How to Value Your Work
Let me tell you a quick story. I have a good friend who is in the healthcare field with a very large private practice employing about 30 people. One day we were discussing the business end of this practice and he told me that before they turn a profit they have to generate $55 a minute in revenue. He told me that the rate structure is based on fixed overhead, employee salaries and variable expenses associated with each procedure. Then they had to account for the percentage of insurance reimbursement which was never even close to 100%.
I remarked “For that kind of money, I could afford to sew my own finger back on!” He informed me that I wasn’t paying for the needle and thread or even for the doctor’s time, but rather the 16 years of school, for the knowledge the doctor possessed, for many many years of training and practice and their understanding of which reattachment method is likely to be most successful.
Which brings me to my point, although you may not have spent 16 years in college, you have spent countless hours learning and perfecting your craft. And although you may be able to take a few dollars’ worth of raw material and transform it into a masterpiece in a fairly short period of time, the value of your treasure piece can be directly imputed via the years it took you to develop those skills. In addition to that, you have made a substantial investment in machinery, consumable supplies, jigs and fixtures, countless hours of education from YouTube, attending symposiums, meetings and seminars, hands–on classes, books, trade magazines and even one–on–one training from Masters in the field and in many cases these were not free. Certainly the items you create are worth more than the material they are made from.
Don’t be afraid to ask for what something is worth. Temper this with the type of venue you have chosen to offer it. Pieces offered in an Art Gallery will bring more than pieces offered at a flea market. Somewhere in the middle are pieces offered at a street Art Festival. Match the venue to the type of item you wish to make. Kids spinning tops priced at $5–$7 each will sell very well at an Art Festival. A $350 salad bowl, not so much. An Art Gallery might be a better choice for the higher end items.
Proverbs 14:23 New American Standard “In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 22:29 “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.”
When you underprice something which you have hand–made, you demean the entire craft world. Believe in yourself, have the courage and respect for your fellow crafts persons to charge what an item is actually worth. Don’t drop your drawers just to make a sale.
Wishing you the greatest of New Years in 2015. Sweet Janice and I will be back on the road again shortly enjoying The Woodworking Show’s winter schedule. Hope to see you when we are at a town near you.
Ron and Janice Brown
