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Susan Trivers is practically peerless as a corporate communicator. Her consulting agency, Trivers Consulting Group, has led nearly 500 client companies to additional revenue totaling 2 billion dollars, demonstrating the undeniable success of her approach. Here, she shares some perspective on how creators can undervalue and misunderstand the services they provide.

[2:34] That Elusive Next Step

For companies that endure through the early challenges to establish themselves as stable, the challenge becomes building on that initial success. The veteran consultant defines stagnation as generating essentially the same level of revenue year after year, and while this is a generally positive development for a once-aspiring entrepreneur, few are those organizations that move beyond this stage. Transforming the overall potential of your business involves transforming your everyday habits, as only a refined approach can lead to improved results.

[4:05] Three Keys

While Trivers specializes in the big picture, it is of course the details that make all the difference for her client companies. A common obstacle toward growth is a pricing model that no longer reflects the cost of operation, and business owners should work to understand why every product is priced as it is to determine whether the structure still makes sense. Other factors in the success of an organization include delivering value as opposed to delivering products and a taxation strategy designed to maximize the resources available to a company.

[8:47] Reclaiming Your Time

Many entrepreneurs fail to adequately account for the time they will invest in producing products or providing services. In many cases, hourly rates can have the effect of penalizing a contractor for their expertise, speed, and skill by placing a hard limit on the price of well-done, expediently performed work. With skilled work, knowledge and expertise are part of the product, and outside of a few specialized industries such as litigation and medical treatment, a fixed rate pricing structure is usually much more beneficial to the individual performing the work.

[15:46] Efficiency as a Virtue

In Trivers’ view, the link between productivity and hourly rates is questionable at best. If productivity is a measure of how well resources are used, performing high quality work in a short period of time is the best possible expression of the idea. The amount of time it takes to perform a task correctly is a function of skill, not dedication, and so if a task requires an uncommon knowledge and expertise, the only way to get the most possible reward in the shortest possible time frame is by employing a fixed rate or value based fee.

[18:14] Valuing Intellectual Property

At the heart of any service based industry is the individual vision and talents of the person performing the task: their intellectual property. Whether you are a painter, a mechanic, a tailor, a carpenter, or a landscaper, any time your mental energies must be applied to addressing the concerns of an individual client, you have engaged in selling your intellectual property. This means that every idea you have can generate revenue for your business, and when your mind is your product you can scarcely afford to sell off its contents at a flat hourly rate.

About Susan Trivers, President, Trivers Consulting Group

Susan Trivers has been providing strategic business consulting to low mid-market and small services companies since 1999. Trivers Consulting Group has helped 500 client companies to increase profitable revenue by more than 2 billion dollars. When asked what her one piece of advice to business owners is, she immediately says: “Accumulate more cash.” Cash enables the company to achieve its biggest goals and helps the owner grow their personal wealth. Susan offers a wealth of insightful strategic and tactical information on her website.

“Helping business owners have wealth and a life, not just a job.” -Susan Trivers

Connect with Susan

Website: http://susantrivers.com/

About: https://www.susantrivers.com/about-susan/meet-susan/

Book: Author of Tinker: How Smart Business Owners Develop Creative Ideas for True Growth. Available on Amazon