Saad Syed wrote:
...you have to do your math to know what YOU NEED and where you stand. However, pricing is still affected by what the clients in the area are willing to pay. It\'s a balancing act.
Yes, but how much do we really know about what people in the area are willing to pay? And how is that downwardly affected by the general opinions of the photographers in the area? Without weighing the balancing act more heavily to the personal need we err too much on the side of underpricing; we\'re unable able to (happily) stay in business, as well as contribute additional negative load to the local industry.
Before I looked at the realities of my business+living expenses and factored only what I *thought* clients were willing to pay, I averaged six weddings per year $3500 each. I justified my unsustainable business approach on having a second job.
Then in 2006 I had a business epiphany which at its core involved fully realizing this basic equation. Its just the starting point, the first step to motivating oneself into becoming a better marketer, businessperson, service provider, and artist. Instead of determining my pricing based on what I think I\'m worth, I ignored the self-judgemental artist voice as a factor. (The same voice that rationalized what I thought was the geographical pricing limitations, btw.) Going with the hard facts, and against the nebulous winds of my artistic insecurities, my minimum package went to $4000 with a yearly goal set to 20 weddings.
I changed my entire work/life situation as a result of a paradigm shift, one that simply started with changing the question of \"how much should I charge?\", to \"what do I need to make?\" I invested in WPPI, workshops, seminars, and faced the music.
Yesterday I personally delivered two $15k wedding packages to clients, to bring to their grandparent\'s home for Thanksgiving.
I still have a long way to go. And its not a panacea, it won\'t work for everyone. Not everyone can up their business and photographic game when their real-world pricing demands it. Those folks will stay at the lower end, which is fair and fine. But it will work for those who can pair their talent with their common sense. After all, we really don\'t know *anything* about clients we haven\'t even met yet. Perspective changes everything.
