Business values: do you need to think about your business philosophy?
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010Which values or principles do you bring to your business? Is it even necessary to know what they are? Business thinkers like Jim Collins believe that business values give you a “system of guiding principles and tenets; a philosophy of business and life.”
When we started my first company, Doctorlingua, we got to the stage of having to think about business values—after two years and having started to build up decent working relationships with about 15 teachers and translators, more than 50 clients and (if I remember rightly) over 200 students.
I thought for a while about what had really worked for us in the past and which values resonated with me from the reading I’d done around growing businesses and this is the list I came up with:
- be honest, polite and respectful of all people;
- work hard, work well, work quickly;
- be enthusiastic and optimistic about what you do;
- organise and plan as much as you can;
- be flexible and help others;
- invest in long-term relationships;
- keep an open mind;
- think and act creatively;
- learn from your mistakes and to apply your knowledge;
- take decisive action;
I probably should have thought about our business values long before I actually did, which is probably why I’m thinking about them again as I plan how to turn my next project—SpanglishLex.com—into some sort of a company over the next few months.
What are your business values and philosophy? What is important to you?
Luz Tocino
08/09/2010
I certainly agree with the values listed above but, unfortunately, many times I wonder if I come from a different planet because I don’t see much of a sound entrepreneurial culture among my countryfolk here in Spain. I will avoid generalization, but I must say, especially these days of cheap labour and job scarcity, that many Spanish companies are neglecting quality service for the sake of scraping up some more euros in order to survive.
I am being offered lower fees for my job and it seems my experience and qualifications are invisible when it comes to hiring English teachers. The trouble is that I can’t downgrade my teaching because I get paid less, so a dilemma just comes up: Should I accept the job even if being paid a quarter of what I used to get? If I reject it, someone else will come and do it and I will be out of work myself; even if proud of keeping my own values.
Luz Tocino
MatthewBennett
08/09/2010
Hi Luz,
I still find every week that people opt to go down the cheap business route, trying to force or provoke the easy decision, the cheaper price, the less honest way. I think, as in life, adopting and trying to stick to business values is something you need to decide to do—and you need to keep deciding to try and stick to them day after day, month after month and year after year.
Like trying to stick to certain values in life, though, (if that’s your thing) it’s not easy and sometimes you fail and have to pick yourself up and get back to what you were trying to do.
I know of some companies here in Murcia that operate with good business values and a ggood business philosophy—I’m even fortunate enough to count a few of them amongst my clients, but I know where you’re coming from.
Price is one of those things which you have to take a stand on too. I’ve found that—whatever price you set, from €10/hour right up to €108/hour (yes we did, for a while :-) !!)—someone is going to complain and lots of people are going to say ‘oh that’s too expensive’.
Personally, I try and learn how to deal with that in terms of sales arguments (there are loads of great books) because it’s almost never the decisive issue, although it’s usually the first question.
I also took the decision a long time ago not to budge when it comes to prices. I’ve found that the more you charge—up to a point—the more you hold out, eventually you will find good clients who respect your work and are willing to pay your price.
And you know what? I’ve discovered they are better clients too—clients who understand value, the time value of money, the time and and monetary value of learning and the effect it has on their lives—also understand these things in terms of the other aspects of your relationship with them.
So, to answer your question, I would say: set a price you’re very, very happy about and learn to sell your classes at that price, rather than trying to work for a fee you’re not happy with just because someone says they don’t want to pay it.