QUESTIONS FOUNDERS ASK
How do I raise my prices without losing clients?
By Ivanka Menken, Strategic Mentor·Updated
Ivanka Menken's approach is to start with the price of your newest work, not your oldest client. Compare it with what the same work cost a year ago, test each change by what it does to margin rather than revenue, and track it monthly. Some clients may leave; keep the ones your business can afford to serve.
Why are founders afraid to raise prices?
Because a lost client feels personal and immediate, while a thin margin feels like something to fix later. Many founders also became known as the affordable option early on, and raising prices feels like breaking a promise. Meanwhile the low price is quietly paying for the growth they cannot afford.
What is the chain that low prices start?
Prices too low leave margins thin. Growth on thin margins uses cash faster than it brings it in. Payroll becomes a monthly worry, and that worry drains confidence and judgement. The chain starts with what you charge, so that is where the work starts too.
Where should you start?
- Look at the price of your newest piece of work against the same work a year ago.
- Price new work first, before revisiting long-standing clients.
- Write down what the new price includes and what it does not.
- Decide the price before the conversation, not during it.
How do you know a price change worked?
Watch the monthly numbers rather than the first reaction. In Ivanka's scorecard, gross margin and newest-work price against a year ago sit beside weeks of payroll covered by cash. If margin and cash cover improve while the work you want stays, the change is working.
What if a client leaves?
Some will, and that is not automatically a failure. The question is whether the business can afford to serve them at the old price. Ranking your clients and your growth moves by margin rather than revenue usually shows which ones are carrying the business and which ones it is carrying.
How does Ivanka work on this?
This is where Ivanka's Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring starts, with the tools below. It is not accounting or financial advice: your accountant does the accounts, and Ivanka reads the numbers with you and asks the questions.
What else do founders ask about this?
How much should I raise my prices by?
Ivanka Menken does not give a percentage, because the right number depends on your margin, your market and the work itself. She starts by comparing the price of your newest work with the same work a year ago, then asks what that price does to margin and cash. The decision is yours; the numbers make it clearer.
Should I raise prices for existing clients or only new ones?
Ivanka Menken usually suggests starting with new work, because it is the cleanest test and the easiest conversation. Long-standing clients come next, one at a time, with a clear account of what the price now includes. Ranking clients by margin first shows which conversations matter most and which can wait.
Is this financial advice?
No. Ivanka Menken is a strategic mentor, not an accountant or financial adviser. In her Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring she reads the numbers with you, asks the questions and holds you to the decision you make. Your accountant does the accounts and advises on tax and financial matters.
How long before a price rise shows up in cash?
It depends on how quickly your new work is quoted, delivered and paid. Ivanka Menken tracks it through the monthly scorecard: newest-work price, gross margin and weeks of payroll covered by cash. A 13-week forward view of cash makes the timing visible instead of a guess.