18. Pricing for Profit | How not to sell yourself short when running a creative business

It’s that time of year again! Dynae is reviewing her profit/loss + pricing for the year and making adjustments during the off season. And as creative business owners, pricing is always the hardest part of the job.

For some reason, creatives especially sell ourselves short. We don’t think people will pay for us to have a living wage. The term “starving artists” is a stereotype we do to ourselves.

Starting out:

• Most creatives, especially photographer’s don’t know where to start
• Many feel like their art is a “side gig” or is perceived as a hobby
• So they don’t treat it like a business, they treat it like a hobby
• Don’t take into account all their expenses
• Don’t account for their time
• Don’t price themselves for a living wage

Dangers of not pricing for profit?

• You need to price for the worst to happen - meaning you can’t price like you’re relying on your spouse’s income. What if the worst happens?
• You will burn out big time - overworked and underpaid

How to Price for profit

• Run your numbers - you must sit down and figure out your Cost of Doing Business, but also, your monthly lifestyle expenses. You’re going to have to cover both and make profit on top of it.
• Get over the guilt - don’t be afraid to price yourself what you are worth. You ARE worth it to the right clients (your target audience)
• Build a strong brand - perception is everything
• Market to your target audience, and let the rest fall away

Dynae now offers mentoring to fellow creatives and photographers on how to not only price themselves correctly, but also how to create a strong brand image that will attract the clients that will appreciate you and your work.