The Magic of Worth: What Disney Taught Me About Business Value

There's a moment when you're standing in the center of Magic Kingdom, twilight painting the sky in watercolor hues, castle lights beginning to twinkle, and children's laughter weaving through the air. In that moment, despite the aching feet, despite the wallet that's significantly lighter than when you arrived, there's a feeling that whispers: This was worth it.

I've just returned from Disney World, that carefully crafted universe of wonder that somehow manages to extract both tears of joy and significant portions of our savings accounts. As I unpack my suitcase filled with overpriced souvenirs and memories that feel priceless, I'm struck by a profound business lesson hidden beneath the pixie dust.

The Price of Magic

Every parent knows the financial gymnastics required for a Disney vacation. We budget, we save, we wince at the mounting expenses. Yet something remarkable happens in this transaction – we pay, sometimes painfully, and then we thank them for the opportunity.

This isn't Stockholm syndrome. It's value alignment.

Disney understands something that many small business owners, particularly those of us in service industries, struggle to embrace: creating magic requires resources, and those resources come with a price tag that honors the value delivered.

I watch businesses all around me – passionate, talented entrepreneurs – creating their own version of Disney-level magic for clients, yet charging Main Street USA prices. They pour themselves into crafting experiences that transform, services that elevate, products that solve – yet hesitate to attach a price tag that reflects this value.

The Unsustainable Magic

In the quiet hours after the children are asleep, I've been reflecting on why this pattern persists. Why do we, as business owners, consistently undervalue our worth?

Perhaps because unlike Disney's tangible rollercoasters and character experiences, our magic often feels less concrete. How do you price the strategy that saves a business from collapse? The design that captures a brand's soul? The coaching that transforms a leader?

But Disney's real magic isn't in the physical infrastructure – it's in the feeling they create, the transformation they deliver, the memories they help architect. And they understand that this intangible value deserves substantial compensation.

The Energetic Exchange

There's a fundamental truth I've come to embrace in business: energy must flow both ways for sustainability to exist. Every time we deliver value without receiving appropriate compensation, we create an energetic imbalance that eventually leads to burnout, resentment, or business failure.

At Disney, they've mastered this exchange. They deliver an experience so thoroughly considered, so meticulously crafted, that even as you hand over your credit card for the fifth time that day, there's an understanding: This is the price of the magic I'm receiving.

Imagine what might happen if we approached our businesses with this same clarity of worth. If instead of apologizing for our prices, we stood confidently in the value we deliver. If we recognized that charging appropriately isn't greedy – it's necessary for creating sustainable transformation.

Your Worth Is Non-Negotiable

I believe that many of us struggle with worth because we've internalized the false idea that serving others means sacrificing ourselves. That generosity and appropriate compensation are somehow opposing forces.

But Disney shows us a different path. They create experiences that change lives, moments of pure joy that families will remember forever – and they charge accordingly. This isn't despite their commitment to magic; it's because of it.

The truth I'm carrying home alongside my Mickey ears is simple but powerful: You cannot create sustainable magic by undervaluing your worth. The greatest gift you can give your clients is a business that's healthy enough to continue serving them excellently.

So I'm asking myself – and inviting you to consider: If you started charging your true worth, what magic could you sustain? What innovations could you implement? What level of service could you provide?

What would it take for your clients to walk away thinking not "that was expensive," but rather, "I can't wait to come back"?

The most powerful magic has never been free. And perhaps, that's exactly as it should be.