As someone who used to watch Judge Judy after school as a kid, and after work well into my twenties, my ears always perk up when I hear her name.

Her no-nonsense approach pulsed through every minute of thousands of episodes of her daytime TV court show - 6,280 of them to be precise.

​

Now, I could make the point here about finding a niche and then 6,280 ways to never get bored with it.

​

But during a recent interview on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, she shared an even more compelling lesson on understanding and claiming your unique value.

It surprised me to hear that, even being in first-run syndication globally for 25 years, Judy never had an agent or manager.

She closed each of her renewal deals herself.

I’m sure she has some sort of team, but in many ways she operates as a solo business owner just like you and me.

​

Her advice to all of us:

Know your worth.

Understand your options.

And make yourself indispensable.

​

🎧 📺 Full episode on YouTube/Spotify - relevant section starts at 48:13:

​

Judy: You have to know your worth.

I didn’t at the beginning, but I quickly understood that I could go anywhere.

As hard as you try, you haven’t been able to find anybody to do this.

And you’ve put on a lot of people. You’ve tried a lot of alternatives that haven’t been as successful.

So if you want to continue making what you make, I’m going to teach you how to be a partner rather than an employer.

​

Well every few years, I would sit down with the president of our company at The Grill on the alley.

And we all knew what we were there to talk about, renewal. And I would have an envelope.

And in the envelope would be two or three conditions, three years or four years. And this is my salary. But nothing lengthy.

And I would take out the envelope and pass it over to whoever the [studio] president was…

And I would say, don’t open it until you get home.

Let’s have dinner first. And then tomorrow you’ll tell me yay or nay.

​

The final year, the president of the then company was adorable. I won’t name him. And when I took out my envelope, he said, Judy, I have an envelope.

And when I handed him his, he went to hand me mine. I said, I’m not taking your envelope.

Because if I take your envelope, it’s a negotiation. And this is not a negotiation.

And he laughed. He actually laughed.

But it was true. If I took it and looked at it and opened it, of course, because he did say, maybe it’s more than what’s in yours. I said, then I’m a loser.

Then I’m a loser. But this will satisfy me. Put it away.

We had a great dinner and we signed on for a few years.

​

Amy: It’s so baller. And also, I mean, it goes to exactly what you talk about, that when you’re trying to figure out how to negotiate, it’s kind of like less is more.

Figure out your worth, state it, and then the ball is in someone else’s court.

​

Judy: Yes. But you have to make yourself indispensable.

And you don’t have to be a television personality to make yourself indispensable.

​

_____

​

So, are you on the path to indispensability?

In our world, that typically looks like:

Narrowing down to solve a specific problem.

For a specific type of client.

And showing that client your unique lens on their problem so clearly...

That they can't see it any other way.

And don't want to work with anyone else.

​

Need help with that?

I'm around :)

​

💡

-Wes