Have you ever bought a replacement for something, only to have that replacement fail almost immediately?

Or paid for a service only to be disappointed that it didn’t actually meet your needs? It’s a frustrating situation, and one that leaves you feeling like you wasted your money. Because, let’s be honest, you did. It’s not a situation anyone likes to be in. Of course, the real frustration is often also with yourself, for falling for the quick fix cheap option instead of a genuine solution to the problem.

When you keep trying to go for the cheap fixes, and keep having to redo it to get it done right, those costs add up over time. It saves time, stress, and even money to just go to the quality fix the first time, rather than beelining for the cheapest option. We all like saving money, but skimping on needed resources rarely ends well.

The old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is true of many things, including professional expertise.

This applies whether you’re looking for help in your business or your home life. Quality work will last longer and perform better than its cheaper counterpart. The expertise to deliver that quality work should be valued accordingly. If you truly want design that will set you apart, a website that performs well, a handyman that really knows what he’s doing, or any service done well, you need to be prepared for the equivalent price tag.

If you want cheap, generic service, then providers are a dime a dozen. And you’ll go through a lot of them because at that price point they a) don’t have the expertise to help you in a meaningful way and b) aren’t investing the time or materials to give you a quality solution.

A true expert knows their worth, and charges accordingly for the customized, high-level work they provide. Smart consumers (and business owners) know that quality work will serve them better in the long run. It may have a higher price tag up front, but it’s an investment that will pay for itself over time- in time saved, stress avoided, and redo costs eliminated. As the intro quote says, you’ll only cry once.

What do you think? Do you agree that expertise creates its own value?