So today I want to talk about something
I have learned in business
and I learned this for the first time
from the Bernie Mac show.
Have you ever seen that show?
Who are you with America?
I loved it
I've watched every season of that
not joking between 4 to 5 times.
When I was a kid
my brothers and I
would watch it all the time
after I got married
I watched it all the time
my wife Tara
has probably seen every season
at least twice because of me
but it's hilarious
I loved his sense of humor
I got a kick out of the episodes
it was great.
But there's an episode
I think it's in season 3
might have been season 4
where Bernie needs to build a room
in his house
he needs to build out another room
for a baby girl
so he has his 3 kids
not his kids
2 nieces and 1 nephew
Jordan there
and baby girl needs her own room
so a contractor comes over the house
and he meets with Bernie
and his wife Wanda
and the contractor is going overpricing
what the room would look like
and he whips this triangle out
[VIDEO] But let me show you something
you know when it comes to construction
there's 3 things that people want
they want it good, fast, and cheap.
The problem is you can only have 2
so if you want it good and fast
it ain't gonna be cheap.
If you want it cheap and good
it won't be fast.
Cheap and fast, guess what?
It won't be any good.
See where I'm going with that?
Wanda goes
we'll take good and fast
the contractor says
alright that'll be $50,000
Bernie's eyes get really big $50,000
but they moved forward with the room
and it was good
and it was also fast.
My point here
is the first time I saw that
I just thought it was hilarious
and I liked how the construction guy
is going through
good and fast
not going to be that cheap
and just going through the 2 options
that you can have
you can only have 2 of the 3 items
so which 2 do you want?
But as I thought about it
and as I actually
have grown in business
and have really seen
others grow in business
there's a lot of truth to this
especially around picking the 2 options
of the 3
what do most people select?
If you were to pick 2 options
which 2 would it be?
And this is just a personal question
you to yourself.
I would say most people
would want cheap and fast
some would want cheap and good
a small percentage of people
would actually select good and fast
especially
if you have to pay a premium for it.
Now convenience
Amazon sells on convenience
you could argue that they are good and fast
they're not always the cheapest
but they're good and fast
so that convenience definitely sells
but if you are in business
or if you are in sales
taking that good and fast approach
will go a long way for you
and it doesn't necessarily
mean that you always have to
charge an arm and a leg.
For example
we sell high cash value
life insurance at our company
we can't price it in a manner
I could price it
by increasing the base premium
to generate a higher commission
for my company
and that could be referred to as the
cheap model
it would not be good for the consumer
interested in maximum cash value
but doing it good and fast
that's our mentality
and you can call it we're cheap to ourselves
because we're taking
a lesser commission upfront
but it's a long-term gain.
My point is take the good
and fast mentality for your consumers
for those that you work with
and you will do extremely well
in business and sales.
So with business
do not be cheap
invest in your company
or if you are on your own
invest in yourself
and tools and resources
that can help you continue to move forward
and not just fizzle out.
So as an example
investing in yourself
I was listening to an individual
I had read his book
and then I started following him more
he's in his 70s now I think
he has a company
that'll do about
a billion dollars in revenue this year
maybe it's last year
but a billion dollars in revenue
you think he knows what he's doing?
Yeah he does okay
so he does about a billion dollars
but he invests in himself
and one of the things that he does
and a lot of people
don't see the value in this
is going to seminars and events.
Now the last time that
I went to a seminar is before COVID
I've gone to virtual events
since COVID has hit
but I would go to events and seminars
and I will let you know that
I cannot recall the theme
the title
the different speakers
of those events or seminars
so did I waste the money
even though some of them
were very expensive?
Not one bit.
Going to those seminars
while I don't remember every detail
I've got my notes
that have a lot of information
but what I do remember are the ideas
and things other business owners were doing
that I could then take
and apply in my business.
And why I mentioned that individual
that's doing a billion dollars
in revenue this year
he mentioned that
I was listening to a podcast he was on
and he would talk about you know
I would go to 2 to 3 seminars per year
and really the reason I would go
is to get ideas
like when I went to a seminar
there was never a time I didn't leave
without 2 to 3 new ideas
that I could then use in my business.
So a great example
of investing in yourself is a seminar
or maybe it's a small event
where you're working with someone that
is where you want to be
if you want to get to that level
and really call it buy time
so you don't have to learn
by tripping and falling
and making mistakes
you can learn from someone
who's already made those mistakes
investing in yourself
by networking
hiring someone
whatever it might be
this is an investment
or it's you can call it
personal development
business development
how can you learn
or take ideas from others
that have already done
what you've done
and they've made the mistakes
you're going to make
unless you are told by them
hey don't do that
because it's just going to hurt
it's just going to cause pain
avoid that altogether.
Investing in employees
this is huge
and this could mean
directly increasing their pay
or providing them with equipment
technology.
For example our employees here
including our salespeople
I make it a point to
really invest in them
so we provide computers
we provide cell phones
office phones
office space
everything
because I don't want them to be burdened
with having to spend money
on additional equipment
a lot of companies do that
and there's nothing wrong
if you do do that
but my mindset is hey
let's set the commission rates
the payout rates at a certain level
and then just provide
everything that this person needs
in order to move at
the fastest pace possible
and then they're as productive as possible
they also have less stress
which goes such a long way
so you can call it investing in your
employees' health and wealth
if you want to use that rhymes
when I say wealth
increasing their pay and such
when it's appropriate.
I want to add something here actually
especially
when it comes to being good and fast
do not be cheap
when it comes to employees.
In my industry
the financial services space
what I see so much
and I was mentored and coached
to do exactly what I'm about to tell you
is hey when you are
growing your practice
your book of business Steve
what you want to do
is hire an assistant
make them really good as time passes
but pay them a small salary
and then really you bonus them
as your book of business
and your practice grows
so then they could be making
you know $60,000 to $100 000 per year
even more than that
they're going to be
your executive assistant
and that's the mentality
in my industry
for the most part that I see.
Now as I explain that
does it sound really bad?
No it doesn't sound bad at all
it can be good
especially if you find the right person
however if I said to you hey
we're going to pay you a salary
very minimal
it's going to be $25,000 per year
but you have a ton of potential
to earn a lot more
and it's based on the company's production
my production
you're taking a chance on me then really
how do you feel?
Or let me ask in a different way
how many people
do you think I'm going to find
that are quick to accept that position?
It's going to be difficult
so there's nothing wrong
with making that offer
but from a growth standpoint
what I've learned is
you know what rather than just hiring people
that will only work under a bonus
or incentive package
we have those incentives
and bonus packages at our company
but you're not going to find
not everybody's going to be like that
there's good people that will work for
a healthy salary
and then have a bonus structure
built in there
but if I start it too low
I'm going to miss the boat
on so many good people.
So make sure you're being fair
in that respect
see what's going on in your area
other positions out there
don't be cheap to try and say hey
we're just going to give you more
based on a bonus
if you perform
a lot of times people
hear those promises
they don't pan out
it doesn't work out
causes more stress in the long run
at least it has for me.
Office space
this is huge
so when I first started
my company on my own
when I finally branched off
after I no longer working at the firm
where I design policies
for corporations
I started in a garage
we had this little side compartment
it's where I'm standing now
it used to be a garage
but this 25% of the garage had an office
half of an office
it was me and one part-time assistant
I could afford at the time
she's also a family friend
and that was it
but as we've grown it
what happened is
my dad had owned the garage
he sold me the commercial real estate
which was the garage
and several other units
eventually as things had progressed
converted the garage
into a full-blown commercial office
it was actually before I bought it from him
he let me do that because I'm his son
he knew what I was doing
so he was okay with it
but we converted that garage
into a full-blown office.
That grew
company started to grow
we got more people
at one point in time
we had 3 people
in individual offices
so at one point in time
because I was
you could argue I was being cheap
there were 3 people in my office
3 people in the office next to mine
I spent all my time
working in the conference room
and we were just going crazy
calling people all day
it was fun
but is that a good move really?
Imagine if you're trying to talk to someone
and then you got 2 more people
in that same office
that is not that big talking
talking over each other
it's tough
and some companies do that
with headsets or cubicles
and all 2 of them
but I was being cheap in that respect.
I would argue I wasn't being cheap
well I don't have any other space to go.
I could have found space
if I really wanted to
so what we did
was renovate something
good and fast
as fast as I could.
Once we acquired the property
we took another building
on the same property
it was older
it's a two-story building
and renovated it
upgraded the offices
and now all of a sudden
we have enough space for everyone
different departments
sales
client relations
case design
operations
management
everything
now people can actually work
and still work next to each other
offices next to each other
because that is still important.
But you have to invest
so don't do I want to be cheap on that
and say oh let me try and save money
yeah the walls might not be that good
so you can hear through them
I just worked over in that office
the walls weren't that great.
I'm like alright let's invest in something
to make the quality
of the office space better
and I want it good and fast
I don't want to cheap out
to try and save money
and have some headache
pop up down the road
like no I don't want that kind of stuff.
Marketing
don't be cheap there
I'm not going to go into that
because I've been talking
for a while here already.
A car
so this is a non-business example
if you're looking at a new car
and you can buy a new car
and it's going to cost $30,000
so new, off the lot $30,000
this car is supposed to last
for 300,000 miles
it's got durability and reliability.
Sound good?
Alright you're going to buy it.
But then
someone comes to you says hey
you can buy that car right now
or you can wait 3 months
because you're supposed to be getting
a trade-in
and I've got this car with 150,000 miles
but remember
these cars last for 300,000 miles
the cost is only going to be $8,000
this is going to be such a deal
in fact I don't think it'll take 3 months
I'm pretty sure I can get it for you
in 45 days
or maybe you find that online.
What would you do?
What would most people do here?
Well yeah I'll wait
because I'm going to save myself
the other one is $30,000
$22,000 and it's with a car that
these things last forever
all my friends have it
they last forever
they're not having any problems
yeah I'll do that
but then we wait longer to get the car
and then that's the one car
we get of that model
that breaks down
things don't work
we get frustrated with it
we keep spending more money to fix it
or I don't have a car for a week
because of issues and I'm stressed out
like it's always a thing
it's no fun.
Versus hey I spent the $30,000
and I don't have any stress
and I'm not saying
if you don't have the money
not to find deals
don't take it that way
that's not what I mean one bit
my point is
really to relate that to business
is if you are in a position
maybe you weren't at one point
but you've built up
and now you're like hey
I've worked so hard to get here
I finally have the capital
and now I need to just dump it
all back in the business
to make things good and fast
like I'm not comfortable doing that.
The companies that propel
to that next level
and are at the top section
of this triangle here
not the bottom section
are those that move good and fast
or select good and fast not cheap.
So just food for thought
something to dwell on
nothing against bargain hunters
shoppers.
My wife is very good at that
and I appreciate it
in many cases I'm like let's just go quick
and she's like no no no
I'm gonna look at it and shop
and then she finds
a much better deal than me
but from a business perspective
speed is very valuable.
Anyway I hope this helped
I hope you learned something from this
from Bernie Mac
because it did not come from me
I got it from the show
so I cannot take credit for that
but as always
I do hope this helps
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Hey guys steve Parisi here
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