Our microwave oven was having a problem.
The temperature sensor, the thing that helps the oven adjust power and time based on food temperature, stopped working.
This meant that when you went to heat up a bowl of frozen blueberries to go with your morning oatmeal, and depending on how distracted you were by that day’s NY Times Connections puzzle, there was a strong possibility you would be roused back to the present by a thunderous explosion of boiling blue fruit.
Repair was economically unadvisable, so we needed a new microwave.
As it turned out, selecting the best oven was straightforward. Pick the desired features, read some reviews, and head on down to Frank’s Appliance store where savings is our middle name (or something).
But that only got us partway there – somebody still needed to install the new oven above our stove.
“Easy,” said the friendly man at Frank’s Appliance. “The old holes should line up and away you go.” I don’t mind rolling up my sleeves, so I agreed to give it a shot.
Well, let’s just say that one man’s “easy” is another man’s “WTF.”
As I soon discovered, I may as well have been trying to swap out one person’s kidney for another (“…the old holes should line up and away you go”). From the moment I opened the box, I knew I was doomed.
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. We sold the house.
Haha! I’m kidding. My soon-to-be-son-in-law, Ian, happened to be visiting and, knowing his skills and abilities in the realm of home maintenance projects, I latched onto him like a lost toddler.
Sure enough, a couple of hours later, my blueberries and I were back in business.
All that said, this experience did serve to reinforce one very important professional service provider rule of thumb: Try not to take on work for which you are not well qualified.
I know, that may seem a little counterintuitive, especially if you are just starting out. After all, if you can convince someone of your ability to do the work, and they are willing to pay you, what’s the problem?
Well, I can think of three:
#1. You will be slow.
If you are working on a flat fee basis, the longer it takes, the less you earn.
But even if you are working by the hour, when you do work with which you are unfamiliar or unskilled, your slowness results in charging your client more than you should. At the very least, this is not so good for your reputation.
#2. You will not do a great job.
We all get better when we do something repeatedly (parenting being the exception that proves the rule). And of course, you have to start somewhere.
But if you continually take on a smattering of work for which you are only kinda, sorta qualified, you’ll never find and fine-tune your area of genius.
Even within a given profession, some people excel in certain areas and some in others. If you can figure out what yours is and stick closely to it, you will get better faster and develop a reputation for exceptional work.
#3. Your clients will not be thrilled.
Getting paid, and getting paid enthusiastically are not the same thing.
The money may be the same. But if all you get for the work you do is a check, you are missing out on one of the biggest side benefits of happy clients: free and fanatically fervent word of mouth.
You and I live off referrals. But they don’t just happen.
If you want your phone to keep ringing with eager, would-be clients, it’s helpful for your existing clients to be out there singing your praises. Mediocre work doesn’t result in a lot of song.
Where Do You Shine?
I used to believe in the, “Do what you love and the money will follow” philosophy. I’m not so sure that’s true anymore.
Instead, I look at it this way: “Do what you are naturally good at. You’ll love it and the money will follow.”
Nothing feels better than tapping into your innate talents and doing a great job for a client who is thrilled to write you a check and tell their friends. It’s easy, it’s enjoyable, everybody is happy, and it has the added benefit of solidifying your reputation and propelling you forward from one client to the next.
The flip side – doing hard, unfulfilling work for people who are only marginally satisfied – is a self-perpetuating distraction.
Spend time honestly assessing where and in what way you are among the best of the best.
All the good stuff flows from there.
Discussion Questions:
- What was the last thing that exploded in your microwave?
- Have you ever transplanted a body part? Extra credit if it was one of your own.
- What is your professional sweet spot?
Share your answers below…
Michael, I’ve got nothing to add to your great-as-usual post, but thanks for the The Weight clip. It brought a couple tears to my eyes. ‘So good’ is right.
My pleasure. Here’s one just sent to me by my friend Steve of musicians from around the world (include Ringo and Robbie Robertson) doing a cover. Fantastic!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ
I have been asked by the mayor of a nearby town to try to microwave some blueberries for them on an activity I’ve never done before and they knew that, but also knew the last couple of people they tried to enlist were not working out. When out of options (events have specific dates on which they take place and unlike a government highway construction project you can’t just keep going and eventually get it done…) – they were calling on me the solo practitioner based on past track record of figuring things out and bringing in that future son-in-law or two even to help get this over the finish line. As a solo worker it is reputation built over time we live by, and there might be that step outside the comfort zone the client just trusts you to go to, knowing you won’t screw it up. It’s actually fun and interesting to learn something totally new. Might still have to clean up some exploded blueberries but you did get your oatmeal in the end, right?
Great story, Bill. And I think ‘microwave some blueberries’ ought to become the accepted term for doing work outside our sweet spot!
Beef stew is the last thing that exploded in the microwave.
I have not removed or replaced any body parts except my baby doll back in the day when the arms and legs could be pulled out and replaced.
My sweet spot is project management. I like knowing the end result and doing the planning, and working on the formulas to get there. This works in home management, raising kids, and addressing projects at work. And it’s trackable.
I actually thought you were about to say that removing your baby while giving birth was kind of swapping out a body part (which I guess it is)! And good for you on the project management too.
I don’t remember the last food I heated in my microwave, but I do remember the microwave turning into an arc welder as sparks were flying everywhere. (I promise no aluminum or other metal were involved). It was at this point we retired the old girl and have yet to replace her. I’ve never replaced a body part but assisted in the dissection of a cow eyeball as well as a sheep lung as I was a volunteer at my kids’ school. Do those count? I’m naturally good at administrative work and creating lovely things in Canva.
Here at Blue Penguin, everything counts, including cow eyeballs.
Hi Michael, when we were remodeling our kitchen we had to live for a few months with only a refrigerator and microwave for food prep. I was getting really hungry for some hard boiled eggs for my salads, so I found a method online for making them in a bowl of water in the microwave. A few minutes into the required cooking time I looked in the window and all seemed to be going fine. A minute before they were supposed to be done, I happened to walk by the microwave. The door blew off and bits of egg got all over my face and a wall 10 feet away! Also, the cat was never the same.
Yikes! That gives the term “egg on my face” a totally new meaning.
1. An egg – not pretty
2. My kidney – marginally less pretty.
3. Ask my clients.
Agreed. Eggs are the worst! I hope your kidney is doing well.
White queso
No organ or body part transplants…yet
Commercial construction progress/monitoring (via drone)
Now that’s an interesting speciality!