Self-Esteem and Values

Over the years I have witnessed many, many contractors express disdain, if not outright hostility, towards those who challenge conventional “wisdom” regarding contracting. Richard Kaller for example, was routinely subjected to the vilest personal attacks one could imagine. Having witnessed this reticence towards new ideas this from a wide variety of contractors, I have long been curious as to the reasons behind it.

To clarify what I mean, let me provide two examples.

One does not need to spend much time on any contractor forum to come across someone who claims that doing quality work is the secret to business success. These contractors invariably scoff at anyone who argues that marketing, sales, and financial acumen are as, if not more, important. They simply reject the idea that a paint contracting company has 2 components—painting and business—and the skill sets are entirely different.

A second example is the common belief that customers buy on price. Contractors who hold this idea argue that customers are cheap, don’t know anything about a quality job, and are basically uniformed jerks. These contractors reject any argument that they are wrong, and respond with claims like “my area is different” or “I have to compete with illegals” or some similar excuse.

Both of these positions—and the countless similar others—stem from the same fundamental causes. And those causes are philosophical in nature.

One’s philosophy consists of one’s ideas regarding the fundamental issues of life. That philosophy may be explicit, conscious, and consistent. Or, it may be implicit, vague, and contradictory. But regardless, one’s philosophy will ultimately determine the choices he makes and the actions he takes. A person’s philosophy is fairly easy to identify by his statements and actions. That is, ideas have consequences, and by looking at the consequences—a person’s statements and actions—we can identify their intellectual cause.

The positions mentioned above have their root in two areas—self-esteem and personal values.

Self-esteem is a person’s self-evaluation, and more specifically, his evaluation of his appropriateness to live and be happy. By this I mean that a person with a healthy self-esteem will deem himself worthy to set goals, pursue them, and enjoy the results. Such a person finds productiveness rewarding, and seeks to expand his knowledge (and therefore improve his ability to live and be happy). He sees life as filled with opportunities and he relishes new challenges. The world is his oyster, so to speak. If he is a contractor, he will market to the high-end and he will command a higher price—he’s worth it and he knows it.

The person with poor self-esteem seeks the easy way out. He wants quick answers and wants to minimize his effort, particularly mental effort. He doesn’t look for the new or the challenging. He does it the way it’s always been done, because if it was good enough yesterday it is good enough today. He complains about life not being fair and is jealous of those who are more successful. If he is a contractor, he believes customers buy on price and good trade skills are all that matters.

You can see that these two contractors have totally different outlooks, and it is reflected in everything about their business—from their marketing to their pricing, from their logo to their pricing, from their clients to their pricing. Most of all, it is reflected in their pricing. Those who charge low prices believe that they aren’t worth more. Otherwise they would build a business that would allow them to charge more.

Personal values are the things that we want out of life. There isn’t necessarily a good or bad, right or wrong here (though some things are inherently bad, like desiring a life of absolute lethargy). Our personal values are ultimately a reflection of our self-esteem. I’m not speaking of wishes or passing urges—I’m speaking of the things we actively work to achieve. The higher our self-esteem, the higher our values, the greater the goals we set and work to achieve.

Ultimately, a contractor will appeal to clients who share his values (at least in a general sense). A low end contractor is going to appeal to low end clients—neither aspires for much in life. A high end contractor aspires for more, and he realizes that high end clients are the path to achieving his personal goals.

Now, many low end and mid-range contractors also realize that high end clients pay better, and they desire to tap into that market. But because their values are different—reflected in the way they dress, how they speak, the way they present their company, the values offered by their company, etc.—they have a difficult time competing. And it really comes down to the values offered by their company, which are ultimately a reflection of their own personal values.

In other words, these contractors don’t value things like payment options, so they do not accept credit cards. They don’t value consumer education, so they have a minimal web site (if they have one) and view sales as a scam. What they don’t value they don’t offer. Which means, they have different values from their targeted customers.

Many paint contractors have low self-esteem. They don’t regard themselves as worthy of becoming wealthy—they just want to make a living. Retirement? Don’t be silly, I’ll paint until I die (I actually had one painter tell me that.) They offer minimal values because they have minimal values. They don’t aspire for much in life, and so they don’t offer much in their business.

Obviously all of the above is a generalization. There are many contractors who have built successful businesses. There are many contractors who hold a mixture of premises—some good and some bad. In the end, the ideas we hold—and particularly our self-image—will determine how high we aim and how hard we will work to achieve those goals. In the end, our ideas will determine our actions.