The Hidden Cost of Undercharging

One pattern I see again and again with small business owners is the hidden cost of undercharging. It’s never because they lack skill or passion, and it’s certainly not because they don’t care.

Most of the time, pricing feels emotional or uncomfortable, and that discomfort shows up as hesitation or uncertainty when setting their rates. This is usually a mindset issue, not a capability issue. If you want your business to grow with you, this is the part you need to strengthen.

I often hear things like
“I do not want to scare people away.”
“I want to be fair.”
“I want to build confidence first.”
“I do not feel ready to charge more.”

These feelings are completely human, and they often come from wanting to support your customers. But undercharging has a hidden cost. It creates a fragile business that cannot support you through quiet months, busy seasons, or unexpected life moments.

I often say to clients
“Your business cannot support your customers if it cannot support you.”

This feels like a simple sentence, but it carries a truth that can transform your entire pricing strategy.

Pricing with margin is not about charging as much as possible. It is about ensuring your business can survive real life.

So lets dive into the hidden cost of undercharging and discover why your prices need margin to surive hard seasons.

Why undercharging feels so normal

Undercharging rarely looks like a dramatic discount. It usually looks like:

• Working long hours but seeing very little left in the bank
• Feeling constantly behind or stretched thin
• Being too nervous to hire support
• Avoiding looking at your numbers
• Running a business that only works when you are operating at 110 percent

When I work with clients, there is often a moment where they realise their current pricing only works when everything goes right. When the weather behaves. When the kids are well. When energy is high. When motivation is strong. When no surprises hit.

The trouble is that real life does not work that way.

Pricing With Margin Actually Matters

Pricing with margin means your prices are intentionally structured to:

• Cover your real costs
• Pay you properly
• Build profit
• Build buffer
• Create stability
• Allow rest
• Allow support
• Support you through slow seasons or unexpected disruption

You are not pricing just for today. You are pricing for all the days ahead that you cannot yet see.

What My Own Business Taught Me About Pricing

Many years ago when my husband and I owned a butchery (sorry you veggies out there!), and we had a product called pork oysters. Not what you might think. They are these beautiful, tender little pieces of meat hidden under the shoulder, similar to chicken oysters. They were delicious, and customers always asked about them.

We put them on the shelf for $7.50 a kilo. We barely sold any. We thought the name was the problem, so we explained what they were, added recipes, talked people through it. Nothing changed.

Then one day, we swapped the label to $8.99. Only a $1.49 difference.

We sold out.

Every single time.

I remember saying to my husband “As soon as we changed the price to $8.99, we started selling out. Even though the price was higher, we sold more. It was ridiculous.”

That lesson sits at the heart of pricing psychology. People often resist the cheap option because cheap signals lower value, lower quality, or lower confidence.

Customers are not always looking for the lowest price. They are looking for the price that feels aligned with the value they believe they will receive.

Many business owners struggle to charge properly

You want to be kind

Kindness is a beautiful thing, but kindness without boundaries is costly. You can be generous without putting your business at risk.

You are scared people will not buy

I hear this all the time. But when you undercharge, you attract customers who shop only on price. And those customers are often the hardest work. I have said many times
“If people are only looking at price, they will try to get as much as possible for as little as possible.”

That is not the customer you want to build a business around.

You forget your own time counts

A client once told me they made a profit on a workshop because the materials were cheap. I asked
“Did you count your prep time? The planning? The hours sourcing materials? The setup?”
They hadn’t.

You once said
“Even if you are just putting in ten dollars an hour to start with, you need to plan for it.”

So many business owners treat their time like a free resource. It is not. It is the most expensive part of your business.

You treat your pricing like a moral scorecard

Pricing is not a measurement of worthiness. Pricing is a reflection of the resource it takes to sustainably deliver great work.

I once said to a client
“If you are not able to make a profit from your time, are you better off going to McDonald’s?”
It sounds cheeky, but the point is serious. If your business cannot pay you, it is not sustainable.

The Real Cost Of Undercharging In Your Business

Undercharging slowly erodes your business from the inside out.

There is no buffer
One unexpected bill, one quiet month, one sick day, and everything falls over.

You stay stuck doing everything yourself
No margin means no ability to hire help. You end up doing tasks that drain you and take you away from what you are brilliant at.

You make decisions from panic, not clarity
When you are financially stretched, you say yes to work that is not right for you. You lower your prices. You take on draining clients. You push harder instead of building better structures.

You never truly feel safe
One client told me
“It feels like I’m always one step behind.”
That feeling often has nothing to do with capability, and everything to do with pricing.

How To Start Pricing With Healthy Margin

Here’s the simple framework I use when supporting clients through this shift.

Step 1: Calculate your real costs

Not just direct costs, but the whole ecosystem of what it takes to deliver your work:

• Admin time
• Prep
• Planning
• Equipment
• Subscriptions
• Website
• Travel
• Cleaning
• Marketing
• Packaging
• Tax
• Professional services

If you ignore these, your pricing will always be too lean.

Step 2: Include your hourly rate

This is where many people hesitate. They say things like “It only took me an hour” or “I enjoy it, so I do not feel right charging more”.

But as I said on a coaching call “If you do not build your profit for your hourly rate into your pricing, then you will never get there.”

You cannot grow a business that pays you well if your pricing does not include you!

Step 3: Add profit

Profit is not a bonus. Profit is the oxygen your business needs to breathe. It gives you choices, buffer, and freedom. Even a small profit percentage can transform your stability.

Step 4: Sense check the final number

Does it feel aligned? Does it reflect your value? Does it match the level of service and quality you provide? Does it align with your market?
If it feels low, adjust. If it feels high, strengthen your offer.

Step 5: Hold steady through discomfort

When you change your pricing, you will feel uncomfortable. That discomfort does not mean the price is wrong. It means you are expanding into your next level.

I frequently remind clients “You can always discount later, but you need to build it in first.”

This creates sustainable pricing.

The Pricing Psychology Most People Never Consider

Small pricing tweaks can change everything.

In one coaching conversation, we talked through why price endings matter. I said
“People love sevens annd nines as an end number. It has been researched again and again. If your price ends in a nine, customers feel like they are getting a bargain.”

This is why $127 feels different to $130. One feels attainable, the other feels like a full jump.

When you understand buyer behaviour, you realise pricing is not random. It is strategic.

your margin is your safety net

Your pricing should allow your business to keep operating even when you cannot.

Life will give you seasons where

• you need rest
• you have lower capacity
• you cannot show up at full speed
• you need to step back for a while

Your business should still be okay.

That is what margin gives you. Margin creates a sturdier, safer, more resilient foundation.

Your Customers Change When You Charge Properly

When you raise your prices to a fair, sustainable level, you naturally repel the “cheapest possible” customers and attract people who value quality, communication, and partnership.

This is healthier for everyone.

During a coaching call I was talking with my client about how her competition created a similar products and began selling them at the same market… and charging a good 10% less than my client in order to steal customers.

I reminded my client, “Her price war is her problem.”

You do not need to be dragged into someone else’s scarcity thinking. When you price sustainably, you stand in your lane with clarity.

What becomes possible when you finally charge properly

When clients work on their mindset around pricing, they often tell me things like
“I feel calmer.”
“I finally feel in control.”
“I can see how my business works now.”

And that is what I want for you.

Pricing with margin changes everything. Your cashflow steadies. Your confidence grows. Your boundaries strengthen. You make decisions based on strategy, not survival.

Most importantly, you finally get to build a business that supports your life, not one that constantly competes with it.