“Making chalk mark on generator: $1
Knowing where to make mark: $9,999.”
-Charles Proteus Steinmetz

Have you heard the story of the man who identified the cause of Henry Ford’s broken generator and charged him $10,000 for this seemingly simple service?

My great-great uncle Howard worked for Henry Ford and was witness to this event, and my dad got to hear this tale told at every holiday gathering growing up :).

Why do I share this legendary lore?

Because so often as service providers, we tend to want to devalue our services because they’re so easy for us and we get so much joy from them.

Have you ever felt or thought something like this?

“I would do it for free; so it feels weird to charge someone for it!”

“Can’t everyone do this? It’s so easy for me!”

When something comes so naturally to us and we love doing it, it DOESN’T mean that everyone can do it; it means that it’s very likely our Zone of Genius, and it is the very thing it would be wise to double-down on offering and charging for!

You can read the full story and more about this amazing man here.

Then tell me, have you found yourself saying these same things? How have you overcome them or how will you begin to shift them now?