Ditching Hourly

Experience designer and BRC Imagination Arts founder Bob Rogers joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain how to create experiences that change behavior instead of merely entertaining. His new book, Deep Story, is a practical guide to doing exactly that. We talked about defining the change before choosing tools, looking past requested deliverables, finding the emotional connection between a brand and its audience, starting with the heart, and turning information into action. 00:00 - Meet Bob Rogers and Deep Story 01:57 - Lessons from Disneyland's Magic Shop 03:57 - It's All About Them 07:36 - The Audience Is the Instrument 10:27 - Failing Into the Right Career 12:24 - Define the Change Before the Tools 16:51 - Look Past the Requested Deliverable 20:11 - Hire the Team, Not the Idea 22:41 - Use Phases and Set Enduring Goals 24:53 - Find the Shared Emotional Trigger 27:55 - A Brand Is What the Audience Says It Is 32:09 - SCAD's Kitchen Table Story 35:35 - Start with the Heart, Then Focus 38:32 - Information Is Not Transformation 42:35 - Books and Where to Find Bob Bob Rogers is the founder of BRC Imagination Arts, where he has spent decades creating visitor experiences for corporations and museums. He began his career demonstrating magic at Disneyland and later developed concepts for films at Walt Disney Imagineering. His new book, Deep Story, presents a practical approach to building experiences that make an emotional connection and prompt action. Learn more at BRC Imagination Arts. ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

NetSuite data migration consultant Paul Giese joined me on Ditching Hourly to share how triple specialization helped him build a highly referable, fixed-price consulting business. Paul explains how his accounting background, NetSuite expertise, and data-migration focus combine into a defensible niche, plus how specialization supports referrals, delegation, and value-based fixed fees. 00:00 - Introduction 00:20 - Paul's Background and Business 01:01 - From Accounting to Entrepreneurship 03:21 - Finding the NetSuite Migration Niche 06:02 - The Benefits of Specialization 12:07 - Becoming Easy to Refer 16:00 - The Three-Part Expertise Moat 20:48 - The Opportunity for Specialized Firms 24:10 - Moving from Hourly to Fixed Fees 29:08 - The Freedom of Fixed Pricing 31:08 - Building Trust and Reducing Risk 36:08 - Contractors, Delegation, and Quality 40:13 - Pricing by Value Instead of Volume 42:56 - Testing the Ceiling on Price 47:36 - Lessons and Closing Thoughts Guest Bio Paul Giese is the founder of Optimal Data Consulting, a firm specializing in data migration services for companies implementing NetSuite. With an accounting background from Baylor University and experience in Big Four public accounting, Paul has helped more than 100 clients migrate their data. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn or on his website. ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

Growth consultant and author of The Damn Rules, Nick Richtsmeier joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about why internet-based inbound marketing systems have stopped working, aren't coming back, and what might work instead. 00:27 Nick's Background and Work 01:10 Why the Internet Is Toast 03:09 What Distribution Means Now 04:36 Inbound as Attention Arbitrage 07:56 The Attention Economy Is a Casino 13:37 Five Major Disruptions 22:36 Trust and Attachment as Scarcity 25:34 Friction as a Load-Bearing System 30:10 Restoring Trust Through Human Contact 35:01 Selling When People Are Scrolling 39:19 Notice Meetings and Relationship Networks 41:47 Why Friction Polishes Ideas 50:37 The Damn Rules and Closing Thoughts Nick's bio: Nick Richtsmeier is the creator of Trust-Made Growth® and the author of The Damn Rules: How Vulnerability, Inefficiency, and Love Liberate Leaders from the Trustbroken Economy, a strategist and cultural navigator helping founder-led, relationship-driven firms build durable businesses in the age of AI extraction and from the wreckage of the trustbroken economy. Nick's links: Personal » https://nickrichtsmeier.com Book » https://nickrichtsmeier.com Newsletter » https://damnrulesbook.com LinkedIn » https://linkedin.com/in/nickrichtsmeier Podcast » “Damns Given with Nick Richtsmeier” available on all major platforms ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

Double-unicorn founder (WP Engine and A Smart Bear), Jason Cohen, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about the ideas behind his new book, Hidden Multipliers. We talked about using AI as a facilitator rather than an answer machine, choosing ideal customers, differentiating a consulting business, how AI is changing SaaS and software work, and why writing can help you think in public. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:56 - AI Skills as Facilitators 04:16 - Choosing Your Best Customers 09:42 - Building Strategy Around Yourself 13:40 - Defining a Market 22:29 - Problems, Alternatives, and Categories 27:00 - Differentiating Consulting Services 33:58 - The Fear of Closing Doors 38:02 - Who Hidden Multipliers Is For 41:14 - AI and the Future of SaaS 49:33 - Why Expertise Still Matters 53:24 - Distribution and Fast Followers 59:13 - Worldview as Differentiation 61:03 - Writing to Think 68:28 - Where to Find Jason Jason’s Links The Book » https://shop.hiddenmultipliers.com/ The Skills » https://skills.asmartbear.com/ Jason’s Blog » https://longform.asmartbear.com/ Jason’s Podcast » https://smartbearlive.transistor.fm/ Jason’s LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen/ ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!

Thought leadership expert Bill Sherman joined me on Ditching Hourly to discuss how experts can scale their ideas to create impactful thought leadership. Bill shares insights from his extensive experience in helping individuals and organizations codify and amplify their ideas. In this episode, we delve into the nuances of thought leadership, from defining it to exploring business models and the importance of a focused target audience. Bill also discusses the impact equation and how to effectively communicate ideas to create lasting influence. 00:00 - Introduction to Bill Sherman 00:19 - Journey into Thought Leadership 01:51 - Defining Thought Leadership 05:41 - Emerging Thought Leaders 08:44 - The Thought Leadership Handbook 13:09 - Business Models of Thought Leadership 16:49 - Target Audience Importance 21:49 - Licensing and Certification 25:09 - Alternatives to Writing a Book 33:39 - Impact Equation 43:47 - Final Thoughts Guest bio Bill Sherman is the COO of Thought Leadership Leverage and lead author of The Thought Leadership Handbook. For more than twenty years he's helped executives, authors, and experts take their ideas to scale — and he co-hosts the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast, now past 700 episodes. Website » https://aha-moments.com/ Book » https://thoughtleadershiphandbook.com/ LinkedIn » https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-sherman-aha-moments/ Podcast » https://thoughtleadershipleverage.com/thought-leadership-podcasts/ ---- Before you go! The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course. Hope to see you there!