Ep 5: Why you’re undercharging

Episode 5 of the Good Girl Rebellion podcast.

Why You Know You’re Undercharging (But Haven’t Changed It): How to Start Pricing in a Way That Actually Works

Episode 5 is all about E from our REBEL framework - Empowered Pricing.

Let’s talk about pricing.

This is one of those topics that people often avoid a little bit. It can feel uncomfortable, a bit exposing, and if you’re honest, you probably already have a sense of where you are with it.

Because most of the women I work with don’t need to be told they’re undercharging.

They already know.

And that’s the important place to start, because this isn’t usually a knowledge problem. It’s not that you don’t know how to price something, or that you haven’t seen what other people are charging. It’s that something happens when it comes to actually setting the price… and then standing by it.

This isn’t about the numbers

It can look like pricing is about maths. About working out your costs, your time, your margins, and coming up with the “right” number.

But in reality, pricing is much more emotional than that.

It’s about how it feels to say the number out loud and whether your nervous system can handle it.
It’s about how it feels to put it on your website.
It’s about how it feels when someone sees it.

And that’s where things can start to shift.

Where your money beliefs come from

A lot of this starts much earlier than your business.

We all grow up with messages about money, whether we realise it or not. Things like money being scarce, or something to be careful with, or something you shouldn’t ask for too much of. Messages about being grateful, not being greedy, not taking up too much space.

Those ideas don’t just disappear when you start a business. They come with you.

So when you’re setting your prices, you’re not just making a logical decision in the moment. You’re making a decision shaped by years of conditioning about what feels acceptable, what feels safe, and what feels like “too much”.

Add good girl conditioning ..

Then we layer in the good girl conditioning.

Wanting to be liked.
Do not make things awkward for other people.
Do not ask for too much.
Don’t put yourself first.

And suddenly, pricing becomes a minefield because it’s not just about what your work is worth, it’s about how it feels to be direct, and to ask for what you actually need.

What this looks like in practice

This is where undercharging happens. You might find yourself setting your prices lower than you intended. Or not increasing them, even though you know you should. You might overdeliver to compensate, or feel the need to justify your pricing in a way that goes far beyond what’s necessary.

And often, it’s not because you don’t know better - it’s because charging more doesn’t feel safe yet.

The shift that needs to happen

At some point, there has to be a shift away from what feels comfortable, and towards what actually works because your pricing needs to support your business. It needs to allow you to make a profit, to pay yourself properly, and to build something that is sustainable over time. If your pricing doesn’t do that, then no matter how good your work is, your business is going to feel hard.

And this is where the self-employment pay gap shows up. Not just in big, obvious ways, but in all of these small decisions around pricing that add up over time.

you deserve to be paid well now

This is something I see a lot. The feeling that you need more experience, more proof, more validation before you can charge what your work is actually worth.

But that line keeps moving.

And if you’re not careful, you can spend years waiting to feel ‘ready’, while continuing to undercharge in the meantime.

What happens when you raise your prices

When you do decide to increase your prices, it will probably feel uncomfortable.

You might question yourself. You might worry about what people will think. You might wonder if anyone will still buy.

That doesn’t mean it’s wrong - it just means it’s new.

A small step to start with

You don’t need to change everything overnight. A much more helpful place to start is with one small shift.

Look at where you are currently undercharging, and choose one thing to adjust. One product, one service, one offer. Bring it closer to where you know it should be, even if it’s not the full jump yet.

Then let that be enough for now.

This is about building something that works

Because ultimately, this isn’t just about pricing. It’s about building a business that actually supports you. One that allows you to earn properly, to have the time and space you want, and to stop constantly feeling like you’re giving more than you’re receiving.

And that starts with being willing to make different decisions.

Listen to Episode 5

In this episode of the podcast, I go deeper into why pricing feels so uncomfortable, how your early beliefs about money show up in your business, and what it really takes to start charging in a way that works.

Listen to Episode 5 on the links below.

One last thing

You don’t need more information - you need to start making different decisions.

It’s time.