Herb G
Member
This is NOT another "What to charge" thread. If you read on, you will see that. So, please read thru before responding. I will try to lay this out in as coherent a manner as I can.
I had an idea from all the "What to charge" threads, but this one goes a little further that just pen making.
Many of us on this site are artists in your own right.
Your art has value. Creating that art takes time, and that time in itself has value too. I realize a lot of us do pen turning as a hobby. If you happen to make a few bucks selling a pen to cover the expense of the materials, that's all fine & well.
But, some of us make pens to supplement or even generate a living income.
Now, I don't have any hard numbers to support my ideas, but I would hazard to guess there are not a lot of professional pen turners in the world.
A great number of people in this community also makes other items as well.
For example, I do leather work. I make custom made leather items from scratch. I don't make a lot of it these days, due to arthritis in my hands & spine. It takes a great deal of hand work to craft leather into useful items.
I value my time as much as anybody. Where I have a hard time is when someone asks me to craft them a handmade custom item, then balk at my prices. I tell them I don't work for free. For instance, I made a custom made leather portfolio that had over 350 hours of my time in it.
I made it as a gift for my mother. She used it to carry her papers to work.
Someone asked her where she got it, and she told them I made it.
They were interested in having one made until I gave them a fair price for it. Their reply was "I can buy one just like it at XYZ store for such & such money." My Mom replied, "If that's the case, I'll take half a dozen."
I believe the problem lies within the fact that we as a society have become used to cheap prices. Everything these days is disposable.
Nothing is held in high regard anymore. At least, not from what I'm seeing.
If it's not fast, cheap, and here in 2 days, we're not interested in buying it.
I believe that's lowered our expectations to a dangerous level too.
If we don't care about quality, manufacturers take notice & start churning out junk. If we don't care, believe me, they don't either.
All they care about is making a fast buck.
I get it. I understand the American way, trust me on that. Make a fast buck, then on to some other cheap junk to sell next. When was the last time you had a coffee pot that lasted more than a year? A pair of jeans that lasted more than 2-3 years?
A pair of decent, well fitting, comfortable shoes that lasted you long enough to actually wear out? See where I'm going with this?
So, finally to the question at hand. How do you place a value on YOU?
You are a valuable commodity, just like gold, silver, or oil.
Your time is valuable, and so are your skills.
How do you place a value on you?
I use a basic formula of time + skill + materials + difficulty = value.
Don't forget to add 40% of the total for profit. 40% ??? Yes, 40% !!!
If you knew what corporate America was making in profit every day, it would shock you. Does a new pickup truck really cost $55K ?
No. $35K of that is pure profit.
Now, I am not advocating ripping someone off for as much as you can because you'll probably never see them again. But if your customer sees value in what you're selling, and they feel they got a good deal, they are more likely to tell someone else about it.
Word of mouth is the best free advertising out there.
Just do not make the mistake of selling yourself short.
What I am advocating is placing a fair price on YOU.
No one else can do exactly what you do.
No one else has your specific skill set, nor do they have your ideas & thoughts.
I realize this has drifted here & there.
I hope it makes sense.
So, back to the question at hand.
How do you place a value on YOU?
Thanks for reading.
C & C are welcomed.
I had an idea from all the "What to charge" threads, but this one goes a little further that just pen making.
Many of us on this site are artists in your own right.
Your art has value. Creating that art takes time, and that time in itself has value too. I realize a lot of us do pen turning as a hobby. If you happen to make a few bucks selling a pen to cover the expense of the materials, that's all fine & well.
But, some of us make pens to supplement or even generate a living income.
Now, I don't have any hard numbers to support my ideas, but I would hazard to guess there are not a lot of professional pen turners in the world.
A great number of people in this community also makes other items as well.
For example, I do leather work. I make custom made leather items from scratch. I don't make a lot of it these days, due to arthritis in my hands & spine. It takes a great deal of hand work to craft leather into useful items.
I value my time as much as anybody. Where I have a hard time is when someone asks me to craft them a handmade custom item, then balk at my prices. I tell them I don't work for free. For instance, I made a custom made leather portfolio that had over 350 hours of my time in it.
I made it as a gift for my mother. She used it to carry her papers to work.
Someone asked her where she got it, and she told them I made it.
They were interested in having one made until I gave them a fair price for it. Their reply was "I can buy one just like it at XYZ store for such & such money." My Mom replied, "If that's the case, I'll take half a dozen."
I believe the problem lies within the fact that we as a society have become used to cheap prices. Everything these days is disposable.
Nothing is held in high regard anymore. At least, not from what I'm seeing.
If it's not fast, cheap, and here in 2 days, we're not interested in buying it.
I believe that's lowered our expectations to a dangerous level too.
If we don't care about quality, manufacturers take notice & start churning out junk. If we don't care, believe me, they don't either.
All they care about is making a fast buck.
I get it. I understand the American way, trust me on that. Make a fast buck, then on to some other cheap junk to sell next. When was the last time you had a coffee pot that lasted more than a year? A pair of jeans that lasted more than 2-3 years?
A pair of decent, well fitting, comfortable shoes that lasted you long enough to actually wear out? See where I'm going with this?
So, finally to the question at hand. How do you place a value on YOU?
You are a valuable commodity, just like gold, silver, or oil.
Your time is valuable, and so are your skills.
How do you place a value on you?
I use a basic formula of time + skill + materials + difficulty = value.
Don't forget to add 40% of the total for profit. 40% ??? Yes, 40% !!!
If you knew what corporate America was making in profit every day, it would shock you. Does a new pickup truck really cost $55K ?
No. $35K of that is pure profit.
Now, I am not advocating ripping someone off for as much as you can because you'll probably never see them again. But if your customer sees value in what you're selling, and they feel they got a good deal, they are more likely to tell someone else about it.
Word of mouth is the best free advertising out there.
Just do not make the mistake of selling yourself short.
What I am advocating is placing a fair price on YOU.
No one else can do exactly what you do.
No one else has your specific skill set, nor do they have your ideas & thoughts.
I realize this has drifted here & there.
I hope it makes sense.
So, back to the question at hand.
How do you place a value on YOU?
Thanks for reading.
C & C are welcomed.
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