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Self-worthiness determines the investment

The Social Connector advises those who are considering to start as an entrepreneur, those who recently have started as an entrepreneur and those who have been entrepreneur for some years already. My own experience during my personal journey as an entrepreneur inspires and helps others as their experience inspires and helps me.

Yet I still amazes me when I listen to starters mentioning the prices for their products. It seems as if they have chosen to have a company sale continuously as of day 1. This sale can also be concluded from the amount of hours they have worked free of charge for an acquaintance or relative.

This 'Sale'- Group firstly needs a dose of empowerment. 'YOU are YOUR enterprise!' If you put your business continuously on sale, it states something about your self-worthiness and you and your business will not easily be taken serious. Rather speak of the value of your business' product. Replace costs with value and you'll see that the sale will stop quickly. You will realize that all your unremunerated but valuable hours spent on preparation and realizing (your personal R&D expenses) your product at least need to be earned back.

Write down all your hours (i.e. preparation, research and producing) spent on your product. This way you can measure to what extent and in which pace your product will meet its investor and which group of investors consider themselves worthy of investing in your product. Express the value of your product very clearly in an investment value in a specific amount of euros - so don't use costs or price - and invite a potential buyer with the question 'Do you consider yourself worthy of this investment?'

Determine your fixed discount for family, friends and acquaintances, because it is in your interest that they too take your business seriously.

Your self-worthiness determines the valuation of your business. You might meet people telling you are expensive. Turn it around, they do not consider themselves worthy of the investment.

There is age-old wise saying for entrepreneurs still applicable today: 'As an entrepreneur you get the clients who belong to you.'

This article has been originally written for and placed in Dutch on Méér Online .

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