I might have to duck after this one.
Have you ever been subject to a “pain in the butt fee?” You may have without even knowing it.
Some creatives have a dirty little secret to pricing. Do you?
How do you feel about it?
Please, tell me. I really want to know.
Yes! A million times yes! I completely agree with vlog.
Thanks!
What’s the cliché? Life isn’t fair?
To me, it doesn’t matter so much whether it’s fair, but rather whether it’s right. And I think anytime it comes to creative and artistic work it is. It’s more costly as an artist to create good work when you aren’t passionate about it. And if your cost is higher, you should charge more.
That’s just me, though. 🙂
Indeed, life is not fair.
Ain’t that the truth?
I absolutely agree with you! It’s not an insult to the client, but it is almost a security for the designer to know we will put our heart into it. Your suggestion on finding a designer who fully 100% meshes with them is EXACTLY what clients need to do.
To me, that’s the most important part.
In our creative field, we “love” what we do and sometimes (in my experience), clients don’t understand that it shouldn’t mean we drag our feet through the mud to satisfy them. We have to partner with excellent customer service or our reputation could suffer – it’s hard. So, compensating for effort and difficulty is my way of ensuring we’re BOTH happy and we will BOTH be happy when the work is done.
I’ll say what isn’t being said – actually what I thought was going to be said when I saw “Pain in the Butt.” I don’t necessarily charge people more if it’s less than inspiring and exhilarating. I most certainly charge a Pain in the Butt fee – whether it’s a client or the project itself that’s particularly more difficult or time-consuming than what I consider average.
Case in point: I had a client that would call me no less than DAILY to discuss a project that was estimated to last 6 months (a web project). I couldn’t mentally handle this annoying client calling me 7-12 times a week for 6 months, and the project itself was killing me slowly. I was never once happy about taking the job. Not only did I charge them an exorbitant amount, (5 figures) I ended up dropping the client completely after the first month. Of course, I only invoiced them for the work that had been done. I’m not a monster for crying out loud.
In addition to my personal philosophy of the Pain in the Butt fee, I tell every single one of my design students the story, and encourage them to charge a Pain in the Butt fee.
That sounds like a nightmare!
Our time is important, like you said we have lives and families to return to and creatives often work in jobs where we’re balancing more hours from freelance elements of running our own business.
The plain fact is if the client doesn’t want to pay extra for the uninspiring job – they don’t have to! They can go find someone who IS excited, or they can pay more for us to make ourselves crank out the job, because they may simply want THAT artist no matter what. And that’s not wrong either it’s actually very flattering and hey, maybe you can get excited about flattery. Good cycle, no?
However, I have to respect those who charge accordingly for big portfolio jobs simply because it sends a message that we’re worth it – no matter what client name comes to us.
I think the key is that no one’s holding the client hostage (at least they shouldn’t be).
When a client’s free to find the right fit for them, I have a hard time seeing a problem.
The feedback I’ve been receiving seems to indicate this is pretty universal. I’m wondering how clients feel about it.
Yes! A million times yes! I completely agree with vlog.
Thanks!
What’s the cliché? Life isn’t fair?
To me, it doesn’t matter so much whether it’s fair, but rather whether it’s right. And I think anytime it comes to creative and artistic work it is. It’s more costly as an artist to create good work when you aren’t passionate about it. And if your cost is higher, you should charge more.
That’s just me, though. 🙂
Indeed, life is not fair.
Ain’t that the truth?
I absolutely agree with you! It’s not an insult to the client, but it is almost a security for the designer to know we will put our heart into it. Your suggestion on finding a designer who fully 100% meshes with them is EXACTLY what clients need to do.
To me, that’s the most important part.
In our creative field, we “love” what we do and sometimes (in my experience), clients don’t understand that it shouldn’t mean we drag our feet through the mud to satisfy them. We have to partner with excellent customer service or our reputation could suffer – it’s hard. So, compensating for effort and difficulty is my way of ensuring we’re BOTH happy and we will BOTH be happy when the work is done.
I’ll say what isn’t being said – actually what I thought was going to be said when I saw “Pain in the Butt.” I don’t necessarily charge people more if it’s less than inspiring and exhilarating. I most certainly charge a Pain in the Butt fee – whether it’s a client or the project itself that’s particularly more difficult or time-consuming than what I consider average.
Case in point: I had a client that would call me no less than DAILY to discuss a project that was estimated to last 6 months (a web project). I couldn’t mentally handle this annoying client calling me 7-12 times a week for 6 months, and the project itself was killing me slowly. I was never once happy about taking the job. Not only did I charge them an exorbitant amount, (5 figures) I ended up dropping the client completely after the first month. Of course, I only invoiced them for the work that had been done. I’m not a monster for crying out loud.
In addition to my personal philosophy of the Pain in the Butt fee, I tell every single one of my design students the story, and encourage them to charge a Pain in the Butt fee.
That sounds like a nightmare!
Our time is important, like you said we have lives and families to return to and creatives often work in jobs where we’re balancing more hours from freelance elements of running our own business.
The plain fact is if the client doesn’t want to pay extra for the uninspiring job – they don’t have to! They can go find someone who IS excited, or they can pay more for us to make ourselves crank out the job, because they may simply want THAT artist no matter what. And that’s not wrong either it’s actually very flattering and hey, maybe you can get excited about flattery. Good cycle, no?
However, I have to respect those who charge accordingly for big portfolio jobs simply because it sends a message that we’re worth it – no matter what client name comes to us.
I think the key is that no one’s holding the client hostage (at least they shouldn’t be).
When a client’s free to find the right fit for them, I have a hard time seeing a problem.
The feedback I’ve been receiving seems to indicate this is pretty universal. I’m wondering how clients feel about it.