Before I ever worked professionally with animals, I worked in corporate America, including:

• IBM's Research & Development division
• Government automated data processing when computers were just getting started
• Two college degrees - Bachelor's and Master's in Business, magna cum laude
• Co-founding a market research corporation with two professors
• Building and running my husband's produce brokerage accounting system

On paper? Successful. Stable. Respectable.

And absolutely miserable.

Because none of it was aligned with my heart.

I loved animals. I wanted meaningful work. I wanted to do something that mattered.

So when I was guided into animal communication professionally, I did what you might be doing right now:

The First Time I Charged $35 an Hour

When I started in 1993, I charged $35 an hour.

I traveled onsite. Gas. Vehicle wear and tear. Liability. Risk. Driving all over unknown areas to work with unknown animals and unknown people.

I didn't think about sustainability. I thought about being kind.

Here's what happened:

• Clients canceled easily
• They didn't always follow through
• They treated it like something interesting to try - almost like entertainment
• They didn't expect much

What Happened When I Started Charging for My Services at a Higher Rate

Eventually I realized that the fee was unsustainable. Not emotionally. Financially.

So I raised my rates to $100 an hour.

And something shifted.

Today I Charge $500 an Hour

Before reacting to that number, let me explain what that actually includes.

When my client books a session with me, they are not just getting a "reading." They are getting an expert with over 3 decades of experience, someone who can:

• Communicate clearly with their animal about behavior, health, emotional stress, or trauma
• Identify the emotional root of chronic behavior problems
• Help them understand what their animal is mirroring from their own stress patterns
• Guide them step-by-step in what to change at home
• Calm aggressive or reactive animals energetically before training or showing season begins
• Prepare them and their animal for end-of-life transitions with clarity and peace
• Detect subtle emotional imprints affecting the body
• Shift energetic patterns in real time during the session
• Help them make grounded decisions instead of fear-based ones
• Teach them how to continue the work after the session ends

With me they are getting a communicator, healer, trainer, coach, relationship therapist, supported by a healthy business-minded strategist - all in one.

In fact, my chosen specialty is solving problems with pets and people. I even developed my own Heart Wisdom 5 Step System for that. It works with every pet, every time.

And yes, some of my clients even work with me to help them with their businesses too. I've advised the chairman of the board in a non-profit organization, and a highly successful roofing company, among many others.

The thing is…

If your dog is aggressive, we don't just "talk about it."

• We identify the emotional trigger
• We identify the human pattern feeding it
• We build a practical correction plan
• We shift the energetic dynamic
• We create follow-through

If your animal is ill, we don't replace your vet.

• We identify emotional contributors
• We reduce stress
• We improve cooperation with treatment
• We strengthen the human-animal bond so healing has better conditions

If you're preparing for transition, we don't just "ask how they feel."

• We bring peace
• We reduce guilt
• We clarify timing
• We stabilize the family

And the clients who invest at that level? They show up. They implement. They follow through. And the results they get reflect that.

Do you see the difference from just being one of many people who can communicate with animals?

My fee is directly connected to:

• Practical outcomes clients can take away and feel good about
• Real-world complexity - solving problems, sometimes that no one else has been able to solve
• Emotional safety where they feel heard, understood, loved, and supported
• Multi-layered skills in my toolkit and the discernment to know what to use when for the best results
• Integrated expertise across many areas - from medical intuitive scanning to healing for both clients and their animals, to coaching, to working with the Human Animal BodyMind Connection, and more

That's the difference between a $75 session and a $500 session. These are not abstract, interchangeable credentials or abilities. I don't just "talk to animals."

After all, you don't pay a plumber a lot of money for banging on pipes. You pay them the big bucks for knowing precisely why, when, how, how hard or soft, and where to bang - or not to bang at all, but look elsewhere for the root of the issue.

You pay for the expert to know how to fix the problem as quickly as possible. Otherwise you risk making a bigger mess of things, and it winds up costing you a lot more in the long run.

That's a high level of expertise worth paying for.

Let's Talk About the Guilt Around Charging for Your Services

Why Heart-Centered Communicators Struggle With Charging for Their Services

If you feel guilty charging for your work, here's what's probably running through your head:

Listen carefully.

Charging appropriately is not greed. It is a boundary.

Your fee says:

• I value my training
• I value my time
• I value my energy
• I take this seriously
• I value the investments I've made in my training
• I expect you to take it seriously too

Undercharging for Your Services Is Not Noble - It's Sacrificial Martyrdom

You probably undercharge because you care.

But here's what tends to follow:

• You overextend and over-give
• You start feeling drained
• You quietly resent cancellations
• You wonder why this feels harder than it should
• Eventually, you start thinking about quitting

Pricing Is About Value of the Service Offered - Not Your Worth

Charging for Your Services With Confidence Starts With Structure

Your price is not your worth as a human being. It is a business structure.

If you want this to be your livelihood - not just something you do occasionally - then you must structure it like one.

There is nothing wrong with offering sessions here and there. But if you want to build a career? Treat it like one.

The Real Problem With Undercharging

If You Cannot Explain Your Value, People Will Judge You on Price Alone

You may not be clearly articulating the real value of what you do.

When you say, "I talk to animals," it sounds broad.

But when you say, "I resolve chronic behavior spirals by identifying emotional imprints in the human–animal dynamic," that sounds like a result.

If you cannot clearly explain the result you help create, how you create it, who it's best for, and why it's worth paying for - people will compare you by price.

Not because they're bad people. Because you've positioned yourself to look the same as everyone else.

But What About People Who Can't Afford It?

This question matters. I have struggled with that too. Fortunately, I discovered a way.

The answer: create multiple pathways for different levels of service and availability.

For instance, I have:

• A club with different levels of membership and dues
• Group training
• Books
• Accountability-based free reward sessions for my students
• Different entry points
• Videos including my The Real Dr. Doolittle Podcast Show
• YouTube channel including teaching interviews with other communicators

That's structured generosity.

What is not sustainable? Charging $40 for a premium-level skill while carrying complex emotional cases and expecting to survive long-term. That math doesn't work.

The Danger of Spiritual Martyrdom Economics

There's a belief that floats around in healing circles that says: "If this is sacred work, money shouldn't matter."

Here's the thing: money matters. Rent matters. Insurance matters. Continuing education matters. Time matters.

If you quietly resent your work because it doesn't sustain you, that energy leaks into your sessions.

Specialization Changes Everything About Charging for Your Services

When You're Clear on What You Do, Charging for Your Services Gets Easier

When you specialize, your value rises. Not because you're superior. Because you're clear.

When you're specific about what you do and who you help, clients stop asking, "How much do you charge?" They start asking, "When can we start?"

An Encouraging Word

You don't need thicker skin. You need stronger structure.

You don't have to harden your heart to build a sustainable business. But you do need to learn how to say your fee without whispering it.

You don't have to become a shark. But you may need to put on your steady professional hat instead of your please-don't-judge-me hat.

I've worn both.

If you want this work to be hobby level, price it like one. If you want this to be your profession… build it like one.

Because trying to build a professional life on hobby pricing and then wondering why you can't pay your bills - or wishing you didn't need a "real job" - is a painful place to be.

I've watched talented communicators walk away from this field because they couldn't make it work financially. Not because they lacked talent. Because they lacked structure.