GOOD IN BUSINESS: Madlen and the rate rise that paid for the program in a week
“The pricing shift GIB gave me the confidence to make paid for the program within its first week of work — and keeps paying, every day I invoice, from here on.” — Madlen, founder of Madlen Toumbourou Consulting
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Company: Madlen Toumbourou Consulting
What do you sell?
I partner with mission-driven organisations as a senior strategic advisor — turning strategy into funded, deliverable impact through rigorous thinking, a trauma-informed lens and deeply relational, high-touch delivery. The body of work spans strategic planning and strategy development, operating plans, governance support and uplift, stakeholder engagement, facilitation and mediation, and grant and tender strategy and writing — with a trauma-informed and intersectional lens across all of it.
Who is your customer?
Mission-driven organisations across the social impact space: not-for-profits, social enterprises, and corporates working to deliver on their social purpose and commitments. Typically CEOs, EDs, boards and program leads who need senior strategic thinking without a full-time hire.
What was your main goal for purchasing Good In Business?
To build a scalable business that remains genuinely profitable, and not just busier; get truly clear on my growth strategy, for myself, the way I do it for my clients; stop only trading time for money; and build a business designed to support my life, lifestyle and family — one I can work around rather than be run by. Here’s the paradox a lot of consultants will recognise: I spend my days building growth strategies, operating plans and positioning for other organisations, and had never fully turned that same lens on my own business. What I wanted was the dedicated space and accountability to build my own growth engine with the same rigour I bring to everyone else’s.
Did the program help you achieve your goal? How does your business look now?
Yes. The first shift was simply committing the time and money to my own business with the same seriousness I bring to client work. Since then I’m modelling my annual salary and moving toward paying myself a regular, consistent wage; I’ve got clarity on my revenue model and my standards; I repriced long-standing clients without them losing any value; I lifted my general day rate; and I’ve set KPIs for what matters — business performance, client satisfaction and my own lifestyle. The biggest shift is that I take myself more seriously as a business owner. I have a model that supports me every week of the year, instead of accepting the ups and downs as “just how it is.” I’m not accepting that for my business anymore.
“Money win: Repriced long-standing clients without any loss of value, lifted my rates significantly, and stepped into a clearly premium position.”
What has been your most audacious move in the last 8 weeks?
Repriced long-standing clients — a flat monthly retainer increase, framed as commitment and value, without clients losing an ounce of value — and stepped fully into a premium position, setting my rates to the calibre and value of the work I deliver, rather than competing on cost.
What were your top three wins?
+ Got clear on my body of work — naming the depth of expertise and IP I bring — which is the foundation for leading in my field, not just delivering in it.
+ Got crystal clear on my revenue model, standards and KPIs — creating a real sense of clarity, safety, and control.
+ Re-anchored to my why and started taking myself more seriously as a business owner — the identity shift underneath everything else.
Did you have a money win?
Repriced long-standing clients without any loss of value, and with more flexibility to serve them well. Lifted my rates significantly and stepped into a clearly premium position, pricing to the value and calibre of the work, not to be the affordable option. I no longer suppress or apologise for my pricing — I price to profit, to value, and to the premium standard of what I deliver.
What made you decide to go with us over other service providers?
Peta’s audacious style and her persistence in selling to me — I’d never seen anyone sell something so confidently, and that in itself told me something. Her confidence and boldness — she embodies exactly what she teaches. And she sits a bit outside my lane; I don’t want to pigeonhole myself, and there are real lessons to bring into impact work from other sectors and places.
“I’d never seen anyone sell something so confidently — she embodies exactly what she teaches.”
How long did it take you being in GIB to see results or a change in your business/yourself?
The mindset shift came almost immediately — it arrived with the purchase itself: okay, I’m dedicating this time, I’m backing myself — alongside all the mindset work Peta did. Being forced to sit down and articulate things I’d never pinned down — what sits inside my area of expertise, what is my body of work, what are my standards — was where the real change happened. Getting clear on my body of work was the turning point.
Can you estimate the ROI from your GIB investment?
GIB cost me $2,500. Since the program I’ve made a significant increase to my rates — a step up I simply wouldn’t have had the conviction to name before. The uplift on the handful of days I’ve already delivered at the new rate has more than covered the full $2,500 investment, and that pricing is now permanent — across a full year of billable days, the annualised value of the increase dwarfs the one-off program cost many times over. Put simply: the pricing shift GIB gave me the confidence to make paid for the program within its first week of work — and keeps paying, every day I invoice, from here on.
Why should someone join GIB?
There’s a real identity piece: you get clear on your business identity and who you are — not just what you sell. You learn to properly articulate your value. It’s structured and creative — genuine method, but real creativity in the way Peta teaches. You work with someone who embodies what they teach — you see it live in every session. She’s authentic and unapologetic, and that gives you permission to be the same in your own business.
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