INSIDE 1:1 MENTORING
Test a Low-Risk First Month
An example, not a client story.
You are looking at your own $1,000-a-month offer and wondering how anyone tries it without a lower-risk first step. Ivanka Menken uses the First-Month Test inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to design that step as a test: what the free first month includes, what the paid offer adds, and the conversion you will measure. You leave with a one-page test plan, written before the month opens.
The First-Month Test is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product. The free month is for your offer.
AN EXAMPLE TEST PLAN
One free month, measured
- Month oneFree, with an end date
- Month two$1,000 a month, in the example
- The measureStarted, finished, paid
THE TEST
“A free first month is a test of the paid offer, not a giveaway.”
An example for your offer. 1:1 Mentoring has no free month.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
A good offer, and no way to try it
- 01Your paid offer feels too big for a first step.
- 02You have no low-risk way for buyers to try the work.
- 03You cannot say what a free first month would convert to.
AN EXAMPLE WEEK
It is Thursday, and you are rereading the page for your $1,000-a-month programme. People read it, say it sounds good, and do not sign. You are tempted to give the first month away, and you worry it will fill with people who never pay. Nothing is written down yet: not what the month includes, not who it is for, not what would count as working.
THE OFFER, AS IT STANDS
- The paid offer: $1,000 a month
- A way to try it first: none
- What a free month would include: undecided
- Who it is for: anyone who asks
- What counts as working: not written
An example week. Your offer is yours.
WHAT IVANKA SEES
A test of the paid offer, not a giveaway
A free first month is a test of the paid offer, not a giveaway. It works when it has an end date, includes one real piece of the paid work, is aimed at the buyer you want, and has a conversion number written before it opens. Without that, the month is just free work.
A free first month is a test of the paid offer, not a giveaway.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Without a low-risk first step, a $1,000-a-month offer can stay unseen by the buyers who would otherwise try it. With an untested one, the free month fills up and tells you nothing.
First-Month Test
The entry step, the paid offer, the measure
The First-Month Test writes three things on one page before the month opens: the low-risk entry step, the paid offer it leads to, and the conversion you will measure between them.
An example plan. Tap a part. Your offer, your month and your counts are yours.
First-Month Test · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is a one-page test plan for your own offer. The entry step has a start, an end and a clear scope. The paid offer says what the buyer gets from month two. The measure says who started, who finished and who paid, and what result means continue, change or stop.
What it replaces
It replaces the open-ended free trial, the discount you give to anyone who hesitates, and the guess about whether a free month would ever turn into paying clients.
It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, with the Fortnight Loop and the monthly scorecard. The free month is for your offer. 1:1 Mentoring itself is AUD $1,500 a month from the first month, and the tool has no separate checkout.
THE TEST PLAN, ON ONE PAGE
- 01The entry step: a free first month, with a start and an end date
- 02What it includes: one real piece of the paid work
- 03Who it is for: the buyer you want, written down
- 04The paid offer: what month two adds, in the example at $1,000 a month
- 05The measure: started, finished, paid for month two
- 06The rule: what result means continue, change or stop
INSIDE A SESSION
Design the month as a test
In an example session, Ivanka asks three questions: what is the low-risk first step, what does the paid offer include, and how will conversion be measured? She designs the first month and the follow-on offer with you, and you write the rule for what result means continue, change or stop. You leave with the one-page test plan. Before the next session, you write the page or message that opens the month and send it to the buyers you named.
THE TEST PLAN, FILLED IN
- The paid offer
- $1,000 a month
- The entry step
- A free first month, with a start and an end date.
- What it includes
- One real piece of the paid work, for the buyer you named.
- The measure
- Started, finished, paid for month two.
- The rule
- Continue, change or stop, written before it opens.
An example. Your offer is yours.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingThe paid offer nobody tries, and the step that would let them.
- 2The numbersThe offer price, and the conversion you will measure.
- 3The storyWhy giving a month away feels like losing money.
- 4The commitmentThe written test plan, opened to the buyers you named.
THE QUESTIONS
- What is the smallest real piece of your paid work?
- What does the paid offer add from month two?
- Who is the free month for, and who is it not for?
- How will you count who started, finished and paid?
- What result would make you continue, change or stop?
Before the next session, you open the first month to the buyers you named, with its end date and what it includes, and start the count.
WHAT CHANGES OVER THE PROGRAMME
A measured first step into the paid offer
By month 6, the free month is a written test with a result, not a hope.
NOW
- The paid offer feels too big to try.
- No low-risk first step exists.
- A free month would be open-ended.
- Nobody knows what it would convert to.
BY MONTH 6
- A written first-month test plan.
- A measured conversion from the free month to the paid offer.
- A clearer view of which buyers try the work.
- A decision: continue, change the month, or stop it.
THE 12 FORTNIGHTS
- 1Call
- 2Call
- 3Call
- 4Call
- 5Call
- 6Month 3
- 7Call
- 8Call
- 9Call
- 10Call
- 11Call
- 12Month 6
The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.
ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
In the example, the founder opens a free first month with an end date and one real piece of the work, aimed at the buyers they named, and counts who started, finished and paid for month two. The count, not a feeling, decides the next version. Illustrative, not a client result.
WHY IVANKA
A strategic mentor who co-founded a business
Ivanka Menken is a strategic mentor for founders of $500K to $3M businesses, co-founder of The Art of Service, an author and an international speaker, based in Brisbane, Australia.
She asks what the first step is really testing, and holds you to the number you write down. If your offer is good and nobody tries it, the decision in front of you is one page. Write the test before you give anything away.
WHO IT IS FOR
Who fits, and who does not
It fits
- You run a $500K to $3M business with a monthly paid offer.
- Buyers like the offer and hesitate at the first payment.
- You are tempted to give a month away, and want it to count.
- You will write the test plan and count the result.
It does not fit
- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want a done-for-you launch or someone to run the free month.
- You want a discount strategy rather than a test.
- You are looking for a free month of mentoring. 1:1 Mentoring does not have one.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
It is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The First-Month Test for your own offer
Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The First-Month Test is one of the tools inside the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about a free first month
How does the First-Month Test work inside 1:1 Mentoring?
In a session, Ivanka Menken asks what the low-risk first step is, what the paid offer includes and how conversion will be measured. You write a one-page test plan for your own offer before the month opens. 1:1 Mentoring runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST; the tool is part of it, and the programme itself has no free month.
What should the first month include?
One real piece of the paid work, a start and an end date, and a clear line on what is not included until month two. It should be small enough to deliver well and real enough to judge. Ivanka Menken helps you choose that piece inside 1:1 Mentoring, which runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
How do I measure conversion to the paid offer?
Count three numbers: who started the free month, who finished it, and who paid for month two. Write the result that means continue, change or stop before the month opens. Ivanka Menken reviews the count with you in the next session of 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and on the monthly scorecard.
What if the free month attracts the wrong buyers?
Then the test has told you something. Narrow who the month is for, change where you offer it, or ask one qualifying question before someone starts. Change one thing at a time, so the next count can be read. Ivanka Menken works it through with you inside 1:1 Mentoring, which runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Write the test before you give a month away
If your offer is good and nobody tries it, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The First-Month Test is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.