The Money Mirror
10 July 2008
Take a moment to think about our ingrained training regarding money. People are “filthy rich” or loaded with “dirty money.” Those who don’t get business degrees are doomed to become “starving arists”, but everybody better get to work anyway because “time is money.” Money is unnatural because “it doesn’t grow on trees” and it’s alright to struggle financially because, after all, money can’t you love or happiness. Besides, everyone knows, “money is the root of all evil.”
These issues are rarely directly addresses when designers discuss pricing, but our ambiguous emotions regarding money certainly play a part. As an industry we frequently undercharge because:
- We based our prices on our perceived competitive set…and they’re already undercharging
- We are fearful that a lack of credentials mean we can’t charge as much as some one who has [check any that apply] ___ been in business longer ___ more training ___ an office/studio/retail location ___ other
- We’re afraid of looking greedy/aggressive/“snooty”/“out-of-touch”/etc.
Our attitude toward making money from our skills, talents and abilities is a reflection of ourselves. It’s a mirror of our self-worth; and as solo or small practitioners our inability to look into that mirror and see the results accurately often sabotages our best efforts to grow our business.
What does your money mirror say to you?
Entry Filed under: Client Relations,Marketing,Pricing. Tags: Client Relations, Marketing, Pricing.
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed