Hoop Dance as Business: Balancing Passion and Profit

More and more, I am seeing that all hoopers who have turned their talents into a small business deal with so many of the same difficult issues:

• Pricing: HOW to price time, labor, etc. (And this seems to be a big one as most hoopers are female, and volumes of books have been written about the myriad of uncomfortable feelings we as women encounter when pricing our time--essentially, ourselves...)
• "Competition" vs. Cooperation with other performers, etc. (Again, raises issues of self, and also of people-pleasing, or the need to be liked.)
• Devaluing: Living in a society that wants goods and services that are cheap, easy, and fast. Making hoops is not cheap. Learning to hoop dance well (and teaching others) is not easy. And attaining both mastery and passion does not happen fast.
• Countless other issues...

This is on my mind today, as I am considering raising my hoop prices. In the last couple of months, my hoop sales have really taken off. Filled with happy astonishment as well as gratitude, there is a part of me whispering, "hey, don't rock the boat!"

But today, after a little internet research, I am seeing that all other hoop companies (both well-known and obscure) are charging more for their hoops than I am. Usually, to the tune of $5-$10 more per hoop, and these hoops are very comparable to my own in quality, construction etc. And these higher prices do not even include shipping! (I have shied away from selling hoops online simply to avoid the whole shipping-cost-quagmire...I find it easier to sell locally and face to face so that I never have to deal with shipping. BUT, isn't this ALSO a decision born out of fear--based on avoidance of a perceived nuisance rather than on actual experience or educated research? But I digress...)

And so, I am realizing that it is time to raise my prices (slightly), to get more precise in my record keeping (knowing my materials cost), and generally just get bolder in my branching out.

I, like so many other consumers, fork over hard-earned cash for goods with defined prices, set by industries who KNOW their profits to within a fraction of a cent. Real companies do not leave pricing up to whims or intuition. There is much I dislike about our current economy and about capitalism in general...but, perhaps it is time to realize that this IS the system in which I operate...

and to price accordingly?