The Trouble with money
What are you worth?
What will people pay?
The Trouble with money
My Dad said, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” Most parents have ways of saying no to the requests of children by giving them one a liner that may in some way make sense but are more a like Zen koan to the inquisitive young mind.
Of course money doesn’t grow on trees, so far, but the Fed makes it like as if it does. But you and I have to earn it in some way. So either you work for someone else or you work for yourself.
The trouble with money is that we as a society have become more than attached to it. But I’m not going to preach on that subject today but rather take it at face value…we need money to live in this world. On a higher level money is a symbol of energy being exchanged for something else: a service or product. Money is only valuable because we as a society have declared it so.
So if you are not producing enough income/money then perhaps what you are offering is not considered valuable or valuable enough by others, OR you have not figured out how to price your product or services, AND/OR you are not selling to the correct market OR you are being screwed by a system that is taking advantage of you.
What are you worth?
Could be all those options are true to some extent but let’s take the higher road. You have talent or a great idea, or a new or better product to offer the world and you need to figure out what its worth. So go ask people what they would pay and see what you learn. This is basic but essential market research. Most people starting out in business skip this for one reason or another and find out too late that there was never a “there there”.
Your time is worth more than anyone can afford if you consider this life is short and the time you have to make money is short. So take time to be realistic about how you will spend your precious time doing something that will produce income and hopefully even make a difference.
What will people pay?
Unless you have a truly unique product or service you may already have a good idea what the buying public is paying by researching your competitors. Maybe you can do it cheaper than the next person but that tends to be problematic if you are a small business person. It’s a much better plan to find the right niche or clientele who can afford and will pay for your time or product. But it is generally true that everyone loves a bargain so there is a balance you need to consider. Perception is often considered reality. What we perceive to be “true” is what we think is true. Of course, this is not the actual truth we are talking about but rather what we feel is true in the moment. Advertising has trained us to perceive value and benefits in such a way to completely side step what is in fact true. But the point here is you must help your potential customers perceive your value and convince them that the benefits are both real and worth their hard earned money. This is a universal business ‘truth’ which you cannot ignore.
Researching the value of something will help you know if or how you will succeed in your specific business. Take this point seriously and your chances of success will rise accordingly.
Keep on keeping on…
