My emotional turmoil around changing prices

Whenever we offer a workshop, that particular topic always works me as well. Each year, I buckle up when we’re going to offer the Heart of Money, because I know I’m going to go deeper into my own money issues.

Somehow, I forget this dynamic happens when I decided that we would offer a one day Business Model Intensive. I wasn’t thinking of this at all.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a sleepless night, and all kinds of strong emotions were wrapping around me. Fear. Anger. Grief.

Okay, time to work with my stuff. And by “work with my stuff” I mean that I completely forgot about my spiritual connection, and tossed and turned with the emotions roiling in my belly. Haha. Oops.

Consciousness surfaced and I remembered that I needed to embrace and be with the emotions, to surrender. Oh yeah! Right! I did that, and some Sufi Remembrance and prayer.

I describe this in three brief paragraphs, but it was a two hour painful journey. At the end, the surrender I finally felt brought love deep into all the corners of my being. I could breathe, I could touch ground.

And then the realization came in. I was sure it was going to be about my personal life, but no, it came in clear as a bell that our business model needed some work.

Oh yeah, I’m teaching the Business Model Intensive, that’s why I’m being worked so hard on this, just like Heart of Money does to me every year. Sometimes I think I should just teach tooth brushing or something…

I’m giving you this background because we’re making a change, and I want to be transparent about how it came through emotionally.

The change and why.

I’ve been a social justice activist since I was a teenage punk going to Rock Against Reagan in the D.C. hardcore scene. (Anyone else remember “3 bands 3 bucks”?) My commitment, Heart of Business’ commitment to working within this broken economy has been very high.

As a result, we’ve played around with our pricing quite a bit.

The insight that came in is that the pricing for our core programs, F1: Clients & Money and F2: Expand Your Reach is just not sustainable, not at the numbers we need to be at.

These are not information dumps, but programs with a LOT of caring and feedback that help you build a sustainable business., Yet the current pricing of around $1000 for six months is just not penciling out, and is causing some real internal financial struggle for us.

When information comes at the end of a process like this, it’s just clean, clear info. No push, no pull. And yet, to say yes to it brought such relief.

So the prices will be changing, but not quite yet.

Price Change One: F1: Clients & Money will be $1650 (currently $887) for nearly six months of in-depth support and training.

Price Change Two: F2: Expand your Reach will be $2250 (currently $1170) for a full six months of in-depth support and training, including in-depth written feedback on web pages, core messaging, and content you create.

It’s a LOT of support. More than I’ve been perhaps willing to admit. I and other team members spend hours every week responding to questions, challenges, and requests for feedback from participants.

Here’s the kicker: unlike most group programs that I’ve seen, we have a commitment that EVERY SINGLE QUESTION GETS ANSWERED. Even questions that have nothing to do with the curriculum but are about a different aspect of your business.

It’s your third try at writing your Services page for your website and you want our feedback again. YES! You got it!

You have a holistic fair coming up and are wondering how to make the most of it? YES! We respond!

You had a hard interaction with a potential client and you’re wondering if you can save the situation? YES! We’re there for you!

We just need to charge adequately for all that support… but not quite yet.

When?

We’re keeping the current pricing through the end of May, if you’re starting either of these programs in May and June. Although it’s “leaving money on the table” so-to-speak, we can’t make this big of a change without some warning.

So… if you’ve been considering taking our foundational programs, we want you to take advantage of the current price, before we start charging a more sustainable one.

Other things to know.

One: We’re committed to accessible pricing and being transparent.
Our Community remains pay-from-the-heart. Our annual Heart of Money and The Heart of Your Business programs remain pay-from-the-heart when they are offered.

Yet we also don’t want to model unsustainable pricing for your businesses! For most business owners, maybe including you, $1000 for a six month program wouldn’t make financial sense at all. Your business wouldn’t be sustainable, either.

Two: We’re not for everyone. So we’re not going for outlandish numbers of participants.
We’re not trying to get 1000 people into Clients & Money (although I had a fantasy about that a few years ago. 🙂 )

Three: These two programs, together, help you make money in a way that feels great.
Specifically, we help you go from under US$10,000/year (including some who are at zero, or just a few hundred dollars) to get into the mid-five-figures or beyond. We are committed to any money you spend with us paying off in business development.

Please join us!

Both programs start the first Monday of every month, rather than us doing a big launch every year. This is because of our commitment to access: not everyone’s timing matches when a course starts, and it seems ridiculous to have to wait months to get the help you need.

If you’re in start-up, or your cashflow is very low, and need to bring in some clients and money then you want to join Clients & Money. Click here to check it out and register.

If you’re a little further along, and need to reach more people to fill your schedule consistently,then you want Expand Your Reach. Click here to check it out and register

Unsure? Take our free Readiness Assessment and get a personal reply from us. Click here

Questions?

If you have questions, I’m happy to reply to anything that comes up for you. I just appreciate you hearing me out, and I hope that you have similarly fruitful clarifying processes with your own pricing and offers.

With love,

Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.