Entitlement is the Killer of ANY Business

We see this over and over, and today, I want to share with you a little case study.

Do you know the story behind Jay-Z funding $56M into his own music streaming platform, back in 2015? The platform was called Tidal.

Haven’t heard of it? Can’t say I’m surprised.

The problem with Tidal was, Jay-Z was banking on his name, music, and reputation to sell a platform that best served the artists.

Did it best serve the audience? No.

I’m gonna be honest – even though he was trying to make a social change for artists, it was hard to have empathy when he complained about losing money to pirated music…considering he was already making millions.

Sure, we know almost every musician was losing big money in 2015 (and still are), but that story didn’t move us enough to hand over our own hard-earned money to his cause.

He framed it as “It’s so cheap, and it’s your duty to support artists”.

Look, I can see where he was coming from, but no one likes being told what their ‘duty’ is. Helping artists is a privilege, not a duty.

Image Credit: The New York Times

 

Entitled to the concept, Jay-Z made the whole Tidal campaign about the artists, not the listeners.

We don’t move and pay someone because they are entitled. The choice is ours to make, not theirs…We grab our wallets when it best serves us and when value is perceived.

You’d think how could Jay-Z, along with his killer lineup of artists involved in the project, fail?! With his celebrity status and financial power, surely it’s impossible!

It doesn’t matter who you are, entitlement will kill your biz.

Let me put this into perspective for our wedding photography world.

We often portray a sense of entitlement when we think people are privileged to have us at their wedding. Because you know…we have a lot of Instagram followers, or we have a few awards hanging on our walls, or we take the BEST destination photos in the most amazing locations.

And that entitled attitude filters through to our pricing. 

“Take it or leave it”, we say. Creating and pricing our packages, we don’t budge or discount for anyone because we DESERVE to be paid what we are worth.

Doesn’t that sound like entitlement?

It doesn’t matter how many followers you have, whose weddings you have shot, which publications you’ve been featured in, or what awards you have…

Every client you book is a privilege, not an entitlement.

And with that privilege comes responsibility.

To commit to your work at the highest level, to create everlasting memories, to deliver on your promises, to serve and serve some more.

Your self-worth goes beyond your introspective mindset, it’s also determined by the market you’re serving.

So, how do you do that without burning out?

✔️Know your value.

✔️Increase your prices.

And let reciprocity work its magic.

Quit second-guessing your ‘worth’.

You can do what you love AND make money. You don’t have to be a struggling artist, you don’t have to lower your prices in hopes of filling your books. I can show you exactly how to raise your prices AND book your dream clients.

➡️ Join my LIVE 3-day online pricing workshop – Pricing with Purpose. ⬅️

Melbourne (GMT+11) – 10AM – 23,24 & 25th August

Los Angeles (GMT-7) – 5 PM – 24, 25 & 26th August

3 days. 3 steps. $9. 

We’ll cover how you can:

1. RESET for 100% goal clarity
2. BUILD for sustainable profit
3. SCALE for work-life freedom

For the full breakdown and to get your ticket, click here.