Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Considering walking away isn't rare — 4 in 10 US owners have thought it. Here's why saying it out loud, to the right person, changes what happens next.

You've known for months that your prices need to go up. Costs have crept, your margin's thinner than it was, and you've done the maths more than once. And you still haven't sent the email. You want to charge what the work is actually worth. What's stopping you isn't the maths — it's the fear that the moment you do, every one of your customers quietly walks to someone cheaper.

The Enemy Is ‘Price Is The Problem’

In the US Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey, employers with one to four staff expect the prices they pay to rise 54.7% of the time over the next six months — but only 33.4% expect to raise what they charge. That gap doesn't close itself. It closes when you stop treating price as the thing customers judge, and start treating value as the thing you've never actually spelled out.

The Value Equation

Alex Hormozi's Grand Slam Offer framework boils value down to one equation: value rises with the dream outcome and the likelihood you'll deliver it, and falls with the time and effort it costs the customer. Raise the top, shrink the bottom, and the price barely matters.

  • Name the dream outcome in the customer's words, not yours — what they actually wanted when they called.
  • Prove the likelihood with a guarantee, a result or a story that removes their doubt.
  • Strip out time and effort — anything you can make faster or easier is worth more than a discount ever was.

Early in his agency career, Kevin worked on a well-known food brand that plenty of people assumed was a commodity nobody would ever pay a premium for. The campaigns that actually worked weren't built on a cheaper jar. They were built on genuine insight into why people loved or loathed it so strongly — insight deep enough to justify standing out instead of blending in on price. The lesson transfers directly: the businesses that get away with charging properly are the ones who understood their customer's real want before they ever talked about the number.

Try this before you touch a single price list: call three of your best customers and ask them, in their own words, what changed for them after they bought from you — not what they bought, what actually got better. Write their answers down verbatim. That's your dream outcome, proven, in language you didn't invent. Most owners discover their own pitch has been undervaluing the result for years, talking about the service instead of the outcome it buys. Raise the price on the strength of that answer, not a guess about what the market will bear, and the conversation about money gets a lot shorter — because you're no longer the one who has to make the case for it.

“Kevin doesn't just present — he electrifies the room and drives massive, real-world value! He drops game-changing insights and actionable shortcuts that show businesses exactly how to turn everyday customers into raving, loyal fans — and acquire new ones faster than ever thought possible.”

— Gareth Bayliss, Sales Manager, The Icehouse

Why You Keep Putting It Off

The fear isn't irrational — some customers genuinely will leave over a few dollars. But those are rarely the customers carrying your margin, and losing the wrong ones at a higher price can leave you better off than keeping everyone at today's price. This isn't for you if your whole offer really is the cheapest option in the market — that's a real strategy, just a different one. For everyone else, the number you're scared of is smaller than the cost of staying where you are.

Key Takeaways

  • Write down the dream outcome your best customers are actually paying for, in their words.
  • Close the gap between what your costs are doing and what your prices are doing.
  • Expect a small number of price-only customers to leave — and do the maths on losing them.
  • Pick one service or product to reprice this month, not the whole list at once.

If you've been sitting on a price rise for months, that's a five-minute conversation, not a five-month decision.

Thursday, October 22, 2026

Only 30 percent of business change efforts fully succeed. Here's the three-part diagnosis, borrowed from strategy academic Richard Rumelt, most owners skip before fixing anything.

Thursday, October 22, 2026

Close to six in ten of this year's US holiday shoppers are already buying, in October or year-round. Here are three sales moves to make this week before Black Friday arrives.

Thursday, October 22, 2026

77.6 percent of US consumers used AI to help with a purchase decision in the past six months. Here are three moves that make your small business visible when customers ask AI about you.

Thursday, October 22, 2026

54 percent of US business owners have no real plan, and only 11 percent have anything detailed. Here's the one-afternoon exercise that gives your business a sharper three-year direction than any spreadsheet.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Before you spend another dollar on ads, staff or software, find the one step that limits your growth. Here is a one-hour spend-gate test you can run this week.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

ActionCOACH began in Brisbane, Australia. What does its story tell US owners about where good growth ideas come from, and how to test an outside idea in your own business?

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

SME owner confidence is climbing, but for most, revenue isn't following. Here's why time isn't your real constraint, and the three-step framework that finds the one that is.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

49% of business owners question monthly whether running the business is worth it, a US survey found. Here's what changes when someone else is asking that question with you.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Nearly half of NZ SME owners are planning Christmas trading changes, MYOB research found, and most of it is a discount. Here's how to build memory before you build the offer.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

46% of New Zealand business owners aren't paying themselves, Xero research found. Here's the Profit First fix that changes the order money moves through your business, not the hours you work.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

The share of businesses reporting serious dead stock has doubled since 2024, new research found. Here's why rising revenue can still mean tightening cash, and the three numbers that catch it early.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

42% of business owners named efficiency their top 2026 priority, a US survey found. Here's Michalowicz's Clockwork system for building a business that doesn't need you in every decision.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

B2B win rates fell to 19-21% in 2025. Here's why a quiet Q4 pipeline is usually a budget deadline in disguise, and the three moves that use it instead of waiting for January.

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Chemical and industrial distributors rarely have a product problem. Here is how to find the real constraint, escape the price war and build a 90-day plan.

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

97% of small business owners believe branding matters to their success — only 18% have an actual strategy for it. Here is the 3-question Brand Key test that closes the gap without a rebrand.