At the recent Tech Week Conference in Chicago, a “Women in Tech” panel featured Yesenia Sotelo, the Founder of Smart Cause Digital, a Chicago-based firm that builds digital infrastructure and implementation strategies for nonprofit organizations. And while the panel discussion Yesenia sat on talked about tech issues, the piece of advice she gave that most resonated with me is one I want to share with all of you. Yesenia said, “My rate is my rate.”
Yesenia and I share some things in common – both of us are recent entrepreneurs, leaving full time jobs to start our businesses just this year. Both of us are women (no shock there), and as women, like most other women, we both struggle with knowing and setting our value. Yesenia has figured it out, and I entirely respect her statement – “My rate is my rate.”
There are countless books written about women and value – books that tell us how women are often afraid to ask for raises, and nervous to set our price and stick to it. Here are a few to think about when you’re deciding to finally set your rates and stick to them:
- Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What You’re Worth by Mika Brzezinski
- Women Don’t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negoation – and Positive Strategies for Change by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
- And the sequel to Women Don’t Ask – Ask for It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want – also by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
- Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life by Barbara Stanny
- Make Money, Not Excuses: Wake Up, Take Charge, and Overcome Your Financial Fears Forever by Jean Chatzky
Read books, talk to other women, do whatever you need to do to get to the point where you know what you’re worth and are willing to set that price and stick to it. Salaries are negotiable, but what you’re worth is not. Know your rate, and be confident in your ability to get it!
About the Author: Marcy Twete
Marcy Twete is the Founder and CEO of Career Girl Network and the author of the book “You Know Everybody! A Career Girl’s Guide to Building a Network That Works.” At Career Girl Network, Marcy provides women with information, resources, and networking to empower them in their careers and to advance the work of women in business as a whole. Prior to launching Career Girl Network, Marcy worked in numerous nonprofit organizations and as a consultant in the field of nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and community relations. Marcy is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and a native of rural North Dakota. She is the Vice Chair of the Chicago Board of Directors for Step Up Women’s Network in Chicago and a member of the Advisory Board for Girls on the Run Twin Cities, and is dedicated to advancing the work of organizations that move the needle for women and girls worldwide.
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