Why Your Raising Your Prices Isn't Greedy

Let's talk about raising your prices.

(Probably an awkward moment if you're an LDS business owner like me)

A few years ago, I was coaching a hairstylist who was thinking about raising her prices, but couldn't get herself to do it.

She was packing clients into her schedule to make the amount of money she wanted to make for her family each month.

She was starting to book clients in the evenings. Her Saturday mornings were starting to fill up.

(Meanwhile her husband has a long commute to work, and she has 3 kids age 7 and younger)

When she told me she felt like a melted bowl of wax, I was not surprised. She had been burning the candle at both ends for so long there wasn’t even a candle left anymore.

I suggested to her that she could raise her prices.

She could take on fewer clients and still earn the same income and book farther out instead of squeezing everyone in immediately.

She actually started crying and said, “I’m just so afraid that if I raise my prices that people will either stop coming or think I’m greedy.”

I don't think she's alone in this feeling and fear.


A lot of us as members of the church have absorbed the belief that

Holiness ↔ less money

Successful business ↔ more pride

So every business decision gets filtered through that belief.

These are honest, heartfelt feelings I’ve heard from literally hundreds of business owners who are also members of the church. 

• "I just want everyone to be able to afford it."
• "I feel bad charging that much."
• "If I raise my prices, does that mean I’m greedy?"
• "Charging premium prices doesn't feel very Christlike."

But here’s what I wish more of us paid closer attention to. 

The promise “if ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land” is one of the most commonly repeated phrases in the Book of Mormon. 

Prospering is one of God's promised blessings, not something you should apologize for.

He’s PROMISING you prosperity.

As a business owner, that promise means a lot to me. 

But I’ve found that many of us subconsciously treat prosperity like something to be suspicious of instead of something to steward.

It makes me wonder… 

how many faithful business owners hold themselves back because prosperity feels less spiritual than sacrifice.

how many faithful women have mistaken financial struggle for faithfulness.

how many entrepreneurs are praying for God to bless their business while feeling guilty when it starts to happen.

“But doesn't the Book of Mormon also warn us about riches?”

This is the pattern we see often in the Book of Mormon:

1. The people are righteous.

2. God prospers them.

3. They become proud.

4. They forget God.

5. They lose the prosperity.

The prosperity wasn't the problem. Their pride was.

He ***promises*** us prosperity if we keep the commandments.

And he also repeatedly warns us how to handle prosperity well.

God isn't afraid to bless His covenant people with abundance. That's part of His whole design.

He's inviting us to become the kind of people who can steward it without letting it replace Him.

If you believe prosperity is a bad thing (consciously or unconsciously), you will make decisions that will keep your business small.

It might look like...

• underpricing your work

• avoiding selling confidently

• feel guilty when revenue increases

• apologizing for wanting your business to succeed
  
  

But I think what God actually wants for us is to 

• Use money as a tool, not an identity.

• Hold our success with open hands.

• Provide well for our families.

• Create abundance that can be shared.

• Keep our hearts anchored to Him, regardless of our income.
  
  

For anyone reading this who’s thinking about raising their prices,

remember that raising your prices isn't only about making more money.

It can also mean you're becoming a better steward of your time.

A better steward of your energy.

A better caretaker of your health.

A better caretaker of your family.

A better caretaker of the gifts God has given you.

God doesn’t want you to feel like a bowl of melted wax from burning the candle at both ends.

He wants you to prosper. Not just financially, but physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Let Him take care of you.

If you're not sure about raising your prices, take it to Him in prayer. I'll bet He would love to tell you what He thinks.