Will Sampson talks about the tricky equation of calculating value in business and in life. He continues his interview withs Jeff Finney, owner and CEO of Ultimate Cabinets and The Push Thru, LLC, and author of a new book titled “That’s it, I’m Fired.”
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by Wood Pro Expo. It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. Now it’s time to get out of the shop and resume life in the outside world, especially when it’s a chance to network with your woodworking business peers. That opportunity is coming April 27-29 in sunny San Diego as the Wood Pro Expo joins with the Closets Conference and Expo to offer an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology. Let’s get face to face again. Learn more at woodworkingnetwork.com/events/wood-pro-expo. See you there.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
You can find all of our podcasts at WoodworkingNetwork.com/podcasts and in popular podcast channels. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks again to today’s sponsor, Wood Pro Expo. If you have a comment or topic you’d like us to explore, contact me at will.sampson@woodworkingnetwork.com. And we would really appreciate it if you fill out the survey at woodworking network.com/podcast-survey. Thanks for listening.
Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Here’s what’s coming today on the Woodworking Network Podcast: (25:55) “My goal is always to create a company that’s profitable so I can have great employees that have a great job that will ultimately end up providing more value to my end customer.”
Intro:
Welcome to this episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by Wood Pro Expo California. We’ll be talking about better ways to run your business without it running you, continuing my interview with Jeff Finney, a veteran woodworking business owner and the author of a new book. But first I want to talk about:
What do we value?
Almost everything in life orbits around what we value most. But at the same time, we tend not to value things consistently, and we often find it difficult to relate to people who don’t see value the same way.
Before we go any further, let me explain that by “value” I’m covering a very wide range of things. I’m talking about what we pay attention to, what we measure, what we invest energy, time, and treasure for, and ultimately what provides our direction in life.
On the monetary side and related to woodworking businesses, I think about this a lot. I’ve been studying pricing in custom woodworking businesses for more than 20 years. More often than not that pricing is based on value as perceived by the person doing the work, not the person willing to pay for it. Even when the customer is more than willing to pay more because the customer really values the work, some companies don’t detect or recognize that value and end up leaving money on the table. I can’t count the times when I’ve been told by a woodworker that he can’t charge more because, he says, “I wouldn’t pay that price myself.”
Well, let me remind you that you are not likely your own customer.
But value is also something that pertains to our time. In the previous episode of this podcast, we talked about business life balance. So, which do you give more value to, your family or your business? Of course, that’s a trick question. You can answer “family” without hesitation and then miss your kid’s next soccer game, or work some extra hours to get a project out the door instead of getting home on time for dinner and just keep telling yourself, “Next time I’ll do it.”
In all honesty, I’ve been guilty of those same kinds of behaviors, too. For a great deal of my working life, I’ve had the privilege of working from home. I could take a break when the kids came home from school in the afternoon to talk to them about their day, play catch for a few minutes with my son, or deal with the childhood crisis du jour. But there were also lots of times that I wasn’t there for the wife and kids when I should have been.
I can see that more clearly now that I’ve arrived at what some might call the geezer level in the game of life. But it gives me great pain from that perspective to see younger folks who are making some of the same mistakes I did. It’s because they haven’t learned to find the true value of things. The value as perceived by the people most closely connected. That means the people paying for something, but it also means the people around you who value you not just as a breadwinner but also as a valued part of a family and a community. It also could mean the value that your employees bring to your company.
To get the most value out of anything look at it from the perspective of those who value it most. Then carefully analyze what you value most and take your direction from that.
Before we get to our interview with Jeff Finney, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor.
It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them be even more isolated than usual. Now it’s time to get out of the shop and resume life in the outside world, especially when it’s a chance to network with your woodworking business peers. That opportunity is coming April 27-29 in sunny San Diego as the Wood Pro Expo joins with the Closets Conference and Expo to offer an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology. Let’s get face to face again. Learn more at WoodProExpoCalifornia.com. See you there.