IttyBiz

This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

In my industry, it’s not uncommon – and sometimes even expected – that training products like online courses and downloadable programs should run in the $1,500 – $2,000 range.

Take one look at my store, and you’ll see that the vast majority of the products I offer cost less than 100 bucks. Even after being in the business for more than 10 years.

Throughout the history of IttyBiz there have been a few higher-priced offerings, but most of the time my products and classes have been fairly inexpensive in comparison to the industry norms.

Sometimes I’ll get asked why I chose this particular business model for IttyBiz. There are a few reasons for this, and I’ll answer them by comparing my particular model to other ones.

As I compare them, though, I’m not remotely implying that my model is better than the ones that other people choose. It’s just the right fit for me.

Here’s why.

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This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

When it comes to the idea of publicly posting rates, the service provider industry is split into two firm camps.

Camp A says that any opportunity to communicate with a prospect should be seized. Therefore, not listing prices encourages a prospect to get in touch. (There’s also a fear that listing prices will scare off prospects, but that’s another issue for another day.)

Camp B says that prices should be transparent because, um, the stuff you buy is supposed to have a price tag. They tend to think that not listing your prices is disrespectful and opaque.

While I don’t agree with the moral component of Camp B, I do share their sentiments as it relates to the prospect’s experience. While you can go either way – there are a lot of people in both camps – here are my reasons for pricing transparency.

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This article is part of the, “But WHY, Naomi?” series.

Testimonials are usually approached from the perspective of hard results. Conventional wisdom dictates that if people can see exactly how well a product or service performs, they’ll be more likely to buy it.

I lost X pounds!
I got Y dates!
I scored Z followers!

Conventional wisdom also says that bigger is better. The bigger the results, the bigger the selling power.

Therefore,

• “I lost 120 pounds” is bigger, and therefore better, than “I lost 12.”
• “I got 50 dates” is bigger, and therefore better, than “I got 5.”
• “I scored 100,000 followers” is is bigger, and therefore better, than “I got 192.”

I’ve always taken a different approach in the testimonials I publish, both on the products in my store, and with the coaching that I offer. (There’s one exception, and I’ll tell you about that in a moment.).

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If there’s one thing we’re all exhausted by, it’s content. The planning of it, the making of it, the promoting of it. Not to mention the navel gazing of it, the second guessing of it, and the getting 90% done and then bailing on it. And in the six years since Mark Schaefer broke our minds with his philosophy on content shock, things have gotten worse, not better.

I’ve done my best to contribute to the oh-my-God-how-in-the-hell-are-we-supposed-to-keep-up potluck with ways to write newsletters faster, how to do content marketing without a blog, and The 1-Hour Content Plan. But at the end of the day, the truth is the truth. It’s at least hard, and possibly impossible, to keep up.

In response to all this situation, the idea of repurposing content has emerged. If you turn THIS thing into this OTHER thing, YOU HAVE TWO THINGS! The internet abounds with ways to repurpose content so that we’re not having to reinvent the wheel every freaking time we take pen to paper.

The problem is, the biggest advisors in the repurposing world tend to be corporations. They’re companies… with whole teams of people, with massive existing skillsets, and functionally unlimited budgets. Turning an old newsletter into a webinar is a simple matter of emailing Brad in marketing with, ”Can you turn that old newsletter into a freaking webinar or something?”

For ittybiz owners, it’s not quite so simple. Turning that old newsletter into a freaking webinar requires figuring out how to make a freaking webinar, finding the time to make a freaking webinar, learning to promote a freaking webinar, and getting someone to watch the freaking kids.

For many, it’s a hell of a learning curve.

But! All is not lost. Even at the itty level, you can absolutely get in on the repurposing game. Here are a few ways to do just that. Some of them might be above your resource capacities right now, but others might not be. Have a peek and see if you might be able to take a load off.

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Working from home is a huge goal for many people. The allure is strong – no commute, you can do it in your pajamas, and you can eat your lunch when you want to. Even people who would no more start an ittybiz than fly to the moon still dream of a day when they can just work from their freaking house.

Having said that, most of our home offices suck.

For one thing, they’re rarely offices. Working in our PJs at our kitchen table has become almost a badge of honor in the solopreneur community.

And even if they are offices, they’re cramped, they’re messy and they create an environment that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board would have to step in about if you ever forced anyone else to work there.

Unsurprisingly, that has effects on a person.

Shall we discuss?

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