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When I started coaching, I charged 4 or 6K upfront. Just like my business coach told me to do

I learned how to walk someone through their pain, highlight what’s possible, and make them feel like this is the moment to leap. And honestly, most of the time, it is. But there’s something about that model that never fully sat right with me.

When I started coaching, I charged 4 or 6K upfront. Just like my business coach told me to do: Jan-Willem van der Heiden, relationship coach

Because I’ve seen it too many times. The moment someone pays that big number, the dynamic shifts. The coach relaxes. The client second guesses. And what was sold as “transformation” becomes a game of deliverables, expectations, and a subtle imbalance of power. You’ve paid. They’ve delivered. But the trust? It’s shaky. Because at its core, it wasn’t built on showing up, it was built on a sale.

So I shifted to a subscription model. Month by month. You stay because it’s working. You leave when it’s not. Which means I have to show up for you every time. No coasting. No hiding behind a paid-in-full invoice. I have to keep earning your trust through action. Through presence. Through consistency.

And here’s what I hope to transmit: this is exactly how a good man should show up in a relationship.

Not with a grand promise in the beginning and slowly less effort once he feels you’re committed. But with daily presence. With intention. With follow-through. Because he values you. Because he wants to keep building.

Most women I work with have never experienced that. They’ve had men pursue hard, promise everything, make them feel chosen… and then fade or disappear. And each time, it chips away at their sense of safety. It makes them question if men can actually be consistent. If they can trust not just the words, but the follow-through.

So this coaching model I use? It’s not just business. It’s an embodiment of the masculine in integrity. It says: I’ll keep showing up.

And for women to experience that, even in a coaching dynamic, has an impact on their nervous system. Because they start to believe and feel that kind of man exists. That kind of relationship is possible. That trust is earned over time, and the right man will be excited to earn it, again and again.

Through consistency, presence, and care.

That’s how you build something real and meaningful

Jan-Willem van der Heiden
Jan-Willem van der Heiden

Relationship coach. 8 years and 1,000+ men, then couples. I live in Ubud with my wife and our daughter. More about me or take the relationship quiz.

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