Moments Of Downtime

Garth Beyer

The motto, “how do you act when no one is looking” has sort-of run dry. With how plugged in we are, we know someone is always watching, we just care a little less or call making a Facebook post being productive.

Better to ask what one does when one has a moment of downtime. When there’s five minutes that no one is emailing you, the phone’s not ringing, you just wrapped up your latest task… what do you do then? I think that’s way more predictive of a person’s character than what they are doing when no one is watching.

Do you let the opportunity to start a new venture pass you up? Do you scroll through twitter instead of writing a thank-you letter to someone special?

 

Stay Positive & Downtime Is An Opportunity, Not A Break

 

You’re Not Charging Enough

Garth Beyer

I get asked a lot if a price someone is charging is enough.

“Should the app just be free?” “How much should the admissions ticket be, I was thinking $10.” “I really want to work with this client, should I lower my price?”

More often than not, I get a “Oh… Really?” response when I tell them they’re not charging enough. That is, until I explain why they’re not charging enough.

When I worked with my dad in his painting and remodeling business, I learned there were often jobs he had to bid for. Did he lower his price to compete with other bids? Or did he keep it high, reflective of the quality of work he would produce?

It was more of a question about the fan base he wanted, not how much money he would make. Often times he would bid a higher price to decipher whether the business was a raving fan or not. (Better to work for a fan, a friend than someone who feels they’re in a position to constantly criticize.)

Imagine Dragons can charge $300+ a ticket because they don’t need to allow critics in their concert. The price you charge is the first gateway to deciding what audience you’ll attract. Quite simply, a low price exposes you and your art to people who may not be avid fans. Is that what you want?

Free can help you in some ways. Free can attract the mass. But free won’t get you where you want to go in the world of your craft.

 

Stay Positive & So, Yes, You’re Not Charging Enough

 

Your Heart Has Eyes

Garth Beyer

Visual acuity isn’t enough in relationships. It’s not enough when solving problems (or creating new ones). It’s not enough when setting out to create your own business.

Greatness can easier be claimed once intimacy is accepted, engaged, brought forth.

When all we look at is what’s in front of us, we miss a lot.

A co-worker of mine is incredible at being intimate. I always say she has two sets of eyes. One set to see what’s in front of her and one to see how what’s in front of her is. It’s a second, deeper level of seeing.

We can open our eyes, but the best work gets done when we open the eyes of our hearts.

 

Stay Positive & There’s Always More To See (No Microscope Or Telescope Needed)

Precision Dating

Garth Beyer

The best thing you can do for yourself, your customer, and your colleague is give a precise date.

“I’ll have it to you by noon Thursday.”

“We’ll have this podcast wrapped up by 7:20.”

“Someone from our customer service team will get back to you tomorrow, at the latest.”

Setting a date guarantees urgency, shows you care, and holds you accountable.

 

Stay Positive & No More “You’ll Hear Back Soon” Crud

In The Box Podcast

Episode 11: Media Law, Earbuds, Dojo, Pilot Episodes And More – Podcast

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast, we had a conversation about dojos, pilot episodes, copyright law, the nastiest four letter word out there, and generational differences in society… I mean, earbuds. Enjoy.

Episode 11: Media Law, Earbuds, Dojo, Pilot Episodes And More

Pilot episodes – Can you really tell if something will be a success after the pilot episode.

Dojo – What is a dojo to you?

Copyright, Fair Use, and other laws of the internets – Can you really overkill being cautious of copyright and other media laws?

Communication – What are your favorite forms of communication?

Food/Diet – Why is food not viewed as a good investment but a diet is?

Earbuds!! – Do you think earbuds are destroying the threads of society?

 

Stay Positive & What’s Your Dojo?

(subscribe to the podcast here.)

Saving ≠ Not-Giving

Garth Beyer

It’s rare for me to hear an employee say, “how much more can we give?”

It’s a lot more common to hear, “how much can we get away with saving (not giving)?”

Zig, Godin, Marx all talked of the race to the bottom in one way or the other. The bottom is sharp. It’s beyond efficient if you’re defining efficiency as giving as little as possible with an acceptable return. Is that the race we want to win?

I’ve always thought saving to be a funny concept. For some reason people view saving $5 on a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Iscream the same as saving $5 on a muffin for the Boys & Girls Club.

Likewise, in the work place, they see saving $50 on unnecessary banner ads the same as saving $50 on better packaging.

While the Iscream will make you instantly gratified and the banner ads may seem like you’re doing advertising that matters, it’s the donation to something positive that stays with you; it’s the over-delivery of your product that your customer will always remember.

Let’s not confuse saving with not-giving.

 

Stay Positive & If Anything, Give More

Odds

Garth Beyer

Every day there are more competitors in your market, more people trying to be faster, do better, and give more.

The odds aren’t in your favor.

Doing the same as everyone else won’t put (or keep) you ahead.

Only doing things differently will.

 

Stay Positive & Being Odd Increases Your Odds