You said it. My competition. Which is El Cheapo. Even though theoretically it would appear it isn't, it is.
Then the claim that you have failed to sufficiently differentiate yourself is a tautology.
No you have no obligation to anyone but yourself. True enough. However you also reinforce my point. The mass market does drive even the niche.
...and the niche drives the mass market.
All aspects of a market have an effect on others.
Here is how. You said if I can't differentiate sufficiently the value of the Tom Richards Amazing Custom Bassanova, my bass vs. el cheapo then essentially it's my problem. The thing you miss is that for the most part most of us actually have. However the mindset is exactly like yours. You want yours, all of it, at YOUR price. If I am charging a fair price,
There is no such thing as a "fair" price. The very concept is silly.
Nothing has any inherent value. Value is completely subjective.
but you don't like it, the quick response is that something less expensive is as good.
No - I may claim the VALUE isn't as good - but I'm not going to say I prefer one instrument over another because I can't afford one.
Of course - the quick response from you is that it ISN'T as good, and the only reason someone would say it is as good is the cost.
Remember - we're talking about TASTE here. The guy who prefers Miller Lite to Cristal doesn't necessarily do so because he can't afford the Cristal.
The fact that you seem to reject the possibility that someone may just plain prefer and think the lower priced, non-custom, bass is better is telling.
And your barometer is the lowest common denominator. I don't know any TBer who ever started a thread titled, "compared to custom builder 1 custom builder 2 is a good deal." But there are tons comparing price point basses to top of the line customs.
Yes... and your point is? Customs should somehow be exempt from value comparisons with mass market goods? Customs are somehow inherently better just because they're custom?
Then you go on the Internet and tell everyone how much I suck and then start threads like "Mr. Cheapo bass IS AS GOOD AS A Tom Richards Bassanova?" I could care less if you buy something different, but I have to care if you do something that tarnishes my ability to make that living. So I have two responses. Either work my price lower to meet your desire, or lose a sale. Lose enough sales, and of course I am looking for a 9-5. Lower my price and I eat but still take the bus.
Yes - if your businesses is untenable and you can't compete... you go out of business. This is no different than the local sandwich shop or widget manufacturer.
If you can't convince the buying public your wares are worth enough more than mass market goods - they AREN'T worth more than mass market goods.
If my sandwich shop can't outcompete McDonalds - out of business I go. Doesn't matter how much better quality I think my sandwiches are, all that matters is how much the public is willing to vote with their dollars.
Which is exactly the point of the OP. It wasn't about if Tom Richards is a good businessman, it's what should a good builder make per hour.
A good builder should make whatever his customers are willing to pay - and if that number is not enough to survive, he has chosen an untenable business. Choosing an untenable business means he is not a good businessman.
McDonalds sells a double cheeseburger for a buck. A local pub makes a double cheese that is light years better. Because his beef costs more then McDonalds, he had to raise his price from $4 to $5. $5 is still a great price for a local pub burger. Within a month his price was back to $4. Not because his costs went back to lower, but because he has to compete with the mass market even though he is NOT a fast food chain. Its not his niche at all. I actually listened to two customers tell them that they could buy 5 burgers at McDonalds for that price, and that $4 was okay, but $5 was just too much.
Then the burger is only worth $4 to those customers, and 5 McDonalds burgers are worth more than one pub burger.
... and they aren't wrong.
Why do you think Mercedes came out with the Smart Car and dropped the Maibach? The Maibach was absolutely worth it's price. But the mass market effects the high end market.
If you can't sell it at a price, it isn't worth that price - no matter how much money went into it.
Mercedes came out with the Smart Car because the buying public attaches a worth to it that exceeds the cost to Mercedes to build it.
Mercedes dropped the Maibach because it absolutely
wasn't worth the price to the only people whose subjective valuation matters - the customer.
Same for bass. Everyone keeps one eye on the cheapo and when you don't like even a fair price, you will pull it out and clobber us with it. So it DOES effect even the Ritters, Brubakers, Backlunds, Spectors and all of the US custom builders.
There is no such thing as a "fair" price. There is no inherent value.
I am not saying that you should pay for me to live a great lifestyle. What I am saying is that if you really look at what you get from a custom builder, it really is a good value, if not inexpensive.
That is a completely subjective personal opinion based on taste.
Of the custom instruments I've played - some were so amazing that I personally would place their value way above most mass produced instruments I've played... and others (with hundreds of hours of work, expensive woods, etc, etc.) had values I'd put below $200 Squiers.
Next time I reboot my company I will hire you to write my plan and get me my lines of credit. You do at least understand the financials.
First thing I'll ask before we ever even discuss business plans -
Does the math work? Is there enough demand for the product
at a price that will produce a profit for the company?
If you can't, with evidence, answer that question in the affirmative - the business is untenable from the get go, and there is no reason at all to advance to planning. Quit while you're ahead.
More later...
), and he works out of the garage in his home.
