Value Add

[David Yao]

I read a number of blogs and heard a bunch of podcasts that mentioned the idea of beginners bringing value to people who are already in the field. The idea is that people's time and experience is not free and it is only fair to bringing them value in exchange for their insights. While I understand the concept and wholeheartedly agree with it, I am having a hard time coming up with "value" that I can bring to others. Would you guys share how you have offered or received none monetary "value" that help balance out a relationship or a deal?

[Aaron Mazzrillo]

Whenever someone says to me "Can I buy you lunch and pick your brain?" First, I think "is my time only worth $4/hour?" Then, I started substituting 'pick your brain' with 'eat your brain' and that caused me to stop having a whole lot of unproductive lunches.

If you want to bring value into someone's business, you have to think of what you know that may benefit them. I have a lot of experience with websites and helped out another investor with his online lead generation. I also know how to fix old cars so I helped a different investor put an engine in his muscle car. I'm a fly fishing addict. I have another investor that also likes to fish, but couldn't get people to go on trips with him. We started going about once every quarter and are now doing deals together. I also worked in the window business for a few years. I've helped quite a few investors understand windows and helped them to make better decisions when doing rehabs. I went deep sea fishing and caught a lot of yellow tail. I called up one investor and asked him if he wanted to have a fish dinner together. Another investor I wanted to do business with was rehabbing a rental house he bought for his daughter. I showed up on a Saturday morning unannounced in work clothes and helped him trash it out. A local investor who was doing lots of rehabs was attending a seminar out of state that I also planned on attending. I offered up my car and asked if he wanted to split the driving. We spent the next week together driving from SoCal to Salt Lake City, then over to Reno.

Use what you have to get what you want. Maybe you bake kick *** cakes. Offer to bake up a badass birthday cake for their kid's next party. I have a 15' tall cactus in my front yard. I bought it at Home Depot for $5 when it was only 1' tall. One investor saw it and said it is worth $1,500. I had no idea, but I did have a shovel and told him if he can find a buyer and help me dig it up, I'll split it with him. Just a few examples of how you bring value to other people.

On a side note, it is how the offer is made that helps out as well. Some of the ideas above could be construed as creepy if presented in the wrong fashion. For example, "Hey kick *** investor, do you have kids cuz there ain't no cake like the cake I bake, and I would love to bake the next one for your kid's party. How about I do that, I'll bring it by, overstay my welcome, and harass you the entire time with absurd questions?" = weird and awkward.