Women Leading The Finance Industry: Erin B Haag of Pricing Overhaul On The 5 Things You Should Do To Increase Your Financial Literacy
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Read, read, and read some more. I first became interested in finance and money after reading the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It was the first time I had read a book advocating for financial literacy and independence. I immediately became intoxicated by the idea of growing wealth for myself and my family through business ownership, and I began consuming business and finance books one right after another.
As a part of our series about “Women Leading The Finance Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erin B. Haag.
Erin B. Haag is the founder of Pricing Overhaul, a company that teaches self-employed women how to overhaul their pricing and make more money than they ever dreamed possible.
Prior to starting Pricing Overhaul, Erin founded a successful Pilates and Yoga studio in Palm Beach, Florida — which she ran for several years before selling the company for 40x her original investment.
Erin brings 20 years of experience to her clients. From calculating your revenue, expenses, owner’s salary, profit margin, and beyond, Erin loves crunching the numbers to determine exactly what you need to charge. Her motto is “trust the math” because the numbers never lie.
When she’s not working, Erin loves soaking in her bathtub, attending French lessons, and planning her next family vacation. She lives in Florida with her husband, two daughters, and golden retriever, Lulu.
Visit www.PricingOverhaul.com to learn more about Erin’s book, courses, and services.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance field?
At the age of 27, I opened my first business, a brick & mortar Pilates & Yoga Studio. Despite having years of experience working in corporate America, dealing in numbers, metrics, and sales, I made very bad financial decisions in my own business that were profit killing. Five years into owning my business, I found myself in the hospital with Viral Meningitis, stressed beyond measure, and with a bank account that was one bad month away from overdraft. I decided that things needed to change in my business if I was going to remain open, and the first thing that needed to change was the way in which I priced my services and how I managed my finances. After completely overhauling my prices and restructuring my cash management system, I had an entirely new business; one that was profitable and sustainable. Three years later, I sold my cash positive business for 40 times my original investment and began consulting for other small businesses to help them overhaul their pricing and restructure the way in which they manage their cash. Now, my mission is to help women owners master their money and numbers so that they can do what they love and pay themselves abundantly.
Can you share a favorite story from your career that brought a lesson that influenced how you work?
I work from a very mathematical place, but that wasn’t always the case. In my early years as an entrepreneur, I allowed my feelings to cloud my judgment. Like many women who go into business, I operated mainly from fear — fear of failure, fear of disappointing others, fear of competition — to the detriment of the business’s financial security. One such incident that comes to mind changed the way I work for the better.
Less than three years into owning my studio, a competing business opened within close proximity of mine. In an attempt to gain a competitive advantage, this new business undercut my prices and began heavily targeting my clients in their advertising. One such advert caught the eye of a particular client who then used the new business’s prices to negotiate a discount for herself at mine.
She played hard-ball. If I refused to match the competitor’s pricing, she would leave. She lectured that any smart business owner would honor her request, and that if I didn’t, I would be risking the loss of all of my clients. Under the mounting pressure of fear, I caved and agreed to match the competitor’s pricing. But what I neglected to do was the MATH to determine whether or not I could actually afford to do so.
Afford I could not. Not only had I, unknowingly, agreed to take a loss on this one client, but word quickly spread, and other clients came out of the woodworks asking for the same discount. Thousands and thousands of dollars later, I found myself in a profit hole that I had dug myself, and the only way out was to reverse the discounts. Clients didn’t like my decision, and in the end, a few of them left. Despite losing that small handful of clients, however, my business was better off, because I was no longer losing money.
The lesson learned from this incident was to make business decisions based on what the numbers tell me I can afford. The numbers never lie, and you must listen to them. This is how I have worked ever since, and it’s the way I teach my clients to work, too.
Tell us about new projects you are working on and how you think it will help people.
I wrote a book in 2022 that will be published this year. The book is titled “Give Yourself a Raise. The Mindset and Math You Need to Get to Your First Million.” It is my intent, through this book, to teach women owners the actual mathematical formula they need to calculate exactly how much they need to charge for their services so that they can pay themselves what they deserve and be profitable.
I am also developing a certification program scheduled to launch in the Fall of this year for other coaches to learn my Pricing Overhaul™ method and begin teaching it to other business owners throughout the world. Women owners NEED this method, and it is through this certification program that we can help more women make more money.
Can you share a story about how and why your company stands out from competitors?
There are a lot of business coaches out there — coaching on anything from marketing, sales, and systems strategy to energy and mindset — but there aren’t any business MATH coaches that I know of. Because of this, I see the same story play-out on repeat every single day in my business. And it goes something like this.
Woman is passionate about something. Woman decides to turn her passion into a business. Woman thinks her passion and skill is all it will take to have a successful business. Woman copies her competitors who are doing similar things. Woman doesn’t make enough money. Woman begins to resent her business. Woman’s passion burns out. Woman closes her business.
Time and time again I meet women who have not done the math in their businesses to determine their pricing, who overextend their expenses, and who don’t pay themselves because they never have enough cash. What I do to help these women is teach them how to calculate how much they need to charge, how to bake necessary expenses into their pricing, and how to manage the cash in their businesses so that they always have a steady cash flow and are able to pay themselves. I’m basically a business math tutor for entrepreneurs.
Wall Street used to be a boys club, but this has changed a lot recently. How do you think this came about?
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the demand for gender equality and fight for intersectionality in the workplace has forced many companies to reexamine the faces of their senior leadership. Investors, clients, and shareholders have also insisted on diverse representation in the boardroom. As a result, in February 2021, Citigroup appointed Jane Fraser as its CEO, making her the first female CEO of a major Wall Street bank. Soon after, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley followed suit with the promotions of 3 female executives to senior level roles including Chief Financial Officer. With increased social pressure for Wall Street to become more inclusive, companies all over are taking proactive measures to elevate women to higher ranking roles.
Despite the progress, there is still a lot more work to do to achieve parity. According to this report in CNBC, less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support this movement going forward?
As I discuss in my soon-to-be published book, Give Yourself a Raise, “We’re still living in an era where millions mistakenly believe that women are less skilled with numbers — even though this is a complete lie.”
In my book, I go on to explain, “Girls are statistically given less attention by teachers than their male counterparts in areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. Girls are encouraged to excel in other areas, such as reading, social studies, and art. Furthermore, parents tend to spend less time playing games with their daughters that involve spatial cognition — a skill that further develops math ability — than they play with their sons. Girls pick up on these societal cues and focus their attention on other subjects and interests, all while concluding to themselves, ‘I must be bad at math.’”
When it comes to investing, “Statistically, women are reluctant to begin investing their money and wait until they are much older (compared to men) to begin investing.”
But here’s the kicker. “According to the Fidelity 2021 Women and Investing Study, once women take the leap and start investing, they tend to outperform their male counterparts by 40 points per year.”
The first place where change must take place is in the home and in the schools. Parents and teachers need to make an effort to encourage girls in subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and math if we want to make a significant change on women’s financial success and the financial banking industry. There also needs to be more of these types of programs and clubs available to girls in schools, extra curricular programming, and child enrichment centers / camps.
I am making it my personal mission with my two daughters to raise them to know that they ARE good with numbers and to encourage their interest in math. In addition to their after school dance, musical theatre, and gymnastics lessons, my daughters also participate in their school’s Math Club, Accelerated Math Program, and Spanish Club (being able to speak a second language is also imperative to careers in finance, global economics, and international relations).
Instead of relying on companies to make a change, change starts at home. Raise your daughters to love math and numbers, and then they will be more likely to pursue degrees in mathematics and then pursue careers in finance. When more women flood the financial job market, companies will have no other choice but to change.
According to this report in Fortune, nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic test of financial literacy. In your opinion or experience, what is the cause of these unfortunate numbers?
For one thing, talking about money is faux pas in our society. There is a lot of secrecy around how much we make, how much we owe, and how much we save. We are taught that discussions about money — along with religion and politics — are off-limits. The topic is even discouraged among members of our own families. Why the secrecy? Considering that so much of our lives revolve around money, we would be better off as a society if we normalized talking about it.
Secondly, you don’t know what you don’t know, so if the topic of money and finance is off-limits, we limit opportunities for learning. Sure, finance can (and should) be taught in school, but we learn the most from experience. When the people we know and trust share their financial experience, and in turn, they share financial advice, we increase our financial knowledge and literacy.
If you had the power to make a change, what 3 things would you recommend to improve these numbers?
One. Normalize talking about money.
Two. Make Finance a core subject in school.
Three. Add Financial Advisory services to employment benefits.
As a finance insider, if you had to advise your adult child about 5 non-intuitive things one should do to become more financially literate, what would you say? (Please include a story or example for each)
Read, read, and read some more. I first became interested in finance and money after reading the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It was the first time I had read a book advocating for financial literacy and independence. I immediately became intoxicated by the idea of growing wealth for myself and my family through business ownership, and I began consuming business and finance books one right after another.
Listen to podcasts about money and entrepreneurship. When I’m not listening to French Radio — I started learning the French language over 3 years ago — you can bet that there is a business related podcast playing. HBR Ideacast by Harvard Business Review and TED Businesses are among my favorites.
Watch shows about business and finance. One of the best places to start is with ABC’s “Shark Tank.” And it’s a show that the entire family can enjoy; even my 8 and 9 year old daughters love it. Observe the way the sharks speak to each other. Listen to the lingo they use. Be on the lookout for the things that inspire them to invest. Everytime you watch an episode, you will learn something new.
Put yourself in “The room where it happened.” — to quote Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, Hamilton. Find groups, organizations, and opportunities where you can rub elbows (and hopefully engage in conversation) with people who are already making what you want to make and doing what you want to be doing. “You become the company you keep.” For this reason, I attend conferences and events every year, sometimes multiple times a year, and I put myself in the room with the people I want to become.
But most importantly, Trust Yourself! You ARE good with money. You ARE good with numbers. You ARE good with math. Repeat this mantra to yourself every day, multiple times a day. By simply BELIEVING and TRUSTING that you are good with money, you will find more and more of it making its way to you. (I’m not just a financial nerd. I’m also a little “woo.”)
No one is able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
Yes. A woman by the name of Juliana Von Sohsten. In 2008, I was laid off from my corporate job — another casualty of the 2008 recession — and I decided that I no longer wanted my financial security to lie in somebody else’s hands. I knew that the only way to take control of my financial security was to go into business for myself, and so I decided to open my first brick and mortar business. The problem? I didn’t have any capital to fund a new business. After applying for dozens of grants and business loans without any luck, I did not see how it would be feasible to open a business. Then I was introduced to Juliana. Juliana saw potential in me and believed in my business idea, and without knowing me — there was no interview or application process — Juliana personally loaned me $10,000 so that I could open my first business. Ten thousand dollars, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t a significant amount of money, but it was a lot more than I had at that time. This one $10,000 loan (at 0% interest mind you) is THE thing that made business ownership possible for me. In the years since, that $10,000 has grown to millions and millions of dollars generated by my businesses, but none of it would have been possible — not a single dollar would have been generated — if it were not for Juliana and her gift of $10,000. As the old adage goes, “It takes money to make money,” and thanks to Juliana’s willingness to loan me money, I am where I am today.
Can you please share a favorite quote you consider a life lesson and how it is relevant to your life?
“Happiness. Success. Has virtually nothing to do with what you put in your bank. Nothing. Happiness and success is about the quality of the journey. If you enjoyed the journey, then you were indeed successful.” My dad, Ed Blanchette, said these words to me from his deathbed the day before he passed away. A man of very humble financial means, he spent the majority of his life chasing financial security while neglecting to chase enjoyment. In the end, he realized that enjoyment was the real indicator of success; not how much money you have sitting in the bank.
Of course, I am in the finance industry. I spend my days teaching business owners how to build wealth and financial freedom. Needless to say, my dad’s advice forced me to rethink WHY I make money and HOW I teach others to make money, too. I realized that the chase for financial freedom isn’t really worth it if it does not come from a place of enjoyment. If you invest in things, ideas, and experiences that bring joy to your life, you will actually find more financial success. Now, this is how I live my life and run my businesses. Choose enjoyment first. The money will follow.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be?
There are 5.2 million woman-owned businesses in the United States. Millions of women are taking charge and becoming their own bosses. While this may seem like a victory worthy of celebration (and it is!) the math tells a different story.
Let’s look at the numbers:
85% of woman-owned businesses get stuck earning $99,999 per year (or less) in annual revenue. After paying operating expenses, payroll expenses, taxes, not to mention their own salary, $99,999 doesn’t stretch very far. The majority of self-employed women are making just enough to eke by, nothing left over at the end of the month. Profit margin: zero. Financial assets: zero. [IRS/US Census data]
On average, self-employed women earn 28% less compared to a man for doing the exact same type of work. Main reason? Because they are not charging enough. [Women in the Workforce Report]
1 in 5 new U.S. businesses shut down within the first year. Why? Because they are not generating enough money to survive. [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]
In the last section of my book, “Give Yourself a Raise. The Mindset and Math You Need to Get to Your First Million,” I write about a movement that I hope my book will spark, and it is a movement to encourage women business owners to know their value, do the math, and increase their rates for their services.
I’ll end this interview with an excerpt from my book.
“Let’s start a movement! A movement that encourages women to charge more and congratulates them when they do instead of shaming them.
This movement starts with an honest conversation about your financial struggles. Tell your story. Talk openly and honestly about money. Proudly share your financial successes with other women and your past mistakes.
Imagine if you could inspire your closest friends, your daughters, sister, aunt, mom, and other women who are important to you…to charge more? Imagine how this would change your family lineage, your community, and the world.
Each of those women can continue to expand the ripple to another woman and another. Little girls will grow up seeing that women are badass business owners who make their own money and lots of it! They will grow up expecting to open their own businesses, expecting to make lots of money, and expecting more for themselves in all ways.”
Thank you for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success.
About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.
