Why I Don’t Drive a Jaguar

Let me start by confessing something that shocks absolutely no one: I do not own a Jaguar.

Now, I’d like to make it abundantly clear that the reason I don’t own a Jaguar has nothing to do with me not being a good person. In fact, I’m incredibly nice. Polite even. If being nice earned reward points, I’d be cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in a cherry-red convertible by now.

But alas, when I call Jaguar and say, “Hi there, I’m delightful, and I think I deserve a deep discount,” they don’t seem to agree. Apparently, being lovely doesn’t lower the cost of luxury vehicles. Go figure.

This brings me to a story that’s all too familiar to business owners, especially those of us in service-based industries: the kindhearted client who really, truly wants your help… but doesn’t have the budget.

Over the years, I’ve heard every version of this script:

• “My business isn’t doing that well right now…”
  
• “Once I get my website up, I’ll have more money…”
  
• “Maybe I could pay more later…”
  

And let’s be honest—I’ve probably said the same things to the Jaguar dealership (minus the website part).

Now, I’m not cold-hearted. I’ve worked with plenty of people who genuinely needed help. And sometimes I do take on discounted or pro bono projects when it feels right—when it aligns with my values or fills my cup in a different way.

But here’s the deal: Being nice doesn’t pay the bills. It doesn’t cover my software licenses, my hosting fees, my insurance, my groceries, or my increasing power bill. If I continually say yes to underpriced projects, I’m essentially asking my paying clients to subsidize my generosity—or worse, asking my family to.

At some point, every business owner has to draw a line: Am I doing charity work or am I running a business?

When I charge fair rates, it’s not because I’m greedy. It’s because I value the work I do, I know the impact it can have, and yes—because I have overhead, taxes, and my own version of “Jaguar parts” to cover.

Your website might help you grow your business, but it won’t fix a flawed business model. It won’t solve problems like:

• Underpricing your products
  
• Carrying too much overhead
  
• Hiring staff that the business can’t sustain
  
• Not understanding your break-even point
  

These are the tough conversations that no shiny website can magically fix.

So the next time you ask a service provider for a discount—think of me, calling Jaguar, hoping my charming personality might knock a few grand off the sticker price. It didn’t work for me, and it probably won’t work for you.

Know your value, be fair and honest and not everyone is your customer and not everyone can afford your services, even it they need them

It’s absolutely a balance between wanting to provide heart-based value to struggling people and keeping the lights on. 

I’m working with someone now wanting to be in the healing field who believes they should just give everything away freely or charge the disadvantaged very low fees. It’s noble and heart-warming. Besides, what kind of monster charges for compassion? Jesus did it for free! 

But then the bills won’t pay themselves. We pay for zoom subscriptions, good computers, software, websites, marketing, we pay thousands of dollars worth of trainings, workshops, webinars, physical materials, ongoing CEUs, etc etc. We made the investment. 

But the poor, the underserved, the misfortunate ones must be served! Yes it’s true. In India the gurus and nuns who served the poor are also poor themselves but are sustained by the community who donate food, shelter and clothing. 

Nowadays no one is paying our bills.  In western society, you’ll be on the corner with a cardboard “anything helps” sign before you know it. 

Your post was great because I’ve been there done that, slowly crawling my way out of that mentality. 

Sharon