I have to say there are a lot of people that have emailed me recently asking how they can make more money in the current economy.

First of all – I want you to consider this statement: “the money you lose in life is the money you failed to earn.”

So, what does that mean? Well, what if you were able to raise your prices 15%, but didn’t? How much money is that in a year that you have failed to earn? How much is it in 5 years or 10? And for all the small business owners out there, what other product or service could you have provided or created for additional income?

Let’s now ask my readers that work for an employer: What if you had negotiated your starting salary for an additional $5,000, let’ say 10 or even 20 years ago? Considering most raises, bonuses and perks are based on that starting salary, how much have you
failed to earn in the last 25 years? Did you know that by failing to negotiate your starting salary only 10% higher when you start your career, a person can lose approximately $500,000 in earnings by the age of 60, (imagine if you had asked for it and then saved it?).

It adds up quickly, doesn’t it.

Now I didn’t bring this to your attention to make you moan and groan about how much income you may have lost, but rather I want you to start looking ahead at all the possibilities for creating more income.

This is especially important for Canadian women. I was reading a statistic that said salespeople in car dealerships consistently quote higher prices to women than men and some employers still make lower first offers to women than they do to men. This really hit home with me, since over the years I know I probably could have earned more if I had just asked for it. To all my women readers, you must stop accepting a lower rate because you didn’t negotiate harder.

We need to learn to ask for more money and not settle for less than we deserve. We have to say no to salaries that don’t commensurate with our talents, skills, and education. We have to say no to clients who don’t want to pay us the fees we’re worth and move on to those that will. Women, myself included, naturally think of others, and then stress about how others might not be able to pay us what we want or feel we deserve. We make allowances, reduce our rate, and even give our work away for free.

Stop that!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, young and old, you must ask for more money and everything else you want out of your life – starting today.

Here are the reasons that you don’t ask for more and have shortchanged yourself for most of your life:

1. You are unsure about what you deserve out of life.
2. You worry that asking for too much might harm a relationship.
3. You fear that people will react badly if you ask for too much.
4. You haven’t determined what you want before you begin negotiating.
5. You are often not aware of what’s possible and you ask for your bottom line instead of asking for more.
6. You compare yourself to others who are also likely to be underpaid too.
7. You expect life to be fair and that you will be offered more money without having to ask for it.
8. You don’t ask for enough or you give in too quickly when questioned about your value.
9. You are satisfied with less because you expect less.

The root cause is with you, I am so sorry, but it’s true. There is either a lack of information or strategies, lack of negotiating skills, or negative self-image and fear. No one can quantify how much business or income they’re not getting through those non-efforts.

You must figure out your value and start earning it right now. You can do yourself irreparable harm if you charge less than market prices. What do you think when people charge too little? I tend to think they are either brand new in their profession or maybe not very good at it, or they don’t understand their worth in the marketplace and need some coaching. Arm yourself with current and precise information, know what your peers are earning, become well informed about what the market will pay for your skills, and then ask for a raise.

We all need to start asking for what we want in life not what we are worth settling for.

 

Good Luck & Best Wishes,

Christine Ibbotson