Captain’s log, stardate 20170502

Would you rather land a $3,000 project or a $30,000 project?

Sent by Jonathan Stark on May 2nd, 2017

Don’t answer. It’s a trick question:

“Would you rather land a $3,000 project or a $30,000 project?”

I haven’t given you enough information to make an informed decision.

On the surface, you might think that you’d prefer the $30k project given that it’s 10x the revenue.

But what I re-asked with some additional info?

“Would you rather land a $3,000 project that will take you one day, or a $30,000 project that will take you six months?”

Given this additional information, you’d be crazy to opt for the $30k project.

Yes, it’s 10x more revenue than the $3k project.

But the $3k project is more than 10x more profitable!

Do the math:

Six months works out to about 125 business days.

$30,000 divided by 125 days equals $240 per day.

Would you rather make $240 for a day’s work or $3,000?

Optimize for profits, not revenue.

Yours,

—J