EPISODE 4: The Truth About Discounts & “Cheaper” Options

In this episode of Cose Bella: Spilling the Tea, we’re diving into one of the most common—and often uncomfortable—questions in the wedding industry: “Do you offer a discount?”

We’re talking about why pricing for small businesses is more intentional than people realize and how comparing vendors based on cost alone can impact the overall experience.

We’re also getting honest about the idea of the “cheaper option”—what that actually means, what you might be sacrificing, and how to approach these conversations in a way that feels respectful and collaborative for everyone involved.

And, of course, we’re keeping it light with laughs and banter with Kara Reddy Meneses from Charcuterie Kreations, the Chief Salami Officer, Welcome back Kara!

If you’re planning a wedding (or hiring any creative professional), this episode will give you a new perspective on value, communication, and what truly makes an experience feel seamless.

In This Episode:

•  Why small business pricing isn’t built for negotiation 
•  What happens when clients ask for discounts 
•  The truth behind “cheaper” vendors 
•  How to approach budget conversations the right way 
•  A funny (and honest) game breaking down real scenarios 

If you loved this episode, be sure to follow along, share with a friend, and submit your questions for future Spilling the Tea episodes.

Grab your coffee, because we're spilling the tea...

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:09

In this episode of Cosa Bella Spilling the Tea, we're diving into a topic every small business owner knows all too well. Being asked for a discount. We're sharing what goes on behind the scenes, when that question is asked, why it can be uncomfortable, how it impacts small businesses, and when, yes, sometimes flexibility does make sense. This is not about blame. It's not about understanding respect and creating better experiences on both sides. And today we have Kara back with us from Tarcuterie Creations. We are so excited to have her. Welcome back, Kara. So today we're talking about something that comes up more often than most might think. And that's the question: is there flexibility in your pricing? We understand budgets are real. We want to be transparent with you, and we usually are at the beginning. But there's a bigger picture that people don't see when we're building our prices. So I would love for you to tell me how do you price intentionally and what is your pricing including?

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I look back to when I started my business. I started it officially in 2023. I started it more on a part-time basis. My pricing looking back was a lot different. I was doing things like based off of sizes. I wasn't really paying too close attention to, and this is full transparency, I wasn't paying too close attention to like how many people the product would serve. And one of the things now looking back, and especially now that's so apparent, I'm not just a service-based business, I'm also a product-based business. So when I'm looking at business and business coming in and inquiries, I have to really inform the client. I'm not only giving them a service, but I'm also providing a product. When I'm putting together pricing, I have to keep that in mind. Most of my days start at 3 or 4 a.m.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Oh, that's early.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Yeah, because in my line of work, I'm I'm more of the boutique catering side of food and beverage. Food and beverage as a whole has a lot of different like sectors to it. I respect all forms of catering. I have worked in catering, hot food service, banquet server, like you name it. Like it's it's it's been part of my experience, and that's what it's kind of shaped me into who I am today. But more of the boutique style catering, I can't prep a week out. Like you're prepping and you're preparing and styling food day before day of. So there's a lot of time involved and there's a lot of energy. As far as how I'm putting pricing together, I have to look at the service, but also the product. An overhead. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

You know, not just the stuff that you're doing that day, but you need stuff to serve it on. You need stuff to save it, you know. I d I I run an event planning business. I don't need to worry about freshness on my products that I have.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Except for your coffee.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Except for my coffee, except for your coffee. You get that freshly brewed every time.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Fresh from Starbucks. Always, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Anyway, but no, I can't imagine how much overhead it actually costs to have like a mini catering. Yeah. You know, and the other thing too is sometimes you have a team. Yep. You have a team, so you have to pay them. Yep. It's not just the day of, like you said, but also the planning process. Like, how much time are you actually putting into planning these things beforehand too? How many times do you meet with the client?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Like for how much do I wake up in the middle of the night and say, Oh my gosh, you need to order cocktail napkins just because I don't know if my client got them. So I'm just gonna get them in case.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

The other piece of this is you do custom pieces for them, custom cups, custom napkins, custom, I don't know, skewers, whatever they want. When you're discounting that, obviously, you know, that's more money that you need to put into an order that you don't have now. Yeah. Um, and sometimes that's a huge loss.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

You end up actually spending more than you're making. Right. I have to consider how much are all the products gonna cost me for the everyday people, right? Not just industry people, licensed, fully insured caterers are operating in a commercial kitchen. That is expensive. I'm paying rent to be in a kitchen where I have my storage there, my food there, my products there. Separately, I have a warehouse where all of the towers, the boards, the spoons, the knives, the platters, everything is housed. Once they've locked in a service with me, I'm at their disposal. I have Mothers of the Bride reaching out a week before. Oh my gosh, does this include napkins and plates? And I'm like, no, not a problem. I will put some in there for you, not to worry. That goes such a long way with my clients. And that's the little details that I want. Now I'm putting together packages that where it makes sense where that stuff is covered.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Unlike large corporations, there isn't a huge margin built for negotiation for us. We're our pricing is already carefully considered. So, like with my planning, right? I and you know, I I I try to reach every kind of bride, every kind of budget. I want to help everybody. If I could, I would. Yeah. I am notorious for taking on too many, yes, sure, yes, sure. And I know that that's my red flag. I talked about that in episode one, if anybody's interested. But the thing is when I do my pricing, like my day of, my day of is not really day of. How many hours do I put into my day of?

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

I start working with you right away.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

You don't just show up on the day. You have to sign on, you have to start the emails, build the vendor relationships and communication. You absolutely know. Being a past bride and a vendor. So I'm getting emails from these day of coordinators that are working with my clients, right? Because I'm always going to work with a planner if they've hired them, just because that's their job and they do it best. So I'm communicating with them, like logistics, setup time, any questions, concerns. If the venue needs a COI, I'm working with that. Like all those little details that clients don't need to worry about because they've invested maybe in a planner or a day of coordinator. But there's just so much that goes into it. Even a small email. Sometimes I look at an email I get from a client and I'm like, this might take me an hour to write. Cause I have to think of all the different like logistics. Girl. Because I want to make sure they feel confident. You know what I mean? They're paying for that.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

So and I have sometimes I have three or four people on one account emailing me with emails like that. So dear. I know.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

And I love, I love what I do. I'm not complaining, right? No, no, yeah. But the thing is, especially when there's more than one person involved, which that's normally the case. Right. I put over 300 hours into one event, no matter the package. That's my baseline. Yeah. My baseline. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Um, because even when I'm not meeting with them, I'm creating documents, I'm communicating with vendors, I'm building dream boards, I'm, you know, I'm doing all of this stuff. So I uh a hundred percent understand pricing for what you're actually doing, versus it's just you're just making a spread for the day. No, you're not.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

I know. Right. I think when I first started, people thought I was just like bopping over to stop and shop and throwing stuff in a bag and just like showing up. Like that that couldn't be farther than the truth.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

But I think like that's the that's the art of what you do that people don't realize. And that's why like I think well, I hope that my podcast does educate everybody and like really open up what we actually do. We aren't a corporation, we aren't a stop and shop that has a platter ready to go. Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

We are doing this by hand, all crafted by hand, and mind, yeah, and mind, yeah, body and spiritual.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

We're using our minds, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

So um, yeah, I mean it's not AI over here. I mean, if you look at the typical like day in the life, like I over the last like couple of weeks, I've now done a lot of grazing stations because now we're getting into the full swing of wedding season. My week really starts off, like the top of the week. It's going to start off with what are the inquiries that came in, following up with people that are for that upcoming weekend, confirming like the times for setup, drop-off, delivery, whatever that looks like, making all the list of the things and the products that we need to get, what are the deliveries that I'm more focused on, getting it to the kitchen, whether that's a delivery or me picking up the food from a food distributor, food in boxes that I have to bring to the kitchen and or have delivered to the kitchen, whatever that looks like. And I'm, you know, breaking that down, putting it all together, putting it in the refrigerator, then starting to prep. Every grape, every piece of celery, every piece of cheese, all the fruit, all the produce, that's all washed, that's cut, that's all organized in foil trays for one event.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Like, even just a morning, like let's say I hired you for my bridal morning of spread. I want a nice charcuterie fruit yogurt display.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Well, it starts at the inquiry. We're probably on the phone for like a half hour or whatever. That week prior, I'm reaching out, confirming here's what this looks like. Email, has your timeline been put together? Can this time work for you? Great. I go to the kitchen that day. It's about four hours prep.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

But then what about even ordering the ordering the invitation?

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Ordering the food, yeah. That takes that takes about an hour or two. And then I have to get the food. Sometimes it's not always delivered. Like there's all there's all different complexities to it. So that's like three or four hours altogether with all of that. And then you consider okay, the day of that I'm prepping, that's about three or four hours. Then I drive down to wherever it is next. Three or four hours. Probably Newport, Rhode Island.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

So then for hours to go there and back, and then sometimes you have to go back and pick up including, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah. So I mean, it could be anywhere from like five to twelve hours. It really depends on the type of service, the amount of people we're servicing, you know.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

But that's just your time, right? Yeah. That's just your time. Yeah. That doesn't even include the product.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Since starting my business, I've probably changed my pricing six to eight times because not only am I running a business from a day-to-day perspective, I have to stay close to food trends and food shortages and what's the good price of this cheese versus that cheese.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

While sticking to quality state that we're in right now as a country, everything's going up.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Everything. Everything. So I have to balance all of that. And a lot of times, as from a food business perspective, buying in bulk usually is the safer option because you can get obviously more for your dollar without sacrificing the quality. Now, because I've scaled my business and it's it is where it is now, and I'm so grateful, but now I'm buying full wheels of cheese. So I'm cutting down full wheels of cheese. Okay, if you're getting a wedge of Manchego for $10 and 56 cents, when I'm at my food distributor working with them, it's $76 for a wheel of whatever.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

All right. So we know financially, obviously, not great for small businesses, and we'll talk about how that impacts us. But I'd also like to know emotionally, just as a person, what does that feel like when someone asks you for a discount?

SPEAKER_00 11:49

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

And I feel like when I say that out loud, most people already know the answer.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah. I think it's a it's a really it's a really delicate subject to balance because I kind of see it from two angles, right? There's the everyday people, the everyday clients that are asking me, is that really the cost? Is there anything I could do that's not really within my budget? I respect any business owner's decision to do this or not do it. I am all about pricing, transparency. I put it on my website. Here's the menu. If you inquire, I'm sending you the same link so everyone's seeing the same thing. So it can be tough when, but when I've got someone in my Instagram DMs reaching out that doesn't even follow me, doesn't even like any of my stocks.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Oh, that's the worst.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Hey, we're having a 150-person event. Can you provide us cups? First off, why don't you start by following me and like a couple of my posts? Remember that there's someone on the other end of the phone. There's a business owner that's running a business that has a lot to juggle. And I just think when you're asking for something like that, whether it's a discount or a free product, think about what they're considering. For example, my kitchen rent is another expense I have to work with. Although you might be asking me for a free large charcuterie board, the board is $17. Right. I ship boards overnight from a company that I work with. Okay. The boards. Then the product for the board is probably about a hundred bucks. My kitchen rent is a certain amount of money. Yeah. And then I show up, deliver it to you, forget sales tax. Like all those things, like everything is not even being considered. What's in it for the business owner? Are you putting it on your story? Are you putting on what are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Like we it's just very we can all agree that yes, it's great to be on social media.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

But that doesn't pay our bills. And it's a gamble if it's going to do anything.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah. So I think if you're in a position where you're asking a small business, you just have to consider the facts, what that business owner is going to have to sacrifice. Right. And there's actually been a, you know, there's been a handful of opportunities that I've been part of, whether it's a vendor friend that I've been part of, you know, an event for them or an opportunity or a styled shoot. There's there's definitely been circumstances where I walked away and like I felt good about it. Like we work together, maybe they mentioned me or, you know, we've posted about whatever the collaboration was or whatever that looks like, right? But when I'm walking away feeling unappreciated, that's a different, that's a whole other different level of wow, I just I kind of regret doing that. So I think, you know, it's it's really circumstantial. Like you have to really consider what that person is sacrificing. And for me, it's again not just the service, it's also the product that I've spent the money on, the delivery, all of the materials. How do you think I'm getting that product to you?

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Let's also not tiptoe around the fact that this is a dare I say, luxury service.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Hi, it's a luxury service. Do you need a charcuterie spread on your wedding day? No, it is a luxury service. We are working with clients in a specific bracket. We are working with clients with a specific budget, normally. Does that mean that clients that don't have that budget don't want the same things? Of course they want the same things. And are we willing to work with our couples? Of course. Right. But it's different than saying, let's do, can you do this for free for me? Because I have 25,000 followers. Like that to me is just like I am, I am a person. I have two children. I have a home. I have bills. Right? Like it's just so it's exhausting too because I think as I mean, I I feel this lesson now that we've, you know, we're very blessed and we've had so much. And I'm grateful for all my clients and my experiences, but I think before I was so afraid to say no because I was afraid that I was gonna disappear and fail. And now I just I believe in what I do. I believe in my pricing. I back up my pricing. I have no problem with that.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Um, if I can if I can swing a discount and I feel like a client is worth it to me, just personally, I will absolutely do that if I can.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

But that's on my terms, that's my choice. That's not them coming to me and saying, can you do it for less? Can you do all the work you do and more for less? Right. Because a lot of times when I give discounts, I end up doing a lot more than what I signed up for. Oh, yeah. And that's that's the worst part. That's when you start feeling unappreciated.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yeah. And then the next day for a line of work like mine, and very similar to you, right? In the wedding industry, there's the day of, but there's all the work leading up to the day of. If I have a mother of the bride that reaches out to me and says, Hey, we need a spread for the entire morning, and then after we need the groomsmen to get fed, the morning upgrazes, although seem really cute and they're fun, and they've got the little yogurt cups, and it's one of my favorite things. It actually is really special to me as a former bride because I spent a lot of money on um, you know, DoorDash on bagels, and it was just like the worst. And now it's like I can actually put something meaningful together for a client. It was awful. Um, I go out of my way to make sure it's perfect because that's the first start of a client's day, and that's a very important day to them. So, all of those things considered, all the work leading up to the day.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

What is the day in the life of a charcuterie and dessert company? Boutique catering. Boutique catering.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Depends which day of the week, Rachel. All the days. All of the days. These are the days of a lives. Yeah. I always say Friday, Saturday, Sunday is my Monday through Friday, all in three days. Towards the end of the week, that's when all the food is coming into the kitchen, whether it's being picked up, retrieved, or delivered. Fun fact, my kitchen is on the second floor of a building. And then everything's in boxes. So then we're spending time breaking down all the boxes, taking the food out. It's exhausting. I know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

I have client wedding merchandise for months in the day. But I get it. And you have to assemble all that because it's easier. I mean, it's easier for them to ship it directly to here, like for real, yeah, for all of us. Yeah. Then we have it on the day up. Yeah. But that means I gotta roll it. We're moving things constant. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Yeah. So if we have a weekend where there's like a few grazing stations, that means event day, everything's packed in the car, ready to go, and then we show up on site. If you're a client that's getting all of the rentals, towers, boards, all of the like elevated looking, yes, all of the elevated looking stations going to the storage unit the night before. There's just different phases of prep for stations, and it's just a lot of details, a lot of moving parts, and a lot of very lineate details that are being figured out because there's food. So we obviously have to balance like keeping the food fresh, keeping it safe without sacrificing the quality. So that's why the prep happens at the very final hours because of the type of catering that we do. Yeah. So it is a lot of physical work, but nothing beats seeing a client's face when they see it all come together. I know. It is like just seeing whether it's like a mother of the bride or the bride or the client or like whoever, whoever hired me, whoever it is, if they see it like the finished product, it it just makes it all worth it. So one thing I didn't even mention was, or all of the collaboration you're doing with vendors. I don't think people realize like I work with florists a lot. People don't realize. So if you're doing like a large-scale table, I prefer to partner with a florist. That's their artistry, and I respect it. Whatever floral products that they're bringing to the event, it's cohesive with whatever we're bringing.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

You're happy to bring a couple of little embellishments, but you're not a florist, right? Like go work with the specific design. They they really should be going to that vendor. And I think that that's another completely different. Yeah, completely different.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

And so that involves me. I've sometimes I've met up with florists. They're like, let's you know, bring come to the shop or let's you know have a Zoom call, let's put a pocket. Yeah, it's it's just there's so much that goes into it. I mean, a lot of my clients for these stations are spending thousands of dollars. They absolutely should expect me to make sure that whatever floral display, you know, the design or like the style of the event is really all cohesive to each other, even with the food.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

So Right, right. Yeah. So all in all, when people ask us for discounts, um, and this isn't to everybody that's asked us for a discount. This isn't going out to everyone that we've given discounts for. This is in general, just talking about what can happen and what we've experienced in the past with discounts and giving discounts. It can lead to us burning out, overextending ourselves, and taking on too much because we have to compensate now for that loss. And this is a lot of stuff that's also on our end our fault because we had to learn as business owners what to do and what not to do, when that was the right thing to do and when that wasn't, right? I mean, I have a lot of clients this year that I, you know, they they got a better price than what we were. I mean, that might be because it was last season and they inquired with us last season. Right. Those kinds of things, it's different. But when you're asking us to do something completely free, it hurts. Um, it hurts hard sometimes. And sometimes we're too afraid to say no. So we're just asking that you be mindful when you ask that. And for all the vendors that are struggling with this, you know, hopefully they listen today and they can get some good advice and they can also feel seen because that's what this space is for.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Yeah. When I first started, I was saying yes to everything because I need to be able to show a portfolio to potential clients.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

I have to be able to say, okay, based on like what you've shared with me, here's kind of a quick example. And if I don't have marketing material, it's really tough. That's expected when you start out, though. When you start out. And then now is when you're at a place in business where you don't really need all of that opportunity. Now I'm at a place where now you need to maintain. Yeah. So if people are approaching me with I'll just say, hey, listen, thank you. Obviously, thinking of me means more than anything. Every single person that has even thought to work with our business, it's so meaningful to me, and I'll always be grateful. More about educating them on here's what the food and here's what the rent would look like. That needs to at least be covered. What is what is the gain afterwards? Are you looking to post on social media? Are you looking to have the photographer provide the photos and the videos after? What are we all walking away from so that way we can all feel good about it? Because at the end of the day, I'm running a business and whatever content or marketing material that I can get from it is a great opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Is there a way to tailor the scope to align with people's budgets? So not necessarily asking for a discount, but what is it? What do you do for a client that really wants your service? Maybe you can't give them the discount that they're asking for. Are you able to work within budgets?

SPEAKER_00 23:02

I think it really all comes down to what exactly are they looking for? So a lot of times people will come to me asking for the most expensive thing, and that's always going to be a station or or the cart. Maybe I'll sway them towards a lesser option. Like, for example, there's cups. Cups are really useful, especially in the event space, because if it's a networking event, if it's maybe a rehearsal dinner or a welcome party, they might need a quick snack before or after, or maybe late night. It's not like some full-on display, which is obviously more labor intensive. Again, it's really considering what they're asking for, and I'm kind of making recommendations off of that.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

What do you do for repeated clients? Do you give them the same pricing?

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Repeating clients, it really depends. I take care of them in terms of service. Know them clients and who they are.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

But to be honest, when we have returning well, but when we have returning clients, they're not asking for discounts because they're not going to be able to do that. They value, they value what we do.

SPEAKER_00 23:58

Yeah. Um they don't question it. Or, you know, if there's there's been a couple of times where if they're reoccurring, they're like, you know, listen, I don't I'm not looking to feed everyone. We're gonna have a meal after say, like, okay, well, if you're expecting 50 guests, let's do maybe a station for like 35. So you're not like you're working with their budget.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

Which is what we were just So I'm trying to work with them, and obviously they understand my style, and I've understood theirs from working with them previous. So I think it's just a mutual understanding where they respect my work, they've reached out to me for a reason, or they continue to work with me for a reason. So it's just kind of an understood and known thing that they're not gonna ask because they they know what the result will look like.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Yeah. And so this brings me to my next part of there are times where it's appropriate to ask for a discount. Right. There are. And we're not always upset a question like that, but there are appropriate times. So when is it okay to ask for a discount?

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Well, wedding industry specifically, there's definitely been there's a handful of situations where like I've been asked to do maybe like it's a vendor event where I know a lot of coming, and that's a great way to showcase my service and product. So there's been definitely a handful of times where that's been very successful in those moments. There's been, you know, for example, wedding planners are usually the ones that are hosting those types of events. So that's a great way to work with them so you can see how they work, how they operate. And again, you're showcasing the product. So there's been situations where that's been very successful, and you walk away having some marketing material and some social media gain from that. There's been instances where it's like a styled shoot. That's also a great opportunity. It's also about being selective. So if you're a wedding vendor that I've never worked with, or our styles don't align, or maybe we haven't had the opportunity of working together, don't just like reach out to me in hopes that I'm gonna say yes. Like take a moment to like maybe get to know me because we might not have like similar, yeah, like we might not have that much synergy. So it it might not be appropriate. So that would definitely be a no. But as far as definitely where it's okay, I think it's in those instances where sometimes if it's a vendor event and it's someone that has maybe given me business, like a lot of my business is through vendor referrals, through wedding planners mostly. So obviously that means more than anything. And so that's kind of my way to say, like, thank you. I I see that and I appreciate that. And then obviously the standard stuff, which is like, you know, for example, like cancer um research and like oh, charity, yeah. Charity, like that's something that's completely different, very, very special to me. So that's I think I I think in those two instances for sure, like that's where it feels the most gratifying.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

I agree.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

What about for a client?

SPEAKER_00 26:52

For a client, I mean that I gotta be honest, it's like very difficult reaching out via the website and saying, Hey, we want this, and it's one of my most expensive offerings. Who who are you? Like what like I I I don't know who you are. And then I show up and they've got a four-car garage. Yeah, like I I I'm sorry, I can't do that. Like, we've gotta, we've gotta, we've gotta meet in the middle somewhere. Right. So it's I think now looking back, what I really appreciate now is for those clients or you know, inquiries that are coming in for especially the higher end needs, like a station or a cart, we have to get on the phone. Like, I have to kind of understand like what you're looking for. There's been instances where they're they'll ask me, hey, I want a station, I want it to be this and that. Then I'm explaining, well, what's your event look like? Are you eating after? Are you do you have another cater? What's the flow of the day or the event or whatever looks like? Yeah. And then they'll tell me, and then I'll sway them towards maybe a different option that works for their event. So there's a lot of value in that conversation. So sometimes I'm doing a lot of like education in that moment. Like maybe that doesn't make sense for you. It does.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

It does. Um, and your pricing and my pricing are completely different for completely different reasons. For me, I don't necessarily mind when a client asks me for a discount, but there are definitely categories or checkpoints on when that would be appropriate. For sure. Um, like off season. Right. I get that. Off season, I will I will consider it because we have nothing going on.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Unless we are fully booked for that year. Right. Which is usually happening. I mean, I'm blessed, I'm usually fully booked before the next coming year. So because we're booked uh sometimes two years in advance.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

So, but off season, it's not an inappropriate time to ask, I would say. So if you're a client and you are trying to be budget conscientious, most likely you are getting married off season. It's not inappropriate to ask for a discount, I feel like during that time.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

No, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Um smaller guest count, uh not really necessarily. Yeah, like sometimes I have smaller events and they are just as stressful. Just yeah, just as um high maintenance as my bigger events. So it really depends. And I that's I don't like to say like just because you have 20 people doesn't mean that you deserve a huge discount. My job still is the same quality, and I think that's where their disconnect is. Um a long-term or repeated client, I will usually honor my first pricing if it if it's not drastically different. Right. Or I'll give them a discount on the current pricing just because again, my structure is completely different from yours. Um, like you're trying to keep up with trends, grocery, grocery bills, essentially, materials. Um your pricing's different. Mine is is all based on averages of time and time management and what we do in between with the staffing that we have the full day. And sometimes, you know, I do a 22-hour day. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's cool, yeah. You're you know, yeah. Um the last thing I'm gonna say is it's not inappropriate, obviously, when we're offering it. Like, no, we're not pressuring you, we're saying, you know what, we would love to work with you. Here's a discount because this is going to be good for us, yeah, right. And we'll be transparent about that.

SPEAKER_00 30:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

Um, I have I have a client right now, she's fabulous, she knows who she is. I love you. Um, but and I don't even think I gave her a discount. I think I just honored my last year pricing because she had inquired with me and I sent her last year's pricing. Um, and huge event this year, but something like that, like not inappropriate to say, hey, I inquired a while ago. This was the pricing last time. Can you honor that? I personally think that's fine.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

Yeah. Um, but again, depends on the type of business.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

Absolutely, right? So my my overhead is way less than yours. My hours are completely different than my method. So my pricing is already way higher for a service like mine. Right. Because we're we're just, you know, we're managing more. But that's not to say that it's still okay to ask a company, yeah. Like a small business. And I'm not a corporation, and I say that all the time. Like, I'm not a corporation. I I am a small woman-owned business. Right. I I mean I can't even begin to tell you how much my staff costs during the during a wedding day.

SPEAKER_00 32:04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

Just for my day of coordination. I mean, I have two liaisons in the morning, I have two to three people on setup, I have a closer, and then I'm there. So on top of it, I'm not even technically getting paid for my time, right? Like I'm just there. And I'm managing and you have an emergency kit, right? Oh my god, yeah. That thing is worth like thousands of dollars. Yes. We have everything you can imagine.

SPEAKER_00 32:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

You remember that.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

I do.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

Do you know what it looks like now? It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

I can't even imagine. It's probably huge.

SPEAKER_01 32:32

It's a beautiful rose golden white makeup kit, rolling kit. Oh wow. Oh, yeah, it's huge, beautifully organized. Um, including a duffel bag, a black duffel bag that we bring.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Oh wow. We have everything. That's great. And if we don't have it, we buy it. Yeah. On the day. Yeah. Well, again, that's that's what that's what I think clients have to realize is like that's part of the service. I can't even tell you how many times I showed up and a host will say, Oh my gosh, uh, I don't have plates. And I'm like, let me go to my second office, and I've got like a bin, you know, ready to go with you know, plates, everything you would need as a backup. Extra toothpicks or food picks, rather. Um, you know, just because I'm I'm hired as a professional, I'm a trusted professional that they've reached out to and have invested in. So it's just part of the service model. That's how I see it. So I just think it's again like tying this all together. It's if you're reaching out looking for less but asking for more, you have to consider all of that. Right. You know, this is someone that's running a business and having to juggle products, time, and all of the energy that's put towards your event. So it's someone's on the other end of that phone or that email or that DM, be considerate. Yeah, yeah.

unknown 34:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Don't lead with what's your best price. Lead with appreciation, transparency, and collaboration if you want to collaborate. And you think it would be worth our while, not because you're being snaky or selfish. Like, please think that there is a person behind this business. We are not a Walmart. No, we're not. No, no, no. Um, you know, an example would be like, I love your work. I'm working with this budget. Do you have options? Not what can you do for this price? I love that approach. That that and I tell my clients to do that, especially when they're on tight budgets.

SPEAKER_00 34:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:46

Um, because I want them to get what they want. Right. You know, I I want to get what they want, but I also know that it's not always feasible. So let's try this approach. Let's see if there is a possibility. And if there's not, we're gonna go look at something else.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

Yeah. I I can't even tell you the amount of requests I've gotten. I've got I had someone very early on reach out and say, Is there any way you could just drop it off and my aunt will put it together? Ooh, that was one of the toughest emails I got.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

So you want me to go grocery shopping for you?

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Yeah, like it you would not believe it. It's just it's so wild because you took the time to reach out to a business and ask that. I would say, what are the options? This is my budget. And I do want to be incredibly sensitive. I know with weddings specifically, you've got vendor deposits, you've got venue costs to consider. Like, I get it, but be mindful that when you're reaching out for that service or that it's a business and they have to be able to run efficiently. And if you're going to move forward with them, your service is going to cost quite a bit of money. So just keep that in mind.

SPEAKER_01 36:02

So, yeah, so bringing it back back to our our luxury brand, you know, again, this is a luxury service. We believe in our pricing. We set that because we are providing a service that we guarantee is going to be taking care of you. We're excited about your project, your event, what we're doing, and we're confident that this is going to be the best investment for you. We're not overcharging here. Again, we're not, you know, and not to say that some businesses don't overcharge and they're not in it for the money. Um, and of course, everybody's in it for the money a little bit, but we're genuinely doing this because we love it. And it it's that's a bonus that we get paid to do what we love, right? Like when you look at it that way, your small businesses here that are doing this stuff, we're doing it because we love it.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

We're not doing it because we have to. And we're betting on ourselves and we're we're entrepreneurs. Um, and so when we're not getting paid for our work or we're being asked to cut into that at an inappropriate time, inappropriate time of the season, at a really just insulting rate. Um it's it's really hard for us to to swallow. And and like I said, be mindful of what you're asking for when you ask for it, because it can really just like, especially new businesses, it can actually put them out of business. It can actually hurt them at the beginning. They'll burn out quickly, they won't be able to cover overhead, and it it won't be a smart investment for them. But sometimes we're so desperate that we don't even realize that. Yeah. All right. All right, we're going to play a game. Oh dear. How it works. We're gonna read a real life scenario, and I want your reaction of if it's a discount or disrespect. Okay, discount's totally fair and reasonable. Disrespect, not great attic. Okay. Okay, ready? We love your work. Our budget is a bit lower. Would you be able to customize a package?

SPEAKER_00 38:11

What are the options? Discount or disrespect? Yeah. For me, I'm product-based, so I have to stay very like mindful of that. I would say it's a little bit disrespectful. I've got my pricing out there.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

Like that's transparency. Yeah. Go to the website www.recordercraft. This one's my favorite. This one's my favorite. Can you match this cheaper quote? Disrespect. With a big capital D.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

If we pay in cash, can you take 20% off? Huh?

SPEAKER_00 38:41

No. No. Payment is payment, honey. If you pay with card, I can put 4% on. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 38:50

No. Like what? We're getting married on a Friday in April without any off-peak adjustments.

SPEAKER_00 38:59

I mean, in fairness, in the wedding industry, because that's regular language, I I could understand where they're coming up with that, but that would be my response would be, you know, unfortunately, a day is a day is a day. So the cheese costs the same every day. So I would say no, disrespect. I I it's because of my type of business. So it's correct. Yeah. We're not gonna have the same answer.

SPEAKER_01 39:25

No, no, no, no. I I definitely would give a discount on that one. Only because April's usually really dead for me, which this year it is not. Um we don't need full service. We can do partial if we stay. Can you stay in the budget?

SPEAKER_00 39:41

That's like someone asking me to like just get the food. My aunt will just do the board for me. Just go disrespect. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Your pricing is higher than we expected. Can you do the same for less?

SPEAKER_00 39:57

The amount of rage that just went through my no. Enough. Enough disrespect.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

We adore you, but we can't work this out financially right now. Can we revisit later?

SPEAKER_00 40:10

Revisit in terms of when your budget's back? Yeah. Like, I'm sending you a hug. Thank you. Actually, respect for the response. Respect. Respect for the response. I think it was respect. Yeah. Thanks for thanks for confiding in me, friend. Go go figure yourself out.

SPEAKER_01 40:29

I think in that case, like that's where I'm like I know. I I that's where I know usually, not usually, I don't want to say usually, but that's when I'll consider a discount. I'll look at what we're taking in, what our overhead is that year, and I'll see if I can swing it. Yeah. I will say that that that would probably make me consider a discount depending.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

I mean, a lot of this is dependent on what even are they asking for, right? You know, if it's a hundred person cocktail hour and they don't have the budget for it, but they're getting married at, you know, a very, very nice venue, I'm kind of like, okay, well, there's only so much I could do about that. But if if it's someone that's asking for like a board, it it it's very dependent on what they're asking for.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

This one, you either say, call the police, jail overnight, or I'll allow it. Oh my god. This one's called I'll allow it. So you're going to tell me if you're gonna call the police if they go to jail overnight. Okay. That's like top tier. Calling the police is like, eh, I want them off my property. Okay. And I'll allow it is like it's not great, but I'll take it. I'll take it. I would consider it. Okay. Okay. Client says to you, another vendor charges half. Can you match?

SPEAKER_00 42:03

Go to jail. Whatever, whatever that's it. Jail overnight. Jail overnight. Yeah, go to jail.

SPEAKER_01 42:08

We love your work, but this company's cheaper, and we're gonna go with them. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 42:16

Um allow it? I'll allow it. I'll allow it. Go to them. Go to them. Have fun with them. Can you do the same package as them for last? No.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

Call the police. Call the police. Yeah. We offer dis we offer exposure. Will you give us a discount?

SPEAKER_00 42:43

Exposure. What's the worst one? Go to jail? Overnight. Overnight? Or for 10 years.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

Ten year sentence.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

I just don't like that. Yeah, go to jail. Like what exposure? I'm out of here. If you're in jail. Unless you're going and you're walking up to Ina Garten's front door and showing her my website. I don't know if I can. I don't know. I what is that? What is exposure? No.

SPEAKER_01 43:12

Client says we really love you. Can you just help us adjust the scope so we can fit our budget?

SPEAKER_00 43:17

If you loved me, you'd respect my work. Go to jail.

SPEAKER_01 43:21

No, they're saying they want to work with you, but you just have to help them to be more realistic.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

I know, but meat is meat's at an all-time high. You talk to me when you're at you talk to me when you're at the kitchen at 2 a.m. rolling meat, washing grapes, the grape falls underneath the prep table. I'm on the I'm on all my fours.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

We're out of tea to spill today, but don't worry. A fresh pot's always brewing. Follow, subscribe, and share. And if you've got a topic or want to be a guest, slide into our DMs. Thanks for listening to Coffee with Cosa Bella. Until next time, stay caffeinated.