by Tara Joyce | Sep 24, 2009 | My Journey | What's On My Mind, Pay What It's Worth Pricing
The six-month report
Call me crazy – and I know people do and I secretly like it – but after six months with value pricing, I am fucking loving it.
Sure, some days I think I’m a total wackjob and that I’m screwing my Self. But most days I feel like I’m exploring something really cool.
I honestly believe you can be f’ing great at what you do, have faith in that, and rely on your customers to determine your value.
Value pricing feels like a powerful act of self-confidence. I’ve got enough faith in the awesomeness that is my work that I’ll let you set the price for it.
Let’s get one thing straight, it’s not charity
I’m not doing you a favour. I’m not being kind. I’m being smart.
It isn’t pay-what-you-can, it’s pay what-it’s-worth. Your financial situation is not my problem. If you want to buy something, you had better be able to pay it’s value.
It’s what I’m worth
Did you have a hard time deciding what you are worth? Or did someone else decide it for you? Are you confident in the fixed value determined? To me, my value seems near impossible to peg down.
How does one decide what their worth? Come on, be honest… we compare.
We dig and find out what our colleagues (aka competitors) are worth and then we either:
- Price average to lower than average due to lack of experience and/or confidence or as a brand tactic
- Price higher than average due to confidence and/or experience
And think, most of us do this, compare and copy when setting our prices… we’re keeping each other in a box. I’m skeptical this system produces a true reflection of the value of your work. Or theirs.
You, comparing your Self to your competitors, is not to your benefit. Do your thing, really, really well, and let the demand dictate your value.
Who knows what you could be worth?
photo by: EricGjerde
by Tara Joyce | Sep 21, 2009 | Cultural Creativity
My old dentist was very clear on her bottom line. She didn’t hide it well. Each time she saw me she focused on what she could get from me not on what I needed. Mouth guards, teeth whitening and gum graphs were the name of her game. It was always what was wrong with my teeth, not what was right.
I decided to switch dentists.
Being treated like a walking dollar sign got old. Being treated without her full attention got old. Being kept in the dark on my health got old. She kept her knowledge tight to her chest, never daring to share what she knew with her patients. She did not believe in empowering her patients by fostering their learning about their own dental health. She wanted to maintain the chasm of expert and ignorant client for she saw it as a means to influence opinion and encourage uneducated decisions, often based upon fear.
But where am I to find one?
This year I registered Elastic Mind with a Toronto-based business directory called TorontoTheBetter.net. It is Toronto’s first directory of businesses dedicated to maintaining and building a progressive Toronto that is an inclusive, just and creative community. I figured it was the best place I could look for my kind of dentist.
I could have listened to referrals from friends and family but most in my circle do not share my values nor could they actually recommend a dentist they trusted. So a directory of Cultural Creative businesses in Toronto seemed like the best bet.
An ideal fit.
I knew he was the dentist for me 5 min after we met. It was an immediate connection fostered by shared values and a similar mindset. He was here to help me make informed decisions about my dental health.
A simple realization.
I need to work with CC’s not just professionally. In all facets of my life, from groceries to dentistry, I want to support individuals and organizations who are passionate about empowering their clients.
Let’s keep connecting the dots.
Us CC’s, we’re still hard to find right now. We’re just beginning to shoot our flares, sending our sparks up into the business atmosphere, helping our community to find us. We still have a ways to go until we are connecting and collaborating with ease.
Any ideas how we can foster this process? Are there local tools you use to find Cultural Creatives in your city?
photo credit: El Incomprendido
by Tara Joyce | Sep 17, 2009 | Innerpreneurship
It scares me to stand behind the word Innerpreneur.
As much as it connects me to you, and encompasses my views on business, life and everything in between, I am conscious of how the word, a word that references that which is within us, appears to others.
Do you experience the smirks?
Perhaps in your social life spirituality is an open topic but in mine it is not. Reading this blog is more a window into my soul than most people get. Me, in person, unless I sense that you are open to it, you will only catch a glimpse of my spirit. It just isn’t something I share openly. I don’t like the smirks and whether it is wrong or right, I have no desire to share such an important piece of my Self with someone who is not open to it.
Business as a spiritual practice? Seriously?
In my life business and money are talked of ad nauseum but usually not in the way I see them. Seriously Tara, who cares about creating meaning when you can make more money? Score another smirk for me.
To put business and spirituality together – to speak about my spirituality openly and build my business around it, well… I feel open to mockery. And I am. And it scares me.
But whether I like it or not, no matter how traditional, less “hippie” people view it, the meaning behind the word Innerpreneur — it is my truth. And it will still be there with me whether I use this word or another.
photo credit: Furryscaly
by Tara Joyce | Sep 14, 2009 | Self/Business Growth
A mind that is not open to change can not be changed.
You are looking for miracles if you try to change the mind of someone who:
- totally does not agree with what you are saying and is happy with things as they are. You have nothing to connect with this person over and your ideas will hold no weight.
- denies that things can change, as they have already blocked them Self from the idea and from true communication with you.
But if you find the person is open to a different way of living, then the idea or change just might have a chance.
by Tara Joyce | Sep 11, 2009 | My Journey | What's On My Mind
I’m not so into community.
I’m more of a solitary sort.
I wonder if all us Innerpreneurs need is encouragement, not community. Just simple awareness that there are others cultivating their business within.
photo credit: Pulpolux !!!
