Are You Disillusioned About What You Thought Would Be Your "Dream Job"?

Boys and girls . . . SERIOUSLY . . . I know raising prices is scary. I know it makes you sweat. I know you think you're already too high because your so-called "good clients" are telling you so.

THEY'RE WRONG.

Let's look at this in a different way.

What if I offered you a job where you were free to create to your heart's content?

What if I told you that in addition, you'd have final say over all of the product lines? How about the purchasing decisions? You're free to buy the gear you need to do the job. And the hours . . you can set your own!

Sounds pretty sweet, right?

Now what if I told you you'd also be the receptionist, so you'd have to answer the phones, set appointments and deal with the public?

How about the customer service? You also get to work with people who aren't going to be happy. Some are just going to be offensive and mean.

Oh, by the way . . . you're the bookkeeper as well. You get to make sure that all of the monthly bills are paid and that the checkbook gets balanced. And you're responsible for keeping the receipts and such in an orderly fashion.

And production. You're responsible for unpacking the product, assembling the final product and making sure it's perfect and correct.

Shipping department? Yup, you get that job as well.

Don't forget to vacuum and empty the wastebaskets; you're the janitor too. (And the toilet . . . keep it clean!)

Now . . . what if I told you for all of this, you'd be paid the whopping sum of . . . are you ready?

LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE.

You'd tell me I was crazy. You'd tell me to go jump. Some of you may tell me to do something that isn't even humanly possible.

BUT . . . GUESS WHAT?

A whole bunch of you have already taken this job. Your pricing is so horrendously low, you're working for less than minimum wage.

That great job you thought would make you enough money so you could stay home with the kids or quit your full-time job that you hate isn't paying you a penny. Some of you may even be paying for the privilege of working as a photographer.

YOU NEED TO RAISE YOUR PRICES. Sit down and figure it out. After you pay taxes and take out your expenses (yes, all of them), are you really able to keep anything for yourself?

You wouldn't let a boss do this to you. Why are you ok with doing it to yourself?

- David Grupa