For years now, you all have heard me say, “I don’t charge entrepreneurs to meet and talk.” I’ve been emphatic about it - and have worn it as a badge. I have worked for various economic development organizations that footed the bill so individual entrepreneurs didn’t need to pay.
But then two things happened …
Some entrepreneurs WANTED to pay me. They expected to pay and knew they would receive value. I’d still wave them off and meet for free.
Other entrepreneurs started to express the value they received from our coaching meetings and conversations - even though I’d stayed away from charging them.
Those two things helped me decide to change my practices - and charge for one-on-one entrepreneur coaching. I call the service Coaching Conversations.
Ironically, some of you have heard me tell you that you were totally fortunate to have potential customers literally asking to buy your product. It just took me a while to finally notice that I was in that position. Ha!
But before I just started charging, I decided to do something else that I recommend to my clients - some “customer discovery”. I arranged and conducted a series of coaching meetings. I met with entrepreneurs, founders, or small teams - and we would talk for about an hour and a half. I would listen to their situation and apply my own coaching style to the conversation (my style: I act as if I am on your team while we meet - sharing ideas as if I were on your team - and using my 20 or so years of entrepreneur coaching experience to the team’s advantage).
After each session, while the experience was still fresh in their minds, I’d ask what value they took away from the conversation. I learned the three main types of value they received (not everyone experienced all three, of course).
I helped some UNLOCK new IDEAS.
I helped some CLARIFY their PLANS.
I helped some ELEVATE their VALUE.
That helped me understand not only what value they gained, but also how they articulated it!
After that, I would ask them two last questions.
“I am NOT charging you, but what is the “No Brainer” price you would pay - no questions asked - for the experience you just had?”
“What is the higher price that would cause you to start thinking whether or not it would be worth it for the experience you just had?”
I now know the range of acceptable pricing across a variety of people. By the way, to the one person who said, “But I’m just cheap”, I get it - no worries. To the one person who cited so high a range that I could make a good living with just one client, “Call me!” - just kidding. This exercise let me comfortably decide on a price that is acceptable to most potential clients and that I personally think reflects the value experienced.
Coaching Conversations are now a solid part of my business, but I understand the need for other price point products. I’ve got you covered.
My DIY e-Books (the “Be Your Own …” series) distill the coaching experience into a Do It Yourself model. For only $24, entrepreneurs can download an e-Book and “coach themselves”. The books will help bring a new founder up to speed quickly, covering a range of important topics and key questions. Not as personally dialed in as a Coaching Conversation, of course, but still good value. I currently offer two e-Books: “Be Your Own Startup Coach” and “Be Your Own Product Innovation Coach.”
For those who want or need some help totally free, this Substack will always be free to read. Currently at around 30 articles about startups, entrepreneurship, and innovation, I will keep adding more.
Oh, for those wondering - my coaching for high school or middle school students will ALWAYS be free. I will continue growing Believe In A Dream’s engagement throughout Northeast Indiana. In fact, I am doubling down on students as a brand new substitute teacher at Fort Wayne Community Schools - thanks to my friends at Amp Lab.
This pivot has taken me a long time. To those of you who have watched me think this through and wondered if I would ever “officially” launch the pivot, here is that formal launch. Over the near future, expect to see more (on my socials) about what I offer and what customers say about my products.
Lastly, I’d like to ask you readers to help me in one of two ways.
If you’ve directly experienced my coaching or maybe worked with me in a similar past role - and seen good value - please email steve@stevefranksinnovation.com a brief testimonial (a few sentences top - the more specific the better). I’d really appreciate it. I publish those - always anonymously.
If you believe in what I do and want to help others get to know me, please share my Substack or my website (stevefranksinnovation.com) to your friends.
Thanks for reading about my pivot - may all YOUR pivots be valuable and successful!