Raising Rates to Keep Up with Inflation

If I never hear the word inflation again, it’ll be too soon. Do you feel this?

What about rising interest rates? I don’t ever care to look at, deal with, or feel the pinch of rising interest rates again.

Alas, such is the reality of the current economic environment, and as a VOpreneur, part of your responsibility is guiding your business through it.

Have you noticed how everything… literally everything… is getting more expensive? Either that, or the prices stay the same but the offering gets smaller? 

I bought a sammich for lunch at my local grocery store yesterday. It was a full 30% smaller than previous, and the price went up $0.30. They didn’t even try to hide the fact they’d shrunk the size of the sammich, because they’re using the same containers as before. A glaring example of “shrinkflation.”

Great… but what does this have to do with your voice over business?

Inflation has impacted everything. Fuel, groceries, mortgages, goods AND services.

Have You Adjusted Your Voice Over Rates for Inflation?

Have you accounted for it in your business? Have you adjusted your voice over rates for inflation?

I’ve been working on rate increases this year with a number of my clients and in a few different genres.

Why? Because inflation is real, and if I’m going to be a serious business owner, I need to operate like a serious business owner.

Raising pricing to account for inflation should NOT exclude your voice over business and your service offerings.

Don’t be afraid to have the conversation. In fact, now is the time to have the conversation. When people are thinking about, dealing with it, and your clients are raising their rates too.

You might think I’ve had major pushback… I haven’t.

You might question if raising rates has cost me clients… thus far… it hasn’t.

My clients are business owners too, and they understand. They understand because they’re going through it themselves as the CEO’s of their companies.

Don’t limit your own worth.

Don’t eat into your companies profit margin because you fear an uncomfortable conversation.

You’re a VOpreneur! 

If you have rates that need to be adjusted, ask.

A 10% Rate Increase Isn't Unreasonable

If you’re providing a valuable service, it’s hard to imagine too many clients who would be willing to ditch you and find someone new over a 10% or 15% rate increase.

You can’t operate a successful business from a position of fear.

As the price of everything you're spending money on goes up, if you're not adjusting your rates (revenue) accordingly, you're going to find life becoming increasingly unaffordable, as your dollar won't stretch as far as it used to.

Don't let inflation cut into the profit margin of your voice over business. That profit margin is how you feed your family!

It may be time to re-evaluate your voice over rates and at the very least, start implementing those new rates with all new and future clients.