Charging by Value
A major reason for the challenges some creative business is getting paid less.
Do you agree with me that when looking from the root of the problem, we would understand that it wasn’t that the client doesn’t have the money to pay and it wasn’t the client’s are not willing to pay you what you are worth?
But, the root of the problem is how we charge and which is how we present ourselves that have designed our value inside the client minds.
Let us start by knowing how to create a business based on value pricing and not hourly pricing. The number one most dangerous way to charge is by the hour, which many creative businesses are doing.
Honestly, it shouldn’t matter how long it takes you to solve the client’s problems or provide your service, it should matter that the client is getting what he needs and what he wants. If you’re creating value and you’re giving them value, they’ll pay you for that value. They shouldn’t be paying you for your time. If you’re being paid for your time you’re essentially setting the ceiling to how much money you can make because you can only work so many hours.
Therefore, you must determine, specifically what your value is to the customer, not how many hours you will work for that customer.
Entrepreneurial Failure Get Used To It
In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you are going to have to learn to deal with failure. There is no other way around it than to know how to deal with your failure.
Thomas Edison tried over ten thousand different experiments before he finally demonstrated the first incandescent light bulb on October 21, 1879. Bill Gates’ first company, Traf-O-Data, was a failure. Michael Jordan was once quoted as saying: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot; And missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
In my short stint as an entrepreneur, I’ve failed more times than I can count. I have also had my share of success, but it’s not even close to equal. The failures far outweigh the successes, and I’m sure I have a lot more failure ahead of me. I’m OK with that because I know that as soon as I stop failing, I have stopped trying to innovate. It’s the nature of the business of being an entrepreneur, and of success in general.
If it were easy, everyone would do it. It is naive to think that every good idea that you have will result in a successful business venture. I have yet to hear an entrepreneur say “every single idea I come up with seems to work.” More likely, you hear something like “I failed at my first five businesses before this one took off.”
Think about that for a second. Five businesses. Sometimes the number is three, sometimes it’s 20, but the important point is that most entrepreneurs don’t hit a home-run with their first company. It does amaze me – seen people have the stones to fail five times and still start a sixth business?
You have to be supremely confident and treat those previous five times as a learning experience for the sixth. And if number six fails, you have to do the same and move on to number seven.
In my opinion, the most important thing is how you deal with failure. Once you accept that it’s inevitable, you can learn from your mistakes and move on. It’s easy to let the failure consume you – not so much because you are pessimistic, but more so because it is hard to see something that you poured your heart and soul into be ignored or rejected. As soon as possible you need to realize that your business is what they are ignoring or rejecting, NOT you. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can objectively analyze why you failed and learn the things necessary for improvement in the future.
Failure isn’t easy and is extremely frustrating, but it’s a necessary part of success. Don’t believe me? Ask Thomas Edison, Bill Gates or Michael Jordan! Ok, asking Thomas Edison might be a little tough, but you get the idea 🙂
Successful Entrepreneurs
Studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs possess these characteristics:
- Self-confidence
This is that magical power of having confidence in oneself and in one’s powers and abilities.
- Achievement Oriented
Results are gained by a focused and sustained effort. They concentrate on achieving a specific goal, not just accomplishing a string of unrelated tasks.
- Risk Taker
They realize that there is a chance of loss inherent in achieving their goals, yet they have the confidence necessary to take calculated risks to achieve their goals.
Entrepreneurs are people who will make decisions, take action, and think that they can control their destinies. They are often motivated by a spirit of independence which leads them to believe that their success depends on raw effort and hard work, not luck.
So which of these three main characteristics is the most important? Believe it or not, it has to be self-confidence. Without self-confidence, nothing else is possible. If you don’t believe in your abilities, then the first challenge that arises may knock you off the path to achieving your goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind for maintaining a higher level of self-confidence.
Positive Thinking
Well, it all starts with a positive attitude, doesn’t it? Believing that something good will happen is the first step. Negative thinking simply is not allowed. You must truly believe that there are no circumstances strong enough to deter you from reaching your goals. Remember too, that positive thinking can be contagious. When positive thinking spreads, it can open doors to new ideas, customers, friends, etc.
Persistent Action
Now all of the positive thinking and believing in the world is useless if it is not applied towards a goal. You have to take action, no excuses are allowed. This action must also be persistent. Trying once and then giving up is not going to be enough. Keep at it one step at a time. If you can’t get by a certain step, then find a creative way to try again or just go around it.
At the beginning of this article, we identified a few traits that are common among successful entrepreneurs. You should be able to look ahead and see yourself where you want to be. Now just maintain a strong belief in yourself and your skills, stick with it, and don’t give up. If you can do that, you’re already halfway there!