time, and I regret nothing!)
So now, here I am with 9 folks registered for this fall's retreat, trying to trust that at least 6 more will sign up before the end of August, so that I can break even.
Even as I write this, there is part of me that is afraid some people might think I’m whining, or that I’m simply sharing too much. But a bigger part of me believes that the more we know about each other’s work, the better we will be able to support each other.
Maybe you are one of the people who already signed up for my retreat - awesome! Or maybe you are someone who will never attend a yoga retreat with me, or a yoga retreat, period - that’s fine! My hope is simply that, whether you are a teacher or a student, a facilitator or a participant, you may find time to pause before buying something, or before setting your own prices. As you pause, perhaps you ask yourself, “Will this add value to my life? Does it feel right?”
And if you still feel conflicted after those questions (as I so often do), maybe you ask yourself some follow-ups: “If spending or charging this much feels scary, what am I scared of? What is the worst that could happen?”
Because the reality is, no one has any idea how valuable their services are to anyone else. Some people may find them totally amazing and life-changing! Others may find them boring as hell. All we can do is offer what we believe in, and try to create enough structure and boundaries where we feel safe enough to keep experimenting…
If you, too, are a small business owner, self-employed, or generally anxious about money for whatever reason, I’m with you. It’s hard out there, and capitalism sucks. And also, you deserve safety and security - financially, emotionally, and spiritually - so that you can go forth and live your best life.
If you have thoughts about all this, I would love to hear them.
How have your thoughts about money evolved over time?
How do you choose where you spend money?
How does your relationship with money or spending reflect your relationship with yourself?
If you’re a paying subscriber, feel free to leave a comment below; otherwise, I always love to hear from you via email!
Sending you love, and wishing you ease,
Abby
Upcoming events w/ Abby:
Rooftop Yoga: Wednesdays in July, 8-9am at Atrium
Backyard Yoga: Tuesdays in August, 6:30-7:45pm at Various Locations TBA
Fall Equinox Retreat: Sept 20-22 at Buckhorn Springs*
*Public school employees (and possibly others?) may be able to get reimbursed for attending the retreat… In other words, you could come for free! Email me about how…