When It’s Time to Raise your Rates, But you Still Want to be Reasonable

The Uncomfortable Balance between Valuing Loyal Clients and Valuing Your Own Time

There comes a point in running a small business when you look at a particular booking and quietly think:

‘Hmm…I think we need to have a little conversation.’

Not with the client.

With yourself.

I’ve been running my pet-sitting business for more than a year and a half, and I’m still learning what works - not only for my clients, but for me and the business I’m trying to build.

And one of the things I’ve realised is not every booking costs the same to provide.

Location matters.

Travel time matters.

Fuel matters.

The length of the visit matters.

And sometimes, what started as a straightforward arrangement gradually becomes a little more involved.

That’s when you have to step back and look at the whole picture.

Not necessarily because you’ve suddenly decided you want to charge more.

But because you have to ask yourself:

‘Does this booking still make sense for me?’

Everything Costs More

We don’t need to look very far to know that the cost of living has changed.

Food costs more.

Household expenses cost more.

Services cost more.

And yes…

Petrol costs more.

I might have an economical car, but unfortunately my car hasn’t learned to run on fresh air.

Sometimes it’s minimal.

Sometimes the journey is further.

And when a booking is outside my usual service area, that additional distance becomes something I need to consider when I’m working out whether the booking is financially worthwhile.

Because the price of a pet-sitting visit isn’t simply the amount of time I spend inside someone’s home.

There’s also everything surrounding that visit.

The driving.

The fuel.

The time spent getting there and back.

The wear and tear of the car.

And the time that I’m unavailable for another booking because I’m travelling.

Not Every Booking is The Same

This is something I think is easy to overlook when you're first starting out.

You might set a price for your service and think:

‘Okay, that’s my rate.’

But then you start taking on different types of bookings.

One client might live ten minutes away.

Another might be considerably further.

One visit might involve one pet with a very straightforward routine.

Another might involve multiple pets and more responsibilities.

One booking might take exactly the amount of time you expected.

Another might gradually become more involved.

Suddenly, you realise that one price doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.

And that doesn’t mean you need to have a complicated pricing system for every possible situation.

It simply means you need to pay attention.

Sometimes You Accommodate Things

This is where being a small business owner can get interesting.

A client might live slightly outside your usual service area, but you decide to accept the booking anyway.

Why?

Because they’re a regular client.

Because you have a good relationship.

Because you want to help.

Because the booking fits into your schedule.

And that’s completely fine.

I’ve done exactly that.

But there can also be situations where the original arrangement changes.

Perhaps there’s an additional pet.

Perhaps there’s more involved in the visit.

Perhaps the location means considerably more travel than your usual bookings.

And sometimes you don’t immediately adjust the price.

You just get on with it.

‘It’s okay. I’ll manage.’

Until eventually you stop and think:

‘Hang on a minute…am I still being fairly compensated for what I’m actually providing?’

Loyal Clients Make This Harder

This is probably the part I find most uncomfortable.

When someone is a regular client, you don’t want them to feel like you’re suddenly looking at them as a walking euro sign.

That’s not how I see my clients.

I appreciate the people who trust me with their pets.

I appreciate the repeat bookings.

I appreciate knowing that they feel comfortable leaving their animals in my care.

And because of that, I don’t want to make a price adjustment unnecessarily.

I want it to feel fair.

Fair to them.

And fair to me.

And that’s where the internal debate begins.

The Great €20 versus €22 Debate

In this particular situation, I knew I needed to look at the price again.

There were several factors involved.

The location was outside my usual service area.

That meant additional travel and fuel.

The booking had also become more involved than the original arrangement, with an additional pet involved and more to consider during the visits.

And I hadn’t increased the price when those circumstances changed.

So I sat there thinking about it.

Should I increase it?

If so, by how much?

€23?

Hmm.

Maybe.

But then I thought about the fact that this is a regular arrangement.

I didn’t want to make a dramatic jump.

I wanted to remain reasonable.

I wanted the client to continue receiving good value.

And, importantly, I wanted the booking to make sense for me too.

And after going backwards and forwards with myself…

I settled on €22 instead of €20.

Two euros.

That’s it.

And somehow I managed to have a full internal board meeting about those two euros.

Why €22 Felt Right

For me, it wasn’t about suddenly trying to make more money from a loyal client.

It was about making the arrangement a little more sustainable.

The additional €2 acknowledges some of the extra cost involved without turning the booking into something that feels unreasonable.

And that’s what I think pricing adjustments should be about.

Not squeezing every possible euro out of a client.

But making sure the numbers work for both sides.

The client receives the service they need at a price they feel is fair.

And I receive reasonable compensation for my time, travel and responsibilities.

That’s the balance I’m looking for.

Being Unreasonable Doesn’t Mean Undervaluing Yourself

This is something I’ve had to remind myself of.

There is a difference between being reasonable and being too accommodating.

Being reasonable might mean recognising that a loyal client deserves consideration.

It might mean making a modest adjustment rather than a huge increase.

It might mean taking into account the fact that this is an ongoing arrangement.

But being reasonable doesn’t mean absorbing every additional cost yourself.

Because those little things add up.

An extra journey.

More petrol.

More time.

An additional pet.

A more complicated routine.

Another ten minutes here.

Another fifteen minutes there.

And suddenly you’re providing considerably more than you originally priced for.

At some point, you have to acknowledge that your time has value too.

Your Price isn’t Just Paying for the Visit

This is something I think is important for anyone running a service-based business.

When someone pays for a pet-sitting visit, they’re not only paying for the minutes I’m physically inside their home.

They’re paying for my time.

My travel.

My fuel.

My reliability.

My experience.

My responsibility.

And the peace of mind that comes with knowing someone trustworthy is looking after their pets.

There’s also the time spent organising the schedule around those bookings.

All of those things form part of running a business.

And while I want to remain affordable, I also need to make sure I’m not quietly eating into my own income every time I say yes to something.

I’m Still Learning What Works

After only just over a year and a half in business, I’m not going to pretend I’ve got every aspect of pricing figured out.

I’m learning.

I’m watching.

I’m calculating.

I’m making adjustments when necessary.

And I think that’s perfectly normal.

Your business changes as you gain experience.

You start understanding which bookings work well.

Which locations are practical.

How much time certain services take.

How much you’re spending on fuel.

How much flexibility you’re giving clients.

And sometimes you look at something you agreed to months ago and realise:

‘I probably need to rethink this.’

That’s not failure.

That’s business.

You Don’t Have to Increase Everything

And this is another important point.

A price review doesn’t automatically mean every client get a price increase.

Different bookings have different circumstances.

Some may work perfectly well at the current rate.

Others might need adjusting because of the distance, time, workload or changes to the service.

It’s about looking at the individual situation rather than simply deciding:

‘Right. Everything is going up.’

That’s not how I want to run my business.

I want my pricing to have a reason behind it.

The Awkward Conversation is Sometimes with Yourself

Interestingly, the hardest part of raising a rate isn’t always telling the client.

Sometimes it’s convincing yourself that you’re allowed to do it.

You start second-guessing everything.

Is this too much?

Will they think I’m being too unreasonable?

Should I have left it alone?

Maybe €21 is enough?

Actually, what about €23?

And then you realise you’re spending twenty minutes debating a couple of euros.

But that’s because you’re trying to find that middle ground.

You care about your clients.

You don’t want to take advantage,

But you also can’t build a sustainable business by continually putting your own time and expenses at the bottom of the list.

The Goal is Balance

Ultimately, that’s what I’m trying to achieve.

Balance.

I want my clients to feel that they’re receiving good value.

I want them to feel comfortable and confident leaving their pets in my care.

I want to appreciate the loyalty of regular clients.

But I also want to feel that my business is financially worthwhile.

Because if I constantly accept bookings that don’t make sense financially, eventually I could end up resenting the very work I started the business to enjoy.

And that’s not good for anyone.

I want to arrive at a booking thinking:

‘This works.’

Not:

‘Why am I doing this for this price?’

Sometimes Two Euros is Enough

In the end, the decision wasn’t dramatic.

There wasn’t some big announcement.

There wasn’t a huge increase.

It was simply a small adjustment from €20 to €22 that felt appropriate for the circumstances.

And maybe that’s the lesson I’ve taken from it.

You don’t always need to make enormous changes.

Sometimes you simply need to recognise when something has shifted and make a small adjustment to bring things back into balance.

You can value your loyal clients.

You can remain reasonable.

You can still offer good value.

And you can value yourself at the same time.

Because running a small business doesn’t mean putting your clients first at your own expense.

And it doesn’t mean putting yourself first at theirs.

It’s about finding that comfortable middle ground where both sides feel valued.

And sometimes…the middle ground happens to be €22.