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I deserve to get paid, too!!!

Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 10:21 am  
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This post has been a long time coming, and part of it is my own damn fault. More on that in just a second.

For full disclaimer purposes: stop reading this post if you believe you should not pay for someone else’s hard earned knowledge or skills or that everything informational ought to be free because you’re not going to like what I’m about to say.  I’ll save you the trouble in advance.

<rant>

Here’s the rub . . . I get a lot of calls from people wanting help on various things.  Auto-responders, SEO, social media marketing, direct response mailers, banner ads, targeted Google PPC placements, website design, graphics, ROI tracking & analysis, website analysis, teleseminars, webinars, workshops, bootcamps . . . the list goes on and on.

I’m beyond flattered that so many people turn to me for my insights and advice, but (damn it!) don’t expect me to give it away for free all the time!!! The reason I say this is partly my fault is because I truly enjoy helping people so I get roped in before the “tab” is paid.

When it comes time to pay the tab, some people are put off by the fact that I deeply believe I deserve to earn (good) money for helping them achieve their goals. Some of them say “but you didn’t actually DO anything  . . . you just shared some tips and/or techniques that I sort of knew a little about already.  You just helped steer me to complete them.” Hello!?!

When you call a painter to come out and paint your house, why do you pay him/her? It’s not like you’re not capable of painting your own house right? Same with a plumber–you can unclog your drains by going to Lowe’s or Home Depot, buying a “snake” and shoving it down in there to remove the blockage, but you typically don’t. You can cut your own lawn, but a good number of us hire others to do that for us so we can focus on other things.  When you go to the doctor to get a prescription, why do you pay him/her? You are paying for their knowledge and application of that knowledge.  Even though you may have done some research and come to the same conclusions on your own, you didn’t balk at paying for the knowledge, skills, or reassurance right?

You couldn’t visit your attorney, tax consultant, oil change dude, local sandwich shop, bakery, or restaurant and get a bunch of stuff for free so why do people believe a consultant or advisor should work for free when the main thing they sell is an intangible good (knowledge)? Yes, it doesn’t have a hard and set price tag associated across the board but believe you me, the knowledge didn’t come cheap! It’s taken years upon years and a lot of trial and error to figure out all of these different ways to “skin the cat” with Internet Marketing. You benefit from that because you don’t have to go through the same trial and error or the immense expense to self educate yourself on all of it and how to piece it together nicely.

Most of this knowledge and skill has come as a result of a lot of personal expense . . . to buy other people’s training programs and attend several live events to network and joint venture with equally sharp and motivated people so that you can achieve your goals with our help. If you’ve been following my stuff for any length of time (or even just a couple of days), you know I’m offering several training programs to share my knowledge with you without asking you to spend a lot of money with me to get the ball rolling.  Maybe that’s the problem, you’d prefer to pay $1900 for the same knowledge to develop skills that you can pay less than $500 to obtain right now.

Hell, there’s even a measly $27 product available that is vastly under-priced, but some people believe that ought to be free, too because the videos are done, the website is finished, and the workbooks are complete.  There is nothing “physical” so it should be free, they ration. The other argument I hear is that there is a lot of free information already out there on a lot of this stuff: SEO, Twitter, social media, auto-responders, list building, banner ads, PPC, etc.

Let me ask you this: how long would it take you to find this “free” information, consume it, reassemble it in a logical fashion so that it could be applied regularly, all while developing the confidence that you’re doing everything right? Here’s a benchmark: start at 100 hours to scratch the surface.  Let’s say your time is worth $50/hour . . . that’s $5,000 right there, yet it’s too much to ask to pay someone that already has the abilities to not only apply the knowledge but is confident in their effectiveness?

So to make a very long story short, whether you do business with me or someone else, don’t be put off that you’re going to have to pay talented people at some point even if they’re only worth a tad more than a wooden nickel. It’s what we do for a living, and we deserve to get paid just like you.

If you’re just lazy and don’t want to take any initiative, you’re going to have to pay a premium to have whatever you’re looking to accomplish done for you. That’s how business works so the choice is always yours, but don’t be offended next time when it comes time to pay the tab.

</rant>

Now that you’ve endured my latest rant, go make something positive happen!  Or better yet, buy some of my stuff or pay me to help you create your own stuff.  :)

Eunice Bauer, 1928-2008, RIP

Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am  
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On June 25, 2008, my mother, Eunice Bauer, passed away after 79 years and recent bouts with bladder cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Many of you who are familiar with the developments in recent months knew, as I did, that this day was quickly approaching, but that doesn’t prepare anyone for the actual event.  I thought all along that I was prepared for this moment, but I am clearly not.

Even though my mother is in a much better place and finally free of the pain and suffering, the sense of loss is tremendous. My mom was my best friend on top of being my mother, and I’m obviously very torn up about it. I’ll remember my mom as fondly as a son ever could, and I’ll obviously never forget her.

She was a fiery lady with a strong will and determination that I hope has filtered to some degree down to me.  She was also a huge believer in her boys and always encouraged us even when we messed up.  She enjoyed laughing, cutting up and sharing a beer with friends and family.  We’d frequently have “family nights” on Thursdays at a local restaurant, and that made mom really happy even if she didn’t order anything to eat (she was never a big eater). The time meant more to her than the actual meal.

Mom loved coming to my baseball games and taking me to the bowling alley while she bowled.  She was a great bowler just as she was a mother. Mom wasn’t so great at keeping her opinions to herself during my games at times though–I’ll never forget the time that the coach put on a hit and run while I was batting and the next pitch was so high I had to jump to swing at it.  I ended up getting a base hit so the play worked great, but I recall my mom yelling “Roger, don’t swing at those!”  Of course, her voice stood out because she was my mom, but I always knew she had my back even if she didn’t agree with what I was doing.  That was just one example that sticks out at this moment for whatever reason, but it’s extremely tough when you lose your biggest cheerleader in life, best friend, and mother all at once.

I feel as though a blog post trivializes my mom’s life in some regards, but I also feel as if it pays a tribute to her, too so I’m a little torn on this.  I’m hesitant to write a whole lot because I don’t want to forget anything so it’s easier to just share a few thoughts that come to mind right now with the caveat that I’m admittedly leaving a lot out.  To say I loved my mom would be an understatement–she meant the world to me and vice versa.  We had a great relationship, and I am grateful for the times we shared.  I only wish we could have had more time together with her being completely healthy, but that obviously wasn’t meant to be.  My job now is to make my mom even prouder than she already was before she passed away so I have a lot of work to do.  Hopefully some of you will join me in my journey to accomplish that goal.

There is little anyone can say or do to make the pain go away, but I appreciate everyone who has reached out to me to express sympathy and offer a helping hand.  I’ve never felt the way I do right now, and I’m not sure when this will subside to the point I return to being myself again, but I hope those of you who have healthy parents love and appreciate them as much as you can while you can because you never know when things may change.

I realize this post has nothing to do with sales, marketing or business, but it has everything to do with life, and that’s something we all have in common.  I thank you for reading and thinking of my mom in the process.