What should I charge? One of the most asked, least answered questions in this game. We see this A LOT in the pro/semi-pro/skilled amateur Tog world. Stacky's right of course, this is the old school method and does a great job of creating the minimum you need to get out of bed. And, if you don't know these numbers then your business is running you not the other way around! But I don't think it stops there. If you'll permit, let me add this;
We sell Quality, Service and Dependability in that order. We get paid to produce the highest quality with the least amount of hassle, the first time, every time. We charge a premium to do that. Oh... and then we sell Pictures. LOTS of folks sell pictures, not as many the other. You're going to need to find out exactly what your product is and then decide if you're going to compete on Price or Service. There are always those who are willing to cut corners, that are willing to charge less, that are willing to do less. Price is always a race to the bottom and you'll have plenty of company.
This is typically where the skilled amateur and semi pro enters the market. They justify the lower price while gaining "experience". Here is the danger; client expectations are the same whether it is a 300 dollar job, a 3,000 dollar job or a 30,000 dollar job. The moment you take ANY amount of money they expect you to get it right. If you are expected to get it right, there is no longer any margin for failure. If you still take the gig then you probably have developed the skills and Stackys numbers to actually do get it right, in which case at 300 you just left 2700 bucks on the table!! Heres the worst part, you will NEVER convert your 3000 dollar client into a 30,000 dollar one either! Once YOU establish a lower price point your are locked into it with that client forever.
Here is what we tell new Pro's; Shoot everything for FREE. Yes, free. If you get it wrong they've lost nothing. If you get it right, warn them, then next one is gonna cost you and not 300 dollars either! Build the skills, Build the portfolio, Build your business processes until you can start selling Service, And THEN lay them away. Do not race to the bottom, there's no win down there.
Here is what we tell old Pro's. Stop leaving money on the table! Do not poison your wells. We get 90% of our income from 10% of our Clients. Do not be afraid to separate your Clients into Price Clients and Service Clients, and then immediately drop price Clients. "We understand we're not a fit for every budget". We've had Price Clients come back to Service Clients after receiving dismal results from elsewhere (nothing like a good old object lesson) but if they stay Price clients we simply cannot afford to work with them! The good Clients (those who value Quality, Service, Dependability) ARE still out there. And they will and do pay as long as we (collectively) can continue to deliver. So again, stop leaving money on the table (yes YOU), charge a premium for the skill set you've legitimately acquired and the guaranteed results your client is sure to get!
One final thought, The "aha" moment for us came during a BRUTAL Client meeting. We presented our proposal and they were OUTRAGED. Basically it was the "Anyone with a Digital Camera Can Do This!!! argument and they were pissed! I was even more pissed!! How dare they tell me what our work was worth, How dare they diminish... blah, blah blah etc, etc.. It was very confrontational and I damned near lost it. Until I realized they were right... I WAS the one with the problem! I was the one who had failed to communicate our VALUE. My fault. Not theirs. Once I got over myself and shifted into involving them into the Value process we were able to get back to a win.There are cheap clients, true, but more often than not it's a communication failure on our part. The moral of the story is, "Cheap photographers don't kill the Industry, photographers who can't communicate value do.
Sorry for the long winded - off soapbox.
Yours is one of my favorite quotes.