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[00:00:00] Discounting your weekly meal prep services to get a new client or even giving away a service can be a strategic decision depending on a bunch of factors, but it can also create some big problems for your business. Hey there, Chef Shelley here. I help passionate cooks just like you start a personal chef business so that you can get paid to do what you love, have fun cooking for clients who love you and love your food.
while working when you want, making what you want, doing weekly meal prep services, small caterings and other services. So if that’s something you’re interested in, get my free guide in the description below on how to do weekly meal prep services for clients. So a lot of times when passionate cooks are trying to start a personal chef business, they’re not really committed to their pricing.
So they think if they lower their prices, it’ll be, you know, easier to get that client started. [00:01:00] And to be honest, that’s not true very often. So if you’re thinking about Thinking about giving a discount, running 50 percent off, or even giving one free. Here’s some considerations that you’re going to want to keep in mind to make sure you are doing it from a strategic business decision, not just a lack of clients drama, right?
Number one, value perception. Discounting sometimes can devalue your services in the eye of potential clients. And I know that sounds weird, but when you give someone 50 percent out the first time and you’re thinking that they’re going to then pay your regular price every time after that, It can make a potential client kind of think that, well, if you can do it for 50 percent off now, why can’t you do it for that all the time?
Or at least do it for [00:02:00] 25 percent off. And they might even think that your regular prices are inflated. When you know that that’s not true, you have very mindfully thought about everything that goes into all the work behind the scenes that a client doesn’t even see. That is how you have priced your weekly meal prep services for regular clients.
So when you discount, sometimes it can undermine that pricing that you have regularly. Number two. Almost similarly, this is quality perception. When you’re giving someone a discount or giving someone something for free, or even if you’re trying to underprice everyone else in your area to get clients, You know, that just sends a message to people that your services are of lower quality, really.
And at the end of the day, I say this all the time, I might even say it later in this video, [00:03:00] the people that want to have a personal chef, are not necessarily the ones that are the most price sensitive, right? Not everyone is going to have or can have a personal chef and that’s okay. There are tons of ready to eat meal options that fit anyone on every budget, but having a personal chef Prepare a weekly meal service for them is a premium service.
And the last thing you want to do is give someone the perception that because you’re priced under everything else, that it’s actually lower quality. That just leads them to kind of comparing you with things like those meal subscription boxes. And this is not that. This is a service, right? That’s why we call it meal prep services, personal chef services.
Number three, client expectations. Offering discounts or free services can sometimes set a precedent. And [00:04:00] what that means is the client is going to expect this deal all the time, or they’re going to tell other people about it, and they’re going to expect it. Now this can make it really difficult for you to sustain, you know, a good profit and living out of your business.
If you’re having to discount too often, if other people are asking for the same thing, especially if you have trouble saying no, this can really affect your money. Number four, your target market, your specialty, your niche, your niche. So think about who you are marketing to and what their expectations are, right?
I kind of mentioned this before. Some clients are going to be a little bit more price sensitive, but most of the people who are hiring personal chefs are prioritized prioritizing. other things [00:05:00] like quality, like the benefits to them, how they don’t eat, either don’t want to take the time or they need help with their health or they just hate to cook.
Right? So, Most of those people are willing to pay for the service of having a personal chef. It is not something that they can get pre made at the grocery store and they are wanting that premium service. Number five, your business image. All right, when you’re discounting all the time, it can really harm your image as someone who’s offering a premium service.
I say I’ve said it 100 times just now, and I’ll say it again. Having a personal chef is a premium service. It’s not for everyone and that’s a hundred percent. Okay again There are a few thousand personal chefs in the United States and in Canada. There are [00:06:00] Hundreds of thousands of people who would like to have a personal chef It is not meant to be the cheapest option available, right?
it’s important to maintain that balance between offering value and and preserving your services perceived worth. So take this all into consideration when you’re thinking about offering a discount because one of the worst ways to discount is to do it on the fly off the top of your head. When somebody puts you on the spot, okay, this is not the time or place to make a solid, educated, thoughtful business decision, right?
So you want to take these things into consideration and make your decisions ahead of time. Occasional discounts or promotions might be a good idea. 100 percent effective in attracting new clients or incentivizing repeat [00:07:00] business. You just have to think long term what about the potential impact on your business, your profitability, all that kind of stuff, right?
Really at the end of the day, it’s much better to emphasize the value of your service, your high customer satisfaction, all the benefits to the client, and maintaining a premium professional image for your business. In the long term, this is going to be a lot more effective. So if you, again, do choose to discount, Be sure that you’re really confident in your mind that it’s for a first service only, or it’s just for new clients, their first time, or that, you know, why you’re doing it, how often you’re doing it, and who it’s for.
Because the clients are out there, but you want to make sure that you’re putting your premium service business forward in the best way possible, so that you can get the best clients who [00:08:00] are hungry for what you’re cooking.

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