Raw kyanite and borosilicate glass focal pendant on adjustable cording by Tammy Vitale $35.00
Today my question around pricing tells more about the stories that I tell myself than about pricing. Molly Gordon, guesting here today, goes to the heart of the real question – hope her response is as thought provoking for you as it is for me!
The Just-Right Price: How to charge what you’re worth
Tammy: If I add up everything listed in the Accidental Entrepreneur: all the insurance, sick leave, vacation, self support (daily meditation, exercise, reading, gardening, travel), I cannot believe that my work will sell at that price. I want it to sell at that price (ceramics and jewelry). How do I change my belief system (entrenched…I am 61 and haven't managed to change it around $$ yet).
Molly: What prevents you from selling your work at a price that will support you well?
When I was a practicing fiber-artist, I would have said that my work was too labor intensive and that there was no way I could charge enough for my time. That was both true and not true.
I could not charge enough for my time the way I was choosing to spend it. My choices did not match the priorities of my just-right clients. More to the point, I didn’t give a hoot about my just-right clients. I wanted to make what I wanted to make and I was happy to sell it to anyone who loved it and would pay the price. But I wasn’t interested in finding out what my clients wanted and valued.
Two years after I closed the studio I realized why the money hadn’t followed the work I loved: I was not committed to serving anyone with my work. Why, then, should anyone pay me?
Looking back, I see that I could have been profitable (even creating work I loved) if I had been willing to spend time perfecting my technique so that I would not lose so much time and material to hiccups with the knitting machine. I would have spent more time crafting patterns and testing designs so that the pieces I invested in would hold up to shop wear.
I would have discovered which aspects of fine craftsmanship mattered to my audience and which didn’t, instead of sniffing at the shoddy workmanship of competitors who made compromises that allowed them to produce work for a lower cost.
I see, too, how I judged people who could afford fine handmade clothing. How could I hope to receive handsome payment when, on some level, I felt that people who spent money on this kind of work were morally suspect? Also, I see that I was terrified that someone would pay me a large amount of money and then be angry with me because they were disappointed in the work. Although this never happened, it haunted me throughout my years in art.
I think the simplest way to summarize the action of both the internal and external obstacles to charging enough is to talk about overwhelm. I owe this to a conversation I had today with Isabel Parlett, one of the faculty members of The Self Employment Telesummit. Isabel observed that overwhelm, whether it is generated by internal or external circumstances, blocks our ability to receive. When I am overwhelmed I am cranky, defensive, hurt, suspicious. My literal and figurative posture is defended and shut down. Just the opposite of how we want to be in order to receive.
In closing, I invite you and your readers to do an overwhelm inventory. Where and how in your life and work are you feeling overwhelmed? Gently probe to see how you may be complicit in maintaining that state of overwhelm. Who would you be without the story of overwhelm?
This simple inquiry has the potential to radically shift your relationship with money and other forms of support. I can’t wait to hear what you discover.
***
Dear readers: I don't know if you see yourself in any of Molly's (self-experienced) response, but I sure do. I've shared my own insecurities with this question – won't you help me out and post some of the ways you deal with overwhelm in "comments?" I'm way open to ideas, and maybe we'll pick a few more up from the comments.
Other Molly Gordon offerings:
Don't forget, everyone who posts gets a free copy of Molly's Sanity Saver e-book and will be entered to win a free gold membership for Molly's Self-Employment Telesummit!
The Self Employment Telesummit
September 10-22, 2009
thought for the day: Money is more taboo than religion or sex. Since the dawn of time, where there is a taboo, there is a drama that defines our relationship to the forbidden fruit. Whether we are conscious of such dramas or not, we are under considerable pressure to live them out so that our worldview remains intact. (emphasis mine) Molly Gordon, The Way of te Accidental Entrepreneur: The practical path to building a business that fits "just right"
The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur: How to Build a Business that Fits Just Right.
15 Comments
[…] favorite on-line person is Molly Gordon. I have interviewed Molly for this Blog about her book (The Just Right Price, and Keeping it Real) back in 2009 – and was following her even before then. She’s […]
I don’t – but that was Molly’s so try her. contact: I don’t – but that was Molly’s so try her. contact: http://www.selfemploymenttelesummit.com/contact-us/
Hi, do you still have the free audio of The 3 Journeys of Marketing with Mark Silver?
The link wasn’t working but I am interested in listening to it 🙂
"Molly, you say you just "wanted to make what I wanted to make" but weren't "interested in finding out what my clients wanted and valued." You connect this with not being "committed to serving anyone with my work" and ask, "Why, then, should anyone pay me?"
"I have to admit that this has the appearance of just another marketing strategy: I find out what clients want and value, and then make what they want so I can make sales, rather than producing what comes from my heart and soul, and having those who are attracted to it become my clients."
Yes, I can understand how you might feel that way. And I am not saying we should abandon our hearts' desires, look for vulnerabilities in the consumer psyche, and exploit those for money.
This reminds me of a conversation I had once with a client who is a physical trainer. She wanted to invest in some workout clothes but was stuck on what to buy. "I know my shapeless old sweats aren't professional," she said, "but I don't see why I should have to wear a thong, either."
"Well," I remarked. "There's quite a lot of choices that are neither shapeless sweats nor thongs."
In other words, sometimes we become so sensitized to an issue: body image or money, for example, that we only see the extremes. The quite rich and varied middle ground is practically invisible until we learn to look with different eyes.
My point is that no one owes me a living. At the same time, one look at my checkered career and you'll see I'm not attached to conventional lifestyles or definitions of success. So it's not about reducing art to the level of consumer-baiting.
I do feel that the marketplace, far from being an evil place, can be the crossroads where goods and services–including the arts–can be exchanged and both parties enriched in the process. I feel it is my responsibility to demonstrate or make apparent the value of my work if I want to earn a living from it.
To go back to the example of my wearable art. It could have been a viable business if I had been willing (and courageous enough) to slow down a bit, to take more time with fitting and experimentation prior to committing to a piece. I'm not knocking myself for not having done that; and it seems reasonable that racing from idea to idea was not a good business plan.
I don't think we need to sacrifice art on the altar of commerce. But to be good stewards of art in the commercial world, I do think we need to be willing to communicate in the marketplace. That means not just selling but listening to what people value.
Wow. I am just starting to look at my art and creativity as something I could sell. The idea overwhelm is something I've been working through a lot. Actually asking someone to pay me for what I love doing is so hard. Thank you all for sharing, it makes me feel so much better to know that I'm not alone in my striving.
who would i be without the overwhelm? an interesting question.
I also noticed your pieces were taking an autumn-ish look to them
Wow, great answer, Molly! Lots to think about here!
Like Carol, I wonder about the difference or the line between creating what your clients want and creating freely and where they overlap.
And I'm also loving your necklace, Tammy!
Fascinating stuff, stimulating conversation, so very glad to have landed here. I have many similar issues with writing, and selling/getting paid for it.
Oh, that money question, that what are you worth topic. It's HUGE, and Molly presented ideas that hit some tender spots. I realized a while back that my 'money issues' had to be dealt with, and I have been seeking resources to help me do that.
Molly, you say you just "wanted to make what I wanted to make" but weren't "interested in finding out what my clients wanted and valued." You connect this with not being "committed to serving anyone with my work" and ask, "Why, then, should anyone pay me?"
I have to admit that this has the appearance of just another marketing strategy: I find out what clients want and value, and then make what they want so I can make sales, rather than producing what comes from my heart and soul, and having those who are attracted to it become my clients.
I don't think I am alone with my lingering "sell out" fears. Having spent a lot of time exploring "what I have to say," I am reticent about working to please others (women, especially, have done so much of this that many get to a point of "losing themselves"). On the other hand, I very much appreciate and am energized and encouraged by responses to my art that indicate it has spoken to someone in some way that moved him or her. And, I certainly want to please clients as far as my artistry, workmanship, and professional approach to making sales and delivering them is concerned.
I want to get at the difference between serving versus pleasing, or catering to, and would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thanks, Tammy. You are always getting to the heart of things, one way or another! (And the necklace is stunning. I also love the new profile pic: you have a very wise and penetrating look in your eyes. A 'don't mess with me' look.)
well. this is a thoughtful post and I do have some thoughts of my own. yes, I recognize the overwhelm you are referring to, and it was also discussed in a class I attended last evening. the topic was chunking down the goal. the goal itself looms large and if broken into small steps to lay a path, it seems more reasonable and less threatening. Overwhelm causes my head to spin and when I experience it, the most effective means I have found is to "make less of it all".
I do have difficulty with my self-worth regarding money. I am more comfortable volunteering than asking for money and it is a huge mountain to climb. Taking it one step at a time and positive self-talk, affirmations, breathing, it all helps. thanks for the nudge.
First, I have to say, I'm in love with the necklace-simply beautiful!
This is the 3rd time that I've started to writet this comment, and have deleted the other 2 as they were turning into short novels-obviously I have a lot to say on this matter:)
For now, lets just say that when I hit overwhelm there seems to be a set routine, which I didn't even know until you made me think about it tonight!
I try to figure out which medium(s) do I really want to do the nmost of all, clean the studio-again, learn as much as I can about chosen medium, practice until I feel it's "ok" enough & then do more, do more research to answer the new questions I always have at this point-and then cringe at pricing. Not sure if I'll ever get it right, but I'm getting closer by knowing that I've truly earned the right to ask for $$ and knowing that whatever I've done is to the best of my ability. I think the real issue for me right now is finding the best place to put my art.
And this still turned into a novel!
i deal with the overwhelm by having this sign where I can read it : "everything will be ok" quite simple really–and the sign reminds many times each day—me that it is really ok…
I was listening to a teleconference the other day where someone said "If you can afford your own work, you're not charging enough."
I'm not sure that I agree with this, but it was certainly an interesting perspective. It's a good mental stretch for me to try to take on that viewpoint and see how things look from there, as well as a good reminder to try to set aside the "people just like me" filter when I'm thinking about my audience.
Thank you for this thought provoking post. I certainly recognized some of my judgments about people with money. And I know that big numbers scare me because at this point in my life I cannot pay someone big bucks. It's so easy to project our situations onto some else.
When I get overwhelmed, I try to just breathe into the situation, try to remember it doesn't have to be perfect and do what action I can in that moment to move forward. A friend said to me we get overwhelmed when we are feeling close to the truth and our emotions just got jumbled on top of each other.
Oh, and Tammy. I love love love your choker. I love kyanite. Nice to see you working with it.
Sue
Thank you Tammy and Molly for this interesting and important post. I sure DO see myself in this….it is always so good to read in words what I just feel and cannot put into words cause I am too "close" to it, to much involved. Reading this helps to gain some distance, – thanks again.