Ina Coveney

I am so excited to have Merel.

Ina Coveney

Greek man on this show today. Merel and I have a history going back 4 years, and I have watched you bloom and explode.

Ina Coveney

I don't know why I'm talking about you in the third person. I've watched you bloom and explode almost overnight, and we need to talk about it. So, Merel, welcome to the global phenomenon. I'm so happy to see you.

Ina Coveney

I'm so happy to be here. I was just thinking—this is a blast from the past. It's so lovely to be with you and in your presence. It's been way too long. I'm super happy to be here today.

Ina Coveney

Before we dive in, because we have some things to talk about here—why don't you tell everyone what it is that you do right now, and who you serve?

Merel Kriegsman

Yeah, so basically, bottom line is that I help people get lavishly paid to be themselves. That's my goal. There’s this interesting phenomenon—globally, we tend to undervalue the work that comes to us most easily, and that work is usually our most valuable. So what we do is take experts who are really good at what they do, who have reputation and credibility, and create space for them to simplify their offers into a clear, singular message: “This is what I do. Nobody does it like me.” Then we help them monetize that into the million-dollar level. It’s very exciting work and incredibly fulfilling.

Ina Coveney

That is amazing. And I can’t wait to dive into how you landed and chose this niche because you’ve been doing an amazing job. You have a Facebook group called Rewilding Wealth, and we’re going to talk all about that. But before we do, I’d like to go back—before you were a global phenomenon. You have such a unique story that involves cleaning toilets and being an opera singer. I want everyone to hear that—from before this whole online world happened. Can you tell us what was happening back then?

Merel Kriegsman

Yeah, for sure. I come from a family full of artists—it was a very creative atmosphere growing up. I always joke that while some people were expected to become dentists or lawyers, I was expected to become an artist. Naturally, I went to study music. I became an opera singer and was really building a beautiful career—I even won competitions issued by the Vatican and had worldwide broadcasting. But despite all that success, I wasn’t getting paid. That started to get to me, especially since I was very pregnant at the time. I decided that it was more loving for myself to clean toilets and do work that paid the bills, so I could put groceries on the table.

Ina Coveney

I want to know what happened next. You were out there—pregnant and cleaning houses in Germany. Then how do we go from there to when I met you? I met you in 2018, when you were a copywriter and I joined one of your copywriting masterminds. Without skipping a beat, tell us what happened in between.

Merel Kriegsman

Yeah, so I gave birth and finally got my shit together. Within about eight weeks, I started working on a website and figuring out whether I should call myself this or that—I was just getting the lay of the land. I always knew I was fantastic at inspiring people, at helping them step into their own greatness. I didn’t want to just hang up my shingle as “another coach.” So I decided that no matter what I was eventually going to do, I would spend a ton of time learning about marketing, launch strategies, offer creation, positioning, and copy. I wanted to have these skills in my back pocket to whip up my own email sequences, sales pages, and beautiful sales messaging. I positioned myself as a copywriter—essentially paying me to study this stuff for the next couple of years. And it turned out I was surprisingly brilliant at copywriting. Within a very short period of time, I started my business officially in January 2016 and got my first paying client over New Year’s. I wanted to start the year with my first client, and it happened—literally minutes before midnight. I got my first paying client, and then everything took off. In just a couple of months, I was making decent money—going from $3,000 a month to $6,000, then $8,000, and even $12,000. It kept building because I paired it with incredible practices around credibility and positioning. I joined Facebook groups, provided value, and soon enough, I was handpicked by people like Bushra and Laura Belgrave to join their communities, support their members, and be on panels giving feedback. There was a huge transfer of authority, and I had more clients than I knew what to do with. That changed our whole family trajectory because it meant we could live wherever we wanted. Instead of moving to Paradise, we moved to a place where we freeze our butts off most of the year.

Ina Coveney

I want you to tell me—where were you in your journey at that time? This is March 2018 business. You’d been making money for a couple of years. What was your mindset? What were your offers? What was your plan when we met?

Merel Kriegsman

At that point, I had worked with a few clients and realized that “copywriter” was too confining a label for me. I was working on entire launch strategies, offers, mindset, sales, positioning—using words as the tool to make everything happen. Calling myself just a copywriter wasn’t doing it justice. I knew I wanted to transition to what I was truly doing: helping people make a shit ton of money—growing their monthly revenue. I love seeing those miraculous transformations where, say, last year’s income looks like pocket money compared to what they earn now. I also wanted to test running a group, so I decided to host a copywriting mastermind. After running it a few times, I expanded it with more components. It wasn’t just about copy; it was about having conversations on positioning, messaging, clarity—what you say, where, and to whom. I started with a 6‑week program, then a 12‑month one, later a 5‑month and 6‑month version, and now it’s a 12‑month program, though I’m even considering going back to 6 months because there’s a certain excitement in that format. My mindset was clear: I wanted to get off the one-on-one treadmill. Even when I was designing websites—selling a five‑page website for $25,000 with strategy and the asset itself—I felt that what came most easily to me was far more valuable, even if I wasn’t charging premium for it.

Ina Coveney

So I had to sit down with myself and ask, “Am I really excited about selling these offers?” I remember discussing with business owners how there’s an opportunity for a high‑ticket program that your audience is waiting for—you name it, package it, and make millions. That, for me, was the most valuable work, not just creating a kick‑ass sales page (although mine was kick‑ass), but that one million‑dollar idea, literally.

Ina Coveney

Can I share something in support of what you’re saying? I clearly remember that you’d record videos in our private group for inspiration—just turning on the camera and saying, “This is what’s happening right now.” I remember one video where you looked a certain way because something had happened with a client. If it’s okay, I’ll mention a few things I recall. It really hit me—I was hearing for the first time about the difference between what you were charging and, energetically speaking, what that number really was. You mentioned that energetically it was like $1,750, but you charged $3,000. You put so much responsibility on yourself to match that energy with the delivery. You were working your butt off, and yet the client wasn’t appreciating it. The client came back saying, “I was expecting more emails,” and you were like, “What?” I remember that story clearly.

Ina Coveney

Your conclusion was not just to tweak your work—but to tell people they need to review their packages and offers every three months. You’d say, “I want to stop writing these sequences. I want to do more VIP days. Maybe I should be doing more websites—I need to reconsider.” Do you remember that situation? Could you add a little more context? What do you think your younger self was saying when she told that story?

Merel Kriegsman

Oh my goodness! I remember that spring—it was the first spring we were in Canada, and the first time I was the sole provider for our family with two very small kids in a completely new country. The pressure was intense. I was working with clients, and one of the very first things we do isn’t about what’s in a package, but about who is truly poised to have that transformation—what they already have in place. I hadn’t yet applied that same discernment to my own packages. I later learned how crucial it is. I was working with many people who had little experience with copywriters or successful launches—they just wanted to amplify their efforts. It was as if they were giving me their last bit of money, expecting magic to happen, and that put immense stress on me. I always tell my clients—especially other coaches—that if you’re going to create something that’s meant to deliver a monetary result, the most important question is: Who are you working with? It didn’t matter how much I overdelivered on emails; if the launch strategy and team weren’t in place, my best work still wouldn’t be enough.

Ina Coveney

Right, and that’s when you smarted up. You realized you needed to work with different kinds of people and charge different prices. Pricing, as you know, is an integral part of positioning. It’s not the only thing, but it’s important. When you started charging premium prices, you attracted clients who were truly poised for transformation. I’m so glad you brought that up because I know many of our listeners are self‑proclaimed people pleasers, especially in service-based businesses. I bend over backwards for my clients, and with the right client, they’re incredibly appreciative—they go above and beyond with testimonials and gratitude. But some clients, when you overstep an unspoken boundary, begin to expect that as the norm, and you’re left wondering if something’s wrong with you as a service provider. What would you tell someone experiencing that right now?

Merel Kriegsman

Yeah, there’s this concept I call the high‑ticket upward cycle of success. You need to practice deeper levels of discerning who you work with. If you’re listening, pause and write down 10 to 12 things that your ideal client already has or needs to have in place—things you might normally help them set up. Picture the perfect scenario: what have they already done in terms of mindset, business size, or other factors? That way, you can swoop in and add that extra magic to make everything transform effortlessly. When you work with clients who are ready for transformation, you get deeply satisfied clients, high‑quality referrals, and perfect testimonials—which in turn attract even better clients. The cycle goes up. But if you work with clients who aren’t ready, no matter how much you overdeliver, you don’t get the referrals or testimonials, and you start doubting your worth—wondering if you should charge less. The key is to ensure you’re in that upward cycle by clearly defining who you want to work with and aligning your visibility and content to them.

Ina Coveney

I love it. Thank you so much for explaining that—it really paints a clear picture for everyone. Let’s jump a little bit. After that mastermind, you mentioned you ran it a couple more times. But something happened between 2018 and 2019 when you created your original Facebook group. I forget the exact name—it was something like the Wealth Vortex. Do you remember what it was called when it started?

Ina Coveney

It was called “Create Your Money, Create Your Money, Vortex.” Here’s what I experienced as an audience member: I saw you go from being a copywriter—a role many copywriters only dream of, making six figures a month—to something completely different. To me, it felt like an overnight change, a complete shift in your messaging. From 2018 to 2019, suddenly I didn’t see you as a copywriter anymore—I saw you as this wealth maven who is here to fix the wealth problems of the female population. Your branding was incredible. Your messaging in the Facebook group became about open conversations on money, setting big goals—like “How much do you really want to make?” I even remember one post from around 2020 where you said, “Ok, so now I have $500,000 in the bank.” I was like, “What is happening? How did this happen?” I’d love to hear your perspective on that transformation—from 2018, to 2019, to 2020.

Merel Kriegsman

Yeah, so it was truly a gift—a moment where everything flowed. I started to publicly claim my gifts, which revolve around inviting people into my space and showing them that by engaging with me, they could start making more money, because I’d share prompts that opened their eyes to what’s possible. That deep identity shift happened. I began publicly claiming my true gifts and wove that into my messaging. I even had a tagline at one point: “Become the air mass bag of your industry and charge accordingly.” It was all about luxury positioning and charging premium rates. That worked really well—it was very timely, and many people were hungry for that message. I had always gotten clients through other people’s communities, and at one point there were even pictures of me with my chainsaw and an axe on Facebook. I was that girl with the axe—severing ties with what had worked before and forcing myself to create something brand new and different. I even live-streamed it to my program members, saying, “I’m going to share my screen and unsubscribe from all the groups I use to get my clients.” Everyone was shocked—they were like, “Wait, what are you doing? That’s your main lead generation channel.” And I was like, “Nope. From now on, everyone has to come to me because I have a Facebook group where I pour all my magic into.”

Merel Kriegsman

I basically committed myself to creating this massive leap by cutting myself off from my normal, comfortable supply of new faces in my community—and I absolutely loved it. I still love hosting my Facebook community. People always write to me saying it’s the best group ever—almost like a membership. There’s so much content and nurturing in there, even though most people would normally set that up as a membership. But I prefer focusing on my higher‑ticket offers. So it became, “Come join my Facebook group,” and you get tons of incredible information. We even have people who, just by hanging out there, start making $30,000 a month, and then they’re like, “Yeah, I’ll join your program—but instead of going from $10K to $30K, help me get to $100K a month from $30K to $35K.” They absolutely loved it.

Ina Coveney

Thank you so much for sharing that with us. I’m in awe of what you’ve built, and I’m so happy and honored that you’re here to tell us about it. Let me ask one more question: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about being a successful business owner?

Merel Kriegsman

I have many conversations with my peers about this, but I think the biggest misconception is that people forget the humanity behind the leaders in our space. On the outside, everything looks so shiny—like, “Oh, she just has it all together.” But I’m deeply committed to sharing the real, human experience of entrepreneurship—the ups and downs when your business grows quickly. Instead of making everyone feel inadequate by assuming I’ve got it all figured out, I want people to know that every leader has a deeply human, lived experience behind the scenes.

Ina Coveney

Thank you so much for sharing that—it’s going to resonate with everyone out there. I have one more question for you. If everyone listening had to do one thing in their business in the next 24 hours to have a more successful year, what would that be?

Merel Kriegsman

I would say the most important thing I do—and my practice is built around this—is reviewing my offers every three months. Back in 2018, I started asking myself, “Am I really excited about selling these offers? Or is it time for a shift—a transition?” Because often when something stops selling, we look for a marketing problem, a sales problem, or consider tweaking ads—when really, we need to be honest with ourselves. So if you can have that accountability moment about your offers and your level of excitement for them, that’s a fantastic start.

Ina Coveney

Alright! So that’s what we’re all going to do, Merel Kriegsman. This has been an incredible pleasure for me. Please tell everyone where they can go to follow you. If you have a freebie they can download, let them know right now—I’ll put it in the show notes. More people need to follow you and get their minds straight about their wealth. So where can they go?

Merel Kriegsman

I’ll make sure we have the link to my Facebook community, which is really the hub where we hang out. Also, I’d love to give everyone a promo for my daily podcast—where I share five-minute, one-million-dollar nuggets about what I’m doing behind the scenes strategically. I take you into my inner world to show how I create one million after the next—not just for myself, but for our clients as well. It’s like daily nourishment; if you listen consistently, your mind will rewire itself for wealth. The podcast is called “Wealth,” and I’ll make sure you have the promo code and the link.

Ina Coveney

Sounds great, Merel. I can’t even tell you how grateful I am that you made the time to sit down with me. This has been an incredible conversation—I’ve been dying for this for so long. Thank you so much for sharing all of this so generously with us.

Merel Kriegsman

My pleasure, truly. Thank you for having me.