I Finally Got it: I Can Love my Work AND to Make Money

Speaker A00:00:00

Foreign welcome to Live with the Pricing Lady.

Speaker A00:00:11

I'm Janine, your hostess.

Speaker A00:00:12

This show is all about helping you build a sustainably profitable business while making an unbelievable impact on your world.

Speaker A00:00:21

Learn from my 20 plus years of experience and from my guests as we discuss their pricing challenges and failures and successes.

Speaker A00:00:29

Pricing is a way of being or behaving in your business and my mission is to help you confidently charge for the value you deliver.

Speaker A00:00:38

Pricing either hurts or helps your business.

Speaker A00:00:40

Let's make sure it's helping you reach your dreams.

Speaker A00:00:44

If you're loving this show, be sure to rate, review and subscribe to it.

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Share it with your friends and colleagues.

Speaker A00:00:52

And of course, if you'd like to find out more about how to work with me, head on over to thepricinglady.com and book a discovery call.

Speaker A00:01:00

In this episode of Live with the Pricing Lady, I sit down with Valentyna Coco.

Speaker A00:01:05

Equity, diversity and inclusion are more than just buzzwords to me, she says, and when it comes to pricing, she struggled.

Speaker A00:01:13

At first.

Speaker A00:01:13

She thought to herself, how dare I charge for something I love to do?

Speaker A00:01:18

I know many of you have felt this way in your businesses, so let's take a look at what she had to say and Valent Valentina's pricing journey.

Speaker A00:01:26

Sit back, relax and enjoy the episode.

Speaker A00:01:28

So hello everyone and welcome to Live with the Pricing Lady.

Speaker A00:01:33

I am Janine Liston, your hostess and I'd like to welcome my guest today, Valentina Coco.

Speaker A00:01:38

Hello, Valentina.

Speaker B00:01:39

Hello, Janine.

Speaker B00:01:40

Nice to be here with you.

Speaker A00:01:43

I'm so excited to have you here.

Speaker A00:01:44

We had such a great conversation on the phone previously.

Speaker A00:01:47

I'm quite excited about today.

Speaker B00:01:50

Yeah, same here.

Speaker A00:01:52

So, Valentina, why don't you start by telling people a little bit about yourself?

Speaker A00:01:57

Yes.

Speaker B00:01:58

So I'm Valentina.

Speaker B00:02:00

As you already said, I'm originally Italian and also Chinese.

Speaker B00:02:05

Hong Kong Chinese.

Speaker B00:02:05

I grew up in Italy though, and I've been in Switzerland for over 17 years.

Speaker B00:02:10

I left my corporate career about end of last year to now focus on coaching leaders and into diversity, inclusion and just to create more engaged, better cultures.

Speaker B00:02:25

It's something that being of a mixed heritage and a woman has impacted me a lot during my corporate career and somehow I just decided to step out and try to do something about it.

Speaker B00:02:40

And again, setting up my own business with all the challenges.

Speaker B00:02:44

And that's actually how I found you, the pricing lady to help me solve quite some of them, actually.

Speaker A00:02:51

Excellent.

Speaker A00:02:52

Yes.

Speaker A00:02:52

Certainly diversity is a hot topic in the world these days or today and I think it's wonderful that you're bringing this to businesses around the globe.

Speaker A00:03:02

So fantastic.

Speaker A00:03:04

Excellent.

Speaker A00:03:05

So of course we're here in part to also talk about pricing.

Speaker A00:03:09

So I'm curious about first of all, how you started your business.

Speaker B00:03:13

So I started my business as a side business, you could say side hustle, side engagement.

Speaker B00:03:21

And it was for free.

Speaker B00:03:23

I mean, I was working in corporate and this goes back to more than three, four, sometimes even five years ago.

Speaker B00:03:32

I started working on as part of employee resource group and then outside of companies, you know, mentoring people, coaching people, helping with advocacy platforms, helping with students, everything around this topic and just in general, better leadership, understanding and communication.

Speaker B00:03:55

And I was doing it for free, to help association, to help people, to support friends that had startups and, you know, social programs.

Speaker B00:04:05

And for a long time I did it for free because it felt foreign to me to start charging for something while I had a corporate job.

Speaker B00:04:14

It was a big leap.

Speaker B00:04:15

I didn't see myself as an entrepreneur or something to this was like a service, a hobby that I had.

Speaker B00:04:23

And then I really had to shift a lot the mindset and that was really hard when I decided to go all in and stop working in corporate, to have it and actually run it as a business.

Speaker B00:04:36

So, I mean, as many things that come from passion, I started for free, right?

Speaker A00:04:42

Which is, I think, a path that a lot of people start on.

Speaker A00:04:46

Now, was it free just during sort of your training period or did you continue doing it for free even after you had your certificates and hours and.

Speaker B00:04:55

Whatever I done for free for a long time, even after I've done it for free, basically until I stopped having a corporate job because again, it felt so strange to say I'm charging for something while I'm getting a salary.

Speaker B00:05:12

And in a way it was like, I provide value, but I don't really need the money.

Speaker B00:05:17

I don't do this professionally or, you know, the startups I was helping.

Speaker B00:05:22

Social program impacts don't have a budget.

Speaker B00:05:25

I do it for free.

Speaker B00:05:27

And in some cases I still do some of this engagement for free because I believe in the cause.

Speaker B00:05:32

But for me that was just like a default, like I couldn't switch off it.

Speaker B00:05:35

It was like my salary comes from the job.

Speaker B00:05:40

This is passion.

Speaker A00:05:42

Right?

Speaker A00:05:42

And so how dare you charge for what you love to do?

Speaker B00:05:46

Exactly.

Speaker B00:05:47

It was like, you're getting paid already, why are you charging?

Speaker B00:05:51

And you love doing it and it's fun and all those things.

Speaker A00:05:56

In my head, I think it's very interesting because of course a lot of people come to starting their own business from after being in the Corporate world or even while being in the corporate world, as was your case.

Speaker A00:06:08

And so I think it's not an uncommon feeling for people to have.

Speaker B00:06:13

Yeah, I think it's quite common.

Speaker B00:06:15

And again, I am not sure if it's more women than men.

Speaker B00:06:20

I certainly heard this more from women than men, so I wouldn't want to generalize, but I heard it more from women than men.

Speaker B00:06:27

That this view of starting to charge and seeing as a value and as a. I mean, we know it helps, but seeing it as a business and something worth being compensated, it's a hard switch to do.

Speaker B00:06:38

And then it's always the struggle of how much and what for and is it too much, too little, what's going to happen, all of that?

Speaker A00:06:49

Yeah.

Speaker A00:06:49

Do you think that in part it was like, well, I don't actually have to deal with this until it becomes a necessity.

Speaker A00:06:56

That is not in the corporate job anymore.

Speaker B00:06:59

Totally.

Speaker A00:07:00

I was totally.

Speaker B00:07:01

I was like, you know, as long as it's free, as long as it's free, I know I'm providing value and I don't need to be afraid of rejection.

Speaker B00:07:11

Let's be honest, that was also a big part of it.

Speaker B00:07:13

I don't have to deal with the how much, what is it?

Speaker B00:07:17

Negotiating it in a way which I learned the hard way after because again, for me, negotiating my salary with a corporate felt very different than negotiating my price with a no profit and association or even a person that was wanting to be coached.

Speaker B00:07:32

So that was completely different mindset.

Speaker B00:07:35

But also, yeah, there was this whole thing of I don't have to deal with it.

Speaker B00:07:39

And also there was this whole utter relief of if I don't ask for a price, they're not going to say no because it's expensive.

Speaker B00:07:47

So I completely avoided that fear of rejection possibility even by not naming a price for so many years.

Speaker A00:07:56

Yeah, I think that's really.

Speaker A00:07:57

Thank you for being so honest because I believe that this is one reason why a lot of people offer their goods and services for free, because they don't have to face the possibility of rejection if they don't start putting a price tag on it.

Speaker A00:08:12

So that's.

Speaker A00:08:13

That's a very important insight.

Speaker A00:08:15

Thank you for sharing that.

Speaker B00:08:17

Thank you for giving me.

Speaker A00:08:19

I'll learn from it.

Speaker A00:08:20

I'm sure that I've faced and done the same thing myself over the years.

Speaker A00:08:24

So that's really important.

Speaker A00:08:27

So one of the things that you spoke about when we talked was that as you were transitioning out of this phase, you know, from the corporate world, and then really Stepping out of that into your business, you had some realizations around what was going on with your pricing and what you needed to change.

Speaker A00:08:45

I'm curious if you can share some of the, you know, that learning or that experience that you had with us.

Speaker B00:08:51

Yeah, so initially I realized that I.

Speaker B00:08:56

Well, first of all I realized I had to start charging.

Speaker B00:08:58

You know, this was a job now and I couldn't do it for free.

Speaker B00:09:03

And so at the beginning it was connections that were reaching out to me to put together some programs, some training, some coaching and they offer a certain rate.

Speaker B00:09:15

And I didn't negotiate it, I just took it.

Speaker A00:09:19

Right.

Speaker B00:09:19

I didn't want to negotiate it.

Speaker B00:09:21

I didn't feel like I could.

Speaker B00:09:22

It was my first paid job.

Speaker B00:09:24

Forgetting about the fact that I had done this for many years and whatever I was teaching was based on a 17 year corporate career accumulation.

Speaker B00:09:33

So it's not like something that is just coming from yesterday, but somehow my mindset was like, that's my first paid job.

Speaker B00:09:42

I don't know how the mindset works sometimes it's funny that way.

Speaker B00:09:46

And I didn't negotiate it.

Speaker B00:09:48

So then I went to the second client and my reference point was that first price that I was given and then I realized it was fairly low.

Speaker B00:09:58

So I actually went to a client with such a low price and I was told that can't be serious.

Speaker B00:10:06

I mean, you can't be good, right?

Speaker B00:10:10

If you charge this little, like, what is it?

Speaker B00:10:13

You're not prepared?

Speaker B00:10:14

You're not going to give us the follow up?

Speaker B00:10:16

You are just starting now?

Speaker B00:10:18

And I'm like, no, I have experience.

Speaker B00:10:21

So after that I went back out there and I started again pitching myself and discussing and talking and then the big learning again.

Speaker B00:10:33

The other realization for me was that as I was pitching, I was talking to startups and people that needed coaching and bigger cooperation and my mindset somehow switched and I was able to, okay, realize that if I underprice myself as I did, I would be seen as not competent.

Speaker B00:10:52

So I was able to raise it to a decent level still.

Speaker B00:10:56

I knew that for a corporate contract, let's say I had to raise it, let's say 200% compared to what I was charging.

Speaker B00:11:06

I didn't get there, I still am not there.

Speaker B00:11:08

It felt just too much of a jump in my mind.

Speaker B00:11:11

But I was able to increase it to a reasonable level.

Speaker B00:11:17

Thinking it's a corporation, they have budget or they don't and they will tell me and we'll negotiate.

Speaker B00:11:24

When it comes to small business, startup or individual people, it was the hardest thing I had to do and I'm still working on tiny increment at the time because I have this feeling of, I don't know, I'm taking the money of another person or a startup which doesn't have a lot of funds and can they really pay whatever the final price that I'm gonna be charging eventually is, should I just adapt it slowly because I already done a couple of coaching programs and workshops at a low price.

Speaker B00:12:01

What if they find out that other people are paying more?

Speaker B00:12:03

And all of this chatter and it's like, can they really pay for it?

Speaker B00:12:07

And what if the other person tells them so?

Speaker B00:12:10

It's been a lot of a different learning curve in dealing with different type of clients.

Speaker A00:12:17

So if I understand correctly, it felt easier for the corporate clients because your assumption is they have money to spend and that if I take some of that from them, it's not such a bad thing.

Speaker A00:12:29

I'm paraphrasing here, right.

Speaker B00:12:31

I mean, you know, I've been in corporate finance, I know how it works.

Speaker B00:12:34

We have a budget, it's either there or it's not right.

Speaker B00:12:37

If they have it, they'll pay.

Speaker B00:12:39

If they don't, they'll tell you no and you come back six months later.

Speaker B00:12:42

It's a different feeling.

Speaker B00:12:43

Is not a personal money, it's everybody gets some budget allocated.

Speaker B00:12:48

So.

Speaker A00:12:48

Right.

Speaker A00:12:49

And then when it came to smaller business or solo entrepreneurs, startups, it felt different because it felt more personal, is what I'm hearing on the one side.

Speaker A00:12:59

But also I'd like to point out, I hear that you're making the assumption that they probably can't afford it.

Speaker A00:13:06

So you're making that decision for them upfront, in a sense.

Speaker B00:13:10

I know, and it's the biggest thing.

Speaker B00:13:13

Honestly, it shocked me because I'm all about being unbiased and inclusive and diverse and I shouldn't make any assumption on my client and I should then let them decide what it's worth to them and potentially negotiate down if that's a problem.

Speaker A00:13:28

Yes.

Speaker B00:13:28

Still, my mindset was so much into is it.

Speaker B00:13:33

Can they.

Speaker B00:13:34

It's hard.

Speaker B00:13:34

I don't know.

Speaker B00:13:35

Maybe because I'm in that situation though.

Speaker B00:13:37

I pay for coaching and I never even question it if it's valuable, I pay for coaching.

Speaker A00:13:43

Right.

Speaker B00:13:43

So I don't know what is it in that mindset, even when I know that I shouldn't be biased, that it makes it so.

Speaker B00:13:50

Maybe again, the fear of hearing the no if the price is too high, I can't tell you.

Speaker B00:13:55

But I just discovered as I'm going through in this last year, adjusting the price, that there is this lot of mental chatter around it.

Speaker A00:14:03

Right.

Speaker A00:14:04

Well, I think that's really interesting.

Speaker A00:14:06

And I also believe that, you know, many people struggle with this as well, because, yeah, it sometimes it does feel different.

Speaker A00:14:13

And that's oftentimes why businesses have different prices for different types of companies as well.

Speaker A00:14:19

Not just because of ability to pay, but also because the value that they can get from that service or that product is often quite different as well.

Speaker A00:14:30

So, you know, these are all really good points.

Speaker A00:14:33

I'd say that certainly we should try to let other people decide that for themselves.

Speaker A00:14:41

And it's also why it's good to have different offers at different value and price points.

Speaker A00:14:47

Right.

Speaker A00:14:47

So.

Speaker A00:14:48

So that we can navigate that with them, not for them in that context.

Speaker A00:14:54

Super.

Speaker A00:14:55

These are great, great questions.

Speaker A00:14:58

One of the things that you spoke about that I thought was really interesting, you were talking about the offer that you made, and the company said it was too low.

Speaker A00:15:07

I'd like to go back to that for a minute because I think one of the things there is that when we underprice our goods or our services, we're not taking ourselves seriously.

Speaker A00:15:19

And then the question is, how can we possibly expect our clients and customers to take us seriously?

Speaker A00:15:25

So maybe you have a few words to say about that.

Speaker B00:15:28

Again, I didn't get to that price with that not taking myself seriously.

Speaker B00:15:36

It was really more like I had an initial offer and I did not think, somehow I did not think I could increase it all of a sudden.

Speaker B00:15:46

But it's different when somebody that, you know, makes you an initial offer and you might not want to negotiate it, by the way you should, but you might not want to.

Speaker B00:15:55

In my case, first offer, first paid gig, whatever, it just felt a big of a leap.

Speaker B00:16:02

Right.

Speaker B00:16:03

I don't know.

Speaker B00:16:03

If it had been maybe 20% below the market rate, I would have maybe adjusted and say, yes, worth this.

Speaker B00:16:09

But it was a good 70% below the going market rate.

Speaker B00:16:12

And I felt, okay, I've earned this much.

Speaker B00:16:16

Now going 70% up, it was a mix of, again, is it too much?

Speaker B00:16:22

Can I do this leap?

Speaker B00:16:23

All of a sudden I knew the value that I was bringing, but I felt the gap is too big to bridge in one go.

Speaker B00:16:30

I have to go step by step.

Speaker B00:16:31

I have to do this.

Speaker B00:16:32

And again, I don't know this.

Speaker B00:16:35

Where does this belief come from?

Speaker B00:16:37

Because when you go to the shop, they never increase peace.

Speaker B00:16:40

It never increases.

Speaker B00:16:41

Two euro every time.

Speaker B00:16:42

Right.

Speaker B00:16:42

Or two Swiss francs every time.

Speaker B00:16:44

It's just Suddenly, another price.

Speaker B00:16:45

But I had this thing in my head and then I realized actually as a pretty that wake up call, that no, it wasn't being taken seriously.

Speaker A00:16:56

Right.

Speaker B00:16:57

And then I had to face it and I'm like, okay, what am I doing here?

Speaker B00:17:01

Because I'm afraid to ask the market price that everybody else ask.

Speaker B00:17:06

And I'm not even saying premium the market price, that it's that he's here in Switzerland.

Speaker B00:17:12

Well, I'm devaluing myself.

Speaker B00:17:16

And that was a big wake up call because it was like, okay, get over your fear.

Speaker B00:17:20

Yes, it's a big number.

Speaker B00:17:22

Yes, you're worth it.

Speaker B00:17:23

That's what everybody else charges, so go with it.

Speaker A00:17:27

Yeah.

Speaker A00:17:28

Wow, sounds like a great transformation.

Speaker A00:17:30

You're still in the journey in some areas, but you've taken that first step and once you've done it once or twice and you see that there are customers who will accept that, then it doesn't feel so difficult if you end up needing to do it again as well.

Speaker A00:17:46

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker B00:17:47

To be fair, having the first customer actually saying yes to that was the relief point where I'm like, this is working.

Speaker B00:17:55

I am not.

Speaker B00:17:56

It's not completely out there until then.

Speaker B00:17:58

I knew it in my head.

Speaker B00:18:00

But there was that tension behind is it really going to work?

Speaker B00:18:04

So when the first customer accepted it, it was this giant, the theory is.

Speaker A00:18:12

Right, the yoga breath of pricing.

Speaker B00:18:19

I like that word saying, I'll write it down.

Speaker A00:18:24

Another thing that I thought was really interesting you spoke about was that at the very beginning you kind of told yourself, well, first I have to get testimonials, so I'm going to do it in exchange and I'm going to do this.

Speaker A00:18:36

And then you got the testimonials, but you still didn't give yourself permission to char or charge properly.

Speaker A00:18:43

Could you share a little bit about that experience as well?

Speaker B00:18:46

It was a strange situation because at the beginning it was like, okay, I've got testimonials, I need to get them, I'll exchange.

Speaker B00:18:53

Fine, I had them.

Speaker B00:18:54

And then I was going, okay, I need to charge because I'm doing this right?

Speaker B00:18:58

Everybody else charges.

Speaker B00:18:59

Why am I not?

Speaker B00:19:00

I mean, I'm using time after a corporate job, which is never 40 hours, as you know.

Speaker B00:19:06

So, you know, I'm using a lot of my weekends and evening times and stuff to do this.

Speaker B00:19:10

And people get benefits, so I should ask for money.

Speaker B00:19:15

And then the whole mindset came in, which is, you have a pretty big corporate salary.

Speaker B00:19:22

Don't be greedy.

Speaker B00:19:24

You know, do it as a karma points or you know, do it again for testimonials.

Speaker B00:19:29

At some point, you're going to need them.

Speaker B00:19:31

Why are you going to ask for money?

Speaker B00:19:32

Potentially, people are going to say no, right?

Speaker B00:19:34

That whole rejection.

Speaker B00:19:36

Do you really need the cash?

Speaker B00:19:37

And is it a business or is it just a hobby that you do, like your passion, you know, like being paid for something you like?

Speaker B00:19:45

It was like this concept of, if this is not my job, can I authorize myself in my mind to ask for money to do something I actually enjoy doing?

Speaker B00:19:57

Because it was not my main job and I didn't have to make money out of it.

Speaker B00:20:01

It was really a big blocker of going, but it's worth money, and then going like, yeah, but don't be greedy.

Speaker A00:20:07

That.

Speaker B00:20:07

That whole mindset kept going in my mind for a long time, so basically for another year.

Speaker B00:20:12

And plus, I didn't charge anything ever.

Speaker B00:20:16

So I just kept.

Speaker B00:20:18

And after a while, I even.

Speaker B00:20:20

I mean, you won't believe it, but after a while, I even stopped.

Speaker B00:20:23

Stop asking for testimonials because it was like, okay, I've got 10 to 15 and what for, right?

Speaker B00:20:29

I mean, am I ever going to charge and it's enough.

Speaker B00:20:31

And so I missed a whole good half a year of testimonials there because I just didn't bring myself to say no.

Speaker A00:20:38

Ask.

Speaker A00:20:40

Just ask.

Speaker B00:20:41

At the beginning, I needed them and, you know, I was asking, and then after a while, I had a bit and I stopped asking because again, this whole thing about, is it really a business, it's a passion.

Speaker B00:20:51

What if the testimonial isn't that great?

Speaker B00:20:54

That whole thing in the.

Speaker B00:20:55

In my mind was excellent.

Speaker A00:20:57

I find it really interesting, this conflict or belief conflict that a lot of people have that we tell ourselves, if I'm passionate about it, I can't earn money from it.

Speaker A00:21:09

Somehow if you earn money from your passion, it kind of negates that it's really your true passion.

Speaker A00:21:18

And yet, on the other hand, you know, all the coaches and all the experts are out there are saying, find what you love and do that as your business.

Speaker A00:21:28

So there's this huge divide between the way that we think about things or perceive things or a mindset towards things and what people are actually advising and telling you is the best way forward.

Speaker A00:21:44

I find that really fascinating.

Speaker B00:21:45

Yeah, indeed.

Speaker B00:21:47

And it's like, I don't know, just maybe coming from the old days of work, being in a factory, and it's like, okay, if it's not painful, it's not work.

Speaker B00:21:54

I don't know.

Speaker B00:21:55

I mean, I'm working really hard to get out of that mindset.

Speaker B00:21:59

Really hard.

Speaker A00:22:00

Well, I think, you know, you're not the only one.

Speaker A00:22:02

I've seen this before many times.

Speaker A00:22:04

And a lot of the people that I work with, I work with a lot of sustainability startups and, you know, people in that area and I find it incredible that, you know, they say I need your help, but I don't care about the money.

Speaker A00:22:18

And you're like, wait a minute.

Speaker B00:22:22

Yeah.

Speaker A00:22:23

I mean, because the reality is a lot of what I do is helping people with the money.

Speaker A00:22:27

So if you don't really care about it, then why are you coming to me?

Speaker A00:22:32

Of course the money is important and they know that on some level, but they don't want to be perceived as being greedy or profit driven or, you know, all of these horrible associations that we have with money.

Speaker A00:22:45

The reality is that just because I charge you something to work with me or you charge me something to work with you, it doesn't mean that you're taking money from people.

Speaker A00:22:57

It's just energy moving around and shifting.

Speaker A00:23:01

Right.

Speaker B00:23:02

You're 100% right.

Speaker B00:23:03

And we need to get out of that mindset.

Speaker B00:23:05

It's just really hard.

Speaker B00:23:06

Especially as a, as you say, when you are in a field which is openly about helping whatever it is, people, the environment, others, it's hard to say I'm here to help and to make money.

Speaker B00:23:19

I just make a living like there's nothing wrong to say and I want to make good money.

Speaker A00:23:25

Actually, I think we should be saying that in a stronger way a lot of the times.

Speaker A00:23:28

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A00:23:30

And be and accept that.

Speaker A00:23:31

I have had some clients who've been told by their prospect clients that they shouldn't be charging for what they're doing.

Speaker A00:23:38

I always tell them, no, that's not correct.

Speaker A00:23:41

I understand that these people need help and want help, but that doesn't mean that you're, you know, that all of us are there and available to give that help and support for free.

Speaker A00:23:51

We pick and choose when we want to do it, but we can't be there to do it if we don't have some way of living on the other side of it.

Speaker A00:24:00

Excellent.

Speaker A00:24:02

So we're going to start wrapping this up and I'd like to ask you if there's one thing that people can take away from our conversation today.

Speaker A00:24:10

What do you think is most important?

Speaker B00:24:12

Take yourself and your services seriously and price.

Speaker B00:24:17

It doesn't matter if you do it on the side of your job, as your job on Sunday, for fun, whatever it is, if they have value and I am sure they have value because everything we do has value for some customers.

Speaker B00:24:32

Right.

Speaker B00:24:32

So the if it's very rhetorical.

Speaker B00:24:34

If, let's say then price.

Speaker B00:24:38

Because again it doesn't have anything to do with is it your main job or not.

Speaker B00:24:42

Like don't make my mistake of doing it for three years for free and then get in there.

Speaker B00:24:47

Okay.

Speaker B00:24:47

Now I want to make a living and I have no clue on how to price it.

Speaker B00:24:51

That could have been three years of trial and error of what works and what is too much of a price point.

Speaker B00:24:57

Like I've missed three years of consumer research basically.

Speaker A00:25:01

I mean it could have, you could have been farther along with your pricing as well if you had taken that opportunity sooner.

Speaker A00:25:07

Yeah, very true.

Speaker A00:25:09

Now that's a great point.

Speaker A00:25:10

If I summarize it, it's take yourself seriously and the rest the of of the world will as well kind of kind of thing.

Speaker A00:25:18

And also I get questions all the time from people.

Speaker A00:25:21

How can so and so charge so little?

Speaker A00:25:23

And I always tell them, well they're probably looking at it in a different context, from a different space.

Speaker A00:25:30

Maybe they're targeting different people, maybe this is not their primary source of income.

Speaker A00:25:36

But it doesn't matter that that's what's charging.

Speaker A00:25:38

What really matters is what you are charging in the end.

Speaker A00:25:41

And so that's very important to keep in mind.

Speaker A00:25:44

So Valentyna, I have two more questions for you.

Speaker A00:25:47

The next one is tell us a little bit about the value that you bring your clients.

Speaker B00:25:53

So I help small business owners, startup founder or new managers really to find a better way to engage and lead their team.

Speaker B00:26:06

You know when you start and you don't have a team or you haven't had a team before, you go through that whole learning curve where the team gets disengaged, you don't know how to have difficult conversation.

Speaker B00:26:17

Can you get everybody on the same page?

Speaker B00:26:19

Especially if you have a diverse team and if you don't have it, I can help you with that because you really should have it.

Speaker B00:26:27

It's great for the business and there is no denying it makes things a bit trickier in terms of finding the right way of cross cultural communication and engagement.

Speaker B00:26:36

And that's basically what I do.

Speaker B00:26:38

I help them, I coach them through one to one group programs, workshops.

Speaker B00:26:43

I basically help them skip two years of painful learning curve with like two to three months of intense coaching on this because I've been to the learning curve myself over 17 years.

Speaker B00:26:55

So you've got enough history of my trial and error plus the theory and everything else to help them unlock the power of their team and, you know, avoid all those bumps.

Speaker A00:27:07

Excellent.

Speaker A00:27:08

So if someone was interested in finding out about how to speed up the curve in their business, where should they reach out to you?

Speaker B00:27:15

They can reach out to me on the website.

Speaker B00:27:18

So it's a usual www.

Speaker B00:27:21

I don't think anybody says it anymore.

Speaker B00:27:23

So here I'm revealing my age.

Speaker B00:27:25

Coco Consulting Ch.

Speaker B00:27:28

Okay, or you can find me on LinkedIn Valentina Coco and you can sent me a message request and ask me.

Speaker B00:27:35

There is a contact me form on the website.

Speaker B00:27:37

I'm there.

Speaker B00:27:37

I can hop on a call and see how I can help anyone.

Speaker A00:27:40

Excellent.

Speaker A00:27:41

So I'll put those links in the show notes and in the comments below.

Speaker A00:27:45

That's where you can reach Valentina Valentina Consulting Ch.

Speaker A00:27:50

Thank you so much for joining me today, Valentyna.

Speaker A00:27:53

It's been a real pleasure having you on the show.

Speaker B00:27:56

Thank you Janine for having me.

Speaker B00:27:58

It's been an enlightenment.

Speaker B00:27:59

As always listening to your webinars and talking to you.

Speaker B00:28:02

I've learned a ton so I'm happy to share.

Speaker A00:28:04

Excellent.

Speaker A00:28:05

Thank you for listening to this episode of Live with the Pricing lady, the podcast.

Speaker A00:28:10

If you enjoyed the episode, rate, review and subscribe to it, then share it with your friends and colleagues.

Speaker A00:28:16

I love hearing back from you listeners.

Speaker A00:28:19

If you've got comments, questions or topic ideas, go on over to thepricinglady.com and contact me there.

Speaker A00:28:26

Not sure where to start when it comes to improving pricing and profit?

Speaker A00:28:30

At thepricinglady.com you can download a copy of my Self Assessment Pricing Scorecard.

Speaker A00:28:35

Find out where it's going well and where you can begin improving.

Speaker A00:28:39

Or just simply book a discovery call with me.

Speaker A00:28:42

There we can discuss what's up with pricing in your business and how I might be able to help you.

Speaker A00:28:47

Thanks once again for joining.

Speaker A00:28:49

Remember, pricing can hurt or help your business.

Speaker A00:28:52

Let's make sure it's helping you reach your dreams.

Speaker A00:28:55

See you next time.

Speaker A00:28:56

And as always, enjoy pricing.