Let’s talk about money.
Many of us don’t like discussing it, thinking about it, asking for it, or even doing the admin around it. All of which stops us understanding what’s working and what’s not our business. And earning what we want or need.
The myth of the starving artist is pervasive and dangerous. We must drop the idea that we need to suffer for our art or craft. Or that we can’t expect to do interesting, fulfilling work and earn a good living.
Because we can – even in these challenging times.
Money matters.
A good flow of money in and out of our lives means freedom, choice, security. It means safety for ourselves and our loved ones, and a degree of ease and comfort.
It also means we can be generous, support others. We can say no to jobs we don’t want to do. And we can make time for projects we want to explore – even if they won’t immediately pay the bills.
Money can be harmful, too.
Divorce it from your values, worship it above all else and forget your own humanity let alone the needs of others, and you get a billionaire gleefully taking a chainsaw to people’s jobs and cutting aid to the world’s poorest people.
But if you believe, deep-down, that money corrupts, that it’s the root of all evil, and that having plenty of money inherently makes you a bad person, I’d urge you to examine that. And decide if it’s always true.
- Can you think of creatives who are rich, successful and still making interesting work?
- Or people who use their wealth for good?
- Do you know anyone who has a good income, lives a comfortable life – and still seems like a decent human?
- When you’ve had well-paid jobs, did it change you?
There are other important forms of wealth.
Your health. Your time. Community and connection. Our skills. The inspiration we get from the work of other creatives.
These all contribute to a rich life. And help us make our best work.
So money isn’t everything. But examining your beliefs around money and rewriting the stories you tell yourself can be a game-changer.
I know it helped me, enormously. I’m from a working-class background and I learned, from early childhood, that money was scarce and shameful, something not to be discussed in front of others. I knew that it often caused arguments, and there was a lot of fear around it.
I also learned that you only get paid if you work really, really hard. Which meant I spent a big chunk of my working life making many things far more difficult than they needed to be.
Changing those beliefs changed my life.
My income rose, and I realised that I don’t have to always do everything in the most laborious, lonely and time-consuming way possible.
Last week, I saw a post on LinkedIn that really resonated with me:
“You don’t get paid what you deserve. You get paid what you ask to be paid.”
Do you believe that? What might change for you, if you did believe it – and started asking for more?
Which brings me to my online workshop.
It’s all about seeing the value in what you do, and communicating that more clearly. It’s about asking for more – and being OK if you don’t always get it.
Pricing our art, our creative services can be challenging because so much of it feels intangible. Showing the value of what you do can also feel difficult.
In this hour-long workshop, I’m simply offering a few different ways of thinking about this, approaches that might help you think about your fees, and reconsider what you charge for your art, products or services.
It’s not going to fix your relationship to money – for many of us, that’s a life-long journey – but it might give you some new ideas, more confidence with your pricing and marketing.
The details:
The workshop recording is available to download and watch now, as a video or MP3 sound file.
The price also includes a downloadable workbook to help you uncover some of the stories you’re telling yourself about money – and change them to more useful ones, if they ‘re holding you back from charging your true value.
How much: £30. Buy below.
I’m running these workshops to try and support creatives during these challenging times. So please spread the word. If you know anyone who might find the workshop helpful, please forward this to them.
What do you think?