Making the right choice isn’t always easy, especially when you’re running a business and every decision carries weight. In this episode of the Babies and Business Podcast, Avram and Rachel explore business decision-making through a powerful but often overlooked lens: comparison. Whether you’re hiring, choosing a vendor, or figuring out your next step, getting contrast helps you see your options clearly, ask smarter questions, and avoid costly mistakes. They break down how using comparison intentionally can transform the way you make decisions—in business, parenting, and everyday life.

Show Notes

Key Highlights from this Episode:

• Why comparison is one of the most powerful tools in business decision making
• The height exercise that shows how context shapes meaning
• Avram’s advice to prospects: talk to multiple agencies before choosing one
• How comparing vendors helps you see differences in transparency, pricing, ownership, and value
• Rachel’s bookkeeping story—why she stayed too long and how contrast finally revealed the problem
• Why talking to 2–3 more experts (lawyers, vets, bookkeepers, etc.) leads to smarter choices
• How comparison helps you avoid bad contracts and ask better questions
• The difference between healthy comparison vs. harmful self-comparison
• Using contrast to evaluate people, opportunities, and strategies in business and life
• How comparing options gives you clarity about what’s possible—not just what’s familiar
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Mentions & Resources

Mentioned Episodes

Episode Transcription

Below you will find a transcript of this entire podcast episode. Enjoy!

​Avram: If you’ve ever thought about hiring a new team member, if you’ve ever thought about hiring a vendor to outsource some of the things that you’re doing internally, if you have ever wondered what is the best option for me in this regard—buying this piece of equipment, something like that—this episode is for you. And the reason it’s for you is because:

In a world where you examine only one thing, you can only draw a certain number of conclusions.

“Well Avram, that sounds pretty ambiguous. What do you mean?”

Rachel and I were in a room several months ago where people were getting asked, “Do you wish that you were taller? Do you wish that you were smaller?” And what was so funny is the number of people that were like the average height for a man, or the average height for a woman.

You’d ask them, “Do you wish you were taller?” A lot of them were like, “Yeah, I wish I was a little bit taller because then this, that, and the other thing.” I could reach stuff on the higher shelf. I could be taller than women that are wearing high heels.

There are all these different things. And you mentioned after that exercise, Rachel—what did you say about that?

Rachel: I said none of it matters until you start comparing. If you’re 5’5″, which I am, average height doesn’t actually mean anything unless I’m standing next to someone that’s six foot. In that case, I am short.

If I’m standing next to a 4’6″ person, I am tall. But when I’m not standing next to anybody and I’m 5’5″, what does it mean?

Nothing. I’m 5’5″.

Avram: Yes.

Rachel: That is all it means. That is the conclusion of the data.

Avram: Yes. And I thought this was just so funny because when you look at decision making—and I preach this to a lot of our prospects that come through the funnel and are talking with me—if I can tell that somebody is having a really hard time making a decision to work with us, one of the biggest things that I’ll recommend is: why don’t you go talk to one or two more agencies about solving this problem and see how they want to solve it for you?

Rachel: Yes.

Avram: Because then they will see the difference between not only the solutions that are being offered, but the way that they’re being offered—the types of support and other benefits and things that you might have that the others don’t.

Rachel: They might not bring up something that we brought up in our proposal. They might say nothing about ownership of a website. They might say nothing about call tracking—different metrics that different service vendors or people that offer the service would include.

So in comparing us with other vendors, they’d be able to see: okay, maybe you charge a higher price, but they also offer less. You offer great transparency. They said nothing about any of that. You use a “what’s in it for you?” approach, and they use scare tactics.

It could be something similar like that, but our proposal doesn’t mean anything until they go and experience our competitors. Whether they’re good or bad, there’s no way to rate us until they know what’s common in the market.

Avram: Yeah. We had this experience—well, I know you did—you had this experience with bookkeeping.

Rachel: Yes.

Avram: Back in 2019 or 2020, something like that. You were set up with a bookkeeper that was recommended through an organization you’d done some training with.

Rachel: Yep.

Avram: And then your experience—

Rachel: Oh, my experience was shitty.

Avram: And you didn’t realize just how bad it was until you switched.

Rachel: Because my bookkeepers wrote it off verbally to me as, “Oh, this is normal in bookkeeping.” What was interesting is they were, on average, about three months behind on my books. But they prioritized people that they were also doing tax returns for.

I was like, “How do I get on that track where I’m paying you more and getting better service?” Do I have to do both in order to get that service?

Then I had the experience with the woman we use now—and oh boy, it was night and day. I didn’t actually have to pay more to get the service I was already paying for, which was monthly bookkeeping.

Our current bookkeeper is always up to date. She’s really, really good about that. But without that contrast, I just thought, “Oh, this is how bookkeepers are.”

Avram: This is how it is.

Rachel: Interesting. I didn’t really like it, but I didn’t think anything of it. Oftentimes we stick with someone until we’re unhappy or until we find a different provider or have a different experience.

I could have avoided all of that by looking at a couple of different vendors, seeing what was out there, and then making the comparison. Sometimes we have sticker shock and make decisions based solely on money. What we don’t realize is that we’re getting so much less—less quality, different service, all sorts of things that go into that price point.

Avram: Right. And you don’t come to any of these realizations until you compare it to others.

Rachel: Yep.

Avram: This is where I think comparison is your best friend.

Rachel: It is.

Avram: Comparison creates contrast so you can tell right away what the difference is.

Maybe you’ve had coffee with one person and left feeling joyful and excited about the future. You feel bigger and more powerful. And then you’ve had coffee with someone else and left feeling drained or frustrated.

Now you see the contrast. That becomes really helpful when you’re deciding who you want to spend time with.

Rachel: Yeah.

Avram: If everyone makes you feel the same way, you’re lacking contrast. You might look for opportunities to spend time with people very unlike who you’ve been spending time with just to see what that’s like.

I don’t think we benefit from living a life of sameness.

Rachel: Yeah.

Avram: You don’t grow.

Rachel: You don’t grow.

Avram: And you never experience even a small taste of something different to know that something else is possible.

Rachel: I think it’s worth mentioning that sometimes comparison can feel triggering—especially when we compare ourselves to others.

That’s the comparison I avoid. On social media, I see what people portray and project that back onto myself, thinking I should be better or more like them. But I know all my weaknesses, and I’m comparing them to what I perceive as their strengths.

You once gave the example of a bodybuilder and a runner. How absurd would it be for a bodybuilder to compare himself as a runner to a runner? Or vice versa?

They’re built differently. But if all we saw was how they looked, we’d make meaning out of that and think, “I must be doing something wrong.”

In this episode, comparison is for our benefit—comparing vendors and service providers so we can choose what’s best for us.

Avram: I think about this when we interviewed lawyers for copyright and trademarks. We talked to two or three people. They all said the same thing, which gave us confidence.

Versus just taking the first person at their word.

I’ve also seen cases where one vet says your dog needs surgery, another suggests a care plan, and another says to change the diet. That’s powerful.

When you’re making choices outside your area of expertise, talk to at least two or three experts.

Rachel: Because “no” is not always no. Or maybe it’s no from that provider. I’m not willing to settle for no—especially when I’m trying to grow my business.

I’ll figure out how to make it happen.

Avram: And it’s only through interviewing different people that you get a real sense of the differences.

Rachel: Maybe this feels simple, but I hope some listeners see the benefit. You don’t have to settle. Ask questions. Get more opinions.

By interviewing multiple people in the same industry, you learn what’s common and what’s possible. It helps you avoid agreements that aren’t in your best interest.

You’ll thank yourself later.

Avram: Use comparison as a tool—for awareness, decision making, and understanding your options.

Rachel: You’re capable of asking great questions.

Avram: And you deserve to know. It’s your future after all.

We appreciate you for listening to the podcast. We’ll catch you on the next one.

Rachel: Bye for now.