121. Baking it Down - Good Fast Cheap

Baking it Down with Sugar Cookie Marketing 🍪

✌️ Good. Fast. Cheap ✌️ Choose Two.

Heather - still carless - has been bumming rides, but "get a pre-purchase inspection" isn't the only lesson learned here. Her derelict car had the option to go to a shop up north or another shop down south - both highly recommended.

• 😍 Heather: "Hey [mechanic]! Was wondering if I could get my car shipped to ya! You come highly recommended, and frankly - your pricing does too."
• 😬 Mechanic: "Yeah - you sure can. I'd be happy to work on your car ✨and✨ for a fair price too! I'll be able to get started on it... uh... sometime in December."

😳😳😳 Yiiiiikes. Obviously Corrie's "free rides" have a punch card limit, so the world-renown mechanic lost a sale because the man's good and cheap - but he ain't fast.
✌️ Cheap and Fast (not Good)

This is my "Panera" baker - they know that their clients are forgetful and ballin' on a budget - and they ✨thrive✨ here. Hey, it may not win any design awards, but it'll be fast enough to make it to your party in two days and cheap enough so that you can still afford the bubbly. 🥂 These bakers work on economies of scale - they need many orders to operate at their below-market margins, but they can still produce a profit and invest less than other bakers to keep their pockets lined. 🤑

✌️ Good and Cheap (not Fast)

Like my macho mechanic from the intro story, good and cheap bakers are ✨booked✨ bakers. They'll never run out of work, but you'll likely never be able to book them either. I find that most of these bakers are true hobbyist spending time leisurely taking orders as they see fit. 📆 They're able to make a profit because they spend very little time and effort on marketing (an indirect cost factored into your price point).

✌️ Good and Fast (not Cheap)

This baker is likely listening to this week's podcast and reading this Onesday Wednesday newsletter. Bakers who want to make ✨money✨ need to be good and fast, but they'll not be cheap. They invest in tools to increase production - an Eddie, airbrushes, stencils, and 3D printers - and they're definitely going to pass those costs right along to the consumer. These bakers are aggressive in marketing and reinvest that in even more marketing - because each sale equals a paid-for Disney vacation.

There are no wrong "pick twos" - but you cannot pick three without being burnt out faster than Panera sells out of those lemon-flavored flip-flops. 🩴 Listen to this week's (rather giggly) Episode 121 - Good. Fast. Cheap.