Don’t Let Hype From ‘Internet Entrepreneurs’ Derail Your Business Mindset

I’m a big fan of Adam Savage—you might remember him from MythBusters, and now he has a YouTube channel called Adam Savage’s Tested. He does periodic Q&A sessions, and I was listening to one recently when a question came up that really caught my attention.

The question was from someone whose friend had started a small business, making products and pricing them by calculating material costs, hours worked, and setting a price based on those factors. This friend assumed her customers would compare her prices to big-box stores like Walmart. The person asking the question seemed to think this was the wrong approach and wanted Adam to explain why.

As Adam read the question, I thought, “That actually seems perfectly logical.” And sure enough, Adam responded similarly, saying, “She has a retail mindset, and frankly, I think that’s an excellent mindset to go into starting a business.” He pointed out that calculating price based on costs, time, and an hourly rate isn’t a misguided approach at all.

This exchange reminded me of how often people starting a business get overwhelmed by “success stories” on social media—stories about entrepreneurs supposedly raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. They see people pricing products at a premium and think it’ll work the same way for them. But in reality, much of what you see online is complete bullshit; those numbers are rarely real, and a little digging usually uncovers the truth. So many people get misled by pure fiction, but the reality is that people are price-conscious. If a product costs 10 times more than a comparable item, most customers will choose the affordable option, unless there’s a strong brand or reputation behind it.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m a watch and car guy, so let’s take watches as an example. Look at Richard Mille: launched in 2001, which in the world of high-end watches makes them the new kid on the block. They priced their first 17 watches at $135,000 each. These weren’t just expensive; they were designed with a unique aesthetic, built with titanium, and represented a whole new style. Over the last 23 years, Richard Mille has strategically built its reputation by keeping production limited (around 3,000 watches per year) and with high-profile partnerships, including as a main F1 sponsor, alongside celebrity endorsements. Today, an entry-level Richard Mille watch fetches around $200,000, but it’s taken years of focused branding and relationship-building, efforts unmatched by almost any other company, to create that demand.

Or consider Patek Philippe, founded in 1839. With a long history of impeccable craftsmanship and exclusive materials, Patek has built a reputation over nearly two centuries for creating pieces that are practically timeless. Watches from Patek Philippe are routinely priced in the five- or six-figure range because buyers aren’t just paying for a watch, they’re buying into that 200-year legacy. Patek famously promotes the idea that you “never really own a Patek Philippe; you merely look after it for the next generation.” That reputation is built on generations of consistent quality.

These brands succeeded by carefully cultivating an image and by building quality over decades. And that’s the reality when it comes to competing on reputation: it’s possible, but it takes time and consistency. If you’re just starting out, you probably need income now, which often means pricing competitively until you can build a following and prove your value.

Whether you’re selling a product or offering a service, it all comes down to two things: competing on price or on reputation. Many business owners assume that because they see high value in their product, customers will automatically see it as well. But that’s rarely how it works.

This applies to services too. When I started building websites in 2002, I charged $300 per site. It took years to build up, and today most are well over $20,000. We just started one that’s over $110,000. That growth didn’t happen overnight; it came from years of consistent work, delivering on promises, meeting expectations, and expanding our offerings. Today, we’re booked through the middle of next year. But 10 years ago, I was chasing down work just to fill the schedule. It didn’t happen overnight.

In business, whether it’s products or services, building a reputation is a long game, but when done well, it’s a powerful advantage. One of the huge problems with new businesses is that they don’t realize where they exist in the marketplace, and this often causes them to struggle with generating sales and growing because they are blinded by things that simply aren’t real.