Campfire Chronicles Vol. 3 - The Price of Doubt
Ever notice how fast your brain can flip when someone says, “That costs too much”?
It’s not just about the money. It’s about the story underneath the doubt.
The whisper of “I’m not good enough.”
The fear of “Oh my god, they’ve finally found me out.”
In Schema Therapy, Jeffrey Young calls these “life traps.” Old patterns wired deep that sneak into your business decisions. Once you see them for what they are, you can’t unsee them. That awareness gives you a choice: you can let the trap drive the bus, or you can grab the damn wheel.
Here’s the kicker: once those stories take root, they become the filter for everything. You start pricing based on fear instead of data, apologizing before you’ve even made the ask, or chasing “clients” who were never your clients to begin with.
So how do you break out?
🧠 Step One: Name the Trap
Get curious about what’s actually showing up for you. Is it unrelenting standards (I’ll never be perfect enough)? Defectiveness (they’ll figure out I’m a fraud)? Dependence (I can’t do this without…)?
🚪 Step Two: Rewrite the Filter
Awareness → Conscious choice.
Next time that little gremlin pipes up, remind yourself: you get to decide if you believe it or not.
📊 Step Three: Ground It in Strategy
This is where psychology meets practicality. A few frameworks to check yourself before you wreck yourself:
Do real market research. Not vibes, not assumptions. Ask. Look at competitor data.
Separate the hagglers from your audience. A tire kicker’s “too expensive” is not the same as a qualified lead’s “help me understand the value.”
Anchor in reality. Most micro and small biz budgets are smaller than gurus want you to believe. I’ve seen folks price themselves out of their market, then wonder why the phone never rings.
Build actionable tiers. Packages make it easier for people to say yes — and easier for you to say no when the fit isn’t right.
🔥 How We’re Living It at Storyteller Wordsmith
We just spent a day in our own mini “bat cave” — standing on the business, not in it. (Pro tip: when was the last time you worked on your garden instead of just hacking weeds?)
In that cave, we looked hard at our real client pool. Not the dream clients in our heads, not the broke-but-hopefuls in our inbox. The ones actually signing contracts. Out of that came project-based packages like our Drip, Espresso, and Double Shot content ecosystems — priced not just for profitability, but for accessibility to the audience we actually serve.
And guess what? The clarity has made it easier to stand tall when someone says, “That’s too much.”
👉 Your Turn:
When was the last time you stepped away to focus on your own business — your garden?
We’re cooking up a business retreat for 2026, and I’d love your input. What would make it worth your time to step into the cave with us? [Insert form link here]
