Why Small Businesses Have to Charge More (and Why That’s a Good Thing).
Yesterday I posted a quick thread about the cost of mayo at my local grocery store. It wasn’t that deep — just one of those “wow, $8 for a jar of mayonnaise?!” kind of posts. The kind you think will get a couple head-nods or maybe a “same here!” in the comments.
Instead, people got weirdly mad. And belligerent. And insulting.
Some said I was lying. Some called me moron, loser, libtard. Others told me I should’ve just gone to Walmart, as if that was the only reasonable response. Like the problem wasn’t the inflated price of groceries, but my refusal to shop at a giant corporate retailer.
And listen… I get it. Life is expensive. Everyone’s looking for ways to stretch their dollar. But what struck me most was how quick people were to defend the idea that cheap = good. That big box prices are the gold standard. That anything else is a scam or a ripoff.
That same thinking is what gets small business owners in trouble.
Because if you’re a small business trying to match those big-box prices — if you're absorbing costs just to stay “affordable” — you will inevitably burn out. Or break even. Or close. And none of those are really options.
Here’s what’s true: you will never be able to compete on price with a giant retailer. And you shouldn’t try to.
Big stores move mass quantities. They underpay workers. They negotiate bulk contracts. They don’t care if your shopping experience is beautiful, or if the product is thoughtful, or if the packaging made you smile. They are optimized for one thing: volume. Move more, make more.
But you? You’re a small business. You care about what you’re making and selling. You probably are the team. You pick your ingredients. You know your customers. You design your experience down to the music playing and the way your packaging feels in someone’s hands. That’s not extra. That’s the whole point.
So yes, your prices will be higher. They have to be.
That higher price covers your time. Your craft. Your rent. Your values. Your survival.
When small businesses try to race to the bottom price-wise they lose everything that makes them special. And eventually they just lose… period.
If you’re afraid to charge what something is worth because you don’t want to scare people off, I get it. It’s vulnerable to ask for more. It feels risky. But here’s the hard truth: pricing for survival is not greedy. It’s responsible. And it’s necessary.
Because here’s the reality most people don't want to say out loud:
If your business doesn’t make money, it disappears.
If you don’t get paid, you burn out.
If you can’t afford to grow, you stagnate.
And then the thing you built — the thing your community loved — goes away. Not because it wasn’t good. But because it wasn’t priced to last.
So the next time someone asks why your product or service costs more than what they can get at Target or Amazon, tell them this:
“I care too much to cut corners. And that’s reflected in my pricing.”
And if they still don’t get it, they’re probably not your customer anyway.