To create an amazing video (or painting, or website, or photograph, etc) there is always a highly technical aspect to the creation of said art. Balancing this technical knowlege with artistic taste requires that we use both sides of our brains, often at the same time. Technical mastery of the tools of an artistic trade imbues the artist with the ability to focus entirely on developing the creative aspects of the particular project at hand. Being able to deliver a technically perfect product that is both fresh and aesthetically pleasing is RARE in this world. If you are able to do this for a living, to actually make money as an artist, you are one of the luckiest people out there; a working creative…Congratulations!
Getting paid to do something you love is tricky. If you love doing something you are often willing to do it, regardless of whether or not you are being compensated for the work. This is a trap that people often fall into when they are just starting out in the business. The thing to remember when you start out as a working creative is this: your skillset is rare and hard-earned. What you bring to the table has value, and that value is determined by you. You set your rates! You decide what your time is worth. If you do something for someone for nothing, from that point on, to them, that is what your time is worth: nothing.
You are an artist, true. But you are also a business, and you need to act like one. If a business doesn’t make any money, it doesn’t last. A successful enterprise never gives away anything completely for free. For no monetary compensation, perhaps, but not for literally nothing. What you get in return for your services can be any number of things other than money, although money is always the most useful tool for a business. You could receive items or services in trade (always a great way to build relationships), you could receive an opportunity for more business (weigh this offer carefully as this is often a carrot dangled just to get you to work for free), or you could receive the dreaded “exposure”. This is often misleading (READ: of questionable value), as well as hard to quantify. Make sure you get all the info on what “exposure” you will get, to whom and if possible what they believe the equivalent monetary value would be. Everyone has something to offer, and if you are being approached to work for free (or cheap), asking for something in return is not rude; it’s just business. Remember, you’re an artist AND a business.
There will be times when you WANT to work for free. Maybe you owe someone a favor or you simply want to donate your time to a cause you believe in. This is an awesome attitude to have and we at ECG have done this sort of work from time to time. Being approached by people that can’t afford your services is part of having a desirable skillset; it’s flattering.
People with limited resources will certainly come to you wanting you to work for them, and you may well want to work for them too; perhaps it’s a friend, a client you’ve done work for in the past, a family member, or even a company that simply doesn’t have the available budget to pay for your time. Maybe they can offer you their services or product in trade. Perhaps they can facilitate a meeting with someone they know who you’d like to do business with. Or maybe you’ve sat down with them and tried to find an equitable trade, but there really isn’t anything on the table that you want.
It’s important that whoever you are working with knows the value of your time. There is one very direct and powerful way to do this; give them an estimate for your work at the beginning of the job. List everything you plan to do for them and how much it would cost if they were paying you in cash. Explain that there will be no charge for your work, but that this estimate is what it would cost if they weren’t getting such an incredible deal from you. Then, at the end of the project, send them an invoice with the total amount of work performed, and an equivalent discount to bring the balance of the invoice to $0.00. This is a very simple and elegant way to let people easily identify the cost of your time. Not only will they know what your services cost going forward, they will have more respect for your time, and more appreciation for the fact that they got it for free and it’s a BIG deal. The next time that client gets a budget together for a project, they can easily access your rates and set aside the right amount of money to get what they want. So maybe you didn’t get paid for the work; but the client, friend or family member knows what your time is worth, and in the end, isn’t that better than getting nothing in return?
Its undeniable that all creatives thrive on the creative process. That’s what we want to do, and while we often create for the sheer joy of it, we all need to eat.
One of the most gratifying parts of the creative process is successful, mutually beneficial collaboration. We’d love the opportunity to collaborate with you on your next project and bring your ideas to the screen in a visually stunning, engaging and effective way. Whether you’ve got a concept in mind that you need to flesh out or you just know that you need a video piece to knock your audiences socks off, ECG Productions is ready to work with you to make your vision a reality. Reach out to a member of our team today and get the conversation started. We’d love to put the full force our creativity to work for YOU.