Erin Austin (00:03):

Welcome everyone to the Hourly to Exit podcast. I am so happy to have Patty block with me here today. Thank you for joining me, Patty.

Patty Block (00:12):

Oh, my pleasure. I'm glad to be here.

Erin Austin (00:14):

Patty is a huge pro. I'm gonna let her introduce herself to you, but I will say I've hear her name from many different corners of the eco. I don't even know what we call this thing that we are, we are involved in. And, uh, and many of them, I'm pretty sure don't know about each other. So, um, her name comes up quite a bit in this space, so I was very excited to have her on. There are many things that she can talk to us about, but we are going to focus on revenue models and pricing today. But before we dive in, Patty, would you introduce yourself to the audience?

Patty Block (00:49):

Sure. I'm Patty Block. When I was growing up, my mom used to make these fabulous cookies. The whole house smelled good, was warm, the cookies were gooey. And all my life, I watched my mom eat the broken cookies, but it wasn't until I was a teenager that I even thought to ask her, Why do you only eat the broken cookies? Do they taste better? And she laughed and said, No, I eat the broken cookies so you can have the whole ones. And not too long ago I saw this really shocking statistic, 62% of women rely on their business for their primary income. And 88% of women own businesses make less than a hundred thousand dollars a year. And all of a sudden this image of my mom eating the broken cookies popped in my head because I started connecting the dots and realizing in all the years that I've worked with women business owners, we are bringing that spirit of self-sacrifice into our businesses and creating a self-imposed glass ceiling. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and my mission became helping women business owners understand that dynamic and work to change it, because you really can run your business your way.

Erin Austin (02:10):

That's fantastic. I love that. You know, it is true, we both work with women and, uh, you know, I, I can't say I have a nice little anecdote like that, that's fantastic. But we do find that there are differences. I mean, yes, business is business, but we do bring ourselves to it. Right? And, and that there are some differences about the way, um, women's, you know, either emotional intelligence or sense of self-sacrifice or mindset issues that sometimes we approach some of these issues differently. And so the conversations are different. Some of the vocabulary is different. So, that's great. So this is, this is an audience of mostly women, business owners. So I did wanna, ask, you know, who your typical client is and did you pick your niche of women before or after your broken cookie realization? <laugh>?

Patty Block (03:11):

Both of those are great questions. So the women that I work with typically are experts in their fields. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so they're often accountants, attorneys, they're, uh, engineers and marketing and PR professionals. So they're often technical experts. I also have kind of a specialty in the elder care industry and have worked with multiple companies. And of course that industry is really booming. Whether that's unfortunate or fortunate is hard to say, but there are a lot of needs for the elder population. So I work with technical experts and the common theme running through that is I'm also a technical expert. I also am really good with numbers and I'm a good consultant and I provide a great service that gets great results just like my clients do. But a lot of us, were not trained on how to run a business. And so we believe that somebody else has the answer and we start listening to gurus, to experts, to people that give us kind of a cookie cutter approach.

(04:27)
And I have found that doesn't work, and it especially doesn't work for women because to your earlier point, we think differently. We feel differently. We behave differently than most men. And that again, is not a good or a bad thing. It's a different thing. Right. And that is why I work exclusively with women business owners. So the funny thing is, to your second question, I selected to work with women business owners when I started my company in 2006. And at that time it felt very risky. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I had people who questioned me about that, some of my mentors who said, Are you sure you wanna cut out half the market? And I said, Well, let's check the stats. Because the statistics show it's not half the market mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that women business owners are becoming much, much more common. There are more wo women willing to take that leap of faith. And that's where I know I have the biggest impact. So when I originally did that almost 16 years ago, it was a differentiator for my company. Now it no longer is. Yeah. And so that's been an interesting evolution. I have to say, I'm delighted that there are so many more providers focusing on women business owners. There are so many more women business owners, and the women are becoming more successful. So that really is a, is very rolled up into my message and my mission because it's about empowering women.

Erin Austin (06:06):

Yeah. And, you know, knowing who you're talking to, you know, makes a big difference in, in your outreach and how you're developing programs and things like that. But it's funny that someone would mention, you know, you're cutting off half of the market. Well, like, how many people can you serve? Right? I mean, so many people. Yeah. I mean, one of your, one of your expert, uh, expert, uh, teases is, is talking about segmentation and specialization in niches. And as we know, uh, that, you know, nicheing is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. Um, but it's, but I would imagine that 16 years ago that it was absolutely foreign, you know, to, to do that. So that was very brave of you. And yes, I'm also glad that there are a lot of, uh, women thinking very strategically about their businesses now. And they are getting help. They understand the opportunities and they're willing to invest in themselves and in their businesses to, to help grow it. So, so this is kind of a nerdy question cause it's one that I myself have, have, uh, struggled with, which is using the term business owner versus entrepreneur versus founder. Do you use them interchangeably? Did it mean something to you to use business owner versus the other terms?

Patty Block (07:22):

You know, it's an interesting question because different people will give you different answers. And when we think of an entrepreneur, so I think of it as a verb. We are entrepreneurial and I don't worry too much about the labels mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So for example, I never call myself a business coach. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because to me that's a relatively meaningless term because anyone can call themselves a coach and there are 500 million coaches out there mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I never use that term, but my clients refer to me as a business coach. Hm mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I kind of go with the flow because I'm not too worried about labels. And I think of we all have that entrepreneurial spirit, or we wouldn't be doing what we're doing. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that is really a different mindset. So a lot of my clients come out of a corporate career mm-hmm.

(08:21)
<affirmative>, and they've been with a big accounting firm, a big law firm, or they a big firm where they, a lot of my engineering clients are biomedical engineers, are system engineers, industrial. And so they've also come out of a big company. And as I mentioned earlier, often we don't really know how to run a company, but we are really great at providing our service. So all of that, I, I think of myself as a business owner and I have, have an entrepreneurial spirit and I've learned to think like an entrepreneur mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which again is very different than thinking like an employee. Right. And the biggest difference for me is, as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, I'm spending my own money as an employee. I'm spending somebody else's money. And that's a huge distinction in my mind because we all think about the money coming in the revenue and, and how we go out and find our ideal clients. But I think of the expense side of how am I spending money? How am I making those decisions? Because the top line revenue is only a fraction of the story. It's really the bottom line revenue that we need to be paying more attention to.

Erin Austin (09:44):

Well, that is an excellent segue to what we're gonna focus on today, which is revenue, revenue models and pricing. So I would love to, by the way, I, I like to joke that this is like my podcast is free coaching cuz I ask all the questions that I have about these things cause I am my avatar. And so, uh, so I love to start with some definitions, revenue model, pricing, their relationship to each other, why they're important.

Patty Block (10:15):

You bet. These are not things we typically think about as women business owners. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we don't typically develop our business model and our revenue model and then start our business. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we do it the other way around. We start our business, we provide the service, and then we, we hear in the marketplace these terms and this jargon and we think, oh, well I don't have one of those. You do, you have a business model. And by business model, I mean the way you deliver your service, the way you charge your clients, how you collect those funds, all of that is part of your business model. Including how you get your message out and your marketing, your business development, and your sales. And I'm gonna make a quick distinction from those three terms because I think there's a lot of misunderstanding. Marketing is about visibility.

(11:15)
So that's how you get your message out. It's, uh, in some circumstances you could generate leads that way mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but that's for my company. That's not how I generate leads. Most of my leads come from referrals, introductions, and speaking engagements. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and I have found that to be true of most of my clients as well. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So the challenge is that we often pour a ton of money into marketing and spend a huge amount of time and nobody's really listening or paying attention. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So that's the marketing piece is about visibility. The business development piece is where women really excel and that is about building relationships and that leads to sales, which a lot of women don't wanna talk about. And what I, what I realized when I started my company, I did what everybody does. I started taking all these programs.

(12:17)
I started trying to figure out how am I gonna price, how am I gonna sell? How do I want to present myself to my audience, who is my audience. Right. I started in the same place and I took tons of programs and was very frustrating. But what I've now done, I've recognized patterns, I've developed my own intellectual property, I have put the pieces together so that I can shortcut it for my clients. They don't have to go through all that frustration. <laugh>. Yeah. So going back to the idea of business model versus revenue model. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So you have a business model just like you have a reputation. Now, you might not like your reputation, you might not like your business model, but you have the power to change it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so a lot of what you and I are talking about is kind of coming awake, this awareness of this business model has served me for three years and it kind of isn't working anymore.

(13:22)
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But if you don't know how to change it or what would work better for you, that's a huge frustration. And in fact, this happened to millions of business owners when the Covid 19 pandemic hit mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And there were many business owners who realized that their business model of meeting in person didn't work. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And they were so limited. And so a lot of companies certainly pivoted to virtual meetings, but they had to pivot in other ways too. And they may have lost clients. So, so that's the business model idea. The revenue model is not only the pricing of what you charge for your services and how you charge and how you communicate that, but it is also different streams of revenue. So for example, if you offer one on one consulting, that's one revenue stream mm-hmm. <affirmative>, if you then develop a membership program that's a second revenue stream, and most companies have multiple streams and it's a really good strategy because then you don't literally have all your eggs in one basket.

(14:37)
Right. So, uh, what I would say is, depending on your point in your business life cycle, you have a business model and a revenue model, but you might not have examined it and determined what works best for you. And that goes back to what I said earlier about what I really do, if you boil it down, is I help women business owners run their business their way and figure out what that means because it needs to align with your values what and who is important to you and how you wanna be perceived in the marketplace. And if you don't determine those things, they happen by accident and you end up with a reputation that might not be how you wanna be perceived.

Erin Austin (15:29):

Yeah. Well, so many, I mean, one of the things about being an expert coming out of corporate, coming out of a big firm, and many of us, myself included, we come out and we basically sell our expertise. We sell our time, uh, cuz it is the easiest business model. And, and, uh, and we, it, it makes sense to us, right? It's the, the path of least resistance. And then there will come the time when sooner, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, where we kind of, you know, start to think about, you know, is there a more effective way for me to, you know, generate revenue and to share my expertise? But, uh, it's still a little bit controversial to leave behind that hourly, um, model, especially among the professional services where it's pretty ingrained what types, when someone comes to you, Well, one, what is, how do they recognize, okay, whatever I'm doing isn't working. I don't know what it is, that's why I need you. But how do they know that there's something missing wrong, doesn't feel good that they need you? And what is the pushback that you get when you try to help them see things in another way, if any pushback, But what, what are the types of things that resistance that you see?

Patty Block (16:55):

I think there's always resistance to change, even when we want to change. It's scary. And that is the huge benefit of a trusting relationship. So the first thing that I do with my clients is build trust. I can't expect them to listen to me, to follow my advice if we don't trust each other and if I haven't created a safe space for them. So that is definitely the first step in my process. When we think about the hourly billing model, what I hear, I've done a lot of market research, I've asked these exact questions of my exact audience because I know what I believe, but I wanted to hear it from people who are struggling with the same things. And here's what I, well, somehow I feel safer when I bill hourly because then I'm being compensated for all my time. Right. I can't predict what this project is gonna look like.

(18:04)
So I can't possibly do a flat rate, I can't possibly do a retainer, I can't possibly use something other than hourly billing because then I'm gonna be shortchanged. And the first step in that is shifting your mindset. So it's that safe space. Trust me, I've worked with, I've lost count of how many women business owners I've worked with, and I've shown people how to do this differently. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And here are the pitfalls with the hourly billing model, and here's the biggest one in my opinion, that is, when you're providing your service, you are really providing a transformation. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, your clients don't come to you and say, I just need this one thing, or give me this one piece of advice. Everyone that I work with, and I know for you, Erin, is about building relationships mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and you want clients who stick with you and understand the value that you bring, but the instant you charge hourly, you have just created a transaction.

(19:16)
So you're providing a transformational service with a transactional pricing. And that not only causes a disconnect with your buyer, but it causes a disconnect in yourself. Right. And there's a conflict, There's this internal conflict because you know the value of what you're providing, and yet you're not pricing that way. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. And so the first sign that most people recognize is feeling unfulfilled. They feel that internal conflict and they feel as though, I have no idea if I'm profitable, I'm making money. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I'm bringing money in. I like my clients, some of them, some of them I wish I could fire. You know, all of those thoughts are going through our minds and we really don't have answers to the question of, am I doing this right, What am I doing wrong?

(20:14)
What is the right answer? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And my belief is there is no right answer. There's only a right answer for you. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> your right answer, and that's what I help you discover. So that is, um, I think the hourly billing model, you know, it's funny because the corporate model never worked for women. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it doesn't work today. It never did. It was created by men for men. What do you mean by the corporate model? What is the corporate model is nine to five mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you go into an office mm-hmm. <affirmative>, there are lots and lots of employees, and you're a cog in the wheel.

Erin Austin (20:55):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative> mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Patty Block (20:56):

Right. And that's true of every corporation out there that has, let's say more than 500 people mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And there's a corporate model that was developed over the twenties, the thirties, the forties, and really kind of came into its own in the 1950s. And again, was created by men for men, never worked for women. It really doesn't work for women today. That's why we see such an exodus Yeah. Out of corporate. Because women realize not just women, everyone realizes that they can generate revenue and build their business instead of doing it for someone else.

Erin Austin (21:42):

Yes. Yeah. You know, that reminds me of, it's just a couple years ago and there was a, an organization, I won't new names, but they were formed, uh, went to help more women become partners in big firms and, uh, and also to create their own firms. And, but they were using the same model that law firms currently use. Like, Oh. And I was like, why would we wanna buy into that? Like, we want, like we want something different. We want something that works for women. We don't wanna like figure out how we can work that system better. We want a new system that makes more sense and uh, and what my talent aren't well received, but I felt pretty strongly about that's not like, No. That, that's, I don't think that's what we need. I think we really need to redefine, you know, the, and there are a lot of, uh, new ways to, to provide legal services that don't require that kind of structure that, you know, partner and then, you know, your underlings. and that has more flexibility and obviously Covid has made some changes there as well. But, yeah. Like not the old system. We don't wanna figure out how to fit into the old system better if we wanna create new systems that make more sense for us. Yeah,

Patty Block (22:57):

Exactly. And that's true of the, the kids now that are in their twenties, thirties and forties. That is exactly the, the angst and the frustration that they're dealing with and why they're leaving those bigger companies in droves and starting their own things. Now you and I both know that being a business owner is not easy, and if it was, everybody would be doing it. Right. But it is easier today with advanced technology than it's ever been. So that's why I think there's, it is so empowering for women in particular because you can craft your life the way you want it, whatever that means to you. And that's what I mean about, there's no right answer. There's no right way to run a business. There's only your way. Right. And that's what I teach

Erin Austin (23:53):

So well that, that I'm gonna ask this. So do you have a signature way that you work with your clients? Or is it everyone is unique and you have whatever they need, wherever they come to you with wherever they are in the journey? You, you craft something special for them? Or do you have a signature solution or a, a framework that you work with?

Patty Block (24:15):

I do. So there are several different ways to work with me. One is one on one consulting. I also have a program called The Revenue Round Table. And that is a group of women business owners who are experts in their fields. And one of the things I love about Revenue Round Table is that it is, while it's very supportive and we all know each other well, we also challenge each other. And sometimes that is, it's better, it's more instructive, and we learn more from those challenges than we do from the support. So the Revenue round table is really a wonderful program. The other, um, opportunity is a framework I call value driven pricing. It is an online program that has a coaching component to it, and that fits with a second program called Painless Selling to Ideal Buyers. So those are two programs that I've developed for exactly the reason I mentioned before my observation that all the sales programs out there were designed by men for men.

(25:25)
I took a lot of them, they didn't work for me, and I developed my own. So value driven pricing is to help you analyze what you're currently doing with your pricing, shift your mindset, perhaps from hourly billing to a different model. A lot of times we don't even realize what our choices are. So helping people realize all the different ways that you can price your services and then helping you build your pricing model. So it's not all theoretical and conceptual, it is very much mechanical. Once we can shift your mindset, have you thinking in a different way, understanding your choices, then I help you actually build the pricing model. And in painless selling, I help you actually figure out who is your ideal buyer, Where is your ideal buyer? How do you talk to your ideal buyer? That is a huge stumbling block, right. For technical experts mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And how do you talk to them? How do you get the value across to them and how do you guide them so they're ready to buy? And those pieces put together help you figure out how you can customize to bring in the clients you want to work with price in a way that is very profitable and which then ultimately gives you even more choices because you're not on a feast in famine kind of rollercoaster.

Erin Austin (26:59):

Right. I will say that value pricing or value driven pricing is strikes fear in the hearts of many people. What, what is the hardest part of value driven pricing

Patty Block (27:13):

That women feel like they're bragging mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And they're very hesitant. We are very hesitant to talk about ourselves. I know I am. I, it has taken me years and years and years to get comfortable talking about the value that I really bring. So I'll give you an example. Think about your network. You've probably spent your entire career building your network of colleagues, of clients, of former clients of resources, but we don't think of that as valuable. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So when, let's say you are an attorney and you, someone is coming to you and they, they need your help with a particular issue. When you're talking to them, you know, in your own mind that as they need additional resources, you're gonna make introductions mm-hmm. <affirmative> or you're gonna suggest to them that they reach out to this type of specialist that has incredible value because you trust the people that you're recommending. Right. And you've vetted them and you've gotten to know them. You've built that relationship. And yet we kind of disregard that in our pricing. So helping, I really help my clients see pricing as a well-rounded issue. It's not any one thing. It's about how you build value in the mind of your buyer.

Erin Austin (28:46):

Like being able to communicate that value effectively

Patty Block (28:49):

Communicate able to communicate that value. And what I always say is, we have a saying here in Texas, it's not bragging if it's true. And it is so true, sometimes women feel as though they have to continually prove themselves mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that's when they can price higher or differently. And you have proved yourself right? You've proved yourself in your corporate career, in your business, in the relationships you've built, Stop worrying about proving yourself and start worrying about communicating your value because then you're pricing makes sense. And remember that as humans, we tend to equate high value and high price and low value and low price. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So keep in mind, if you're keeping your ar your pricing artificially low, people will perceive you differently,

Erin Austin (29:45):

Right? Absolutely. Yeah. I wrote, uh, a newsletter, uh, piece about, um, under promising and over delivering and how that is a sign that you, something wrong with your pricing or something wrong with your business model. Because if your client says, I want X outcome and that outcome is worth y to them, and you deliver that to them, then there's no under promising, you know, and no over delivery required, they got exactly what they wanted <laugh>, and that is valuable to them. And that you have priced it in a way that reflects that value. So that's the insecurity that comes from, uh, either, you know, hourly billing. I, I think you, we see a lot of hourly billing because like, oh, you know, I can't charge for that hour that I spent, you know, looking through whatever. Um, and, uh, or when you're, uh, and when you're artificially underpricing because you want to over deliver, so Yeah. Yeah. I

Patty Block (30:49):

Agree. Right? I I refer to that as the double whammy for women. So we under price and then we over deliver mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So your profit just went poof. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Right. And again, I'm gonna go back to some of that jargon of the business model, the revenue model and profit. And as women experts, we're delivering our service, we feel so good when we get those great results, our clients value that tremendously. And yet our cl our businesses are often not profitable and you can be profitable one month and not the next. So I think there's a real misunderstanding about what it means to be profitable and consistently profitable.

Erin Austin (31:34):

Yeah. I think especially in service based businesses, right? When you have product, you think about, you know, inventory, cost of good soul and blah, blah blah. And so you have this way of figuring out your profit where we, especially for thinking in terms of hourly, um, rates. Like, okay, well, you know, I'm making this much an hour. That's pretty good. And we're not really thinking about like, what is my profit? I mean, I, I think I rarely hear certainly solo per doors, I'll use the term, um, who, who are service based talking about profits. I, I feel like I earlier that. Yeah, yeah.

Patty Block (32:08):

No, and same for me. I, that's not what I hear women business owners talking about. Yeah. They worry about their pricing, right? They stress about bringing in more and more clients, which I call the myth of more mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because more and more clients or more and more projects creates a whole new set of problems, right? So, so it's finding that balance of what works for you as the business owner, what is bringing in consistent revenue at, at a really appropriate level so that you're consistently profitable. And, um, probably more of that than we'd like to admit goes back to communication. How we talk about ourselves, how we talk to our buyers, to our clients, how we manage those client relationships. All of those pieces are often tricky for technical experts.

Erin Austin (33:05):

Yeah. Yeah. We wanna make sure, like before we even think about scaling, whatever that looks like, I mean, making sure that we're starting from the right place. Cuz if you're, if you know, do you wanna scale an hourly, you know, model like, oh, you know, And so, uh, making sure we're, we're starting in the right spot. Four, we layer what could just make something more complicated, more burdensome, and less profitable. If we don't, we don't have the right pieces in place. So what trends are you seeing, uh, in 2022 and beyond in that expert space?

Patty Block (33:44):

One trend that I've noticed over the last probably five or six months is a bit of a pullback. Meaning I think there's so much fear of recession inflation of finding the right staff, whether they're contractors or employees or freelancers. It is very difficult to find people who will stick around. You can find people mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but not necessarily people who will stay. And that is a very expensive problem for small businesses. So I've seen a pullback in terms of, well if I, it, it's a little bit of a spiral effect. If I scale back my business a little bit, I don't take as many clients. That means I don't need to have staff. That means I'll bring in less revenue, but I'll ride this out even though my expenses are going up and there's recession that we're headed towards, I'll ride this out and if I can't ride it out, I'll go back and get a job.

Erin Austin (34:58):

Mm.

Patty Block (34:59):

<affirmative>. Now we do have that fallback, but to me that is such defeatist thinking, and I understand the financial pressures, but we also have a lot of emotional pressures as women because there are very few women that don't have other people relying on them. Whether it's your staff, your parents, your grandparents, your kids, your brother and sister. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we all have people relying on us and we don't wanna let people down. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So because of that, that defeatist attitude of I'll ride this out and just kind of hold my breath until I get to the next phase. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> really works against you. And while we don't wanna go to the opposite extreme of more and more clients, more and more projects, we do wanna find that right balance where you are bringing in revenue at levels that do sustain you, that do account for inflationary prices. And one of the things I'll mention about that is when when you are stuck in a particular market, then these feelings are even worse. If you, if you don't have people who understand your value and are willing to pay you at the level that you think is appropriate, then you may be in the wrong market.

Erin Austin (36:31):

By market you mean the, the clients that you're serving,

Patty Block (36:34):

Correct. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And because of that, that really strikes fear into people, right? Because oh my goodness, how do, it's like starting all over, right? How do I find my ideal buyer and how do I even get my foot in the door? And that is exactly what I hear from my, my buyers, my clients. And it is what I teach. And the reason is because it's such a common dynamic that we find ourselves in a market that doesn't appreciate us. And we know there are other markets out there, but we don't know how to approach them and we don't know how to find those other buyers. And that is part of what I teach. So that's what I would caution in terms of trends that I'm seeing. I would caution your listeners to think differently if you can, that just writing it out is not gonna get you where you want to go. And in fact it's gonna delay you getting where you want to go. Mm-hmm.

Erin Austin (37:41):

<affirmative>, right? That, that is great advice. So does that surprise you at all? Or is that kind of a sign of the times? Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Patty Block (37:50):

<affirmative>, it doesn't surprise me. I think it is a sign of the times. I think it's true regardless of your gender. But I also think for women we tend to be risk averse and this feels very risky. Yes, it does. So that's the other piece that fits in here, that, um, we wanna be safe, we wanna stay in a market we know where people know us, even if that might not be the best situation for our business.

Erin Austin (38:18):

Right. Well, before we wrap up, I have a couple of questions I wanna uh, ask you. One is, you know, this is a very meta podcast as I mentioned, you know, I'm a female founder, uh, who is the, uh, founder of for an expertise based business that I am building to hopefully sell someday. And you are the founder of an expertise based business. So my question for you is, are you building your business so you may be able to sell it someday?

Patty Block (38:48):

Yes. But one of the distinctions that I make is I'm really not interested in scaling my business. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I love the people I serve and I love the, the way that I'm able to serve them. And I don't wanna lose that. So, and I will say that scaling is often not the goal for most of my clients. And what I do want to do is generate more revenue. I want more income, and I want to, um, I wanna make sure that I can be independent for the rest of my life. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's very important to me. I'm single, I have been a single mom of three kids since my youngest was about two and he just turned 30. Wow. So I've raised my kids, gotten them all through school, college, grad school, helped them launch their careers, and now they're all three business owners. That's, and they help me in my company and I help them with their companies.

Erin Austin (39:45):

Yeah.

Patty Block (39:46):

So my, so I wanna remain independent. I want to at some point sell my company. I have developed intellectual property mm-hmm. <affirmative> as you and I have talked about before. And I understand the importance and the value of that. And if there's an opportunity for me to sell my company in the future, I would be thrilled to do that. But I also love what I do and take so much joy in the work that I do. I can't imagine not doing this.

Erin Austin (40:17):

Yeah, yeah. You know, uh, that, that's true. I've, I've speak to a lot of women who look at their businesses that way and we should, if we are successful, we have, we have a business doing what we love, serving clients that we love. And so, and sometimes it can feel like a betrayal to even think about selling that business. But I like to also think about like, there may be another chapter like there, you know, there's always another challenge that we may wanna conquer. And so we wanna make sure that we're prepared for that. So if a new challenge, you know, catches our eye that this is an asset that we can sell, that can help fund that next challenge, that next chapter. So we don't wanna kind of be put blinders to the idea of, of selling a business just cuz we can't imagine it or because it feels like a betrayal to our clients. Um, but we wanna make sure we're building those assets so that, you know, and, and I mean you said you're not interested in scaling, but at the end of the day, you know, increasing revenue while increasing profit is scaling and I think that's what you said you wanted to do. So <laugh>

Patty Block (41:22):

That is true. I think the distinction is I don't necessarily wanna get bigger.

Erin Austin (41:26):

Yeah, okay. Gotcha. Gotcha.

Patty Block (41:27):

Yeah. I don't want to have a situation where I'm not in contact with my clients.

Erin Austin (41:31):

Yes. Yes. That

Patty Block (41:32):

Makes sense. Yes. Sense.

Erin Austin (41:33):

Yes. So, you know, uh, one of the reasons that I started um, think beyond IP and working with female founders is cuz I wanna work to build a more equitable economy. And so, uh, I uh, is there a organization or person who you admire who is helping, you know, kind of bring more equity to our society?

Patty Block (41:59):

Yes. Um, I have been a long time donor to an organization called Girls Inc. It's a national organization with local chapters and they are teaching young girls and young women to really step into their power and to find the language that they need so they can speak up. And I think that is so important. It ties directly into my mission of empowering women and I think starting with girls is so smart mm-hmm. <affirmative> and there are so many issues that, that cause problems for young girls, I think for all young people. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but Girls Inc is an organization that I have supported for many years and I really believe in the work they do.

Erin Austin (42:49):

That's fantastic. Thank you for sharing that. And we will absolutely make sure that is in the show notes. So where can be, oh first of all, do you have an offer that you'd like to share with the audience?

Patty Block (43:00):

I do. I would love to invite your audience to take a quiz that I've developed. It's my revenue roadblocks and it's designed to help you understand what might be in your way when it comes to changing your pricing or maybe raising your prices. And when you do, when you take the quiz, you get a report that will help you understand what some of those limiting beliefs are that you may be struggling with. And the first step you can take to address that. So if you go to my website@theblockgroup.net, the block group.net, you'll see a link to the quiz, My Revenue Roadblocks. And I really would encourage you to take that and uh, see what you learn from it because the first step to any change is to become aware.

Erin Austin (43:51):

Fantastic. Thank you for that. So you mentioned the Block group.net website. Where else can people find you

Patty Block (43:59):

On LinkedIn? Fantastic. And it's Patty with a y patty block and I love connecting with people on LinkedIn and when you reach out to me, please mention this interview so I can connect the dots and I will be very happy and honored to connect with you.

Erin Austin (44:17):

Well this has been wonderful, Patty. Thank you so much for being with us and sharing your wisdom and, uh, and there's a lot of great, great information for, for the audience. So thank you again.

Patty Block (44:29):

Thank you.