Are You Charging Your Worth If You’re Not Doing Your Best (+5%)?
Charging your worth and doing your best aren’t separate ideas—they’re two halves of the same promise. One funds your energy; the other honors your craft.
The Missing Half of the Mantra
I love that so many of us are learning to value ourselves—to stop underpricing and start believing in what we bring to the table.
But lately, I’ve been thinking… are we truly charging our worth if we’re not doing our best (+5%)? This is a reality I’ve had to come face-to-face with in my own practice.
We’ve all heard it: “Charge your worth.”
It’s become the rallying cry of service providers everywhere—especially in the beauty industry. And yes, absolutely—you should charge your worth. Your time, talent, education, and emotional energy all have value that you’ve worked tirelessly on and paid in not only cash, but also blood, sweat and tears.
But here’s the part that’s often left out: you also have to do your best. Not only do you have to do your best, but you have to provide that extra 5% to ensure you’re growing and nurturing your technique and mission statement(s).
That “plus 5%” isn’t about hustling harder or burning out—it’s about honoring your passion with an open mind, to be better than you were yesterday.
“Charging your worth isn’t a free pass to check out—it’s a commitment to show up like you’re worth it.”
What “Charging Your Worth” Really Means
Charging your worth means understanding your value and running your business like a business.
Do a quick audit of your business (rough estimates are fine):
Are your prices covering your expenses? (rent, supplies, insurance, continuing education, employees, etc.)
Are your prices covering your paycheck? (your personal needs—bills, food, hobbies, self-care, vacation days, etc.)
Are your prices leaving room for a profit cushion? (savings for slow months, service upgrades, growth.)
Charging your worth isn’t about pulling a number out of thin air—it’s about creating sustainability by looking at the numbers and seeing if they’re… well, numbering.
You can’t pour into clients if your cup (and your account) are empty.
Charging your worth isn’t a feeling—it’s math.
It’s knowing exactly what you need to earn to sustain yourself so you can show up fully for your clients.
What It Means to “Do Your Best”
“Doing your best” isn’t about perfection—it’s about alignment.
It means fulfilling your mission statement every single opportunity you get. If your goal is to educate, empower, or improve—then every appointment, email, and experience should reflect that.
examples:
“My mission is to help clients protect and preserve their skin through proactive care, education, and personalized maintenance plans.”
→ Doing your best means following through—educating, customizing, and following up on treatment plans and home care.
“My mission is to help clients build emotional resilience through practical tools and a safe space.”
→ Doing your best means being prepared, grounded, and present with every client. It’s about ensuring each appointment consists of accountability, validation, opportunities for growth and education.
“My mission is to deliver projects with clear communication, craftsmanship, and integrity.”
→ Doing your best means showing up on time, keeping promises, and owning mistakes that occur. It’s about providing your best advice, recommendations and communicating effectively.
Your mission statement isn’t just something that looks nice on your website—it’s a promise. Doing your best is how you keep it.
Plus Five Percent Method
When you charge your worth, you create the capacity to do your best. That extra breathing room? That’s your +5%.
When you’re fulfilling your mission consistently, that’s your foundation. The +5% is that little extra intention that makes someone say, “Wow, that was different.”
It’s not about overextending yourself—it’s about elevating the experience just a touch.
What +5% Means
Your +5% might look like:
✅ Sending a thoughtful follow-up message after a client visit.
✅ Recommending a product because it genuinely serves their goals, not your sales quota.
✅ Writing detailed notes after their appointment—not just about their skin, but about what’s new in their life.
✅ Taking educational courses to learn new skills, a new technique, or to grow your practice.
This is what separates good service from memorable care.
“Loyalty isn’t built through grand gestures—it’s built through consistent details and effort.”
What It Doesn’t Mean
Doing your best (+5%) does not mean:
🚫 Working yourself into exhaustion.
🚫 Taking on every client or every request.
🚫 Ignoring your boundaries to “prove” your worth.
You can’t pour from an empty cup—and when you try, everyone feels it. Your clients can tell when you’re running on fumes. Your energy is part of the service, too. Balance looks like knowing when to rest and when to rise.
The Accountability Piece
“Charging your worth” has become trendy and is often used as a shield for mediocrity…. Yup, I said it. If you’re charging premium prices but consistently cancelling, rescheduling, or cutting corners… that’s not empowerment, that’s entitlement.
When clients invest in you, they’re not just paying for your skill; they’re paying for your presence. Our clients trust us with their time, money, and emotional energy — we owe them reliability and presence. You can’t preach value while under-delivering on your word. When we commit to both sides of the phrase—charging our worth and doing our best—we don’t just elevate our prices, we elevate our professionalism.
“Charging your worth without doing your best isn’t empowerment—it’s a disservice to your community.”
Intended Takeaways
→You can’t charge your worth without doing your best (+5%).
→Charging your worth should enable you to do your best (+5%), not replace it.
→Charging your worth without doing your best is a disservice to your clients and community.
→If you’re charging premium prices, you’re also responsible for premium effort.
→If you can’t provide your best (+5%), something isn’t adding up—your prices, your boundaries, or your energy.
+5% Thoughts
Imposter syndrome might whisper that you’re not worth it and Perfectionism might convince you you’ll never be good enough.
The truth: you are worth charging for, and you are capable of doing exceptional work.
Let’s check the facts with this quick self-checklist:
□ Are you charging enough to cover everything? (Business expenses, personal expenses, profit cushion.)
□ Have you created a mission statement for your business and your services to measure your efforts? If so, are you fulfilling your mission statement every day, with every client?
If not, what’s getting in your way?
If you are, pause to check in on your mental health. Are you okay?
If you’re not okay, what do you need? A break? A pay increase? A moment to remind yourself why you’re in this career?
What are you doing to provide that +5%?
□ In the past 12 months, look at how many times you have:
Cancelled on a client
Rescheduled a client
Been late for a client
Zoned out during a service
Didn’t take notes on a clients service
Be curious about why those moments happened—not judgmental, just aware.
Growth doesn’t come from burnout, and worth doesn’t come from a price tag. Both things come from doing your work with purpose, presence, and pride. Your clients remember how you made them feel, not how much they paid (hopefully). So keep refining, keep showing up, and keep charging your worth and doing your best (+5%). That’s the kind of professionalism that not only sustains your business—it builds your legacy.
“Charge your worth and do your best (+5%). Because one without the other isn’t sustainability—it’s imbalance.”
About Valerie
(Hi, that’s me 👋)
I’m Valerie Hansel, owner of V’s Skin Studio in Appleton, WI. I earned my esthetics license in 2016, opened my studio in 2019, and became a Certified Acne Expert with Face Reality in 2020 (though my acne deep-dive started long before that). I’m big on continued education and staying current with the science so my clients get care that actually makes sense for their skin.
Email: valerie@vskinstudio.com
Instagram: @vskinstudio