Serve No Master: How to Escape the 9-5, Start up an Online Business, Fire Your Boss and Become a Lifestyle Entrepreneur or Digital Nomad

by Jonathan Green

  95

  My First Paycheck

  When I got started, I needed to make money fast. I had just been fired from my job, and now I had rent, a car payment and other bills chasing me. The ships were burning, and I needed to earn if I wanted to stay alive. I put up a barely passable website. The background was black, and the writing was dark blue. You had to squint to see what was going on, and reading the text was nearly impossible.

  I made like ten thousand mistakes. People tell me that all the time now. But I did one thing right - I immediately started posting ads on Craigslist.

  I posted my very first ad on Saturday and had my first client by Thursday. She handed me a check for $200, and I was in the game! It was such an amazing feeling. I have never worked harder for someone in my life. I shot videos of her operation. I jazzed up her website. I fixed tons of tech problems in her funnel. For her search terms, she had her website, two videos and several social media profiles all on the first page of Google by the time I finished. It took a ton of work and over time I realized how to manage time and expectations better.

  I used to provide coaching in this same industry. I no longer do client facing work, so I was teaching people how to replicate my business model. The one thing I learned is that people have an incredible capacity for excuses. Guys would tell me that they can’t start posting ads until their website is perfect. They can’t let clients call them because they don’t have an 800 number. They want to change the color of this and tweak that.

  There’s a reason I stopped coaching people like that. I tracked each of these guys for a year. They never succeeded. They refused to implement my training, and it broke my heart. You don’t have to be perfect to get into this business. When your stuff is perfect and your ducks in a row you can raise your prices. But if you don’t take clients you won’t make any money.

  I simply can’t understand that mindset, even though that is how most people in our society think. You should focus on making money rather than excuses. They always told me that they didn't want to damage their brand. If someone sees your website, thinks it’s garbage and doesn’t call you - that is the same result as if they never saw you in the first place. No call means no possibility of a sale. Who cares about the reason?

  You don’t need to worry about your reputation this early in the game. So many small businesses talk about brand and reputation all the time. That stuff doesn’t matter until you are moving millions of dollars around. You can change to an entirely new brand very quickly if you need to. Anytime I hear someone with a new business talking about protecting their brand or the value of their brand; I know they are about to make a poor decision.

  When someone is online looking to hire someone, they are ready to take action. Let’s imagine that I have a local small business and I want my website at the top of the search results so I can get more clients. I hop on the old Internet and search wherever I feel comfortable. Could be Bing, could be Google and it might even be Craigslist.

  I go to the first website, and it looks horrible, so I move on until I find a website that matches my expectations. I call that number and hire them. I don’t remember the names of the first six places. Why would I? Has their brand been negatively impacted? Of course not.

  Your brand is only damaged if you take someone’s money and fail to deliver. That is what brand is really about. Don’t worry about having the perfect logo and the perfect website. Brand protection is not important. I would rather make a bunch of money.

  You can take the same money-first approach to your first product. Put it up for sale and only after you have sales, start making it. There are a lot of products that are delivered as live training calls or webinars. Those people waited until there was a market willing to pay them before they invested the time and energy in actually making it, and that’s a smart, efficient way to do business.

  This is the next generation beyond simple research and a great way to ensure that you make money from day one.

  96

  Negotiating

  This might be the most important thing you learn in this chapter, so listen closely. The first time you step into a room with a potential client you have to negotiate. People like to get a good deal. If you let them squeeze down your price, they will. When you absolutely need that paycheck, and they can sense it, you better believe they will grind you down to dust. Nobody pays extra money out of goodwill. That’s an imaginary thing.

  “I can pay this guy extra money to make him feel good or I can get my kid braces.”

  What do you think he’s going to choose?

  The first mindset of negotiations is that whoever cares less is going to win. It’s crazy, but it’s true. There are tons of stories about great salesmen who will let a silence last for thirty minutes or an hour just to get the sale. People who have created iron personalities. They are playing to win the game. That’s the right mindset when you go into a negotiation.

  You start off with the razzle-dazzle. Show them what you have done for past clients and demonstrate your expertise. If you don’t have any past clients – make them up! I made three websites when I got started. I made websites for three businesses that didn’t exist, and then I got them to the top of the search results. They provided proof that my system worked. You can do the same thing with any other service. You should do demo work as fast as you can so that you have an actual portfolio.

  Show your potential client all the money you are going to make them. Focus on how your work will benefit them financially. The more you can create a memorable character and play the role, the easier this becomes.

  When I first got into the business, I would talk like I’m an underground tech ninja hacker who was fighting for the good guys. "The Internet is the Wild West, and you have two choices if you want to stay alive. You can pick up a gun, or your can hire a gunfighter like me. I don’t like to lose. I’m not in the game to make your company grow. I want to crush your competition into the ground. That’s how hard I’m gonna fight for you."

  Can you feel how exciting that is? Who doesn’t want someone with that mindset on their team? You can follow it up with a little taste of fear. "I’m the best gunfighter in this town, and I love my work. If things don’t work out between us, that’s totally fine. Once I’m hired, I only work with one client per industry. You seem like a great dentist, and if I’m on your team, then I’m your gunfighter. But if we part ways, and another dentist approaches me then I’m on his team. And I will do everything in my power to put you out of business.

  There are no hard feelings, but I am a mercenary. I work for the client that hires me. My job is to get him more customers, and I notice a bunch of customers in the front of your building in the waiting room that would look amazing in his office. But honestly, I like the cut of your jib and I’d much rather empty out his office so you can buy out his practice at pennies on the dollar."

  Can you see how there are now two reasons to hire me? I can help you and then I won’t destroy you. You don’t want to go too far down the fear path. Just explain that they are purchasing your loyalty as well as your expertise. That adds a lot of value. Once you’ve explained your value and what happens if they don’t hire you, it’s time to talk about money.

  97

  Always Double Your Number

  I have a simple model for my prices, and it shocks people who hear it for the first time. Each new client pays double what the last one did. Eventually, you find out the top price the market will bear. I started out getting $200 a month from that first client. I had asked for $500, but I was willing to take whatever I could get. The next client paid $500 a month, then $1000 and then $2000.

  This is a simple model, but it’s great because it leaves you a LOT of wiggle room. It’s important to set your price far above your costs at this point in the negotiation. OR you can go the fixed price route, where you charge everyone the same rate and lock in at that. If negotiations terrify you, that is the other option, but you will make less money.

  Once y
ou have figured out your fixed price, you can skip the next section. But while you are figuring out the price, you want to keep doubling it until you hit the ceiling. I honestly thought that no one would pay more than $500 for my services when I started. I just kept saying higher numbers, because I wanted to see what would happen.

  There are all these studies about how men are better negotiators than women. I’ve negotiated with a lot of women and noticed that it’s really different. If you are a woman or even a man that falls into this area, let me help you. Many women I negotiate with start out at their final price. They start out at the lowest number they will accept, and then their feelings get hurt if they don’t like my counter. When I’m hiring a woman for something new, and I have no idea what the market rate is, I ask her to name her price. Tell me how much you want per month. I am not sure why, but the women I have negotiated with always ask me to go first. Some men do as well. The thing that is unique is what happens next. When people pressure me to go first, and I’m the one paying I ALWAYS lowball, we’re talking $100 bucks a month or something else like that. This is simply the inverse of when I’m the recipient. When I say this to a man, he laughs and says the real number he wants. When I say it to a woman, she gets personally offended and walks away from the deal altogether.

  When someone lowballs you, don’t take it personally! It’s not a sign of some deep disrespect; they’re just feeling you out. And the way you respond is instructive. Why would I want to work with someone whose feelings get hurt by a guess? I was asked to make a guess at the salary she wanted. Why wouldn’t I guess a number that benefits me? I worked with a guy a few years ago who wanted ten grand a month and a huge percentage of my business. We parted ways, and he’s doing great now. I have no ill will. When a deal is not right, you should be able to walk away without being upset.

  If you attach feelings to a business deal, you will always make a poor decision. This applies to men and women. I don’t negotiate when I’m angry or sad. If someone lowballs me, I know it is not a personal attack. It’s just business, and if you can’t separate those two feelings, you’re going to really struggle. The more you are willing to say ridiculous numbers the better you will do. I have cut prices down by 80% and gotten paid more than 400% more than my asking rate just by throwing crazy numbers out there and waiting.

  I was once paid four thousand dollars to upload twenty videos to YouTube for someone. I did it all in one day and just took the rest of the month off. I named a crazy price, but to them it seemed reasonable. We both walked away happy with our results.

  I’m not a tier one negotiator or dealmaker by any means. I just follow a simple formula. It has been consistently successful for me for a very long time. If you are afraid of hurting the other person’s feelings by asking for too much or offering too little, it will hurt your bottom line. Over time, those little things add up.

  I’ve had people say really horrible things to me during negotiations, but it’s water off my back. I can see it as the attempt at a chess move that it is. And thus I ignore it.

  98

  Let Them Talk You Down

  The reason I like to inflate my price is that every client on earth wants to go back to the partners or the spouse and brag about winning the negotiation. If you walk in with no room to move, they are stuck. They might pay your price, but there’s no room for them to feel like a winner.

  I remember my craziest negotiation. I was at a car dealership, and I razzled them, and I dazzled them – slideshow presentation, lots of quotes, high energy. They were so excited that the whole team was chomping at the bit. At the time, my top client was paying me $1,000 a month.

  So I told them my price was $10,000 a month. And then I froze. And if I said another word or even twitched I would reveal how crazy that number was to me. Because I started off there, they assumed other people were paying me that. It’s imperative not to speak after you say the price. Let the other dude go first. The first person to speak after the moment of silence usually loses.

  Some people get nervous and start negotiating against themselves. That is a classic mistake. Let the silence speak on your behalf.

  Those guys were shocked but I walked out of that room with a check for $2,000, and they were high-fiving like you wouldn’t believe. They got their gunfighter at an 80% discount! They got to feel like amazing winners who got a great deal. I got a check that doubled my last one.

  Allowing people to talk you down makes them feel really good. The great thing about it is that some people just accept your initial offer. Now if you feel antsy about all of this, you can look at what your competitors charge and be 10% less. Then you can have the mindset of “the price is the price.” You act like a big store. Do you walk into the mall and ask for 10% off of a toaster? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. That is the mindset if you have zero interest in the negotiation game. Just pretend that you work for someone else. Your boss set the price, and you’re just telling the customer. You don’t have the power to change the price. That mindset can keep you strong when people are trying to knock you too low.

  99

  Be Ready to Walk Away

  Walking away is one of the most vital skills you have to develop – just saying NO can add so much to your wallet and give you so much peace of mind. I can’t tell you that I’ve walked away every time I should have. I’ve walked into bad deals and taken gigs I shouldn’t have. I learned from my mistakes the hard way, and I’m just hoping that you don’t need to. If you walk into a room, and you aren’t willing to walk away, your client will crush you. You are utterly powerless, and that’s a horrible place to be.

  Sometimes you’ve got to demonstrate your resolve. When I was first taking on clients, sometimes I’d take a deal because I had a bill chasing me. It’s a terrible place to be because you wind up with clients that don’t treat you properly. I had one client who went to the same high school as me like ten years before me. He started giving me nicknames like I was a freshman and treating me like an employee. He thought that for $1000 a month I was a full-time employee. I fired him. Working with him in the first place was a mistake, and I learned my lesson.

  If you aren’t willing to walk away, at least fake it. You need to deal from strength or you’ll get rolled over and over again and end up working for slave wages. You think you’re desperate and miserable now – wait until you’ve got a schedule full of bad clients that barely pay you anything and heap on condescension and abuse by the truckload. I also know some people that go too far in the other direction. They demand a fee that nobody will pay, and they go for months or even years without work out of pride. You have to do a balancing act in your mind, and there isn’t a perfect solution.

  Sometimes it’s better to walk. If you take a low paying job, then you don’t have as much time to find a better client. You don’t want to establish that you have a low price in the market because this can curse you for a long time.

  Five years ago I sold full-length courses for $7. It’s pretty hard to jump from there to charging a thousand bucks or even five hundred. People think of you as the seven-dollar guy. I had to stop selling courses for several years to allow that perception to reset.

  Controlling perception for future income is just as important as getting paid today.

  100

  Cheap Clients are a Nightmare

  When I started out, my prices were way too low. I lost money by the truckload because I didn’t know how to measure the value of a client. One secret I learned is that you need to know the value of a customer to your client. My first client was a masseuse. A new customer for her was worth $40 a month at best. She is in a high volume, low price market. That means that I need to generate at LEAST 13 new clients a month to justify a price of $500 a month. Otherwise, she’s taking a loss.

  But if you work with a dentist, each new client is worth thousands of dollars. Two new clients a year and they are in the black! Target clients who your work can help the most. It took me a while to learn that not all b
usinesses make great clients.

  The other thing you want to avoid is people who can barely afford you. The people who are spending their last five hundred bucks to hire you because they are desperate. That puts an enormous amount of stress on the relationship. There is an inverse relationship between how much people pay you and how often they call you. I worked with a massive land developer once. He called me once a month at most. He was my highest paying client, and I was getting him awesome results. One new client for him was worth millions of dollars. Talking to me literally wasn’t worth his time.

  When people really can’t afford you, they will constantly call to check on their investment. They’re scared and nervous, and they will infect you with that feeling. I once had a client who wanted to start a website that would be the “Facebook for Sugar Daddies.” I thought this idea was terrible. It seems that if you are paying your girlfriend, that is the kind of thing you want to keep quiet, not post all over social media. They had this picture of an older man with a fistful of money with a finger in front of his mouth. He was making the “shhh” gesture. They wanted it on the home page and every day they would call me asking for me to make the picture bigger so you could see the money better.

  On the very first call, I was hesitant about taking on the client. I am not a web design guy, so I knew I would have to outsource. I got some bids from teams I knew and doubled that price for my bid with the client. He agreed, and we got to work. Over the next month, he called me constantly. I ended up making less than a dollar an hour if you count that phone time. Finally, I delivered the completed project. He told me he was happy and wanted no more changes. So I paid my team and thought it was over. Two days later he was on the phone demanding a new round of changes. I had to hire a new team and ended up taking a loss on the whole project. I LOST money.