Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about value, and the various types of value we use in our society. From financial value to relationship value, there are a lot of different metrics that measure different measures of value in our lives.
A few years ago, I changed my business pricing model to be a value-based model of compensation. In years prior to that, I’d often use a time-based metric to calculate the cost of a project or deliverable for a client. As my experienced increased, the amount of time it took for me to complete certain tasks dropped considerably, and I realized that basing invoices off of the hours a project took would never pay the bills – unless I raised my hourly rate to a high 3-figure sum.
Changing that metric drastically improved my business, as well as the conversations I’d have with clients. As a replacement for hourly rates, I based my deliverables on a value-based model, where I’d price certain elements of my work based on the value they’d provide a client – as well as the value that the project provided me.
I recently developed a tool that can generate a tremendous amount of value for certain client types; lowering their CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) considerably in specific types of marketing campaigns. As a result, I’ve found that there’s a certain rate/range that a client is willing to pay for that tool as a service, which has allowed me to change the way in which I work – being a service provider, rather than a designer of a particular asset.
In relationships, I think it’s important to have a good gauge of your own values and what it is that you’re bringing to the table. One of the best things you can do is take a moment to take a self inventory of your own values – asking yourself what parts of you are indispensable, unique, and unable to be cheaply replaced or bought with a certain amount of money?
For example, being a good parent is a tremendous value to offer somebody. That’s something money can’t buy, and it’s a quality that will ensure a lasting positive impact on both your own family, as well as future generations. Good looks fade. Values last forever.
Even friendships offer a certain measure of value exchange, and I believe it’s important to look at friendships beyond the surface-level notion of keeping a circle of people around you so that you don’t feel alone, asking instead what sort of value you offer those people and what value they offer you.
In our society, I think that we’re often taught that we deserve certain things, such as a big house, fancy car, or even occupation. What I don’t think is commonly taught is teaching children and adults to learn, appreciate and guard the values they’ve identified they have.
Values can’t be bought – but they can be sold cheap, or given away and squandered as easily as a bank account full of money in Vegas.
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