Coaching: Scheduling and Lesson Price Increases

I would just like to make a public statement that my coaching business has been growing faster than I ever imagined possible and as a result I am having a very difficult time scheduling. This is a very good kind of problem!

One issue that I have been trying to work in students at 6pm EST which is a very tricky time for me since it is only available on the days that I don't pick my daughter up from daycare. This changes on a weekly basis.

Another problem that I have been having is that I am having to contact students on a weekly basis to find out if they are having a lesson. Then once I have my regs scheduled I try to work in new students. This has become difficult as I am constantly putting off new students until I can find out "what the deal is with my schedule."

So starting today I am instituting some new policies.

1. During the week I am now coaching from 7pm EST to 1opm EST with the occasional student from 10-11:30 if necessary. This way I can maintain a weekly schedule with regular students no matter what the daycare situation. I will only fill the 10pm slot once the 7pm and 8:30pm slots are filled because I like to sleep. On weekends I will be coaching Saturday and Sunday mornings but filling Saturday first.

2. I am posting a calendar of my availability so that students can email me and let me know their availability. Slots will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

3. Students who want a regular slot will be expected to maintain a weekly or biweekly appointment. If I am giving up a prime slot for a student I expect them to show up. I will now be charging a $10 cancellation fee for day of no shows. I want 24h notice if you are not showing up so that I can fill your slot. Being a weekly student gives you the the right to a prime (read first pick) slot before my schedule is posted but with the responsibility of showing up.

4. As of Jan 1. 2010 my current students per lesson cost is going up to $55 and my new students per lesson cost is going up to $65 for an hour and a half lesson. For students who can only afford a hour lesson I will now be offering 1h lessons but current students will not be offered a discounted price for 1h. I will be escalating my student prices in all cases to the same scale at some point in the future. I still feel that this offers the best pricing in the business not only for the quality of content but also the hourly rate which is about what any music teacher or tutor charges.

Typically poker coaching is much more (70 per hour minimum) and I can not promise that my rates will not continue to increase due to supply and demand. But, due to the escalating prices I feel that it is only fair to offer an hour long lesson as an alternative.

Current Student Pricing: $45/hr or $55/1.5h
New Student Pricing: $50/hr or $65/1.5hr

As you can guess that means all my package prices are changing as well but I am going to still be running the Foundations package (deluxe package) 5 lessons for $295. For students who have not already purchased SNG wizard (essential software) I can also get them a reduced price saving them an additional $10. This represents a $40 savings over the hourly lessons.

Plus now I have added a bonus 1 month later 5HH review plus Q&A session. Essentially this is a 6th lesson aimed at keeping players who set and achieve their goals from falling back into your old habits and gives us a chance to make additional tweaks to your game once you have played some significant volume. This lesson comes with some strings attached. You are going to have to set a volume goal, play it, and then contact me saying you are ready for 1mo later within 1 month!!! I am such a believer in setting goals I am willing to give you a free lesson for following this key path to success.

So with all the tweaks the value of the Deluxe package is approximately there is now over $100 of savings built into the deluxe package worth roughly $325+$10+$65=$400. I think that the price of $295 is more than a bargain for the information and value provided. There is enough content in here to take a beginning SNG player and transform their game into a winning game at the $12 level with no other instruction necessary.

In addition I am developing unique "coaching club" members only content that will be available only to students who have completed the deluxe package or 5 individual lessons as a way of paying them back for their repeat business. This will include video classroom topics, virtual sweat sessions of my games, and hopefully some free rolls where the prize is a free lesson and the HH's are compiled for a all hands revealed video. That way everyone wins!

I will be posting a weekly calendar on Saturdays that will be for first come first served coaching slots and sending out a mass email weekly with the calendar. If you want to be on the list you know how to contact me by email. If not post a comment and I will reply with contact info. Soon I will be migrating to a service with built in email so that I can deal with email just relating to coaching and will post the email publicly so that you can contact me. I am going to be producing a weekly newsletter with upcoming events and calendar slots etc.

If you are on an extremely tight budget but want coaching and these prices are out of your range I am always happy to consider people on a case by case basis and can work out a coaching arrangement based on unusual circumstances.

Good luck at the tables.
Greg