The Starter Guitar and $105 Water Color Paper

I was talking with my friend and mastermind buddy Molly Gordon during one of our check-in calls. I made the off-hand comment, “Yes, it’s true that a $1000 guitar is much better than a $149 starter guitar.” (The guitar on the right, with the white pick guard, is my starter guitar.)

She came back and told me that in an artist supply store she saw water color paper that cost $105 for 20 sheets.

What we both agreed on was that for the professional, the difference was worth it. And for the beginner, it sure is a bummer.

You see, I started to teach myself guitar on a $149 “starter” guitar. (You can see my bumbling beginnings with it back a little over two years ago here.)

I bought the starter guitar because I didn’t know if I would stick with it, and I wasn’t going to spend a lot of money on a guitar if it was just going to collect dust. As it happens, I stuck with it, and I bought myself a new guitar last year.

Here’s the thing: although the new guitar still wasn’t an extravagant model, it cost around $400, it sounds a LOT better than the first one. What’s more, it’s easier to play. Much easier. Much, much easier.

Molly said the same thing about water color paper. The quality of the paper affects how the paint goes on. Beginners using cheaper paper just can’t get the same effects as a professional using professional equipment.

Then Molly said, “Starter businesses are harder to run, too.”

It’s Harder to Run a Starter Business

I’ve got it fairly easy at this point. I have an operations manager, a marketing director, an assistant, two other practitioners, and we’re going to be hiring for another position soon. We get a lot done as a team, and I can mostly focus on just what I need to focus on, and what I am best at.

However, when you’re solo, you don’t have all that help. You may not have upgraded your computer lately because, well, it costs money. You look to use the free or cheap tools available to you, and so they just aren’t as easy or as robust as the more expensive ones, usually.

And even if you had the money, it might not be worth it to invest much into the infrastructure of the business when it’s truly a starter business. Why not?

Because if you are spending on things like assistants or marketing tools, you better be darn sure that your business model works, that you know how to reach your target market, that you know how to enroll clients and sell your offers.

In short, you invest into a business to make it roll faster, once it’s rolling.

If it’s not rolling, the investment is much better spent figuring out how to make it roll, rather than trying to get slick wheels onto a car whose engine is sputtering and out of tune.

The truth is, a really good guitarist can still make my first junker guitar sound good. And no matter how good a guitar I’ve got in my hands, I will have real limits on my playing until I practice enough to see the results.

Having a “starter” business has nothing to do with how long you’ve been in business. I first learned the guitar back in grade school, more than 30 years ago, which helped because my fingers remembered a good handful of chords, which was a nice jump-start.

But for all those years, I never spent time consciously working on playing guitar, otherwise I could be crazy-good by now. So, despite 30+ years, I was a complete novice beginner on the guitar.

The same with business. You may have had a business for some time, but if you haven’t spent time consciously developing the business part of the business, you may still have a “starter” business. And that’s okay, as long as you can own it without shame or guilt. It’s just what is.

You may be very polished at delivering what you offer and still have a very clunky business.

I encourage you to love your “starter” business, even if it’s a bit harder to run. Take a breath. Rest into where you are. You can play good music on it, and you’ll know when it’s time to invest in fancier tools or an assistant.

For now, play the heck out of what you’ve got and focus on making the business part of the business really sing its song.

What does this bring up for you? Let’s inspire each other with the truth!

Ready for individual help?

If you’ve got the equivalent of a 30 year old starter guitar you probably know more than you think you do. And you can probably move much more quickly than you can imagine.

Consider working individually with one of our practitioners. You’ll have someone who can get into your business with you, figure out exactly what you need and what it needs, and get you moving so much more quickly.

Our clients adore working with our practitioners because they make more money and see the business running much better when they do work with them.

Check’em both out and see which one you think you resonate with more. Then schedule a conversation with Jason or Yollana. They’ll help you discern if it’s the right step for you.

Check it out: One-on-one help with the Organic Business Development Program

Thinking about working directly with me, Mark? If you want to see what it’s like to work with me and who I work best with, here you go:

Working with Mark