Part 5: $500 to $19. We Navigate the Wild World of Pricing.

Documentary: How to Launch a Startup (or How Not to!)

Here at HF, we're launching a startup - Be Your Own CFO. I've decided to document the journey in this newsletter. Will our man make it to the other cliff? Your guess is as good as mine.

Part 1 - The Idea

While driving on vacation out West, I brainstorm?a new business idea. It's a low-cost program for entrepreneurs and accountants who want to take their financial management skills to the next level.

Part 2 - Critics!

Critics throw so much cold water on my idea I almost need a raincoat to stay dry. But in the end, I realize my critics are my friends. The people who believe in my idea give hope, but the critics provide a realistic plan.

Part 3 - Choosing a Name (And Nearly Going Crazy)

In the excruciating journey to name our startup, I learn some hard lessons not only about buying web domains, but also about trademark rights. Only by the grace of God do I arrive at a good, albeit expensive, place.

Part 4 - Can a CPA Decide How to Structure His Own Startup?

To determine the right tax structure for our startup, I need to decide what BYO CFO most closely resembles: 1) a "moonshot" Silicon Valley startup, or 2) a local plumbing company. In the end I take the more reasonable route and form an LLC taxed as an S Corporation.

Part 5 - $500 to $19. We Navigate the Wild World of Pricing

The day I dreamed up Be Your Own CFO, I imagined it as a $500/month membership. This is the email I sent myself that day:

CFO services at Hoover Financial start around $3,000/month so I figured $500/month would be an absolute steal. The $4,500 annual offer ($375/month) would be even more amazing!

I soon realized pricing would be an agonizing journey.

How do you price something when:

1. There isn't a competing option on the market to compare to?
2. You don't fully know what your costs will be?
3. Your costs won't change a lot whether 10 or 1,000 people sign up?

What follows is the story of our bungee-jumping (downward only) pricing journey from $500/month to $19/month.

Price Reduction #1

The $500/month idea didn't last long, maybe a few days. I didn't doubt the value, but I knew the price point was way too high for a small business or startup.

Ten days after the $500/month email to myself, I sent this Slack to Tyler at the office:

It was August 5. Ten days in, without having even tried to sell a single membership, I was slashing prices like a discount liquidator selling watermelons.

New Pricing Idea

Soon after mentally settling in the $149 range, I received a proposal from a marketing expert who suggested...

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Next Week?

The documentary continues, Lord willing, with?Part 6: Live on TikTok? We Navigate the Even Wilder World of Marketing.

BeYourOwnCFO.com Has Officially Launched!

Check out our new website and join the free 5-week Beta Group!

Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any feedback or question.