102 | I Stopped Coaching To Help Entrepreneurs Build Real Businesses

Pricing Strategy Blueprint: https://brooksdemming.com/store/products/the-pricing-blueprint

I disappeared on purpose and the reason matters if you’re building a business that actually fits your life. After months away, I’m back to explain the pivot that surprised even me: I stopped coaching and repositioned as a business architect. That means I’m focused less on motivation and more on the business foundation behind your vision, including systems, policies, contracts, service design, operations, and growth planning that can scale without breaking you.

I also tell the truth about starting over. I redesigned my website, changed my branding and messaging, and deleted my email list even after growing it past 1,000 contacts. It sounds wild until you remember that audience alignment beats vanity metrics every time. Sometimes business growth looks like subtraction before multiplication, because serving the right people is more important than collecting the most people.

Then we get into the issue I keep seeing across entrepreneurs and nonprofits: pricing. We break down three costly pricing mistakes, including charging based on emotion, copying competitors, and discounting before anyone asks. You’ll learn how to calculate a minimum profitable price, how to anchor your rates in value and positioning, and why “state your price and stop talking” can instantly upgrade your sales conversations. I also share a pricing strategy guide you can download to build a real pricing model with worksheets and clear questions.

Subscribe for weekly episodes, share this with a business owner who’s undercharging, and leave a review if it helps you price with confidence.

Beautiful Spirited Women
Beautiful Spirited Women (B.S.W), a non-profit dedicated to empowering and advocating for girls.

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Transcript

Welcome Back And The Pause

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome back, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Off Balance. It has been a while. If you have been following me for any length of time, then you probably noticed that I have not recorded in a couple of months, and that wasn't an accident. It wasn't burnout. It wasn't because I ran out of things to say. I stepped away because I needed space to make some intentional decisions about my business. Because sometimes as entrepreneurs, we're so busy serving everyone else that we never stop long enough to ask ourselves, is this business still aligned with where I'm going? And so that is exactly where I found myself.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Hosted by Brooks Deming, Doctor of Business Administration, Business Coach, and Resilience Expert. Each episode features real life conversations to help entrepreneurs like you build resilience and lead with confidence.

Pivot To Business Architect

SPEAKER_00 1:13

So where have I been? Over the last few months, I've made some decisions that surprise even me. I stopped coaching. Let me explain. So for years, my work centered around coaching leaders, entrepreneurs. I coached them on resilience, boundaries, and consistency, and I loved it. But over time, I realized that most of the people coming to me, they didn't need another coach. They needed someone to help them build a business behind their vision. And I noticed that they didn't need more motivation. They needed systems, pricing, policies, contract, structure. So I made the decision to reposition my business. So today I am no longer a coach. I consider myself a business architect. I help clients move from an idea to a fully functioning business by providing strategic guidance on business formation, organizational structure, service development, pricing, operations, policy, and growth planning. Before I go further, let me introduce myself. Oh my God, I am so rude. So I am Dr. Brooks. And if you are new here, I am so excited to have you. I have been in federal HR for the past 16 years, and then I've also been a coach for about the past six years. And this pivot is surprising to a lot of people, guys, because I spent thousands of dollars on my coaching certification. A lot of money on coaching to ensure that I know how to coach. And so the fact that I am pivoting out of coaching into consulting, it kind of blew the minds of a lot of people. So if you are new, welcome. I pray that this is not your last time and that you like me, right? I hope you like me and that you're gonna stick around because I will start back in my rotation releasing episodes every week. And so, welcome to August. So

Starting Over And Cutting The List

SPEAKER_00 3:04

let's talk about starting over and what that decision looked like for me. So when I decided to start over, I redesigned my website, I changed my branding, I changed my messaging, and I even deleted all of my business contacts. And that one was hard for me because I had grew my email list to over a thousand contacts. And so some people thought I was crazy. But here's why I did it: a large email list, it means nothing if those people aren't your audience anymore. And so I would rather have 50 people who need my services than 5,000 people who never open an email. And so sometimes growth, it looks like subtraction before multiplication. And I'm okay with that because business is not about collecting people, it's about serving the right people. And so here I am many years in business, and I only have like four or five email contacts because I have, you know, been rebuilding for the last couple of weeks. And so I have also been working with several business owners and nonprofits recently. And the one thing that kept showing up, regardless of the industry, their personalities, or their businesses, they all had the same problem. They did not know how to price what they were offering. So not one person lacked passion, not one person lacked talent, but almost every person struggled with pricing. Some were charging too little, some copied their competitors, some picked a random number because it felt right, some apologized every time they told someone their price. And that's not a pricing strategy. That's guessing.

Why Pricing Becomes A Trap

SPEAKER_00 4:44

So you guys know on this podcast, I have to bring you an educational moment. So today's business lesson, we are going to talk about pricing because I think every entrepreneur needs to hear this. Pricing is not about what you think the person can afford. Pricing is not about being the cheapest, it's not about competing with everyone else. It's a business strategy. So your prices, they have to support your business, your expenses, your taxes, your payroll, and your future. But I have met so many entrepreneurs who have never calculated what it costs to stay in business. So I'm going to give you guys three pricing mistakes. And of course, I am going to give you a solution just in case you are being affected by those mistakes. So,

Mistake One Emotion Based Pricing

SPEAKER_00 5:30

mistake number one: you are charging based on emotion instead of numbers. So if someone tells me I just felt like 150 sounded good, then that is going to be a red flag because your business should not be built on feelings. It's built on data. And one of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make is setting prices based on what feels comfortable instead of what the business requires. Sometimes, you know, they are afraid that they're pricing too high. So they lower it even before they run numbers. So here's a simple solution if you find yourself doing that often. Before you set your price, I want you to calculate your minimum profitable price. So I want you to ask yourself, what does it cost me to deliver this product or service? How much time does it take? What are your monthly business expenses? And what profit do you need to make to keep your business healthy? So when you know your numbers, you no longer guess. You make informed business decisions. Confidence is going to come from clarity. And as you guys know, clarity comes from knowing your numbers.

Mistake Two Copying Competitors

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Mistake number two, you're copying your competitors. Just because someone charges $300 doesn't mean you should. You don't know their expenses, their profit margin. You don't even know if they're making money. You don't know if they're struggling. So never build your prices around someone else's business. Competition can provide awareness of the market, but it should never dictate your pricing strategy. So if you find yourself doing this, here's the solution. Instead of asking what they are charging, I want you to start asking what makes my business valuable. So I want you to think about your experience, your credentials, think about your process, think about the results that you consistently deliver because those things are what your clients are paying for. Your pricing should reflect the value and positioning of your business. It should not mirror someone else's price list. Because two businesses can offer similar services and charge completely different prices because they serve different markets and they deliver different experiences.

Mistake Three Discounting Too Soon

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Mistake number three you're discounting before anyone even asks. I see this constantly. People quote their price, then they immediately say, But I can work with you. If that's too much, I'll give you a discount. Stop negotiating against yourself. If you don't believe in your value, your customers won't either. And so here's a simple solution that can change your sales conversation. I want you to state your price and stop talking. I'm serious. State your price and stop talking. I want you to give the other person space to process the information because many entrepreneurs become uncomfortable with silence. So they rus to justify the price or they offer a discount before the client has even responded. And often the client was willing to pay the full amount until the business owner introduced DAO into the conversation. Silence communicates confidence. So when you can confidently state your investment and allow the client to respond, you are demonstrating that you have thought about your price, your services, and that you believe in the value of what you're going to provide. So if someone can't afford your service, you can always discuss payment options, but don't assume that the price is the objection before the client tells you it is.

Build A Real Pricing Strategy

SPEAKER_00 9:07

And so that's our business lesson for today. Because every business should have an intentional pricing strategy, not just a price, an actual strategy. So that means you have to understand your operating costs, the desired profit margin, your target market, brand positioning, your ideal customer, and your unique value proposition. Notice the price is the last piece of the puzzle. Because when you understand these six areas, your pricing becomes a natural outcome of a well-designed business strategy instead of a random number you picked because it sounded reasonable. So as a consultant, one of the first things that I help clients do is stop asking what I should charge and start asking what kind of business am I trying to build? Because once you answer that question, your pricing becomes much easier to determine.

Where Off Balance Goes Next

SPEAKER_00 9:58

So where is off balance going? So you're going to start hearing more consulting on the podcast. Of course, we're still going to talk about leadership, about business, about entrepreneurship, but you are going to hear more consulting advice. I'm going to give you more business conversations. You'll have more behind-the-scenes stories, you'll have more lessons that I'm learning while helping organizations build from the ground up because that's the season that I am in, and I am so excited about it. And I hope that you are too.

Pricing Guide And Closing Charge

SPEAKER_00 10:31

And so if today's conversation made you realize that you have been guessing when it comes to pricing, don't fret. Because I have created a pricing strategy guide for entrepreneurs. And inside, I walk you through the questions that every business owner should answer before setting prices. I also have worksheets, you know, to help you think your pricing model, profitability, and common mistakes that keep entrepreneurs from making money. And if you want to download that, you can definitely click the link in the description of this video. I think it's a resource that all entrepreneurs should have before they launch their pricing. And so thank you guys so much for sticking around with me as I transition. Sometimes, you know, businesses they evolve and sometimes we evolve. And I think it's courage to pivot and it's not a sign of failure. It's evidence that you are paying attention. And so I am so excited for where I am going in my business as well as with this podcast. And so I will see you in the next episode. Until then, I want you to keep building your business with intention. And remember, the strongest businesses aren't built by accident. They are built on purpose.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Thanks for listening. Please rate this episode and share it with your family and friends. To learn more about your host or to book a coaching session, visit www.brooksdeming.com. Until next time, rise.