Konnected Minds Podcast
Host: Derrick Abaitey
Episode: Your Pricing Is Killing Your Business: Don't Price to Please Customers
Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the critical impact of pricing strategies on business survival and growth, particularly in product-based ventures. The guest (A) shares hard-earned lessons from personal business setbacks, offering actionable insights for entrepreneurs on structuring their businesses, calculating costs, and setting prices driven by sustainable goals—not just customer satisfaction. The tone throughout is candid, pragmatic, and supportive, with a strong focus on the realities of entrepreneurship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lessons from Failure and the Importance of Structure

• The guest (A) recounts a pivotal story: after a serious business conflict, even involving police, they learned how crucial contractual agreements and business structure are—now, everyone in the company has contracts, even the cleaner.
  • Notable Quote:
    • “Right now, even the basic cleaner in my company…is working under contract and it has really saved me and has given me the best peace I could ever imagine in business.” (00:17)
• Early entrepreneurship mistakes included expanding branches without sufficient planning, misunderstanding the need for different strategies in new environments, and lacking a business structure beyond sole proprietorship.
  • “I failed because… young guy, you’re working, money is coming… I didn’t really misuse my money, but I misappropriated my money.” (00:49)
  • “Disloyalty broke the branches. It couldn’t survive the first year… you have to read the environment, you have to see what they buy into, the psychology of the buyers.” (01:16)
• The takeaway: Success isn’t always transferable—what works in one location may not work in another without considering local dynamics and having scalable systems.

2. Rebranding & Building for Growth

• After setbacks, the guest transitioned from sole proprietorship to a limited liability structure, rebranded the business, and found new success.
• Proper systems led to confidence in expansion:
  • “So out of my experience and the lesson I’ve learned, I was able to apply the best structure and system to help me with the branch… It gives me the idea or the open mindedness to do more.” (03:27)
• Opened a manual factory—automation is minimal—signaling growth built on solid foundations.

3. Realities of Entrepreneurship & Encouragement

• Host Derrick Abaitey gives heartfelt praise for the guest’s self-made progress, particularly for someone who didn’t attend university:
  • “For someone who did not finish university, didn’t even start, you’ve done fantastic for yourself… I’m proud of you.” (04:22–04:34)

4. Product Pricing – From Costing to Strategic Thinking

• The core of the episode: step-by-step breakdown of how to cost, price, and plan for selling a product (using plantain chips as a practical example).
• Key formula for pricing:
  • “Pricing is a total amount of cost plus your expected profit, plus your future plan. And that will give you your pricing.” (05:47)
• Elements to consider:
  • Raw materials (e.g., plantain, oil, packaging)
  • Operational expenses (labor, utilities, administrative costs)
  • Waste and spoilage
  • Desired profit margin
  • Future expansion savings ("future plan")
  • Logistics costs
• Example calculation:
  • Total production cost for 20 packets is 70 Cedis, yielding a base unit cost (approx. 3.5 cedis per pack). Add profit, logistics, and reach a final price (e.g., 5 cedis per pack) that covers all bases.

The Trap of Pricing to Please

• Many young entrepreneurs set prices to compete or to please customers, neglecting sustainability:
  • “A lot of young entrepreneurs make a lot of errors. They look at the competitiveness of the market. They also consider their customers' emotions and… think for the customers: how am I going to please the customer?” (08:31)
• Dangers:
  • Ignoring supply volatility (e.g., plantain prices jump 500-600% out of season)
  • Squeezing margins until the business can’t even break even, despite high sales volume
  • Not saving for future investments or emergencies

Practical Advice

• Always factor in future plans and unpredictable costs in your pricing, not just present expenses.

• Don’t be afraid to raise prices to ensure business survival—in the long run, underpricing harms both business and customers.

• Real-life example: When plantain prices spiked, the guest kept prices low to avoid losing customers, but lost money for a time. A more balanced, strategic approach is needed.

  • “Sometimes you think you are making profit, and it goes to a time, not be even breaking even. And this has happened to me before… Even at that 90 cedis [cost], I was still not breaking even.” (10:46)
  • “You have to be very strategic and be very, very thoughtful of your pricing. Have the future plan attached to the pricing so that you get to the future with no regrets.” (11:48)

5. Managing Price Fluctuations

• The host asks how startups should handle raw material price swings. The guest begins to share insights before the segment ends (12:05).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On learning from business conflict and legal trouble:
  “Why? Why not? God is blessing me. Why don't I also be a blessing to my sister?... Absolutely not. Why? I've learned my biggest lesson. Like, this issue was like a matter of life and death... Even the basic cleaner in my company right now is working on their contract and it has really saved me and has given me the best peace…” (00:00–00:17)
• On the pitfalls of attempting to expand too rapidly:
  “You can't just start something at one particular place and be successful and you can apply the same method to another place to think you become more successful there. No, you have to read the environment, you have to see what they buy into, the psychology of the buyers and all that comes in place.” (01:19)
• On pricing mistakes:
  “Most of the time [entrepreneurs] think for the customers, how am I going to please the customer? How am I sure that if I sell it to this particular amount of pricing, they will buy a lot? We are looking at moving numbers, we are looking at moving products rather than considering the future of the business.” (08:35)
• On ignoring raw material volatility:
  “Plantain price fluctuates... It gets overly expensive, it gets to over 500 to 600% of the original price… Sometimes you think you are making profit, and it goes to a time, not be even breaking even.” (09:27, 10:46)
• On business survival:
  “You have to be very strategic and be very, very thoughtful of your pricing. Have the future plan attached to the pricing so that you get to the future with no regrets.” (11:48)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:20 – Lessons from a business crisis and the importance of contracts
• 00:32–02:50 – Early failures, challenges of growth, and the value of business structure
• 03:27–04:18 – Using experience to systematize and expand successfully
• 04:22–04:35 – Host’s commendation, guest’s educational background
• 05:47–10:00 – Step-by-step breakdown of product costing and pricing
• 08:31–11:48 – Dangers of pricing to please customers, the importance of long-term thinking
• 11:59–12:08 – The challenge of managing price fluctuations (set-up for further advice)

Tone

The conversation is open, honest, and mentorship-driven, blending tough love with encouragement. Both the host and guest speak directly to young, ambitious entrepreneurs, emphasizing hard-learned truths, practical strategies, and the necessity of self-belief and adaptability.

Summary Takeaways

• Structure and legal protections are vital as businesses grow.
• Expansion requires more than copying a successful formula—it demands adaptation.
• Pricing is not just cost plus profit; it must include strategic, long-term thinking and margin for volatility.
• Underpricing to “please customers” can destroy your business; sustainability must come first.
• Always account for market realities, not just current costs.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone starting or scaling a product-based business, especially those operating in volatile markets.