Ep 95 - 4 Signs You’re Undercharging

If you’ve ever closed your laptop at the end of a long clinic day, poured yourself a cuppa, and thought, surely this should feel better than it does… you’re not alone.

One of the most common questions I get from dietitians and health professionals is this:

How do I actually know if I’m undercharging?

Because pricing is rarely straightforward in healthcare. We’re trained to care, to assess, to support, and to put other people first. We’re not trained to confidently say, this is what my work is worth.

Add in strong values, ethics, and a genuine desire to help people, and it’s very easy to start pricing emotionally rather than strategically. We charge what feels reasonable. What feels fair. What we think people can afford.

The problem is, undercharging doesn’t just affect your income. It affects your energy, your confidence, and the long-term sustainability of your business.

In this post, I want to walk you through four clear signs you might be undercharging for your services, and help you gently reflect on whether your pricing still truly supports you.

Why undercharging is so common for health professionals

Before we dive in, let me say this clearly.

If you’re undercharging, it doesn’t mean you’re bad at business.

It usually means you care deeply. It means you’ve been trained in a system where money conversations were uncomfortable, avoided, or simply not part of the job. And it means you’re likely holding a lot of responsibility for other people’s wellbeing.

Many health professionals price based on hours, not outcomes. Or they price based on what feels safe, rather than the transformation their clients are actually getting.

And that’s where problems start to creep in.

A quick story that changed how I thought about pricing

In my children’s nutrition business, I ran a self-study programme that I sold for £1000. I also had a discounted version at 50 percent off that I used inside a funnel.

In December, I accidentally took down the wrong sales page. I left the full price version live instead of the discounted one.

January rolled around. My busiest time of year. And without even trying, I sold three places at £1,000.

That moment completely stopped me in my tracks.

For years, I’d been pricing based on my comfort, not my impact. Parents were more than willing to invest in expert support when the problem felt urgent and the trust was there. My pricing had been the only thing holding me back.

The lesson wasn’t just charge more.

It was this: pricing should reflect the value of the transformation you provide, not what feels safe for you to say out loud.

Sign one: you’re busy, but barely profitable

This is one of the clearest signs of undercharging.

Your diary is full. You’re juggling back-to-back client calls. You’re replying to messages in the evenings and squeezing admin into weekends.

And yet, when you look at your numbers, the income doesn’t match the effort.

If there’s little room for new clients, but you’re still not earning what you need or want each month, your pricing is likely relying on volume rather than value. And that’s rarely sustainable in healthcare-based work.

This often goes hand in hand with overdelivering.

You might say your package includes X, but in reality you’re also sending extra resources, checking in between sessions, answering messages outside of scope… all because that’s who you are.

A caring, conscientious professional.

Those little extras add up. And over time, they quietly drain your energy.

Sign two: the price flinch

When someone enquires about working with you, how do you feel when it’s time to send the price?

If you notice an immediate urge to justify, explain, soften, or jump straight into payment plans before they’ve even asked, that’s a strong signal.

This reaction usually comes from fear.

Fear of being seen as too expensive. Fear of being judged. Fear of assuming what the client can or can’t afford.

Here’s a simple awareness exercise.

The next time someone asks about your fees, notice what happens in your body before you reply. Do you feel grounded? Or do you feel a rush to defend the number?

Try sending your price clearly and neutrally. No apologies. No over-explaining. Just information.

That discomfort often has nothing to do with the actual value of your work.

Sign three: your prices are stuck in the past

When was the last time you reviewed your pricing?

If it’s been more than two years, it’s time to look again.

Many health professionals keep the same prices simply because that’s what people have always paid. But your experience, confidence, and results don’t stand still.

Over time, you’ve likely added more than you realise.

Extra resources. Better systems. Stronger boundaries. More CPD. Deeper expertise. Better outcomes.

All of that increases the value of what you offer.

A really useful exercise here is to write down what your offer included when you first set the price, and what it includes now.

Then ask yourself honestly.

If I were pricing this offer for the first time today, would I charge the same?

Sign four: your gut is telling you something’s off

Undercharging doesn’t just show up in your bank account.

It shows up in your body.

The tight feeling in your chest when another client message pops up. The sigh before a call. The low-level irritability that creeps in by the end of the day.

Sometimes it shows up as guilt-laced resentment. Thinking this is a lot for what I’m being paid, and then immediately feeling bad for even thinking it.

Those signals matter.

They’re not you being ungrateful or negative. They’re information.

One thing I often recommend is doing a simple weekly energy check. At the end of each day, ask yourself whether you felt energised, neutral, or drained.

Patterns will start to appear.

And your energy is one of the most honest indicators of whether your pricing is truly sustainable.

A gentle reframe on pricing

If your prices increased next month, would your work suddenly become unethical?

Are you pricing for the hours you spend with clients, or the value you bring to their lives?

And if nothing changed, could you happily be doing this work in three years time?

Pricing isn’t about greed. It’s about sustainability.

When your business supports you properly, you show up as a better practitioner. A calmer parent. A more present human.

Final thoughts

Undercharging is a phase many health professionals go through. Awareness is the first step out of it.

If reading this has made you feel a little uncomfortable, that’s often a sign something important has landed.

You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. But you are allowed to value your expertise, your time, and the responsibility you carry.

If pricing feels messy or emotional right now, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Sometimes, a conversation is all it takes to find a pricing sweet spot that works for you and your clients.

And that’s where real change begins.

The Master Plan:

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