Page 42 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

In our context, an even easier way to think about it is: Value means helping
people. If you’re trying to build a microbusiness and you begin your efforts by
helping people, you’re on the right track. When you get stuck, ask yourself: How
can I give more value? Or more simply: How can I help my customers more?
Freedom and value have a direct relationship: You can pursue freedom for
yourself while providing value for others. As we saw in the discussion of
convergence, a business ultimately succeeds because of the value it provides its
end users, customers, or clients.

More than anything else, value relates to emotional needs. Many business
owners talk about their work in terms of the features it offers, but it’s much more
powerful to talk about the benefits customers receive. A feature is descriptive; a
benefit is emotional. Consider the difference in the stories we’ve looked at in the
chapter thus far. The V6 Ranch helps people “escape and be someone new.” Isn’t
that more powerful than just offering a horse ride? Kelly’s private classes help
busy female executives prepare for their day in a quiet setting, a much more
meaningful and tailor-made experience than going to the gym with hundreds of
other people.

We can apply the same thinking to the examples we briefly reviewed in
Chapter 1. At its most basic level, we could say that Jaden Hair (founder of
Steamy Kitchen) offers recipes on her website, but plenty of websites have
recipes. A much stronger benefit, and the one that Jaden puts forward, is that her
work helps families spend quality time making and enjoying delicious food.
Similarly, Megan Hunt makes dresses, but that’s not the point: She also helps
brides share in the anticipation, celebration, and memories of a perfect day. Who
wouldn’t pay for that? The list below provides a contrast between features and
benefits.*