INSIDE CASH-TIGHT GROWTH MENTORING
Price the New Market Before You Spend
An example, not a client story.
A new market costs more to enter than the one you know, so the price has to be set before the marketing budget. Ivanka Menken walks the Price-Cash-Confidence Chain with you inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. You are looking at a quote for a market you have never sold into, the ad spend is double your home number, and you are about to cut the price. You write the price you will charge before any spend starts.
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is a tool inside the programme, not a separate product.
AN EXAMPLE NEW MARKET
A second region costs more to enter. The price has to carry it.
- MARKETING, NEW MARKETof new-market revenue, in the example15 to 20%
- MARKETING, OVERALLthe target across the business10% or under
- READ WEEKLYinstead of revenueWeeks of payroll
THE ORDER
“Price first, then the spend.”
An example, not a client result. Your numbers will differ.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
The spend is set. The price is not.
- 01Your first new-market month cost more than a quarter at home.
- 02You are discounting to win the first few customers in a town you do not know.
- 03You cannot say what the new market must earn before it pays for itself.
THE LAUNCH PLAN, AS WRITTEN
- Launch date: booked
- Marketing push: planned, same as home
- Price in the new region: same as home
- What the price must carry: not worked out
- Weeks of payroll the gap leaves: not known
An example. The launch is ready. The price has not moved.
THE EXAMPLE CASE
One launch, read three ways
An example, not a client story.
01
THE CLIENT AND THE MOMENT
A new region, priced like home
The founder of an established B2B services firm, with a team of nine, is opening a second region. The launch is booked and the usual marketing push is planned. The work is priced exactly as it is at home. The first month in the new region costs more than expected, and the founder is about to cut the price to win the first few clients.
02
WHAT THEY HAD TRIED
Spending harder
The obvious fix was to spend harder: more ads, and an extra month of them. It kept the launch busy. It did not change what each job was worth. Every new client in the region still came in at the home price, or below it, and each extra month of marketing came out of the same cash that pays the team of nine.
03
WHAT IVANKA NOTICED
The budget was written before the price
Ivanka noticed the order the plan was written in. The launch budget came first and the price was never revisited, so the whole plan depended on volume arriving on time. If it came late, the spend kept running and nothing in the price could carry it.
THE DIAGNOSIS AND THE INSIGHT
Order, not effort
The founder was not short of effort or ideas. The problem was order. The price had to be set for the new market first, and the spend sized to what that price could carry. Doing it the other way round made every slow week a reason to spend more.
A new market is a price problem before it is a marketing problem. The extra spend has to be paid for by the price you charge, not the volume you hope for.
The spend is paid for by the price you charge, not the volume you hope for.
THE COST OF STAYING STUCK
Enter a market at a price that never recovers the spend, and the discount does not stay there. It travels back to your home customers, who hear the new number, and the margin you had at home goes with it.
THE TOOL
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain, for a new market
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is the order the money moves in: price first, then margin and cash, then the weeks of payroll that decide how confident you feel. For a new market, Ivanka walks it in that order before any spend is committed.
An example new market. Tap a link. Your price, your spend and your weeks are yours.
Price-Cash-Confidence Chain, for a new market · a framework by Ivanka Menken
What it is
It is the same chain that sits at the centre of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, walked for one decision. Three links, in order: the newest price a client has paid, what the new market costs to enter and for how long, and the weeks of payroll the gap leaves covered.
What it replaces
It replaces the launch plan that starts with the marketing budget, the discount offered to win the first clients, and the habit of watching revenue instead of cash.
It sits inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring with the monthly Money-and-Clarity Scorecard, which shows weeks of payroll covered and gross margin. The numbers are worked through together and taken to your own adviser. No separate checkout.
THE CHAIN, ON ONE PAGE
- 01Price paid: the newest price a client has paid in the last 90 days
- 02Cost to enter: in the example, 15 to 20% of new-market revenue on marketing, against 10% or under overall
- 03How long: the number of months the extra spend runs
- 04Weeks of payroll: what the gap leaves covered, read weekly
- 05The commitment: the price you will charge, decided before any spend starts
HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM
Walk the chain before the launch
In the example session, Ivanka puts the chain on one page. First: what is the newest price a client has paid in the last 90 days? Second: what will the new market cost to enter, and for how many months? Third: how many weeks of payroll does the gap leave you? She writes the numbers down as the founder says them and marks which are guesses. Before the next session, the founder checks the guesses and holds the new-region price in the first quote.
THE CHAIN, WRITTEN IN THE SESSION
- 1. Newest price paid, last 90 days
- Written down as the founder says it.
- 2. Cost to enter, marketing
- 15 to 20%
- How many months
- Marked as a guess, to check.
- 3. Weeks of payroll the gap leaves
- Read every week from now on.
- The commitment
- The new-region price, decided before any spend starts.
An example. Your prices and weeks are yours.
THE FOUR-STEP LOOP
- 1The one thingThe second region and its launch plan.
- 2The numbersThe price paid, the cost to enter and the weeks of payroll covered.
- 3The storyWhy the price feels too high for a market that does not know you yet.
- 4The commitmentThe price you will charge, written down before any spend starts.
THE QUESTIONS
- What is the newest price a client has paid in the last 90 days?
- What will the new market cost to enter?
- For how many months will the extra spend run?
- How many weeks of payroll does the gap leave you?
- Which of these numbers are guesses?
Before the next session, the founder replaces each marked guess with a real number, quotes the first new-region client at the written price, and starts reading weeks of payroll covered every week.
WHAT CHANGED
The price funds the spend
By month 6, the new market is run from the price it can carry, not the volume it might bring.
NOW
- The launch budget is written before the price.
- The new region is priced the same as home, or lower.
- Spending harder is the fix when the first month is slow.
- Revenue is watched. Weeks of payroll are not.
BY MONTH 6
- The new-market spend is set against a price that funds it.
- The newest-work price has been tested once and kept.
- Marketing stays within the new-market percentage.
- The scorecard shows weeks of payroll covered and gross margin.
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 sets a new-region price, keeps the marketing to the new-market percentage, and tracks weeks of payroll covered weekly instead of watching revenue. Illustrative, not a client result.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
The new market starts with a price
Ivanka Menken built Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses that are growing while cash tightens. She reads the numbers with you, asks the hard question, and holds you to the decision you write down.
If you are about to open a new market, or have just opened one and are tempted to discount, the decision in front of you is the price you will charge. Write it before the next dollar of spend.
“During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory. She is sharing her own lived experiences.”
Business owner
WHO IT IS FOR
It fits
- You run a $500K to $3M business and are opening a new market or region.
- The marketing budget is set and the price has not been revisited.
- You are tempted to discount to win the first clients.
- You will read weeks of payroll covered every week.
It does not fit
- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want someone to set your marketing budget for you.
- You want a done-for-you fix.
- The new market is already paying for itself.
THE INVESTMENT
AUD $1,500
per month ex GST
6 months · 12 fortnightly sessions
It is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not sold separately.
- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- The monthly Money-and-Clarity Scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain for each new market
Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous. Claim a founding place.
The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is part of the programme. It is not sold separately.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions about the Price-Cash-Confidence Chain
Why does a new market cost more than the one you know?
Nobody there knows you yet, so you pay to be found: in the example, 15 to 20% of new-market revenue on marketing, against 10% or under overall. Ivanka Menken works that cost through inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, so the price is set to carry it. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Where should the extra spend come from?
From the price you charge in the new market, not from volume you hope will arrive on time. The chain starts with the newest price a client has paid, then the cost to enter, then the weeks of payroll left covered. Ivanka Menken walks it with you in Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Does Ivanka set the marketing budget?
No. Ivanka Menken does not set your budget or give financial advice. She asks the questions in order, writes the numbers down as you say them, marks the guesses, and holds you to the price you commit to. You take the numbers to your own adviser. It is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
What if the first month undersells?
Read weeks of payroll covered before you change anything. A slow first month is a reason to check the guesses, not to cut the price or spend harder. Ivanka Menken reviews it with you at the next Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring session and against the monthly scorecard. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.
Write the price before the next dollar of spend
If you are about to open a new market and the price is the same as home, or lower, start with Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring. The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether it fits.
Not accounting, financial advice or a done-for-you fix.