Guest post by Tim McCarthy.
In three words: “Be the skeptic”.
This came to me recently while my son, Kevin, was putting together a business plan for www.borderlinewebdesign.com.
He was his own skeptic.
First he told me, “Dad, anyone can do what I do.”
My answer was “Yes, but do they want to?”
Small businesses owners, in particular, are overwhelmed with so many things that must be done. Hopefully those are the things they are good at too, like proposing and closing sales.
So while most people, especially Kevin’s peers, can certainly use a “paint by numbers” website design site (like he does). What he needed to understand is that few want to and even fewer SHOULD “do it themselves”.
He said, “I’m convinced” so I said, “what’s your next worry?”
Money was his answer. He had already learned that making a good site profitably for him would cost his customers $2,500 at least. His concern was that many people don’t have that kind of money to spend on a website.
So I asked, “what are their current options”? I wasn’t surprised when he told me that they either must do it themselves for a very minimal monetary cost and pay dearly with their time, or pay between $6,000 – $20,000 for a design firm to do it for them.
“What do most small businesses get for that big investment of time or money?” he asked rhetorically, “a fancy brochure on the internet.”
“Right”, I said, “and you offer transactional websites with search engine optimization and a social media strategy included, so I think you ought to raise, rather than worry about, your price.”
Finally he said, “But, Dad, why would they trust me who has so little experience?”
To which I replied, “there are two reasons: 1. Show them only sites you’ve already developed for others. Then, they can see with their own eyes whether or not that’s the kind of site they would be proud to have. 2. Remind them honestly that your inexperience is why they can get you so cheap… for now.”
That’s it. Kevin was, and is still, the skeptic of his own business and its value to the people he serves. I encourage it! It is only by answering our own questions honestly that we can feel confident about the value our business provides for others.
And to me, that goes whether you are Habitat for Humanity, Microsoft or Borderline WebDesign.
The day you don’t question your value, what I give for what I get, is the first day you’re beginning to go out of business.
About Tim McCarthy
Tim McCarthy’s first business, WorkPlace Media, eventually built a permissioned database of 700,000 gatekeepers who reach more than 70 million employees with incentives for clients such as Coca-Cola, Lenscrafters and McDonalds. He sold the company in 2007 and recently bought it back. In 2003, he partnered with his son, Tim Patrick McCarthy, to open Raising Cane’s of Ohio, which had 13 stores with over $30 million in revenue in 2013. McCarthy, author of “Empty Abundance”, earned his bachelor’s in political science and MBA from Ohio State University. In 2008, he received the Fisher Alumnae Community Service Award and was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
