Penny Wise, Pound Foolish!

Hear, Hear!

I totally agree with John.  It wasn't until I was willing to spend the money, that I started making the money!

~~Rachel

Are You Focused On Dimes or Dollars?
By John Sanpietro, Certified Business Coach
Founder, Stamping Is My Business!

One of the most common mistakes stamping business owners make is focusing on making (or saving) a little money in the short-term, with no regard of how much it might be costing them in the long-run.

We refer to this problem in many ways ("penny-wise and pound-foolish," "short-term gain for long-term pain," etc.), but my favorite is "focusing on dimes instead of dollars."

Too many stamping business owners spend way too much time focusing on making (or saving) dimes in the short-term, but end up sacrificing dollars as a result down the road. Are you one of them? Here are three warning signs:

1. Reluctance to raise class prices because you're afraid you'll lose your existing customers.  When you started doing classes, you priced them at what you thought they (and you) were worth. or what you saw other Demos charging. As a result, you're not charging enough for your classes, and you KNOW you have to charge more if you're ever going to get paid what you deserve. Problem
is, you can't bring yourself to pull the trigger because you're afraid you'll lose your existing customers. It's a very common, and understandable, situation, but let me try to give you some perspective.

What are you holding on to? You're doing classes that aren't paying you what you deserve to be paid, filled with customers who aren't paying you what you deserve to be paid, right?

So, why would you want to stick with that? You're afraid to lose. what? An unprofitable class? Unprofitable customers?

Commitment to long-term success means you have to sometimes make short-term sacrifices. If you're not willing to do that, you're stuck in mediocrity. You'll exist for a while. but you won't thrive. And any business you run should be a thriving one.

2. Tendency to use a product or service because it's cheap or free For most business owners, the price of a product or service is the least important part of the decision-making process. While it does play a role, it's doesn't even run a close second to the value of the product or service, or how much it can help the business grow or contribute to your bottom line.

Too often, however, stamping business owners don't look past the price. I see this most often when it comes to deciding on a mailing list broadcast service or blogging platform. Many stamping business owners choose the free option despite the fact that option provides, for example,
unreliable deliverability or next-to-no search engine ranking.

Yes, you're saving a few dollars per month, but you're probably losing thousands, long-term.

3. You find yourself saying, "I'll do ________ when I'm making more money."
My response to that statement is almost always, "you'll make more money when you do _______."

In business, you really do have to spend money to make it, and if you want to grow and get to profitability as quickly as possible, you have to be willing to invest in your business. Because, when you think about it, if you're not willing to invest in your business, why should you expect anyone else to?

I see this when discussing things like hiring a Virtual Assistant. People think they have to get to a certain point in their business before they can afford to hire one. The truth is, you'll get to that point a lot faster if you make the hire.

I even see it when I'm discussing the Business Stampers Coaching Group or SUDSOL with someone. They'll say, "I can't afford the monthly fee." I usually say, "it's when you can't afford the monthly fee that you need these services the most!"

Again, you saving a few bucks today, but are you really doing anything to help change your situation?

In the end, it's all about priorities. If your priority is the short-term, you may not have the long-term vision you need to take your business to the next level.

Don't let the fact that you're a small business owner keep you thinking small!  Don't let the fact that you're not bigger yet keep you from thinking big!

You only have a limited amount of time to work on your business. Use that time to focus on the dollars. not the dimes. and you'll be much more successful. much faster!

Warmest regards,

John

John Sanpietro
Certified Business Coach
STAMPING IS MY BUSINESS!