The art of knowing "where to tap"

"A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. The engine was fixed! He carefully put his hammer away.

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “It’s ridiculous! He hardly did anything!” So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer ………………….. $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap ………………….. $ 9,998.00"

I often get asked why I do not charge hourly - given that my work is 100% labour.

Well actually it isn't 100% labour.

What people don't see are the overheads, the training , the insurance, the up skilling and the development that goes into my fees. This extends to training my team.

Sure other occupations still charge hourly - they build this into their rates - everyone has an hourly rate in their head - doctors, accountants, plumbers - it's just what that 'hourly rate' includes.

I can look at a set of accounts for a business and know in a very quick review where the problems are and how best to fix them.

Don't be embarrassed at your bank balance - I am not looking at the numbers - I am analysing their validity, their relationship to the other numbers and a whole pile of other internal lists of audit in my brain.

What you see is sometimes NOT what you get - you see a bookkeeper, a numbers nerd, a processor.

I am all that yet I am also - passionate about numbers, determined about balance and ensuring we have all the correct processes to capture the information.

Then I get all unnaturally excited about analysing those numbers and workflows and making them even easier.

In this analogy my 'hammer' is my laptop and my 'knowing where to look' is years of experience with businesses starting their business journey, faltering along the way or growing their business and outgrowing their existing processes.

Then and only then can we engage the next experts in the chain to take this even further - usually in my world this is an accountant.

They are the next expert who also will not quote you an hourly rate. You will see someone who understands tax, finances, compliance.

What I see is a numbers guru - someone who can deep dive into your numbers and ensure your financial planning encompasses compliance, tax effective strategies - all wrapped in a nice bow!

So forget hourly rates - yes always ask about price - as a business owner you need to know what you are getting for your money. Just don't focus on the hourly rate, engage the suitably qualified professionals that match your business needs

and they will know exactly where to tap!