I'm tired of other artists working for free.
I'm taking care of the wife unit's booth at a show today. There's another glass artist here selling her stuff very cheap.
Quick mental math says she might be barely covering material costs, nevermind consumables and electricity.
When I asked her about it, she said "oh, it's just a hobby, I'm not trying to make money".
Well, thanks very much for that. All you're doing is hurting everyone else. Well done.
ShawnG said:I'm tired of other artists working for free.
I'm taking care of the wife unit's booth at a show today. There's another glass artist here selling her stuff very cheap.
Quick mental math says she might be barely covering material costs, nevermind consumables and electricity.
When I asked her about it, she said "oh, it's just a hobby, I'm not trying to make money".
Well, thanks very much for that. All you're doing is hurting everyone else. Well done.
I had a cousin doing high-quality contracting for $40 an hour back in the nineties. He was like: "I'm getting by. My wife has a good job and we pay the bills. Why should I charge more? We discussed it and he got the point - really well. Now he's leapfrogged me on the success train and is mildly wealthy.
In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :
That's kind of the point a former coworker had about people doing auto repair out of their homes for basically free after expenses. You're hurting people who have overhead and business expenses and stuff. "Why should I pay you $600 when my neighbor will do it for $100"
Me, my free time is more valuable than that, if it isn't close friends or family then I want $250 an hour to make it worth my while.
In the old days, you had to be a member of a guild to do skilled work. The guild set the prices, and to join the guild you had to submit a work as proof of skill - a master piece.
Duke said:I actively hate this time of year, when I should like it.
It's always busy in preparation for the holidays, plus it seems like every client gets a raging boner to make sure their particular project gets done before the end of the year, even though it makes zero functional difference in the overall delivery.
I am always super stressed for the entire 6 weeks leading up to the holidays. It would have been nice to end my professional career without repeating this farce one more time, but apparently that's not going to happen. Of course.
"But we have to make sure it goes on this year's budget!!!"
"Why?"
"Those points aside, get back to work."
And yes, i understand accounting and budgeting, taxes, etc. My point is even those things are just rules we made up and are all pretending to operate by. Let's tone down the seriousness just a bit.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I work out of my home shop but it's a for-real business.
I collect and pay taxes, have insurance, all of that. I charge a competitive rate because I have to pay for all that stuff plus heat the building and turn the lights on.
Everyone gets their cut before I get paid. The perks are the 200' commute and i work when I want to.
Why should I charge less than the other guys?
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