I Think I’m Under Charging You
It was my Dad’s birthday last night, so we all went out for a meal – Me, Mum, Dad, Brother and his Girlfriend. As we walked through the stiff creaky door we approached the rather intimidating manager, she towered over us like a menacing menu bearing giant, but it was raining outside so we didn’t mind, all we wanted was to sit down and eat after a hard day.
We were directed to a table, the wooden floor banged as we pulled back our sturdy wooden chairs and sat down to read the menu. Looking around we could see we were the only people sat in the eating area, nobody said anything, but I could tell we were all thinking the same thing – How is Dan going to turn this into a blog post?
Quite easily actually 🙂
Fast forward a couple of hours and we were waiting for the deserts to arrive. On the menu was a very strange “Chocolate and Rhubarb Crumble but that’s not important right now. We were all chatting away, well, four of us were chatting away – my brother appears to still be shaking off the shackles of puberty so he managed a grunt every now and again.
Conversation turned towards my brother’s girlfriend, who happens to work for a local IT company that provides web hosting, design, coding and other similar services to schools and businesses across the UK.
With me running a similar venture in D9 Hosting, I was curious to see how the company was run. After a bit of background information, we turned to pricing, where I was amazed to hear:
“We charge £250 to install Google Analyticsâ€
£250 for Google Analytics! That’s almost $500 to place a few lines of JavaScript on a page!
They also charge a similar price to setup Google Docs for customers, and charge an arm and a leg for web design and hosting. Their monthly sales target is £100,000 (about $200,000) and with those sorts of prices it won’t surprise you that they meet it most months.
Now there’s no way we could charge you that sort of price for any of the services I’ve mentioned, you would all probably have a rough idea of how much to pay for that sort of work – and it would be a lot less than £250!
*FYI, there’s actually a couple of Google Analytics “How To’s†on this blog, you’ll be able to find them using the search bar on your right*
BUT, the vast majority of offline businesses are still more than happy to pay top dollar for IT services, be it web design, hosting, script installation or consultation, and what’s more. I think that 95% of you reading this are more than capable of providing these services – skills you pick up on your Internet Marketing journey are more valuable than you could ever imagine.
Just ask yourself if you can install Google Analytics?
I’m sure most of you answered “Yes†to the above question, and I’m sure you know some offline people who run websites, why not see if they’d be interested in having you install it for them?
That’s just one example of taking what you’ve learnt in the online world, into the offline sector, there are many, many more ways to do this. I am currently working on a big offline project with my D9 Hosting partner, Paula, that should be launching in the next few weeks so stay tuned for that.
Nothing much to add, just really made the post to open your eyes to the opportunities that exist away from the PC screen!
That’s all for today, I was going to hold off writing this until Thursday but thought I’d get it down on paper whilst it was all still fresh in my head.
As always comments are my friend and yours, so do leave one if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Dan
P.S. I had a Bacon & Cheese Burger and a Knickerbockerglory (sp?) for desert – 7/10
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And before any of you ask…..
YES – The chocolate and rhubarb crumble was for real, I didn’t make it up. It tasted…different 😉
Hi Dan, good point well made. I’ve done this a few times myself with some local business websites. I have a good basic grasp of IM (adding opt-in boxs, free content, autoresponder series etc) and a friend is pretty good at SEO and optimization.
You’re probably aware Jim Cockrum has just announced the opening of offlinebiz.com which is a similar kind of service
Great post. I’m working on setting up a VA business so this falls right in that concept.
After reading and climbing the learning curve for a little over a year, I think that this might be the “niche” for me.
Still plan to continue my “teaching” efforts for beginners but everyday I see examples of business people (online and offline) failing to produce like they could because of being bogged down in mundane details instead of doing what they are good at.
I have always told my offline bookkeeping clients, you can afford to pay me for a month by working a tiny fraction of the time it would take you to do your books (and then it might not be right).
Stick to your talent and look for talented people for the other things.
Carol
How true this post is.
But I do think it depends on where you are located how much you get paid.
I live in a country town in Aussie, with less than 10,000 people and, as far as I know, I am the only one with a website, or who can build one.
I have lots of people approach me to make a site for them but if I mention payment, they run a mile.
I end up doing them for nothing – in one case, sandwiches! LOL
Such is life outside the “Big City”.
Beachcomber
PS – Yes, I DO look like a monster.
Hi Dan,
That’s unbelievable. The prices that are charged, I mean, not the chocolate and rhubarb crumble….
It doesn’t really surprise me, however.
When I worked in a small typesetting and design place in Northampton, somebody wanted a business card designed and printed. He was charged £15 (about $30) for 500.
Two months later, I was working in London and a guy called in a panic saying he wanted a business card designed (not printed). He was quoted £80. He came and collected it an hour and a half later (it only took 10 minutes to do) and paid his money.
He came back two hours later with a case of 12 bottles of wine. He was grateful. The designed business card was at the printers and was being printed and would take another few hours. A cost of another £80. He was wandering around until he could pick them up.
The train fare to Northampton from London was £6 return and took an hour, 5 minutes from the station to my old workplace and an hour setting and printing the business cards and then an hour back to London. So for £21 he could have had it designed, printed and 500 business cards in his hand and got back to London less than four hours later.
It was back in the mid 80’s, mind you….
The reason I am saying this is: Businesses will charge, what we believe to be, extortionate prices simply because the customer will gladly pay it.
It does make one think though, eh?
Regards,
Gary
Well, that’s a challenge for me Dan – I’ll have to install it somewhere now just for the hell of it!!
Carol, what the heck is VA?
Sorry about the pic, I’m a recently reformed monster and it hasn’t completely worn off!!
John
PS Dan, I just love Rhubarb Crumble, but CHOCOLATE – naaaaaah, not with Crumble!!!
Sounds like a place up on the A66 West of Scotch Corner where I went for dinner in the 60’s. I asked for the Wine List and some bow-legged, whiskery old git wandered out with a towel on his arm – “I’m your Wine List…. Red er White??”
Hi John
VA – Virtual Assistant. Like an administrative assistant but online. Different people offer different services. My partner and I plan to concentrate on services for the IM market particularly Support Desk Management, Email management, maybe research and keyword research. I do have arrangements made for ghost writing and some other services to be obtained in one spot.
Sorry Dan – didn’t mean to steal your comment section.
Carol
Timely post, Dan. I’ve been considering some offline projects for the near future…one’s that do not include vacuuming my apartment or laundry. 8^)
And because I am only one person, I am also thinking seriously about using VA services, like Carol’s. The older I get, the more important some sleep seems to be…sigh.
Anticipating some suggestions from John Reed…My offline projects DO NOT include standing on street corners in the middle of the night, collecting quarters (25 cents USD). ROTFLMAO
Pat
A timely comment Dan. It seems that a number of people have picked up on the idea of using internet skills to make a killing helping offline businesses with online tasks. I know Jim Cockrum has a new site (international) and there’s another one which is USA only.
I guess great minds do think alike!
Ok . . will some one tell the Yankee what the heck a “crumble” is ? Some sort of cake I assume…
As for IT pricing… Dan you should offer your brothers girlfriend a job. Perhaps now she’ll be around more and this will help him make the final post pubescent transition!
🙂
Omar
Omar,
You poor deprived Yankee.
Not only is your dollar only worth nineteen cents, you’ve been missing out on one of the finest delicacies!
Follow the link below and all will be explained regarding ‘crumble’.
http://www.cookuk.co.uk/cake/apple-crumble-recipe.htm
It never ceases to amaze me that the ‘world rulers’ know so little about The World. LOL
Yours in gastronomy,
Beachcomber
I go off to football, come back and have all these comments to reply to before Prison Break. Here we go!
@Martin – I like your sites holding page! And I didn’t actually know about Jim’s new venture, but I’ll have to check it out.
@Carol – I think you’d be a great VA, I think it’s fair to say I’ve seen you go from helpless newbie to a very well respected and helpful member of the IM community, I think you’d be very reliable as a VA
Don’t worry about stealing the comment section, anything that makes the blog look busy is fine by me…not that it isn’t busy….but you know what I mean 😉
@Clive – It sounds like we both live in similar locations. I live in a small village and don’t have any neighbours, but living on a tiny island means it’s only a quick car drive to the nearest town.
I don’t think I’d want to be paid in sandwiches though, I think I’d have to hold out until they paid in crumble.
@Gary – That doesn’t surprise me at all. You probably already know, but I work and live on a farm. Back before we were hooked upto the Internet..probably early 90’s, my Dad bought some business cards, they were very basic and I remember asking how much they cost. To my horror he’d paid almost £600 for them.
Needless to say, he now thinks Vistaprint is an amazing company 😉
@John – I don’t like Rhubard, but I had to give it a try, the chocolate certainly didn’t make it any worse!
Is scoth corner that big hill you drive up, on the way to Scarborugh? (sp?)
@Pat – I should know this….but what does ROTFLMAO stand for?
@Sandra – As I mentioned before, I hadn’t heard of Jim’s new product but I’m curious now, I think I’ll have to go check it out.
@Omar – I thought you were a man of the world? YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT CRUMBLE IS!!!
It’s possible they nicest desert ever made. There’s this local pub we go to fairly often the does a caramel, apple pie/crumble with custard….mmmmmm.
@Clive – Thanks for the link, I’m sure it will save Omar from many awkward situations in the future when someone slips “crumble” into the conversation 🙂
Don’t know if Pat will read so thought I would answer for her, Dan
Rolling On The Floor Laughing My ### Off.
Ladies don’t say that seventh word – lol
Carol
Arm? LOL
@Omar – My brothers GF has only been there a couple of months, we need to wait until she’s been there a bit longer so she can use their free IT training course…then she can come join D9 when she’s fully trained 🙂
Thanks for the great posts everyone, great relief in the middle of finishing my VAT Return (Tax Return).
Hi there Pat, I certainly don’t expect you to be hanging around on street corners for a measly 25 cents – wear a Witches hat to keep the rain of your specs, a Pumpkin Outfit (fantastic protection!), carry a Candle (I have 1000’s)……..
and charge $2.00!!!
John
Your favourite Knight of Ill-Repute
For Dan-de-Danman,
Scotch Corner: – A1/A66 Junction and big hotel towards Darlington (used to be a round-about when I was scudding around North Yorkshire and County Durham in a 1959 VW Beetle).
Not to be confused with Sutton Bank, one of those that isn’t going bust – but is a very steep decline if you are driving West….. haha!!!!
John O’York (But Hey – I was born over the border in Lancashire, I’m just a wandering Missionary!!)
Ahhh yes, Sutton Bank is what I was thinking of. When I was a little nipper we were on our way to Scarborugh and a car hit us at the top of Sutton Bank, they didn’t even know there was a corner there and they went straight into us.
God knows why I got it mixed up with Scotch Corner!
Hey Dan,
Firstly, I think you are in the wrong business, I mean you should be writing best selling novels with lines like this “the wooden floor banged as we pulled back our sturdy wooden chairs and sat down to read the menu”, I was expecting the next line to be “there was a faint whistling noise as the cold wind blew through a crack in the old oak door” 🙂 Just kidding, but yeah, that is really silly money for what is actually done, I personally try to help people to do stuff like this for themselves so they can learn, I mean nobody wants to pay every time they need something simple doing.
Later,
Dave.