This is also a podcast episode!
I’m writing this from Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, where I recently hosted the first SoulFULL Sabbatical Retreat with my husband. Being here — surrounded by volcanoes, water, ceremony, and reflection — has me thinking a lot about sustainability. Not just energetically, but financially. Not just spiritually, but practically.
Because this is something I see over and over again with heart-centered women solopreneurs:
You care deeply about your work.
You know it matters.
And you are probably undercharging.
Not because you’re incapable. Not because you don’t value your work. But because money is layered with conditioning — especially for women.
Many of us were taught, directly or indirectly, that being “good” means being generous. That caring means not focusing on profit. That spiritual women shouldn’t talk about money too much. That nice girls don’t negotiate. So when we step into entrepreneurship — especially in healing, coaching, or service-based work — we bring all of that with us.
And entrepreneurship will bring you face-to-face with your ability to receive.
That’s where it gets uncomfortable.
Undercharging is rarely about strategy. It’s usually about worthiness. About imposter syndrome. About comparison. About feeling like you need one more certification, one more testimonial, one more year of experience before you can really charge what you want to charge.
But here’s the quiet truth: when you undercharge, you don’t just hurt your income. You destabilize your business.
I’ve lived this. In my early freelancing years, I said yes to everything. I let clients dictate pricing. I charged hourly and equated my worth with time. I was just grateful to be self-employed and location-independent. But over time, what started as excitement slowly turned into overwork. Ten-hour days. Confusion around rates. Subtle resentment.
That resentment is often the first clue.
If clients aren’t fully committed, if they cancel last minute, if they don’t show up prepared, if you feel drained instead of energized — pricing might be part of the problem. When people invest at a level that stretches them, they show up differently. Money creates skin in the game. It changes the dynamic.
And when everyone says yes to your pricing? That can be another sign you’re too low. Not because you’re not valuable — but because you’re making it easy for everyone to step in, rather than aligned people to step in.
The hidden cost of undercharging isn’t just financial. It’s burnout. It’s attracting clients who aren’t fully invested. It’s not being able to reinvest in your own growth. It’s the quiet shame of knowing you’re playing smaller than you could be.
Most of all, it’s building a business that can’t actually hold you.
A sustainable business should support your life — not exhaust it. It should allow you to invest in coaching, therapy, retreats, certifications, rest. Especially as a coach, healer, or service provider, your growth directly impacts your clients. If you’re undercharging, you limit your own expansion — and that ripple effect is real.
So what shifts this?
First, you have to truly see your value. Not just your certifications, but your lived experience. The money you’ve invested. The challenges you’ve overcome. The depth you bring. When you actually write that down and look at it, something changes.
Then, you get clear about who you’re really here for. You are not here to serve everyone. You are here to serve a specific group of people — often a past version of yourself — who deeply value what you offer. Pricing becomes easier when you stop trying to make it accessible to the entire world and instead align it with the people who are ready.
And finally, you have to look at sustainability honestly. What do you actually need to make for this business to support you long term? Not just survive — but thrive? If your business had to fully hold you, could it? If the answer is no, that’s not a personal failure. It’s just math. And math can be adjusted.
If part of you resists raising your prices because you want to serve more people, remember this: generosity doesn’t require undercharging your highest-touch work. You can create an ecosystem. Free content. Group programs. Workshops. Different entry points. Accessibility can live inside structure. It doesn’t have to live inside self-sacrifice.
And then there’s selling.
So much undercharging is rooted in fear of selling. But selling doesn’t have to be pushy or performative. When you are clear about the transformation you provide and who it’s for, selling becomes an invitation. A service. An opportunity for someone to step into change.
Profit is not the opposite of purpose.
Profit is what allows your purpose to live.
If you are not charging sustainably, eventually you will burn out. And when you burn out, your medicine leaves the room. The work you’re here to do gets smaller. That’s the real cost.
You deserve a business that holds you. One that energizes you. One that allows you to give from overflow instead of depletion.
And sometimes the first step toward that is simply deciding: I’m no longer available for undercharging.
If you could use support creating the “foundation” of your business, including sustainable pricing- contact me to discuss 1:1 coaching options and/ or the Soul Profits Mastermind, where we cover all of this over 6 months in a community of like-minded sisters.