( Original Post: https://enlivenworks.com/fees/ )
I charge 2% of Your Monthly Salary. How? Why?
Why Are You Sharing This?
Most interactions I have had with potential clients always started with the fees, “How much does it cost?” The same is true when clients browse through the website, checking out testimonials, etc. “How much does it cost?”
Consequently, I either danced around the topic, or I pushed it till the end, so I could present the value of my services, before spelling out the costs.
Therefore I am experimenting with transparency. I want to see if I put the costs upfront, would that make your journey better.
FEES:
1 Coaching Segment =
(Your monthly salary) x 2%
For example, if you make US$5,000 a month, you pay US$100 per session.
You tell me how much you make, and we will go from there.
What do you get from 1 “coaching segment”?
* 1x one hour discussion
* Discussion Report: Summary, Discoveries, Actions
* Weekly goals and practices
* Messages to check-in and assess practices and progress
Why 2%? Why my monthly salary? Why not a flat fee?
Skin in the game
I think it makes sense for me to be in this with you, to have skin in the game- skin in your game.
By becoming your coach, I am investing in your potential and drive for growth. We are forming a partnership. My effort should have a measurable impact to your life, and some of that will come in the form of career progression and advancements. I earn more when you earn more.
Affordable and Accessible Coaching
By charging a small %, anyone can afford coaching. A flat fee, in contrast, makes coaching more costly to the less wealthy- A flat fee is regressive.
I wish I had great coaches much earlier in my career, but I just couldn’t afford it. I wish a tested veteran, someone whom I trusted, someone that wasn’t both the trainer and the referee, was there when I was fired, when I lost motivation, or when I became a General Manager for the first time.
I believe I should try and make excellent coaching accessible to more people.
Here is the catch
I will have to be selective.
- Session availability is finite. This is because I reserve hours for providing coaching to less privileged communities, students, and junior professionals, and I will also be spending time in running our primary school.
- I consider these partnerships and investments. I aim at making these investments sound and mutually successful.
Therefore I will be selective in finding the right partners.
I have found these questions most helpful in building successful partnerships:
- What do we ought to know about each other?
- Who is the future, more realised you, and what do you expect from that you?
- A story of “grinding it out”
- What can we not stand?
RANT – A F*cking Stupid Idea
I tried to hire personal trainer. My goal was to lose weight and to gain muscles, so I could find a wife. I asked one of the trainers, “You charge US$100 per session. I want to lose 10 pounds. Why don’t we do this? I will pay you $50 now, and for every pound I lose, I will add $5 to the fee.” I thought that was a fair deal – I pay for what you promise to deliver. It’s the same as paying the full price for a loaf of bread and not a kneaded dough. I thought it was logical. I have proposed this to many personal trainers, everyone told me that it was a f*cking stupid idea.
When I work with you, I am not fixing a toilet. I am not giving you a foot massage. Everyone of you is different. I could customise the coaching fees base on your needs, the complexity of your circumstances, etc. This method is complex and opaque. Imagine if a hairstylist answers, “The cost? Well, it depends on your hair, what you want, and how complex it is. Come in and we will find out,” you probably would walk away.
The world continued to disagree. Then, my chance to test this out arrived. I now have my own business and I get to try whatever I believe is right. I can put this business model to the test. Even though salary is an imperfect representation of one’s abilities or needs, it is a good enough approximation of where someone is in the workplace. Linking my fees to your salary makes the most sense. I am going to try it.
Lastly, a great coach is someone that makes you feel like you don’t need a coach anymore. Romantically, the relationship between me (the coach) and you, is merely a temporary crossing of our individual paths. I happen to be at this section of the unfolding of our lives. You are giving me a chance to be useful. If I am indeed useful, let us reap the rewards together.
I will end with a nicely word-smith quote. It best expresses why being a coach is my opportunity to justify my existence, and 2% of your salary.
“Treat the man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat the man as he can and should be, and he will become as can and should be.”
Billy Fitzgerald