The Elves and the Shoemaker
I was reading the Grimm’s classic – The Elves and the Shoemaker – to James last night. There’s several variations, but all with the overriding moral of: hard work is the secret to making dreams and wishes come true.
My take is slightly different. In the version that we read, the Shoemaker was doing fine until a new seller came to town, offering cheap shoes for sale. Customers switched, the new seller became oversubscribed, and the Shoemaker hit hard times.
But (via his little Elf helpers) he stuck to his quality, stuck to what he knew his customers liked, and he eventually started winning customers back.
“These shoes are just what I’m looking for! They’re much better than the cheap pairs down the road.”
People became disillusioned and angry with the cheap shoe seller, word spread and he was eventually forced out of town.
This may have been written in the 1800’s, but the sentiment is as true today; some of the most common questions I am asked on a regular basis are around pricing, discounting and self-worth. My moral is simple:
If you believe in your product or service and the value you’re bringing to your clients, then you should be able to stand behind whatever price you feel matches that value.
