Coaching Call with educator Kristina Jareno

Kristina's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/kristinario_/

Automated Transcript:

Jonathan (00:00:00):
Hello, and welcome to ditching hourly. I'm Jonathan Stark. And today I'm joined by guest Kristina Jareno. Did I say that right?

Kristina (00:00:09):
Almost... Jareno.

Jonathan (00:00:10):
My apologies. Um, so Kristina, could you tell folks a little bit about who you are and what you do?

Kristina (00:00:17):
Sure. Um, hi everyone. I am a mom. I, my daughter is four I'm born and raised in long beach, California. I am starting a homeschool co-op and I am also an intern trainers and entertainer. So I make films and music and I've reached out to John to help me, um, regarding both of these industries and how to play hourly billing to both.

Jonathan (00:00:45):
Yes. Okay, great. Um, so let's, so you sent an email, thanks for that. And you talked, um, let's focus on the schooling piece first because I think that's, um, that's, uh, I could be wrong, but I feel like that one has more moving parts. So why don't you give folks a little bit of a backstory on how you came to put that together? What, what need you feel like it's addressing or you want it to address?

Kristina (00:01:11):
Sure. Um, so my daughters for a couple of years ago around when she was two, um, I started having the itch to really quote unquote, get back to my career, um, or just have help with childcare so that I could have some me time as a mom. Um, so I started researching different daycares and preschools in schools, and that journey led me to tour like, you know, over 25 to 30 schools in Los Angeles. And this was like Montessori, organic daycares, Waldorf Reggio, progressive private schools, like elementary on. And I didn't know what I was looking for at the time I was looking for emotional safety. I was looking for, um, I was also looking for parent education and that journey led me to starting my own co-op um, you know, uh, we'll be working with, uh, uh, Ryan associates and PT instructor to kind of help all the parents. Um, and that's kind of how I, I ended up coming to starting it over at the end of this two year journey is really out of necessity just because I couldn't find what I was looking for.

Jonathan (00:02:26):
Hmm. Okay. So can you drill into those? You use two terms though. I'm not familiar with Bri associate and PDT.

Kristina (00:02:35):
Um, so arise associate rise stands for resources for infant educators. And I found out about raw resources for infant educators. Um, actually from one of the co-ops that I, um, was touring. And when I found them, my daughter was too young to enroll at the time and I didn't want to wait a whole year to start getting, um, you know, educated as a parent. The reason why I liked them was because did like monthly workshops and it was parent participation. So parents were really, really, really, really involved in given support and guidance and that's what I was craving. And so I asked them if there were any podcasts or resources or books, people to, to look out for, um, just to get started. And they recommended Janet Lansbury as podcasts and resources for infant educators, which I think is one of the, kind of more becoming more mainstream approaches to respectful parenting.

Kristina (00:03:30):
Um, and then parent effectiveness training is also another approach that some rye associates, um, recommend for after age two, because resources for in financial cares is more for infants and up to age two. So after age two, when they start getting more conversational, they want, uh, collaborative problem solving is more required. And like in a conscious awareness of your, uh, abuse or lack of abuse of, of your authority and power is more required. So PT is really, really great. It stands for parent effectiveness training and it was created by, uh, Thomas Gordon. Who's a psychologist that was nominated for the Nobel peace prize. Right. So, um, those two approaches were like the main things that I sunk my teeth into in addition to self directed education, which I think I saw on one of your videos, you're also a homeschooler, always willing parents. Yup. Cool. You, it,

Jonathan (00:04:31):
So, okay. So now you, uh, you weren't finding what you were looking for, so you decided to, uh, take a leadership role and put something together. What, and you said it was, uh, a co-op. So can you kind of, that's all a black box to me. So can you kind of describe what that structure means? I mean, I have a vague, vague understanding of what co-op like food market is, but like what, what's the structure, if you could just make it kind of more tangible for me?

Kristina (00:05:02):
Yeah. Um, well, uh, from what, from what I know from the preschools that I've toured and I've toured a few different co-ops here in LA, um, it's basically parents, uh, it's like a preschool, um, where parents can volunteer in the classroom, um, to be more involved and kind of witnessed what their child is being exposed to from the education standpoint to the people, teaching them to the other families that are involved and their children. Um, so it's basically parents coming together. Um, usually the premise of it is if parents are volunteering, then there's more resources in the classroom. Um, and there, that means that your tuition is going to be, I don't know, cheaper. Um, although I've found that some co some parent participation clubs and preschools, they can, even if they're both high end or depending on what their product is or what, you know, education being the product, the quality of the education or the, um, the environment they're providing, it could be like the same price anyway. So, um, but it's basically parents coming together as a village and, um, collaborating with each other, arranging for childcare, with a lead teacher, like a director and other lead teachers.

Jonathan (00:06:30):
Okay. Yeah. Okay. That, that clicks with me because, uh, there are homeschool organizations around here that have a similar sort of thing like that. They, yeah. That, you know, it's kind of like, um, volunteer to teach, uh, Oh, you know, how to play violin. Could you teach a violin class, that kind of stuff, you know, for, not for, uh, preschoolers, but, um, so sort of similar sort of, yeah, I sort of get the idea. And then it's a question of, um, I'm kind of stuck on the, I'm kind of stuck at the beginning where you were like, I was looking, you know, this, this small child and I'm looking for some meantime, but now you're going to be with the, with the kid, all the kids anyway, um, is this is really for parents, for parents who don't work or what's, what's the, is it,

Kristina (00:07:21):
So the structure of what the unicorn is thing that I'm creating? Yeah. I can go straight into it. Um, well, the reason why I'm creating this, this thing, and this is, it's like a preschool club, except that when the child, when any of the children turn age six, they will, they, all they have to do is file a PSA. Um, and then, which is the private private school affidavit. And that's for you to legally become like, uh, uh, an unschooler, I should say, or like a homeschool, or if you want more control, because if you don't have a PSA and you're a homeschooler, then that means that you're going to adhere to the state mandated curriculum, um, through different, through a charter, like I lead or inspire or whatever.

Jonathan (00:08:06):
I believe that's different from state to state, but that's how it happened.

Kristina (00:08:10):
Yeah. Sorry in California here. Um, that's how it is. Um, so it's kind of like, um, world schooling or unschooling together type of a thing. And it's really attachment based because my concern as a parent was that I like I was going to enroll my child. And then because I've done a lot of kind of trauma work in therapy on myself and I, that meant that I was like really conscious of attachment theory and attachment styles, even. So I had a concern that my child was going to make all of these attachments to a space, to primary attachment caregivers, which are the other head teachers or the other parents. And then the, and then the friends, and then it's kindergarten time. And then you have to break all of that. And then you have to break all of it each year, because that's kind of how the structure of the school is.

Kristina (00:09:01):
You don't have like the same teacher each time. Waldorf is a little bit different. Waldorf is like one teacher for like first grade to eighth, I think, um, which is really cool, but I had a concern about that. And then I also had a concern because, um, I didn't want there to, I didn't want to have to deal with the dysfunction that comes with, um, even in a co-op setting where parents have different commitments and different parenting styles and different desires. Like not every parent is gonna, you know, want to look at their stuff. Even if they say they do not, every parent is going to want to study, um, you know, or, or take class with something like resources for admin educators or parent effectiveness training to actually get some in the field skills of how to deal with your child and how to negotiate and how to deal with conflicts and different things.

Kristina (00:10:03):
So I didn't want to deal with the dysfunction that comes along with me not owning that business and the directors deciding well, I mean, I'm okay with stomaching that because I have a business to run and I'm licensed for this many kids and I have to survive, you know, I have to make a profit with this business. So with these, with these, with this family, I'm willing to bring that in. But then what does that do with my child and myself? Like my child's just going to be a sitting duck because I'm the one I, I don't want to be arrogant or anything, but like, like say I'm a parent. Like, let's just say if I was a parent that was like one of the, or the most anal and neurotic about psychological health and emotional safety, that automatically means that my child is gonna be less prone to certain dysfunctional behaviors than other children. And everyone's on a spectrum. I'm not perfect at all, but I'm saying that it's just different when I'm, when I'm hanging out with, like, let's say other parents from my, from my classes and it's all, there's like a collaboration together. It's like, I have a trust with you that if something comes up, I don't have to worry about what you're going to say to my child, because we're on the same page about the detriments of a, B and C and how to practically handle it.

Jonathan (00:11:24):
Yeah. So basically you wanted to make sure that anybody who was, um, I guess it's not teachers, it's not, but the, the adults in the room are basically all on the same page. Right. So, so that you all kind of have the same worldview about this educational situation. I don't know what to call it exactly. But you have about how the children would be treated. So, yeah. Okay. So, all right. Well, that makes perfect sense. I mean, regardless of, of where you put yourself on the, you know, if you're like the, the most hands-off person ever, and it's just like you figure it out kid, or, um, or, you know, the other end of that spectrum it, whether the dear listener agrees with either approach is irrelevant. The point is that your goal is to have a bunch of, um, adults interacting with the kids in a particular way, so fine, whatever that way is that that's perfectly reasonable. Um, okay. So, so is, is this, where, where are we in the phase here? Are you, is it, is it actually started or is this still an idea? It's not clear to me if, um, you know, you've already launched or,

Kristina (00:12:31):
Um, so I have some, I have, I've tried to launch it a couple of times, um, in that just kind of posting on different Facebook groups to gain interest on like kind of a beta testing. Like, would someone be interested in this kind of thing? Um, the link that I sent you, um, it's still wonder school listing wonder school is a really cool organization, uh, platform that they help people launch micro schools and preschools nature based programs, whatever for kids. Yeah. Um, so I basically what I've done so far, it's just to create the relationships and the alliances. So what I've done is to make like the structure of it, like what, where it would be located, how many times it would meet, what would be required of parents, um, who right now I've been doing interviews with, who would be the lead facilitator? I, of course, would be the, the, um, the program director and who would be the village.

Kristina (00:13:37):
I call it the village mentor. It's basically the person that's going to be guiding, um, the expert, I guess, the person that's going to be guiding the entire village of parents and having bimonthly conferences with everyone. So I've created all of those alliances and just materialized it in what you see. And the only thing that, uh, is holding me back from doing pre enrollments right now is just, um, finalizing the budget, finalizing what I'm going to offer for the educator, which is why I reached out. Um, and then securing the, I have a few candidates or a couple of candidates right now. Um, and just deciding upon the person that I'm going to go to, and then I'll be doing licensing and all that stuff with.

Jonathan (00:14:24):
Okay. Yep. All right. So there's a ton, there's so many factors here. So, um, what, is there a facility? I don't think you've mentioned a facility

Kristina (00:14:34):
Based out of my house.

Jonathan (00:14:35):
Okay. All right. Perfect. Because my next question was going to be capacity. So what do you imagine is the capacity, at least in this first iteration, uh, in terms of number of families or individuals,

Kristina (00:14:49):
I'm a small childcare. So I can only get approved for a small childcare license versus a large one. So a small one is up to eight children. Large one is I think, 12 to 14. Okay.

Jonathan (00:15:05):
All right. It's like,

Kristina (00:15:06):
You get to almost double, I think.

Jonathan (00:15:09):
Okay. Um, so eight children and it would be, you know, like I live behind a Montessori school and they seem to have two shifts. There's like a, there's like a morning shift and an afternoon shift in the morning shift is the littler kids. I'm going to guess they're about four or five just from looking at it, just from seeing them. And then the older kids are maybe six, seven, eight ish, six or seven ish. Um, would you, would that be this, I don't imagine that this age group, it would be a full day thing, right? Or is it

Kristina (00:15:42):
No, it, well, that's the thing is, cause I, um, you know, I'm wanting it to be for parents that want to be more involved or are already homeschoolers. So it would be a three-day week thing for, for part-time. Um, so it's like, yeah, you're exactly right. Age eight to I'm sorry, age two to six or two to seven. Um, and it would be mixed age. Um, and Monday, Wednesday, Friday for like four hours would be the group time. Something unicorn like that I've created is to, um, budget into the schedule primary attachment building, which is basically one-on-one time with the lead teacher, uh, to have one-on-one time with each child. So, um, like kind of in the home for four hours, it's kind of like an, a nanny preschool co-op hybrid because what I found was if the teacher is just, there's not, if the teacher is just in the group setting, you don't really get to know each child, um, and especially get to know like, okay, if you have some sort of behavioral thing, let's, I don't want to be extreme and call it dysfunction, but let's say like some sort of challenge that you're having the child or multiple children in the classroom.

Kristina (00:17:11):
And if you, you see, you can only, like, you can't really stop it. If you don't get to the root of like, are they getting their needs met at home? Or like, what is the behavior like, you know, you can't really get into that or really connected with that. So that's why I've built that in, um, it's just to prepare my basis for that kind of, um, challenge, but also for the, for the child's sake, because you know, many, many families want to just hire a private nanny cause they want that primary attachment. They want that kind of long-term um, uh, they want that long-term relationship, but at the same time that doesn't, it doesn't take care of the, um, the need of how am I going to get my child to have safe friendships with other parents that I trust as well? Like how are we going to have support otherwise I'm just dealing with it all the time.

Jonathan (00:18:10):
Right. Okay. So, so when you say the primary teacher would have one-on-one time with the kids, you're talking about the primary teacher going to their house. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Kristina (00:18:19):
So it would, so I've basically created a full-time schedule for a teacher, like a 40 hour type of, so basically I cut it down to six kids, each having a four hour block with that teacher and then a four hour block, three times a week in a group setting. And then each, each of the six families get a 30 minute conference with that lead facilitator to discuss the week to discuss what's going on with their kid. What, what they're off about with other kids or whatever, whatever can be resolved in whatever cannot be resolved with that lead facilitator would then go on to be adjusted and bimonthly conference with the rice associate and PT instructor. So that's kind of how it,

Jonathan (00:19:07):
Okay. So, so in, in the, the primary teacher, there's, I mean the word primary means one, but is, is there just one or is it one per child? Is it like one

Kristina (00:19:20):
Like it's yeah, yeah. One for one for the whole school, I call it a lead facilitator. So it's basically the person that is the one objective party who is not a parent of anyone and their job is basically, um, to model the skills they're going to be more trained in Ryan PDT or more proficient in them then. So, so when the parents are volunteering, they're kind of practicing with that person.

Jonathan (00:19:49):
Got it. Yeah. Right. And you said that at the end of the day, that works out to about a full-time schedule for that person between, between the, the group and the individual. Okay. All right. And that person is not one of the parents. So that person is clearly a fully paid position. Yes. And did you say you were licensed for eight kids, but you're only going to do the schedule only allows for six,

Kristina (00:20:17):
The schedule I've created, worked out for six. And the reason for that was because I was concerned when I was concerned about COVID. I mean, obviously I can make more profit if I can put two more kids in there. And I would just, I would simply just add, you know, I would either cut everyone's one-on-one time to three hours to fit them in, or I would just add on a Saturday, if the person is wanting to work from Monday to Saturday, the, the, the challenge I got was because I found a candidate that I really liked and originally told me they wanted a full-time position. And then they told me, well, I should have said full-time income. I would like to be able to work three, three days a week and work 12 hours versus 40. Okay. And in addition to that, I don't know how much, how much longer I want to do this.

Kristina (00:21:06):
I read four hour work week and I want to be independently wealthy. I'm sure. You know, like, so the, the question of how is the ceiling going to be broken as far as like, you know, is the raise, is it, is it going to that, that question is, um, I feel is always going to be a concern if I'm working within this hourly structure. Cause I don't think anyone wants to work for like 30 or 40 an hour for the rest of their lives and working 40 hours a week for like three decades. I don't think, you know. Yeah. So that's why I'm like, should I hire two primary educators or lead facilitators and then say, Hey, you're both only going to work part-time and this is why the, the other 20 hours, like, if you want, I'll set you guys up all of us up all of us, meaning just three people as kind of more consultancy so that you can spend 20 hours that you can't not do the in-person part. But if you want to make, if you want to work, you know, an extra day and do you know what I mean, trying to create a different type of [inaudible].

Jonathan (00:22:14):
Right. So that there's incentives and all of that. So, so at this level, so with the small license, and if you're doing, let's just say six or eight kids around there. Yeah. You think you could theoretically handle it with three employees. So three people who aren't parents of the kids in the program, plus some parental volunteering. I'm assuming, let's say, let's say three, uh, equivalent of three full-time people. Right. So even,

Kristina (00:22:50):
Oh yeah. It would be, it would, it would be three, it would be three part-time or two, like full-time.

Jonathan (00:23:00):
Okay. So in you being one of the full-time

Kristina (00:23:03):
Yes. Even though, like that's only, like, my goal is to be a little bit more hands off eventually, but it's still ironic. Right. I wanted help with childcare and then I'm starting this thing and then I'm going to be like more involved. But I honestly think if I set it up, I could be having more and more time to myself because it's literally, if I don't make this, then it's like, I'll have time to myself, but I'm going to be an anxiety all the time. Like trying to stomach what my child is going to what's happening. Do you know what I mean? I'm grading this so I can be hands off a little bit more and relax.

Jonathan (00:23:41):
Uh that's. I, it is funny, um, what you got here, what you've got here is an structure. So you've created a structure, um, and you've got a really strong worldview. And if you can find, uh, you know, let's say each, each family only has one child that would be in this program. If you can find six families that, that agree with this worldview and they want to be in this tribe, they want you to sort of lead them in this portion of their lives. You know, their children's education, early education. Um, let's just, let's just assume for the time being, you can find six families like that. And then let's just assume you can find, uh, the lead facilitators that kind of have their hearts in the right place. Like they actually want to do this because this is not a great way to make a million dollars. If you're, you know, they could go work at a Starbucks and not have to think about anything. So of course you're going to, and I know obviously people that do have their heart in the right place exists. So let's just say you can find them. And you know, they're not like giant Tim Ferris fans and they want to do

Kristina (00:24:53):
Well. That's the thing is that if I, if my heart is in the right place, am I, that's why I'm like, can I create something for someone to, to take this journey on with me and still be a Tom Ferriss fan, like, you know, 20 hours a week you're with these children, the other 20 hours, we can build your wealth and record all the bi-monthly conferences and the, and the weekly conferences that they do with the, with the families, because they're going to be providing value during those conferences each week. Do you know what I mean? Yeah,

Jonathan (00:25:24):
I get it. Um, it does feel like there are much easier ways to, to, to have a four hour work week than something like this. This is extremely complicated. It is, it's extremely complicated. You could sell vitamins online and, and have more luck, you know, or not more luck necessarily, but it would be a lot less to worry about. So you kind of have to decide, is this really the what's the competing goal? Like, are you more, and I don't mean you, I mean, in general. So like when, when, when one is deciding to start a business, you know what you need to understand the motivations, like if your motivations, so like, what's the, what's the mission is the, is the V or what's the vision is the mission to revolutionize the way that, you know, young children are, you get their sort of first taste of education or, um, to, you know, is there a bigger picture mission, or is it a little bit more, um, income focused or lifestyle focus, which is totally fine.

Jonathan (00:26:27):
You know, if you want to have a lifestyle business or you want to maybe even something bigger than a lifestyle business is this that's fine. As long as you know that, but those two things do not necessarily overlap, uh, because the, the path of doing a really complicated that you're, I shouldn't, I keep saying complicated, it's complicated in the sense that you have to get an enormous amount of buy-in from a, a decent sized people group of people. So, you know, starting off with, with, um, you know, you've got to, it's just a very specific kind of parent, it's a very specific kind of employee. Um, yeah. And I could just, you know, there are, there are easier ways to make money online. You know, that that would afford you probably just as much money, but we can, let's talk about money next. So let's say, let's say that you are in a mission and the desire to create a new, you know, the unicorn school call it this new structure that is fundamentally different from anything else that's out there.

Jonathan (00:27:32):
It's for a very specific kind of parent. There's not, there's not millions of them, but there might be hundreds of thousands of them who want to have this kind of experience. Okay. That's a big market, big enough market. Um, the how from the employee standpoint, uh, what I'm wrestling with is which motivations, which incentives are going to be the most effective. So let's just start with the easy one. Let's say that you, in order to get people that you trust that are going to stick around, you need to pay them $200,000 a year. So, you know, you're, you're, uh, you've got you and one lead facilitator. So right off the bat, you need basically call it $500,000 a year, fully loaded costs. So, you know, you're paying like whatever you're paying for at least FICA and 500 grand. Okay. So that's basically a hundred grand per family, roughly a little bit less than a hundred grand per family is, do you think that the money would motivate the right person? So this lead facilitator, do you think the money would motivate that person to actually be good and stay good at their job and stay with you? Or do you think that there needs to be something else? Do they need to, like, is there some other motivation that like the money wouldn't cut it or do you think the money would cut it?

Jonathan (00:29:08):
Um,

Kristina (00:29:10):
I think it's both because right now, because right now I'm working in the childcare industry paradigm, which is nanny's the cheapest nanny is going to go for 15. The most expensive line is going to go 15 an hour. That was just like the cheapest teacher or nanny who's going to go for that low. And then for the most skilled, you know, ride trained person is going to go between 40 and 60 an hour. Um, so the, that I've got is trying to negotiate, you know, like a hun in the low one, like a hundred thousand a year. Um, and the, even if I offered that, if I could find a way that could offer that, that the concern with that particular person was, um, them wanting that kind of income and wanting to only work three days a week. Um, and, and, uh, like not wanting to do this forever or wanting to be able to like, become independently wealthy. So it's either an incompatibility with that person. Yeah. Um, or it's something that I'm going to have to adjust with anyone that comes comes in. It's like everybody wants to be able to, to work less. So if I'm offering something of, Hey, if you're only on the field physically 20 hours and the other 20 hours, I could help you create other things. That's kind of

Jonathan (00:30:53):
Work. Full-time like lots of people work full-time. So I'm sure you'll be able to find someone who's not averse to working full-time. Yeah. Okay. So, but, and if you're offering a quarter of a million dollars in salary, you could probably find someone who used to run a school or, uh, was a principal or something that is certified in all the things that you want. And they're a lifelong educator and they, aren't looking to spend less time with kids. They're looking to spend more time with kids. That's true. Right. So I'm sure that person exists, uh, at, at that salary. So, you know, if, but see it, but I don't think the salary alone is gonna, is going to make anybody. I mean, I can guarantee you that money wouldn't make me want to do it. Like it's not my calling to spend my day with, you know, whatever six kids.

Jonathan (00:31:40):
And, and honestly, I driving around to their houses and not, it doesn't interest me there. It doesn't matter. You could pay me a million dollars. I wouldn't do it. Yes. So the money's not going to do the, money's not going to, um, it's not going to be the only solution you still need. You still need the right person. But if you, if your salary was in that range, you have an entirely different pool of people to choose from because they wouldn't be, you know, perhaps they're later in life and they're looking for, you know, reconnecting with their, their original experience of being an early education, uh, teach kindergarten teacher or whatever. And maybe they're looking at retirement and that, but they've still got like five good years. Um, they w whatever, I mean, I'm sure the person exists if you're, if you're, if the salary is up in adult territory, um, adult professional territory, I should say, I mean, plenty of adults don't make a quarter of a million dollars a year, but if the salary is up there, you're going to have an entirely different group of people are interested in, in talking, uh, if you're talking.

Jonathan (00:32:43):
Yeah. So if you're talking to a bunch of people who are currently consider themselves like gig workers and they're nannying on the side, that's that, that to me sounds like who you're talking to now is someone who kind of sees it as a side hustle or something to make ends meet while they figure out their online empire.

Kristina (00:33:00):
Uh, well, no, the, the one particular person I worked with, uh, has worked in early child, early childhood education, and has she was a nanny for high net worth families. Um, and so she's like tasted both of what it's like to be flown out on private jets, like just to nanny for a weekend for this, you know, family or, you know, working in a preschool. And what interested her with, you know, what I was creating was basically, obviously the structure I've created cuts down on the dysfunction. It positions her as a, as a collaborator or as a partner instead of like hands as you would call it to where it's like, you're my nanny. I'm going to tell you how to nanny my child. It's like, no, I want the lead facilitator to be so proficient in these skills that they model, what, what, you know, you're kind of like a TA or like helping to, um, to guide the parents,

Jonathan (00:33:59):
Brittany, you know, like your parents wrong.

Kristina (00:34:02):
Well, I, yeah. I want, I want parents who want, who want guidance, right?

Jonathan (00:34:07):
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And like I said before, I don't think, you know, I think it's, uh, um, the segment of the population that, that AE wants to parent in this way, B has a child in this age range, and C has the amount of money that they're going to have to pay to do something like this. It's probably pretty small, but it's way more than six. So, yeah. Right. So it's just a question of finding those people. And if you're on this mission, it would be, I think, well, either also located too, it's also not remote, so it's going to be located to your geography. Um, but you know, that's, uh, that's actually a plus and minus, because if you are active in your community, then people are gonna know about it and you're automatically where it is going to spread to the, uh, your demo, you know, your demographic.

Jonathan (00:34:53):
All right. So, so let's talk about, I mean, the, the conversation, uh, the email conversation originally started around value pricing. So this doesn't really strike me as an opportunity for value pricing in the narrowly defined way that I think about it. So in, in my, my definition is a little bit more narrow than the general description. So for me, value pricing is the perfect fit for project kind of work. And you could see this as a, you could kind of see the, you know, you know, age two and a half to six, you could see that as a, like a three and a half year project, but it doesn't, that would really be trying to shoe horn concept, uh, is where it doesn't belong. This feels more like a subscription model. It's not a subscription, but it's more like a subscription model. And, and, you know, people like Ron Baker would say that, that, you know, subscription models are like value pricing, 3.0 or 2.0, whatever.

Jonathan (00:35:56):
He says, it's in a sense you can value price it technically. Um, but the mechanics of setting the price are completely different than the mechanics of setting the price, a value price for a project, because a project, a client comes along or a buyer or a parent in this case, and they've got a project for you. They, it, it has a desired end state. There's a desired outcome. There's a transformation that takes place in their life. That that is the metric for success. So in this case, it could, you know, just, this is really stretching it and could potentially be something that's impossible to commit to any way. But let's say someone got a child with a really bad behavior, you know, really intense behavioral issues that are causing them to act out in ways that are not socially acceptable. And the PR the project is make that stop happening, you know, and you can say, okay, this, this is a really bad example of value pricing because it's B to C, but, um, uh, but you could put a price on that.

Jonathan (00:36:58):
Like the parent, not you, but the parent could put a price on that. They would say they would, there's an amount of money that they'd be willing to spend to improve this condition. So, you know, and it's going to depend on how much money they have their buying power. It's going to depend on how severe the situation is, how much pain they're in. And it's going to depend on, uh, who they perceive to be the alternatives to hiring you or what they perceive to be the alternatives to hiring you. So those three factors of max price, formula factors crop in crop up when you're doing a value pricing, uh, engagement. So let's, let's, let's do a little bit less sensitive. One, let's say someone came to you and said, Hey, we want, we want you to design a school for us. I want you to design a curriculum or put together a structure for us.

Jonathan (00:37:42):
And you'd say, okay, how'd you measure the success? How would, you know, if it was, if I hit a home run, how would, you know, if I totally failed? And it just blew up in our faces and you would, you'd talk with a specific potential buyer, get a sense of what the outcome is worth to them. And you would come up with ways that you could help them get closer to that goal at different price points, and then they could pick a price. So it's, so the mechanics of value pricing that's to me, that's value pricing the way I talk about it. Um, when you're value pricing, a group, the mechanics are completely different. So I don't even use the same term, even though technically, you know, value always comes into a buying decision. Uh, I wouldn't talk about it, like value pricing. What I would do is, um, treat it more like a subscription-based product. I service that has

Jonathan (00:38:32):
A, it has

Jonathan (00:38:36):
A number of components because first it's got a dollar amount that would be attached to it. Let's say it's a hundred thousand dollars a year. And, uh, plus there's a time commitment. They, the parent needs to volunteer for X number of sessions. They probably I'm sure they have to go through an approval process. Like I assume that they would have to apply and you'd meet with them. And all of that,

Kristina (00:39:00):
There's only a once a month that they'd have to volunteer

Jonathan (00:39:04):
Only once a month.

Kristina (00:39:07):
There's only once, once a month that, uh, they would, uh, one parent would have to volunteer.

Jonathan (00:39:14):
Was it, but would there be an application process? Like, would you interview them before accepting them?

Kristina (00:39:18):
Exactly. Yeah. We'd have to see it. Yeah.

Jonathan (00:39:21):
If they're on the same page. Yeah. Okay. So then, so that's not once a month, that's not a huge commitment, but for someone who has a full-time job, that's problematic. So not everyone's going to want to do that. It's, it's part of the payment air quotes, part of their, um, shared accountability of their shared responsibility. Um, so there's that, and then they need to be, uh, presumably if the lead facilitator is going to be modeling behavior in the home, then the parent needs to be present for that. Right. So it's not like a babysitter's there and they can just go to the shopping.

Kristina (00:39:58):
Well, uh, initially yes. Uh, eventually they could view it as an opportunity for like, you know, a mother's helper type thing, meaning that they're there to help and they can be at the house, or they can not be in the initial stages because we're all, you know, mastering these things. The first 10 weeks of enrollment will include, uh, like a, like a weekly class so that everybody understands like the terminology and the things that we're doing, the practical things.

Jonathan (00:40:29):
Cool. Okay. Yeah. You've got it. So, yeah. So let's move into differentiators. So, so when, when parents who might be parents for you, so like parents that are kind of candidates to be your, what do you call them? Call it clients.

Kristina (00:40:44):
Yeah. I don't know. Village members,

Jonathan (00:40:49):
Your villagers. All right. So let's say, you know, Alison Bob or potential villagers, what else are they looking at? You know, when they're looking at like, Oh, this unicorn school is like, well, that's a hundred grand. It's very interesting. It's got all these different components and we, we support the mission. That's on the website here. What are the other things they're considering?

Kristina (00:41:10):
They're probably going to consider full-time care at that price. If like, if someone's paying 60 an hour for 40 hours a week, that's like 115 grand for a private nanny to be there full time for their kids. That's the alternative it's like, you could do that.

Jonathan (00:41:29):
Private nanny is about 150, a year hundred and 15. Yeah. All right. So you're cheaper than a private nanny plus you're educating the parents plus yeah.

Kristina (00:41:41):
The thing that, the thing that I can't do is I CA I can't like, I, I can't compete with the time that a private nanny is going to provide the private nanny is going to provide 40 plus hours a week at that price point. And I'm not providing that because I don't particularly think it's, um, like I'm trying to make it, it's more for families who spend more time with their children. And they, they kind of don't want to be full time with their children all the time, or are like, are unable to arrange free childcare with relatives or whoever, um, so that they can get time to themselves. It's, it's the, it's a part-time structure. Each child is not going to get full time, like ever from, from this structure.

Jonathan (00:42:30):
Okay. So, so private full-time private name is probably not a fair comparison then, because the villagers don't want that anyway. Okay. Maybe part-time one. Okay.

Kristina (00:42:41):
Um, a part-time a part-time line at that price point. Would, you know, then it would be less than that. It would be 60 to 80 grand a year for a part-time private nanny. Um, you could also look at like, I've done market research for competitors, like other part-time rye inspired programs, um, in LA. And they go for, for full-time for that program is going to be 2200 a month at most. Um, and then for part-time then would be in the 15, 15, 14, 1500 Mark for a month. So that's originally what I was pricing it at. I was originally pricing it to be competitive with, you know, what else is comparable, which is a part-time preschool program that is right. Inspired.

Kristina (00:43:42):
[inaudible]

Kristina (00:43:42):
It doesn't have the parent education aspect.

Jonathan (00:43:45):
Exactly. So if, and, uh, what else is different? Yeah. Part time.

Kristina (00:43:56):
It's just, it's impossible not to, to transform as a parent in this structure, because there, there's no way that you, you can be because there's feedback loops every week. There's no, it's usually a parent is going to want this, if they actually want to do parenting well, versus to just get help with childcare, with someone who's the best of the best. Like, you know, there are two different things,

Jonathan (00:44:20):
Right. That's my, that's, that's what I'm getting at. So is there, what are the other things that make it different? Is there, so like the parent thing, you know, it's kind of like the, I could see the tagline, like be the parent your kids actually want kind of, you know, it's, it's, it's more, yeah, it's more, I feel like it's more about the parent almost than the kids. Cause so let's, let's drill into the let's drill into the kids. How different is going. Is that the experience for the child between what you would offer in what a normal Ryan Spire part-time preschool experience or like the Montessori school behind my house?

Kristina (00:44:56):
Well, first off, it's going to be different because they're the, they're not there. The children are going to, this is like the whole soap box education thing about, um, the children are gonna be a lot more self-aware, um, they're going to be a lot more, um, they're going to have safer relationships. So if you don't want, if, if you want to be someone who wants to save in therapy for when your child is a teenager or an adult, you know, it's not save a fortune, but like, I, you know, th I feel like there's this movement where people are starting to understand that. And then in addition, or instead of a college fund, you're going to need a therapy fund. You know, because like, honestly, like me, if I look back on my own childhood, my own teens, my own therapy that I paid for as a young adult, that I didn't invent, that I could have invested in my own business or self-development in my college years.

Kristina (00:45:59):
And, and after college years, that's like thousands of dollars that I, and paint like paint, you cannot get that time back. You cannot get that life back. Like as someone who has survived, suicidal depression and someone who has survived self-harm and all of these mental health things, you cannot put a price tag on the absence of that. It's like, it's, you know, and a lot of it comes down to when it comes to addiction and mental health and all of these things, it comes down to attachment I've I've, you know, talked with I've had sessions with the pioneering psychologist, you know? Um, and it, it does, it does come down to what is, what was your, how healthy were your attachments? How, what was the level? There's a way there's a metric. How can you measure emotional safety in the home or psychological safety in the home? How can you measure emotional neglect? There are things that like, but they're, they're defined by the DSM of what is, what defines emotional neglect, what defines emotional abuse. And this structure is meant to decrease that emotional and psychological harm in the classroom and out of it. Because even if you did it in the classroom, you cannot, like, you're just putting a bandaid on it. You're not addressing, like, you know, it's like, it's a wasted effort to manage stuff that should be eliminated in the home. Like inefficient. Yeah. That was a sort of mission

Jonathan (00:47:30):
Statement there, like narrative about it. And it also indicates to me who your target market probably is. So people who have had experiences like yours, who now have kids and don't want their kids to have that same experience, but aren't equipped to do anything about it because of the behavior. Let's say their parents are teachers modeled to them. They don't know another way. They just know it. The outcome is not good. So for someone like that, that's been through years of therapy and had some scary stuff going on, then they might be, uh, that seems like those are people who would just be all over this, honestly. Yeah. Very excited about this idea. So there's really no. So there's no comparison, therefore, you shouldn't be modeling your prices on something that is apples to oranges. So, uh, it's also very interesting to me to consider the idea of, um, pressing this annually instead of monthly,

Kristina (00:48:30):
They do do that. They do do that on some school pages where they price it at a yearly tuition versus, um,

Jonathan (00:48:41):
Yeah. I mean, the private schools around us are not, not the same thing, but the private schools around here, you don't pay by the month. It's, it's an annual tuition and it's a lot. So, uh, and the schools have waiting lists. So there are people that have a lot of money that will pay for this sort of thing. Um, I mean, like the kindergarten next, like down the street from our house is $35,000 a year for like a generic kindergarten.

Kristina (00:49:08):
It's just really funny. Cause you're going to pay $35,000 a year. And I guarantee you like, you know, therapists that, that model with therapy, you're, you're going to be having 300, the 200 to 300 an hour each week for a number of months. It's still a price tag on that, you know? So I just, it's funny.

Jonathan (00:49:32):
Well, I think the, I mean, that's all that speaks to the rational mind a little bit, but it's also in the distant future. So I think the, I think the powerful, the more powerful angle is what you were saying about like that pain. You don't get that back like that doesn't get erased. You don't get that time back. There's a money component too, but that's nothing compared to the, the, the struggle, you know? Yeah. Like the, especially talking to a parent that like wouldn't, that has had bad experiences and is afraid that they're going to do the same thing, you know? So for that person, and if, you know, if this is a private jet kind of person, I don't think, you know, I don't think mid to high five figures or low six figures is out of the question. Cause it's not that it's not the same thing. It's, it's almost like it's more like parent training with some, with some daycare associated with it. That's how it feels. Yeah.

Kristina (00:50:30):
It's, it's a, it's like, um, parent training with, uh, with an on-field component. Cause as much, like, let's say if I created a digital product or like a workshop or like some sort of consultancy where parents could pick my brain every month, it's not going to make them, it's not going to make a difference if they don't practice it on the field. So what I'm providing is a structure where if they're located close to me, they could practice these things and yeah. Yeah. Because yeah, you, yeah, you can read a book all day long. It doesn't mean you're gonna know how to like be a master at basketball

Jonathan (00:51:14):
Of course, but the book's only $10 and going to, not everybody can afford a hundred thousand dollars a year for, for parent lab. Yeah. So for the people who can't then remote assistance or a book or course, or something as if that's the most they can afford, uh, that's the that's the most they can afford. Um, okay. So this, a lot of the, I think a lot of the, um, I think your differentiator, it seems really large. It seems really large. I don't know if there are other alternatives that you would list to something like this. I've never heard of anything, which doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but, uh, I am kind of somewhat in the demo cause we're homeschoolers. So it's kind of like, it's kind of like, we, it would, it would be good to have. I mean, it would be good to have more group experiences with the kids.

Jonathan (00:52:10):
Particularly my older one, he really likes being around lots of kids. Uh, and you know, and we had that, but not with the pandemic now it's been not so much so, but I can imagine someone who, uh, normally doesn't have some kind of regular structure for their kids to be socialized with other kids, especially if they enjoy that. And this is an interesting, uh, it's an interesting pitch to people who, um, I really, I really think that, yeah, I think that's a strong angle so that the, since it's located in, since it's regional, so it's, it's uh, ha they have to be people near you, a contributing factor to your success, or at least the prices that you can charge is going to have everything to do with how much wealth there is in your area. And like what the buying power is for people who are within a reasonable driving distance, uh, from your location. So assuming that you've got rich people nearby, then you could probably, I mean, that's what it is. Like if you have rich, rich people nearby, then you could, I mean, you could really, you could charge a lot more than $1,500 a month. Let's put it that way. Um,

Kristina (00:53:26):
It's like, it's, there's different price points to this still. If I was creating some, like if I was creating, like, let's say six families and Beverly Hills Belair and Brentwood, those are the premier type of neighborhoods near me. Yeah. Six, six families who are all high net worth, but they are wanting to, to lessen the dysfunction inside their home and with their, they want, you know, you don't make that type of wealth if you're not wanting your kid to like, have a happy different life. Um, yeah. So it's part-time anyway, because of that structure, you want to be able to have them do what they want to do within a day instead of be in a facility, forced to do whatever for eight hours a day. So I could do that there, where I'm located, where me and my daughter are, are in long beach. So that's why the 1500 a month price point is kind of, unless I'm going to downtown long beach. But another question is like to create this model that also allows for diversity, you know, so because of the in-person component, um, I can anyway, that's something that you want, but what I've been playing with is this in-person thing. And then as well as the digital things, so like creating virtual co-ops where, you know, kids are relating virtually and parents are participating virtually is, is like another thing, especially with the pandemic going on. Right. Um, but

Jonathan (00:55:08):
Yeah, so like from a product leader standpoint, that makes a lot of sense to me, it removes the geographic restriction and, you know, you could have something farther down the, the pricing ladder you could sell the model, you can say, here's the model. You need this kind of person, you need two people like this, they need to have these certifications. Uh, here's how you run, you know, once, once you have your proof of concept up and running and you have like glowing testimonials and successful kids and parents, you could say, Hey, here's this model and you can buy it to run a, you know, unicorn school near you, almost like a franchise type of thing where yeah. And then there's your four hour workweek. So, uh, you know, so I, obviously

Kristina (00:55:59):
I got a four hour work week out of this conversation.

Jonathan (00:56:03):
Yeah. All you have to do is prove the model and be, look wildly successful first. Um, so, okay. So it's, it's an interesting concept. You've got strong differentiators. Uh, there's probably a high desire among the, the tribe of right people, the villagers that you're looking for, there's going to be a high desire. So the, the factor that is unknown is the, um, the buying power. So that's, that's going to be the limiting factor, I think, on the, on the S the price ceiling, um, you know, like the, you know, the, there, we live near a couple of really expensive private schools and they have, you know, speaking to the diversity thing, they've got, um, scholarships and they have, uh, endowments, you know, so theoretically you could, uh, you know, do almost like an affirmative affirmative action kind of thing. I don't know. I don't actually know what I'm talking about, but, but I know like Harvard and, uh, expensive, higher education institutions have sort of a weighted scale for, um, you know, who gets admitted and how much financial aid they get. So you could imagine having a really high price tag and for people who, you know, don't qualify for financial aid, they pay that really high price tag. And that helps fund some of the people who can't afford the really high price tag, uh, how you work out the mechanics of that. I have no idea, but obviously people have figured that out. So it seems like a solved problem.

Jonathan (00:57:33):
Yeah. So

Kristina (00:57:34):
There's one school I'm thinking of in particular, that does, that, does that they charge tuition based on the household income, actually, it's like a person

Jonathan (00:57:45):
And that's in a way that's closer to value pricing than, than setting a fixed price and then kind of discounting for, with financial aid or whatever. But, um, yeah. And then the last thing that's kind of on my mind that there's something about monthly, there's something about the monthly subscription or the monthly model that I don't like. I understand that it, that it aligns with how people usually get paid and therefore probably makes it more affordable, more affordable in a cashflow sense, but there's the, it projects a lack of commitment that I don't love. So if the parent is like, if the parent is paying monthly, it stands to reason that they could pull the kid out in the middle of a school year or whatever, like an arc, is it, is this something that would have arcs like a traditional school year or does it kind of not matter? Like, and the other thing with the monthly here's, here's the behavior that I don't like, and you'd need to address this somehow is parents dropping in and out of it. So like, Oh, we're going to go on vacation for two months. So we're not going to pay for the next two months, but we'll be back in September. Like, that seems really disruptive to me. If, if it's not disruptive then fine. But if it feels disruptive, I wouldn't want to encourage that.

Kristina (00:59:06):
It is, I haven't figured out, um, an alternative for it. Other than like, for example, on, on that listing that I sent you when there's like different holidays, I say those holidays are optional because the person that we hire would still be available during those holidays, because not every family recognizes that as a holiday, you know, for cultural reasons or whatever. And I want to respect that. So, um, if it was a,

Jonathan (00:59:34):
I, I just think, you know, I think the approach is an annual, it feels, it's like, look, if you want to go on vacation fine, but that doesn't change the amount of money you're paying for the year. Just like with a private school. Yeah.

Kristina (00:59:48):
We're still going to be practicing as a parent while you're on vacation. And maybe some things, you know, something's going to hit the fan and you might need to call us and get some guidance. Yeah.

Jonathan (00:59:57):
Yeah. I'm feeling pretty strongly about not using a monthly payment model. Um, I know that complicates things, but, uh, your, your addressable that your capacity is so low, you know, six families that you want to, you want people that are committed to it, like committed to the thing. And aren't like, Oh, well, and not even thinking you want them to be not thinking about the money. That's the other thing you don't want every month, like here comes this $3,000 bill, or here comes this thousand dollar bill. Again, she's, that's more than our health insurance. I don't know if this is really working, you know, and you, in the first two months, they like chicken out because they haven't fully onboarded. They haven't fully got the benefits. They haven't fully committed. I F I feel like it really should be an annual fee. And if they choose not to show up for two weeks, because they went to Paris. Okay, well, you know, that's fine.

Kristina (01:00:55):
You still get these benefits or you can still meet up virtually if you want to pop it or whatever. Yeah,

Jonathan (01:01:00):
Exactly.

Kristina (01:01:03):
Okay. Um, I don't really know. I have a question about annual then, is that an a hundred percent paying for the year upfront? Or is that so someone coughing up a hundred thousand dollars upfront?

Jonathan (01:01:20):
Well, let's turn it around and say, why not do that?

Kristina (01:01:26):
Well, if they could then great. I just, I imagine that you've, I imagine that even the people that can, might, would they ask for a different option and should I offer it? Okay.

Jonathan (01:01:42):
Um, the other options, I think you've already listed other good options, which, which is this sort of, um, remote version where nobody's traveling around, um, maybe it's a bigger cohort, maybe it's multiple cohorts. Um, but the, the F the sort of resistance that you're feeling to imagining someone dropping a hundred grand upfront, um, there's a lot of ways to deal with that. So there's a couple of factors. One is that you're afraid. It sounds like from what you just said, you're afraid they're not going to trust you. Like, what if you just disappear with our money kind of thing. So you do have to address that problem. How are they going to trust that you're the real deal like that you're a flake and you're not going to take off. And, you know, and that's just a trust building exercise. So if it's a small community thing and it's word of mouth, and you've got a good track record in the community, um, you know, whatever you're active in some church or something, and everybody knows you, it's going to be easier to, to, uh, you know, uh, clear that hurdle.

Jonathan (01:02:44):
Um, and the other way is to lower the price so that the risk doesn't seem as severe. So maybe it's $50,000 a year. Maybe there's a pioneer program where, you know, the first year pioneers, you know, the village, they, you know, get this one-time $50,000 a year or $30,000 a year, whatever it is. And, uh, and then they're like, yeah, they're bought in on the concept. They believe in the worldview. So here's, here's a, let me paint a picture for you. Let's say you go on, um, sort of a podcasting tour, uh, PR you try and do a lot of PR where you beat this drum about the mission to break the chain of emotional abuse. And here's how you do it. And, uh, we look like, I don't want to say daycare. We look like a traditional private nanny, or we look like you might compare us to a private part-time preschool, but that's not what we are.

Jonathan (01:03:42):
There's a component of kids in a room with adults there, but this is more about modeling a good parenting for parents who have never had that model. Right? So you go around and you're talking about this P it's resonating with people, and you end up on, um, NPR. Then you're going to have zero problems selling this, right. Because you've got a mission and it's going to resonate. It might not resonate with anybody. I feel like it will though. So it resonates with some people and you become like, like educator to the stars. And you know what I mean? Then they're going to not think twice about it because they trust you because of the third-party validation and the social proof. So right now it feels impossible. Probably feels impossible to imagine six people coughing up a hundred grand, but that's because they don't know you yet. You're not famous yet. If you were famous, it'd be no problem.

Kristina (01:04:37):
I think it, it doesn't feel impossible to find the people that can, because if I met six people in these different, you know, neighborhoods that I just mentioned, you know, that wouldn't, it wouldn't be an issue of finding the people that can, I feel like what I'm ill equipped with is to be able to do the role playing like pushback stuff, where it, like, if they give me pushback or something, even though they can, how me not being experienced in being able to what to say, where to stand, what energy to give, push back. Like if we played right now, if I was like, okay, this is going to cost a hundred thousand a year or 150,000 a year, you can go and hire. I have a great alternative nanny agency, if you'd rather prefer a private nanny for full-time care. Cause that's what you want. Yeah.

Jonathan (01:05:30):
Well, you're already, you're already talking me out of it. You didn't, if we're role-playing

Kristina (01:05:36):
Lot to say, but that that's not what I'm selling. I'm like, that's not going to save you the dysfunction, right?

Jonathan (01:05:41):
No, no, no, no. I know. I know, but leave some more space in there. Right. So, so I'll say, well, how this program sounds really interesting. How much is it

Kristina (01:05:49):
A hundred thousand dollars a year

Jonathan (01:05:52):
Stop. Yes, exactly. Stop there. Like a hundred thousand dollars. I could get a full-time nanny for that.

Kristina (01:05:58):
Yeah. You could

Jonathan (01:06:02):
Perfect. Exactly. Exactly.

Kristina (01:06:04):
I w I watched your a thing, so I,

Jonathan (01:06:07):
Yeah. That's exactly it. Yeah. That's exactly it. Go ahead. If that's what you want. That's not what we are. So it's as simple as that, honestly. So if they, if they came to you, so if you're getting inbound leads and you're not cold calling people and knocking on doors, but if, if your name is out there and people are coming to you, they believe that you have something for them because they aren't going to waste their time. Talking to some, someone who they don't believe could maybe improve their lives. So, you know, already that they are considering it, they could be misunderstanding what it is in which case you, you know, you need to improve your marketing, make it more clear, increase the clarity, and then clarify with them on the, on the meeting, what actually is involved. And then when they get to the point where I honestly, I just put the price tag on the website, and then nobody is no one will even call you unless they think that's something they can afford.

Jonathan (01:06:59):
Like maybe, you know, you put the price on the website, it's a hundred grand a year. Uh, and you know, um, uh, I don't know what you would call it, uh, financial aid available or whatever. And then some like high net worth individuals are not going to want to say, Oh yeah, we got financial aid to put our kid in this unicorn program. You know, they're just going to pay it. It's all about, I think the, the bigger thing is, um, I mean, you have, there's a whole bunch of steps still like proving the model, running it a couple of times, make sure that, that, you know, there's nothing is ever, you know, no plan survives contact with the enemy. There's going to be lots of surprises. Um, but if you, uh, if you get over that and you get over those hurdles and youth and you, I'm not perfect, but you know, create like a well-oiled machine. You've got a good process. You're really happy with it. You make some tweaks, you're getting great testimonials. And, uh, you know, the kids are gonna, I mean, the kids, theoretically, once you, once you sell six families, theoretically, they're going to be in it for three years, four years. Right.

Kristina (01:08:01):
Until the kids are old enough where like, if the parents are that unschooling home-schooling type of family and they're like, okay, our kids are like eight now, now they want to go and travel the world and do world schooling and like, go see the wall China and not learn about it in a book. Now it's time to like, leave the co-op for a year, because we want to spend a year in China right. In the beginning. And the kids don't really want to do that when they're under age six, they're like, Oh, I want my friends. And I want, you know, they want to be home. Right. Yeah.

Jonathan (01:08:32):
So, okay. Um, where was I going with that though? So as you're building up your reputation, you'd be able to increase the tuition every year. And, and the more we talk about it, the more I like the annual tuition and not like a monthly payment. And ideally what would end up happening is that you'd start getting a waiting list and then you'd have, um, options, you know, you like, well, do I, do I take one of my current lead facilitators? And he, or she starts a new location, you know, in a 100 miles away or 60 miles away, you know, near a wealthier community or something. And, you know, basically you'll have some demand, you'd be able to follow the demand and say like, okay, how could we address this demand? Or maybe you, you create new products and services like, uh, remote learning pods or courses, or, um, branch off and do more specific targeted things that are just for the parents or people who don't have kids yet, and are, you know, are afraid to have kids because they had such a horrible upbringing.

Jonathan (01:09:34):
So maybe you've got, you know, additional things that you can, um, begin to offer once you see a demonstrated demand. But the core piece of, I think, I think the core piece of any of this working is focusing way more on the mission, the change that you want to make, the difference you want to make in the world and way less on the money. Cause when we, when we talked earlier and when in the earlier part of this conversation, there was a lot of, um, you know, a lot of like hourly rates were mentioned, and it's just, it's the wrong thing to talk about. It's the wrong thing to think about. It's more like, think about what's the big picture mission be talking about that to anybody who'll listen and just forget and, and fund the mission somehow, you know, without, without running the numbers too hard or being like, Oh, you know, I want to get down to four hours per week. I think, I actually think it would be easier if you thought about the money less and the mission more and set your prices high enough that you had the resilience to figure things out through throughout the first year with real life families and run the model and S and then perfect it.

Kristina (01:10:52):
Okay. It's not going to be easy,

Jonathan (01:10:55):
But no one said it would be, if you want easy to sell vitamin supplements online.

Kristina (01:10:59):
Well, if I want it easy, I would just enroll my child in a school. One of the third. Yeah. But again, that's not easy because the relationship and then the therapy and the decades of suffering that's yeah.

Jonathan (01:11:15):
Well, it's the long-term versus short-term worldview. Yeah. So you're taking a very long, very long view, which is great. Yeah. Cool. Unfortunately I have to wrap up. Um, no, that's great. But hopefully this has been helpful. It's been super interesting to me.

Kristina (01:11:32):
Cool. Yeah, it has been, um, I think getting clear on the, on the, on the yearly thing versus the monthly thing, um, we'll kind of safeguard and provide a lot more resilience versus the monthly. I think you had a really good point about that. Cool. Um, okay. Well, thank you so much.

Jonathan (01:11:52):
Yeah. My pleasure. Where can people go to find out more about what you're doing?

Kristina (01:11:59):
Well, I have an Instagram page. It's at Kristina Rio, actually. It's K R I S T I N a R I O underscore. Um, soon there will be a website up, um, for harmony family network is going to be the name of the co-op. That's great. So right now we're on winter school, but the, the website will be up soon harmony family network.com. Great. Um, and that's how people would be able to find this in.

Jonathan (01:12:36):
Excellent. Well, dear listener, if you are in the long beach area, or if you know someone who is, or if you've got suggestions or feedback or anything like that, uh, that's where you can find Kristina and that'll do it for this time around I'm Jonathan Stark, and you've been listening to ditching hourly. Bye.

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