Jamie Gruber Blog/Newsletter/How Much Money I Earn ‘Adding Value’ (and what ‘adding value’ means and doesn’t!)
Friday, February 24, 2023
How Much Money I Earn ‘Adding Value’ (and what ‘adding value’ means and doesn’t!)
October 25, 2022 Newsletter
SIX BULLET SUMMARY
Asking ‘How Can I Add Value’ is the exact opposite of adding value and is truly coming from a place of trying to ‘get’ vs ‘give’
It takes effort to understand someone’s needs, what experiences or skills you have that can apply, and exactly how you can help
Adding true value to a broad audience generates attention and attention leads to monetization (which leads to you leaving your job)
I’m hosting a Dominican Mid-Life Entrepreneur mastermind in January understanding the needs of the audience I serve
The event was fully booked and I doubled capacity which is mostly filled at this point
It will likely generate $72,000 in revenue because those attending trust me based on the value I provide in the marketplace for the audience that I have chosen to serve
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE: Screenshot the key takeaway that landed for you and tag me in a story on Instagram so I can see what’s working for you.
FULL VERSION
My two sons bear the brunt of having dear old Dad in the personal development space. We call ourselves ‘the fortune cookie family’ because we like to distill lessons down to witty one-liners that we hope they repeat one day when being interviewed about how their success is rooted in the amazing lessons we taught them. For my 7 year old in particular, the recent mantra has been ‘if you want the best life buddy, then don’t worry about what you want to get, just worry about what you’re going to give’. I’m going to talk about the true value of giving and how it allowed me to leave my job and how it is my number one priority to hedge in a recession in this week’s newsletter. I hope you don’t eye roll me like Sebastian does 😁
WHAT IS ADDING VALUE (AND WHAT IT’S NOT!)
The phrase is becoming a bit overused it seems - or maybe it’s because of the world we’re in. Adding value is so broad and buzzworthy that I want to quickly define what I’ve learned it is and it’s not.
FIRST - WHAT’ IT’S NOT
Providing value to others is not an offer. I have a strong opinion on this that may come across as judgemental, but understand that I make this mistake all the time, so pot meet kettle. Here’s how it goes. You meet someone or are at a networking event and come across some really cool people. They’re usually ahead of you on the journey and have the results that you are driving toward. You don’t want to be ‘that guy or gal’ so you correctly don’t make any ‘ask’ of them or try to get anything. Instead you toss out the worst question possible with the absolute best intentions in doing so.
“How can I add value to you?”
There are variations on this. “If there’s anything I can do to add value”, “would love to grab coffee or jump on a call and figure out how I can add value”, “what do you need right now”. All terrible questions or statements. Again, one’s I KNOW are awful but have still found myself saying or asking.
Each of these statements are thinly veiled requests masquerading as giving. They place responsibility on the shoulders of the person you’re claiming you want to help to understand what value you possibly offer, and then fit it into whatever their needs are - which they may not even be clear on right now. I like to answer this question with ‘I could always use a back rub’ not to be a dick (although it does sound like an asshole thing to say now that I type it) but it’s my way of easing out of the conversation. I don’t want to do the work required for me to truly answer that question.
SO THEN WHAT IS ‘ADDING VALUE’?
In the simplest terms possible, truly adding value is doing the work yourself to understand the needs of the individual or group that you’re seeking to serve, then determining what specific skill, connection or knowledge you have that applies and providing an outline of exactly what you can do to help.
Here’s an example…
Let’s say I’m in a conversation with a mega-influencer whose results I want to emulate, and I learn that they have a book coming out. The implied need they have is for that book to be promoted so they can sell them and expand their influence. Now that I understand the need, I can check in with what I have to apply to that need and can form a specific offer of value to the individual.
“I have a podcast called Tribe of Millionaires with a good following and a marketing budget to run ads to promote an episode. If it works for you, I’d be happy to promote the book on my show and I’ll run ads to guarantee 500,000 views of the interview. Happy to record any time and we’ll release it on the best date for you. No obligation, but if it helps it would be an honor”
Or
“My mastermind group Ascend would really benefit from your message. Do you have a volume sales option for books? I’d love to buy 150 of them to give to my group and we can do a book club together to study your lessons”
Doesn’t ‘how can I add value’ seem super lazy now?
I’ve made and executed both of these offers. Interestingly, guests have booked without asking me to guarantee any number of views, and authors have offered without me asking to speak to my mastermind group when buying multiple copies of their book.
TAKING ‘WHAT IS VALUE’ ONE STEP FURTHER
Let’s imagine you’re talking to someone at an event who is looking up at YOU. They want YOUR results one day.
In that situation, you’re asking questions and understanding their problems. You want to help since you’re a step ahead but in order to do so, you need to place their challenge in the context of those you’ve had on your journey. You’re a value focused individual so of course you get at 2-3 things you can help with and offer specific value.
“Love what you’re doing and you should definitely keep searching for the perfect lender for those deals - let me connect you with my bank. Tell them I sent you - here’s the person you need to speak to”
“I’ll send you this great article I saw about x topic that helped me a ton. And you should grab this book that’ll really accelerate where you’re going”
Look at everyone that way. Whether they’re ahead or behind where you are with a specific result, be curious, open, and ready to add specific value. Ask questions to learn about others’ challenges, not questions to get answers that serve you.
ADDING VALUE TO A BROAD AUDIENCE
When looking to pivot from ‘employed to entrepreneur’, a key lesson I’ve learned is the inherent value of attention. I make money and build wealth almost exclusively due to the amount of attention I have. The more attention, the more money.
To be clear, my approach to garnering attention isn’t screaming ‘look at me’, it’s understanding the needs of my audience and providing specific value to assist with their biggest need.
This newsletter is a great example. I listen to those struggling with an unfulfilling job, feeling trapped by a high income, and unsure if they can change their circumstances. The biggest struggle for me is trying to provide some sort of roadmap for people, which I wish existed. Each journey is so individual. But I decided I could at least show my journey and allow people to see how messy, disorganized, incredible, fun, manic, scary, insane it really is to make what feels like an impossible leap in mid-life. It’s the same formula as above brought to 10,000 of you each week.
What are your needs? What knowledge, skill or connection can I provide? What specifically can I do to help leveraging the above?
I’ll get into the monetary impact of attention, but first let’s do this.
CASE STUDY
My 7 year old loves Mark Rober on YouTube. If not familiar, he’s a former NASA engineer turned YouTuber who makes these really entertaining case study style videos leveraging his gift for research.
A fascinating episode was one where he pranked known scam call centers in India that have bilked billions from people around the world, particularly the elderly. He lays out the case against them really well and cites evidence of their crimes before embedding moles in their operation who release roaches, stink sprays, glitter bombs and all sorts of other pranks. If you click the image below, you can watch the video.
The video has a ton of examples of how Mark offers specific value to his audience and even some featured in the video.
- He vindicates one older lady who was taken for $20,000 - He shares multiple other YouTubers videos whose channels are dedicated to exposing these four particular call centers - He explains exactly how these centers work, when they make calls, their tactics and their target victims so the audience can educate others - He encourages everyone to share this valuable content to make Indian authorities accountable to shutting them down
He’s serving his audience, featured victims on his show, his fellow YouTubers and he’s garnering positive attention because he’s adding value. He doesn’t need to ask for your money - it’ll come because he’s value focused and is providing specific value to the audience he serves.
One more example (if you’re a fan of his) is an ‘elephant toothpaste world record’ video. Again, it’s a well done video and is very educational and entertaining. But a really interesting value add piece is that he threw a party to celebrate it, and decided to make a teenager struggling with cancer the subject of that party. Not necessary, but he found a way to add specific value to someone else which is just a great thing to be known for. You can watch that video below by clicking the image.
THE VALUE OF VALUE
My life’s purpose is ‘to inspire and motivate others to live their best lives’. To do that, I am always working to figure out the needs of my audience, what I can offer to serve those needs, and the best way to do so.
I’d LOVE to say that I don’t even THINK about how to make money. That would be sound noble and very ‘Mother Theresa’ of me. But it’s not true. How to monetize and when to monetize are considerations - especially now that I have a team and partners to support along with supporting my family.
That said, I have mountains of evidence proving that if I stay focused on value-add instead of monetization strategy, the money comes. Here’s an example:
I’m hosting a mastermind in the Dominican Republic. After moving here, I have these ‘pinch me’ moments often that remind me that what we’re doing as a family is unique and significant. In 2017, this was a pipe dream that only ‘special people’ were able to do. It was the Brandon Turner life that I looked at as amazing and exactly where I wanted to be.
The reason I’m doing this mastermind is because I know there are so many others that want lifestyle freedom but feel stuck, like me. And I know that if they’re like me, and I’m feeling inspired by being here and soaking up this amazing environment, that immersing other people that are just like me in this same environment and leveraging my knowledge and experience to build an incredible experience for a select few is the best way I can serve my audience. I truly can’t fucking WAIT until January 25!!
My goal for attendance was 6 people and I put a call out and received about 40 applications. After eliminating some based on their application, I invited a few and got 6 RSVP’s very quickly. I decided to double to 12 and am at 9 RSVP’s as I type this and anticipate I’ll have all 12 when this releases.
I know exactly what I want to accomplish, the luxury experience we’ll be providing and the adventures we’ll undertake. A private chef, staff, golf carts, private charters - all good. But I’m REALLY excited about the mastermind part. The fact that people cannot escape to their phones or to take care of the kids. They’ll be fully immersed. That’s where transformation happens!
In pricing this for guests, I decided to go with this pricing model: - $6500 for a single room - $4500 for a double room - All included (other than airfare) - Single room spouse add-on is $2500
That means each room’s monetary value is up to $9000. I’m anticipating 8 rooms or $72,000 in revenue for this event. Profit is TBD, but it’ll probably be in the $30-40k range.
Some may see this as bragging and that’s fine - feel free to unsubscribe. I’m showing this because I said I’d be fully transparent with this newsletter, but also to illustrate the monetization possible when you focus on value add in the way I laid out above.
No one is paying $9000 for a room if I said ‘come on down, and let me know how I can add value when you’re here’. I know my audience and how I can best serve them with specific value. I’m not honestly thinking about what I get. I’ve just busted my ass daily creating, documenteing, putting out content and information that I think and know to be helpful for others like me - because I’m best equipped to help who I used to be! It’s honestly humbling to know that I’m trusted with the responsibility of others’ ascension into their next and best selves!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
#1: Stop Asking The Wrong Question
The next time you’re in a room or get the chance to meet with someone who inspires you, catch yourself from trying to figure out how you can gain from this interaction and go into active listen mode. When you understand that person’s true need, then advise how you can solve that problem for them. If you find yourself saying ‘man, how can I add value to your world?’ then you’re in ‘get’ mode, not ‘give’ mode.
#2: You’re Have Value to Offer ANYONE and EVERYONE
In Gobundance, when talking to potential members, I often get the objection of ‘I’m not sure that I can add any value to the community’. We can all recognize that as a limiting belief, but can also relate. When you’re around what you perceive to be ‘more successful’ people and you’re a value focused individual, then it’s understandable to wonder. But even billionaires have needs. Could be a connection, a fact or article you saw recently that helps, how to better relate to their spouse, raising kids that are younger than yours, the best local place to go in Punta Cana! You have specific things that are valuable to others. It’s never more clear the value you offer when you’re the ‘more successful’ person in the discussion. You’re cool and confident. You’re listening and just want to help. Take that approach with EVERYONE and you’ll find the value you provide. Be the mentor to anyone you talk to in some capacity.
#3: Attention is Currency
The title sounds really shallow, but it’s completely true. If you’re reading this, then let’s agree we all understand that attention for the sake of making money off of people is not what we’re talking about. If you’re trying to leave your job, getting attention for the value you provide is a business imperative. Whether you’re selling t-shirts, mastermind retreats, products in an Amazon store - you need eyes on your product. Then, fulfill the fuck out of what you said you deliver. Be real and authentic. No matter what you do, if you’re not leveraging social media then I think you’re adding years to your W2 exit. And before you give me the ‘but I’m not a social media person’ or ‘I don’t need to share my omelette on Instagram’, let me ask this. When you want a raise or promotion, how do you go about getting it? Sitting silently in the corner? Or do you make sure your boss sees your work? You get attention. So if you’re going to dance for the boss you may not like to get more of the job that you’re not fulfilled by, you’re already using ‘social media’.
QUICK HITS
Tribe of Millionaires Episode
✯ Based on the theme of this weeks’ newsletter, you HAVE to listen to our episode with Mark Lack. He’s the guy behind brands like Jordan Befort (The Wolf of Wall Street) and Ed Myletter and others. He’s connected to Daymond John, Grant Cardone, Alex Hormozi, Lewis Howes, etc and discussed the power of brand.
A Podcast/Book I Love
✯ Keeping the ‘give value’ theme alive, I’d recommend Give and Take by Adam Grant. He talks about three profiles - Givers, Takers and Matchers. Matchers are people who feel that they should be returned value or return value 1-for-1. You get what a Giver and a Taker are. If you don’t want to read the whole book, his Ted Talk distills it down pretty well.
Lesson from Living Abroad
✯ I used to be that guy that thought ‘if you just tip the bartender at the resort $20 at the beginning of your stay they’ll take care of you’. Behind this was a half joking mindset of ‘I just paid a month’s rent’. The reality is, the cost of living here is really no different. In fact, there is an 18% tax and a 10% service charge added on to all purchases. People here get by through multi-generational household arrangements, no air conditioning, donated goods and riding the bus. It doesn’t mean you owe a huge tip every time you get a drink, or that you even need to tip at all. It’s an all-inclusive after all. But know that you’re not getting better or worse service based on your tip. People are just friendly!
If you’d like to work with me and/or be part of my communities
✯ Join Emerge for our next launch you can get it for only $1495 (use code JAMIE for $500 off!!)
✯ If you’re a net worth millionaire, apply here to join Gobundance and my team will schedule a time for us to talk. It’s $10,000-$15,000 annually to be a member - the greatest investment you can make in your future!