With the way the economy has been, I have been hearing more and more people say things like “free is good!”… Everyone likes free right?
When it comes to business though, depending on if you are on the giving or receiving end of it, you may have a different opinion. As Christian Entrepreneurs we need to know if Free is good or not for our business…
A while back I wrote a guest post for Lynn Terry’s site Clicknewz.com where I brought up the question, should we go high or stay low with our prices.
So I want to bring up the same question but with a twist…
Is the “free mentality” a good thing? Sure high priced things aren’t always cool when you can’t afford them, but you know that the quality is good, right?
I see a few things that aren’t good when it comes to the “free mentality” of our customers, buyers, subscribers, members, etc.
First off, many people don’t value free stuff. I have given this example before, but the ebooks I have purchased ALWAYS get read, but the free ones I have received, well, many of those are just sitting on my hard drive waiting to be read.
Why is that? Well, it’s perceived value. Because I spent my hard earned money on that eBook, I think it will offer much more value than the free eBook.
I could tell you story after story about how people who receive things for free, a membership, a free blog install, or ebook don’t truly appreciate it as much as paying customer do. When there is a cost involved, people appreciate it…
When you really site down and think about it, great things come at great cost. Even salvation, it may be free… But there was a VERY high cost!
Even when it comes to people doing stuff for us, sometimes we expect or want it to be done for free…
The next time you are having someone do something for you, like outsourcing a project, think about this…
The David Principle. In 2 Sam. 24:24 King David is looking to build an altar unto the Lord and is offered all that he needed to do it. But David says something very interesting…
“Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”
Pretty interesting response huh? How often when someone offers something to us for free we snatch it up without giving any thought to it? We need to remember, as Christian entrepreneurs, all that we do should be done unto the Lord, for His glory alone.
How many times are we faced with cheating our way to success? Or having others do stuff for us and not pay them? It’s one thing for someone to want to be a blessing to us, but it’s another to always expect it!
We should only be offering the Lord our best, in business and our lives. This is why I have really made it a point to make sure that the people that do different projects for me don’t do it for free. They are worth their pay and because I am doing my business for the Lord, I have to apply the David Principle.
The free mentality is the opposite of a Kingdom Mindset. When we have a free mindset, we tend to not put as much into what we are doing. Many just go half way.
So next time you are working on a project, stop and check yourself…
Are you applying the David Principle in your business?
Keep moving forward!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ec756cb8-7bf3-4568-a305-beff9c292f25)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Paul, this is sooooo good! Sometimes it takes a lifetime before someone gets this principle! The website is awesome too! Love, Mom