On the episode of Studio 360 from Friday, April 27, 2012, host Kurt Andersen talks with Salon reporter Scott Timberg about the recession’s ongoing impact on the creative class: designers, photographers, writers, filmmakers, artists, musicians, architects, etc. While the economy has turned around for many, it hasn’t been so good for creatives. The number of talented creatives who struggle to merely make ends meet is growing fast. Read the story here.
I’m a member of this creative class. I’ve been supporting myself by creating custom websites for individuals and small companies since 2003. In the past five years, the budgets presented by prospective clients has fallen dramatically, while their expectations of what they can get with that shrinking budget transcends the unrealistic.
I was recently contacted by a prospective client who essentially wanted a custom website with a vast amount of multimedia content, mailing list management and, here’s the kicker, an online store with over 200 items with a multitude of shipping and handling options. The budget was $3,000. I politely explained why their dream was simply not possible at their budget. They understood, but they were adamant that 3K was the cap. I pitched a dramatically smaller-scale solution I could offer for that amount.
A national luxury hotel and restaurant company contacted me recently looking for help with their social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. They needed to retain someone to manage their Twitter and Facebook extensions to increase the number of followers, increase the level of engagement with those followers and, thus, increase the number of spenders in their venues. Though certainly not a full-time job, the gig would have easily required a few hours per day, or maybe 50-60 hours per month. This work would have also, if done well, increased their revenue. They were willing to pay a monthly retainer of $1,500 with no benefits, i.e. less than 30% of my hourly rate.
Many of my existing clients already had websites when they came to me. The existing website was designed and built by a girlfriend’s little brother, a nephew, someone’s cousin or other non-professional who did it for nothing, close to nothing or as a favor. The client was looking for a bargain, and they initially got one in the financial sense. But ultimately, they ended up paying for it in the long run. Their hobbyist/moonlighting web designer and administrator fell off the radar or got tired of doing a lot of hard work for nothing. The favor ran out. Then my called me. Today, these clients and I enjoy a nice, respectful, professional and mutually beneficial relationship. They’re delighted that I still pick up the phone, respond to emails and remain available to apply a professional level of expertise when designing solutions to their problems. It is my pleasure because I enjoy the work and because they pay me appropriately to do so.
To my detriment, there is a perception that “a guy working alone out of home office” can be equated with “inexpensive hobbyist.” The fault of said perception is partly my own. There have been times when rent was due and I took on projects that were grossly under budgeted because I needed the money. There have been times when I bit a dangled carrot that promised more work, percentages or referrals down the line. Once you say yes to those jobs, you are expected to be a team player and continue on that level with the client. “Well, you did it for $XXX before. Why will it cost more this time?” All bad situations, all my fault, all avoidable.
There are other detrimental factors that aren’t the fault of the creative professional. With web design, the advancing ubiquity of cheap or free tools like Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, Squarespace, Instagram and others create the perception that custom web stuff should be cheap, too. Here’s how that goes: a suit off the rack at H&M costs around $300 or $400. An exquisitely hand-made custom suit by a master craftsman who has spent many years advancing his trade can cost well into the thousands (or more). The same proportions apply to any custom design where one enlists the time, services, skills, expertise and experience of a seasoned professional. Both options will get you a suit, but if one needs or even appreciates finer details of the craft, there is no comparison.
Then there are the new kids. I know professional photographers and professional filmmakers who are losing jobs to young kids coming out of school who are eager to build up their portfolios. They’re willing to do projects for much less, and they’re able to because they share a two-bedroom in Queens with four other roommates and their parents are still paying for their health insurance. Or they have some other “real” job to pay the rent while they aspire to be this other thing. Whatever the circumstance, the standards fall and the going rate for work done by real professionals drops.
Consequently, I and nearly every other independently employed creative professional I know are in the same bag: we’re expected to give more for less. Clients come to the table with bigger dreams and smaller budgets. I personally don’t know any creative freelancer who is “kicking ass” anymore.
If you are a prospective client in the market for high-quality services from a creative professional, whether it be a photographer, musician, filmmaker, designer and, yes, even an actor, do your homework and expect to pay a professional a professional rate. (Unless, of course, you actually are looking for an amateur with dubious reliability.) If you’re looking for someone who shoots like Annie Liebovitz, you hire Annie Liebovitz. If you can’t get her or if you can’t afford her, then you must adjust your expectations and dreams (and budget) accordingly. When you interview creative professional freelancers, you’re already saving money because you’re not enlisting the services of a full-on agency, whose fees also include the costs of office space, insurance and overhead, and whose process is dysfunctionally slow because of the extensive (and counterproductive) layers of people and paper through which a project must pass. At the same time, don’t make the disrespectful mistake of assuming that “professional individual working out of his home” means that you’re hiring a cheap hobbyist with the financial requirements of an intern. And a free tip: Never start a conversation with “We have no money.” It’s offensive, especially if you really do have money or if you’re a celebrity. No one worth his salt will be excited to work with you. (That tip was seriously free. No charge.)
If you are a young creative just starting out, you are an amateur. If you’ve taken classes, studied or even earned a degree in your desired field, that merely makes you an educated amateur. There is nothing worse than a whip smart upstart who thinks he knows everything right out of the gate. You don’t. If you’re a cocky 22 year old hair dresser right out of beauty school, chances are you don’t know what Veronica Lake waves or a Jean Seberg pixie cut are, but you need to. But that doesn’t mean you’re not smart, talented and destined to do great things. So be smart and apprentice under a master craftsman in your trade. Down the road, you will be grateful you did. I promise. (And you will have a master craftsman with a good industry reputation in your corner, gunning for you.)
If you are part of the professional creative class, and if the creative class is to ever gain its deserved status, we owe it to ourselves to show up, uphold standards and raise the bar. It’s up to us. It’s not about getting as much money as possible for as little work as possible. (That’s what unprincipled hookers do.) It’s about practicing professionalism and fairness at the very least. If, like myself, you work from home, you have to price yourself in a way that accommodates rent in a well-maintained and secure building, insurance, taxes, expenses, an attorney, software upgrades, hardware upgrades, food, clothes, furniture, entertainment, etc. You also have to account for your skill, experience, expertise and talent. A certain job may take you only an hour, but it took you years to know what only you know how to do in that hour. No one has the “eye” that you have. You’re a creative individual with specific needs and a professional running a for-profit business… your business. When you meet with clients, shave, speak assertively, dress smart and present yourself like a professional to be reckoned with. Know your value, state your worth and stick to it. And for god’s sake, never, ever, ever, ever work for free, no matter what anyone promises you.
One of my favorite stories about pricing from a creative is about Pablo Picasso. As the story goes, Picasso was sitting on a park bench, sketching. A woman passed by him, recognized him, saw what he was doing and asked him if he would sketch her. He said he would. He turned to a fresh page in his book and began sketching her. After five minutes, he showed her his finished drawing. She was delighted with the sketch, ecstatically telling him how he captured her so perfectly. When she asked how much she could pay him to keep it, he said she could have it for $5,000. She was incredulous, saying that it only took him five minutes to sketch her. Picasso assured her that his sketch didn’t take five minutes. It took a lifetime.
Required reading: Design Is A Job by Mike Monteiro. It’s probably the most worthwhile thing I’ve ever read as an independent professional about treating yourself like a business.
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