I came across a book a couple years ago that moved the needle for me and my business. I had the opportunity to mill for David C. Baker, a New Times Best selling author. I bought his book The Business of Expertise, because I was curious about his work and I wanted to understand a little about who I was going to be working for. His work had such an impact on my business that I almost feel bad that I don’t send him a commission check each month.
Nevertheless, I will share some valuable insights I gained for my sawmill business, particularly in how to position myself as an expert and differentiate my services.
-Specializing to Build Expertise: David emphasizes the importance of focusing on a niche to establish yourself as a trusted authority. Instead of marketing my portable sawmill as a general service, I could position myself as a specialist in high-quality, sustainable timber processing or as a go-to sawyer for unique projects. This positioning has allowed me the opportunity to work on larger and higher quality projects, for higher end clients. These projects are a more detailed however the compensation better and I will get into that later when I talk about price based on value vs. my time.
-Educating Your Audience: David encourages teaching and educating clients to see the value in my expertise rather than competing on price. This is really a no brainer today with all the free platforms to share content. YouTube videos, blog posts, and the list goes on.. I have used these platforms and continue to post educational content and the benefits of custom lumber over big box stores. This helps potential clients see the unique value I offer. Do you know how many times I’ve received a call from a potential client and the first thing they said was: I saw one of your videos and I want to learn more about this service? Love those calls!
-Pricing Based on Value, Not Time: David advises pricing based on the value you bring to clients rather than charging hourly or per job.
This has been a tough one for me to navigate, nevertheless here is where I have landed for now. For individuals, it's usually an hourly rate. It's simple, and it’s normally 1 or 2 days of sawing. However, for contractors or businesses I have had success because these guys see the value in having a beam or something highly custom sawed for one of their clients custom build. If I hadn’t come across this nugget of information in David's book I’m not sure where I would be now. I feel like I owe David on this one.
-Deciding What Work to Say No To: David explains that expertise means knowing when to turn down work that doesn’t align with your goals or brand.
This was tough for me when I first started sawing, but now I turn work down. I used to saw everything I could get my hands on because I felt like I needed the work and experience. For example, in the past I offered Alaskan milling services which is manual and labor intensive. Now, if an opportunity doesn’t align with my focus particularly on bandsaw milling, I simply refer the client to a trusted source. Preserve the brand, and if the client ever needs bandsaw mill work they will call me.
I will leave you with this. No regrets in life, only lessons learned and sometimes the hard way. Dust yourself off acknowledge the blunder and keep pushing. Keep well.
Best
Jason
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