Welcome to the first episode of Carbon Based Business Units! Also known as episode 181, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
If you’re joining us from the Web.Search.Social Podcast, we’re so happy you’re back after our extended hiatus. If you’re a new listener, we’re equally happy that you’re here and look forward to meeting you.
If you haven’t listened to the last episode of the Web.Search.Social Podcast, you can do that here. It will provide some context for this next phase of our journey. Web.Search.Social ran for 180 episodes and here we are continuing with episode 181, but rebranded as Carbon Based Business Units.
Why?
Well, because we wanted to talk more about business and entrepreneurship, less about web, search and social marketing. That doesn’t mean we won’t talk marketing, but we wanted to broaden our conversations to include all of work and life.
What it’s like to start a business. What it’s like to run a business. What it’s like to succeed and fail in business. The challenges we’ve faced, the joys we’ve experienced, and how we tie our business into our lives – not just “balance” them, but live work and live life as part of our collective journey.
It’s still me, and it’s still Ralph, and we’re continuing our journey with you, Fred. Let’s go!
A Challenge To Nick Snapp
This episode opens with a challenge to podcast friend Nick Snapp, of the Make It Snappy podcast (all about productivity and so worth every minute of listening). He opens his show by talking about the journey to grow his company to a $2-5-million-dollar business.
And we want to know: why?
Why two-to-five? Why not one? Why not ten? This question is important to us, since we run three businesses – one that’s been around for nearly two decades and two startups – and while we all want to be millionaires, we wonder: what’s the right amount of revenue to aim for?
We can’t wait to hear his take on it!
A Tale Of Two Customer Experiences
Our conversation today starts with a story of two restaurants we visited recently.
One, to a restaurant in Virginia, ended in the manager “refusing service” and kicking us out. The other, to a restaurant in New Jersey, ended with the manager giving us a free dessert and a gift certificate for our next visit.
Guess which restaurant we’ll be going back to?
I don’t want to give away all the details, but let’s just say that neither of those visits had to end the way they did. It was simply a matter of one manager treating us as dispensable and one treating us as people.
And when it comes to business, it’s always about the people.
How Much Are You Worth?
When we went on hiatus, we thought we had solved all the world’s problems. Turns out there are still one or two left, and one of those is the persistent failure of many businesses to put value before price.
A colleague recently told us that he might be shutting his business down because he’s simply not making enough money. And that’s not because there isn’t enough business. There is. It’s not because his service isn’t amazing. It is.
It’s because he consistently undervalues himself and his price tag reflects that. Instead of charging what he’s worth, he’s become known as “the cheap guy” and you can never sustain a business on that.
We don’t think it’s a money thing. We think it’s a confidence thing. Too many people are afraid to ask for what they’re worth. This isn’t a psychology lesson but it’s food for thought, because if you aren’t confident in your value and you don’t put that first, before the price tag, you’re always going to be underselling yourself.
In the past we had a habit of “negotiating with ourselves”. We’d set a price then wonder if it was too high. Then lower it. Then imagine that nobody would pay it. Then lower it some more. Before we’d ever met with a prospect we’d already negotiated ourselves down.
All we’re going to say right now is: don’t do that!
Let’s Talk!
As always, we want to have a conversation with YOU. We want to know your story, your challenges, your interests and joys. If you have questions, ask! If you have complaints, share. If you have comments, do tell.
Pop a comment below, find us online on social media or contact us here. We’d love to answer your questions on air or share your insights and experiences, too.
See you next time!