How to Get Rich for Service-Based Businesses (Thank Me Later)
In a Nutshell
Event planning company Utopia Experience needs to overhaul pricing from ad-hoc to systematic by calculating true costs then multiplying 5-10x, creating a dynamic quote generator for live calls, and implementing price lock guarantees with 10% prepayment discounts. Sales process must shift to using pre-call video sales letters, restructure sales team as appointment setters only, and add "how many events per year" to discovery calls to triple average deal size from $80K to $240K by bidding on all events. Focus on doing more of fewer things—maximize LinkedIn outreach volume, speak at events for leads, and secure multi-year agreements with upfront prepayment to hit $300-400K monthly run rate.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Joey Goon runs Utopia Experience, an event planning company based in St. Louis, Missouri. Last year the average deal size was $34,000, with trailing 12 months at $44,000. Audio visual spend ranges between $20,000 and $150,000 per event, while video production serves as a pass-through service.
Joey surveyed 100 people at his sister's wedding in Mexico, asking what they could never have enough of. The overwhelming response was connection, community, tribe, family, and belonging - the core human needs that event planning addresses. The market cap for events is currently $1.5 trillion, projected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2033.
The current pricing process is ad-hoc and lacks standardization. A $15,000 retainer is charged upfront, followed by line items for sponsor management ($15,000), vendor management ($7,500 for managing contractors like photo booths and video production), and venue procurement strategy. Tiered pricing structures have been implemented based on attendee count, vendor count, and sponsor numbers.
The pricing strategy requires complete restructuring. First, cost out true costs for different delivery levels. Then multiply those costs by 5-10x to determine pricing. Create a dynamic pricing sheet that calculates prices based on headcount and other variables. Variable costs scale with headcount (vendors), while fixed costs include team member capacity - for example, Amber can only handle four events, making her 1/4 of the $15,000 retainer.
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