Skilled Labor Isn’t Cheap. Cheap Labor Isn’t Skilled.
Beware professionals that charge very little for their services... especially at a place where they use sharp objects to cut things off your body.
I spotted this sign on the wall at my barbershop recently.
“Skilled labor isn’t cheap. Cheap labor isn’t skilled.”
This simple phrase is self-evident, especially at a place that offers haircuts. Think about it: when people are using sharp objects to cut things off your body, you want skilled labor, not cheap labor.
I saw another sign years ago at a women’s beauty parlor that had a slightly different take on the same concept.
It said: “We fix $10 haircuts.”
That’s a brilliant way to summarize the life of a skilled laborer. How many times do people come to pricier establishments in the end because they tried going cheap the first time and regretted the results?
I think about this in my own business all the time. As a great example, one of my clients is a University in Colorado. The first time I met with them, the head of the department told me they needed help fixing an old, outdated, and often broken website.
I drove over to the campus, met with her and her team, listened carefully to their challenges, and learned the back story of how it got so bad, and how much it was hurting them.
Every time the website went down, it caused huge problems because it was used every single day by hundreds of faculty, staff, and students. When the website wasn’t working properly, professors couldn’t grade assignments, students couldn’t submit their assigned work, and staff couldn’t record who had turned in what and when. It was a disaster.
“So, how long do you think it will take to fix this?” the woman asked me at the end of our meeting.
“Well, I’m not sure yet: I’ll need a few hours to get into the back end of the website and take a look and diagnose what the issues are, then I can let you know.”
“Okay,” she said. “So, how much will all of that cost us?”
I told her: “I’m going to need at least eight hours. Here’s my billable rate.”
“OH, GOOD HEAVENS!” she said, in shock.
“Umm, was that a good surprise or a bad surprise?” I asked, trying to keep my composure.
“That’s way, WAY more than the last guy charged us,” she responded.
I was taken aback by this response and didn’t know what to say. I paused to think of a polite way to explain that the “last guy’s” rate had absolutely no bearing on what I charge.
“Well, with all due respect... if the last guy was so great, why didn’t you just call him? Clearly, he’s not working out, and you called me for a reason.”
Do you know what she said in response?
“Hmm. Good point. Okay, that’s fair. When can you start?”
“Right away,” I said.
Most people inherently know that skilled labor isn’t cheap and cheap labor isn’t skilled. But sometimes, they need a friendly reminder.