In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about the value of a dollar, and the amount of work that is expected by your customers.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

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All the best,

Work for a Dollar

In these difficult economic times....I wonder how many messages you may be receiving that begin with those words.

I hate them - doom and gloom might make for a "popular" story but it isn't one I am going to enjoy - so instead I thought we'd chat today about changing customer expectations and the amount of work you can buy for a dollar.

This is a preexisting reality that is being enhanced by current trends, and one that Internet Entrepreneurs need to be aware of.

My Grandmother (in-law) is named Clementina Kennedy. Clem is an amazing woman, 84 years young and still living in the house that she and her husband bought about 50 years ago in suburban Massachusetts. He passed away more than 30 years ago now but all of Grammy's bills are still addressed to Mrs. William Kennedy. She is the most wonderful Grandmother, and her classic Italian sensibilities lead to the production of delicious cookies - as her grandson I am thrilled to be "obligated" to eat these amazing little treats. Grandma attends Catholic Mass regularly and she loves Barack Obama. She'll tell stories of politicians going back to the great depression, and was a long time local warden for the Democratic Party (and believe me - she's the person you'd want for anything with the word "warden" in it).

Grammy loves a good value - she begins shopping for Christmas presents in January or February each year. She normally has all of her gifts wrapped and ready to go by Halloween. I love chatting with her about her shopping trips and all of the careful considerations she makes before making a major purchase - this is a woman who comparison shops quite seriously.

Some items sort of stun Grammy in terms of their price - she loves vanilla ice cream and the prices there just shock her sensibilities. But then there are the manufactured goods, especially small appliances - those items seem way out of line vs her own mental image of what they "should" cost. A mixer lasts for decades and should cost quite a bit of money - and that perception was indeed true in 1960.

The shifting perception of what consumers "think" they should get for a dollar started with manufactured goods - there are no factories in suburban Massachusetts anymore, the items are all made abroad. While it is hard to find a reliable figure, the average price of Chinese labor is about fifty seven cents per hour, which is $104 a month. Suddenly the low low everyday price on that mixer makes lots of sense and most folks understand that.

The shifting perception on the value of a dollar didn't stop with manufactured goods, it kept right on going into every sector of our economy - technology played a big role. Today many folks say that America is the land of services, we sell our brainpower and ideas.

Here is what I know - with the technology and tools at my disposal today, I can literally do the work of what would've been 100 programmers in 1985. Some folks talk about this reality as "worker productivity" or "efficiency" but whatever you call it we all know that the amount of produced work created in one hour by a service worker is an order of magnitude more than it was 25 years ago.

So what does all this have to do with being an Internet Entrepreneur?

Regardless of economic circumstances I don't think shoppers are just looking for the lowest price - shoppers today are seeking a great value.

Right here is where it can get tricky for Internet Entrepreneurs and their pricing strategies, because a hard honest look at the real value of what you offer is incredibly difficult. Are your goods and services a great value? Simply lowering the price is usually not a good solution (especially not for the long term) but enhancing what exactly you have for sale from the consumer perspective is the right choice.

Take some to think about what you offer to your customers, is it a great value? Do you recognize that no matter how wonderful the value is today that you can not sit idly by while all of your competitors work at improving the value of what they offer? Improving value is a constant and never ending practice. Get to work on it today.

Welcome Johnny's Selected Seeds

I am pleased as punch to welcome Johnny's Selected Seeds to The Internet Educator family of clients. Johnny's mission is helping families, friends, and communities to feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information, and service. I'm so excited to be working with them, they are a really wonderful bunch of people whose values align with my own.

Apparently Maple Syrup Rules

In the last edition of this newsletter I asked folks to tell me why I should send them some Spruce Nubble Farm Maple Syrup - and tell me they did.

So to Mike, Ann, George, Michael, Alliccia, Bill & Gail I say - your syrup should be arriving at your mailbox in the next few days if it hasn't already.

Everyone loves pancakes and you can't go wrong there but one of my favorite Maple Syrup treats is to put some cashews on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream and then slather it with hot syrup - seriously yummy.