Don’t Undervalue Your Skills

There goes a story (maybe you’ve heard it) that demonstrates the value of skill vs. knowledge…

A ship builder spent months and months, and massive sums of money to build a ship.

The day they went to start up the engine, it would not start.

Technician after technician troubleshooted the engine.

Days went by.

Weeks went by.

Still, the engine would not start.

Then, one day, one of the technicians suggested they call on an old-timer who had been in the industry a long time.  Surely he could fix it.

With few other options, the old-timer came to diagnose the problem.

When he arrived, he walked the ship.  He looked carefully. He thought. He paced the ship again.

He then reached into his bag of tools, and retrieved a ballpein hammer, then centered it over a specific area of the engine and struck it with force.

“Ok, start it up.”, he directed.

As if magic, the previously dead engine whirled and spun into life.

Again, the old-timer reached into his bag, this time retrieving a pen and paper.  He swiftly wrote on it, handing the paper to the ship builder.

It read: INVOICE: $5,000

The ship builder was SHOCKED.  “What, $5,000 to swing a hammer!? That’s ridiculous.”

The old-timer responded, “No, swinging the hammer was FREE.  It’s $5,000 to know where to hit it.”

Piles of Gold to be had

Fun story, but it illustrates something that I see web designers (especially WordPress developers) do to themselves all the time.

WordPress is Free.  Knowing how to use it to achieve a desired result for your client is where the piles of gold can be earned.

The tools of a web designer or digital marketer are free or cheap.  Knowing how to put them together in a way that helps your client grow their business is what’s worth a fortune.

Don’t get caught in the trap of undercharging because you are basing your value on what it costs you to produce your work instead of the value you provide.

You deserve to get paid based on the value you provide, NOT the time it takes.

You can do it

If you’re looking for the best way to get paid on value, and not time, I’m doing a free training where I expose how I’ve done this for my own agency. On the training, I’ll show you exactly what I do and hand over some of the key tools that you can implement the SAME DAY to start generating leads and opportunities for your business without paid ads or having to be a pushy salesperson.

Mike Schmidt
Founder
AgencyCoach