Some Wise Advice on Self-Valuations
There’s some interesting chatter going on at TechCrunch currently surrounding the purported rejection of a $550M offer to purchase Bebo. Nestled in the comments, one reader, Devin, is building a very interesting case against these high-flying valuations:
A company is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. Basic economics. Facebook thinks they’re worth $2 billion. The market, so far, says otherwise. It does not matter that the user sessions are extraordinarily long and that users have multiple sessions per day if you can’t monetize that and make it profitable. You’re arguing for the “eyeball†economy, and we saw how that turned out the first time around. Funny how quickly we forget.It makes me think, at the same time, about the way that we value ourselves and our creations. As a consultant, I've faced a number of different clients in countless different situations and circumstances. One of the most critical things when you are going to walk into a room and demand $200 an hour for your time - you sure has hell better be able to quality (maybe quantify) the value you're providing your customer.TechCrunch » Blog Archive » Bebo Shuns $550 Million Acquisition Offer
I remember a week or two ago, PayPerPost came out with their service and it made some big splashes. One of the many threads in that discussion focused on the pricepoint. Some were arguing that the prices were too low. That gave me pause for a moment - not because I agree or disagree but because there was no explanation as to why. If you’re getting paid $10 to post 10 words - that’s $1 a word - on par with the copywriting industry standards I believe. Of course, you just wrote 10 words :) What’ the hidden part that gives you more value?
If we as a whole want to demand more for the value we create, well, I’m all for it. It does require, of course, that we start to figure out how to measure that value and how to convey that data as information that others will be able to use.