Financial predictability
How do you assure financial predictability to your customers? One way of doing so is by giving them fixed prices. Another way is through warranties. Another one from helping them picture what it’s going to look like in a further future. Or letting them know what things will be involved. All of them though, need to happen BEFORE they buy. Because there’s nothing worse than getting “surprises” that blow your budget.
You’ll realize it only by going through the pain of doing it.
“Clarity comes in the articulation, not after it.” David C. Baker Taking your ideas off your head and putting them onto paper (or whatever media you use) gives you the clarity of what you want to communicate. You’ll realize it only by going through the pain.
A founder needs to know…
“A founder needs to know all the technical side.” That’s not necessarily true. A founder/principal/owner doesn’t need to know all of the technical side (be it in technology, in services, in consulting, etc.) —even if they’re soloists. What they need to know is how to make decisions. And make them better everytime.
The best decision
The best decision That’s what you aim for: The best decision… within what you have. Will it be THE best decision ever? Fuck no. It’ll be the decision that lets you move. And steer in the way. And how you get to make big, bold decisions that don’t harm you? Starting with small ones. Against the common conception of “Quality beats quantity”, this (as in writing) has to do more with quantity over quality. At the right scale. Small decisions let you practice, learn, refine, correct. So that…
A 101 on hacking growth
This 2bobs podcast episode is a gem: SpamHack Your Way to Growth! It’s a 101 on what NOT to do. 🙂
As long as it’s green
“Any money is good money.” But is it? Ask yourself. If that’s the case, are you happy with any money going into your business? Are you growing and expanding capacities? Or is it something more like it lets you survive? Leading your business with “Any money is good money” translates into a broad base of customers. Any kind of customer. From the ones who are willing to pay a lot for what you offer, to the ones who demand to pay the least to you. From dream customers, to customers of hell. And…
Stop outperforming
You don’t need to outperform the competition. In fact, that’s not even why a brand gets to stay ahead of their market. Some say that strategy is about “outperforming the competition”. Bullshit. To outperform: “to do well in a particular job or activity compared to others of a similar type.” If that were true/the case, Apple would not be ahead in their market. Because, if you compare the features of their devices, you could easily find ones that perform better for less money. You want to stand…
Shifting tides.
You can think big. You have to. In yesterday’s examples, this is what happened when fear was overcome. —————————– I’m afraid that if I raise my prices 3X I will receive hard No’s and will lose customers. The price raised 4X, and they kept buying. They were underpriced. An inflation adjustment should be fine. Ok… Maybe a 10%. (And then 10% by 10% the profit margins get thinner and the real struggle begins… until the end.) Detaching the price from external factors…
Fear
A lot of decisions fall short on what could be achieved because of fear. And that will get you stuck. Real-life examples I’m afraid that if I raise my prices 3X I will receive hard No’s and will lose customers. An inflation adjustment should be fine. Ok… Maybe a 10%. (And then 10% by 10% the profit margins get thinner and the real struggle begins… until the end.) If I mark up 23% we should be fine. Don’t want to scare them. Don’t want to shock them. 70% up seems too much. If I give a…
Looking stupid
“They [experts] taste competence at some point and they’ve also tasted incompetence. … When I tasted competence the difference was so staggering to me, I just made this pledge to myself. I’m never going to go back there. I’m tired of that. I look stupid.” David C. Baker —on 2Bobs about The Business of Expertise