Pricing History & Evolution

Over the years there has been a significant evolution in our program pricing. In the early 2007 days the rate was $6500 for 5 days of individual intensive and 12 weekly follow-up sessions. The intensives were Monday – Friday from 9:00 – Noon.

The rates were set because we didn’t have any models. Then, as now, no one does what we do or the way we do it. In fact, we’ve had a number of clients who were professions in marketing who kept pointing out that we could double or triple our gross income “if we’d only…” each work independently, do groups, and so on.

We would point out that we actually liked providing you with services that helped, were confidential, and allowed many options. We weren’t “like anyone else” and didn’t care to be. Not their spa-like atmosphere, AA meeting, <10% “success” rates, and revolving doors.

Not to mention that we really liked working together.

Pricing stayed there and we were getting along okay, especially after hiring small business consultant Charlie Cook for a year. He helped us with any number of questions and also led us to our Master Web Consultant, Tanya Beaudoin in Ontario, Canada, who is our webmaster and has formatted this and every other Newsletter. Best money we’ve ever spent.

Next came Gabriella Glaser and her best-selling book Her Best-Kept Secret and its impact on women’s alcohol use and regaining control. The last chapter contained large section on one of our former clients and the unique work we did and continue to do. Nothing like making the Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and others to boost business.

Yes, the price went up as demand nearly overwhelmed us, though no one ever complained about the $12,500 tab, even those women who flew in from India, New Zealand, nor those who walked in from two blocks away in Palos Verdes.

That’s where thing stayed until three years ago. Business was slowing and, really, so were we. The practice was still expensive to run and we had been contemplating morphing to an on-line approach which would allow more people the option and let us condense things a bit.

November 30, 2018 we closed the physical office in Palos Verdes. I think it was one of the hardest days either of us has ever had.

That did put us ahead of the unknown, but approaching, pandemic catastrophe.

We started, given reduced costs, to restructure our offerings. The hallmark two of us/one of you remains,, of course. Now it’s Zoom instead of across the conference table we sat at then and I sit at typing this. It’s now four days of intensive and four weeks of follow-up sessions with more available as you, the client, finds desirable.

All of this has lowered the base cost to $5,500.

Amazing what structural changes can accomplish without diluting substance.

The base hasn’t changed: individual; confidential; medically assisted as desired; research and outcome based; YOUR outcome preference; self-pay only.

While most of these points are fairly obvious, the self-pay only isn’t always applauded. “I can’t use my insurance?” Nope.

Two reasons: a) insurance use breaks confidentiality as insurance records are not confidential. No, not even medical insurance. Your doctor can’t report you but your insurance carrier can, does and will.

b) paying motivates. As it’s said, “If you don’t have any skin in the game…” Or put another way, if you don’t think you’re worth investing in, why should we?

Or put yet another way, why would we take unmotivated clients when we have motivated applicants?

That pretty well wraps up the state of affairs as they will be until January.