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Art piece drama
11 years ago
I agreed to do a wall art piece for someone in the staff block that I live in. It's HUGE and I had to buy a whole load of brand new acrylic paints for it. Normally I'd charge somewhere in the region of £80-£100 depending on the size, number of colours, time etc. but this guy offered to make a time-lapse video of the process to put on my website so I knocked the price down to £65.
I told him the final price today and he was all "That's too expensive! I will pay for the paint and will also make the video, ok?"
No. Not bloody ok! That's me making NOTHING for the picture itself! He's asking if I'm happy with him paying me back to square 1. The paints cost me £30 in all. I gave him one last chance and knocked it FURTHER to £50 but I haven't had a reply yet.
This sucks though. Because he's like best friends with this complete bitch-fest of a girl who's decided to single me and my mate out for bullying, belittling and generally being a complete c*nt to! Why does this matter? We all live in the same bloody staff accommodation and I would rather have just 1 person being arsey with me and not 2. I'm still in the good side of this guy kind of.
One thing's for sure, though, I'm not lowering prices for anything anymore. This is just taking the piss. >8C
I told him the final price today and he was all "That's too expensive! I will pay for the paint and will also make the video, ok?"
No. Not bloody ok! That's me making NOTHING for the picture itself! He's asking if I'm happy with him paying me back to square 1. The paints cost me £30 in all. I gave him one last chance and knocked it FURTHER to £50 but I haven't had a reply yet.
This sucks though. Because he's like best friends with this complete bitch-fest of a girl who's decided to single me and my mate out for bullying, belittling and generally being a complete c*nt to! Why does this matter? We all live in the same bloody staff accommodation and I would rather have just 1 person being arsey with me and not 2. I'm still in the good side of this guy kind of.
One thing's for sure, though, I'm not lowering prices for anything anymore. This is just taking the piss. >8C
As a small business owner like many of us on here, I've experienced the same process, and I've resolved the same.
I realize that you might be non-U.S., which shouldn't matter -- you should consider joining the Freelancer's Union. It's free, and the periodic newsletters will completely change your perspectives on being a freelancer or small business owner. The latest, in fact, focused on being able to say "No", not simply because it's protective of your rates, but because it's fair to you and your other customers.
I'm sorry you're out, but it's a relatively cheap experience. You'll survive this.
Yeah, I'm tempted to just not do the art piece now,
I gotta be honest. I should have just stuck to my
original price :/
(And yeah, you're right. I'm not US. I'm UK. :D)
Well, of course you're not going to do the piece -- unless you just need a project to remain busy, which of course is up to you.
The good news about tough lessons is that they usually stick, so maybe you won't go through this again!
And I'll do it if he accepts the £50 offer but I won't lower prices any more. This is the last
time. If he asks for and even LOWER price then no. Forget it.
He's flaked on you; are you really going to reward that?
The latest Freelancer's Union publication came out within the last 24 hours. The headline issue: "What if you doubled your rate? Like, right NOW?". You could, and perhaps you should. No more scraping the bottom of the barrel, no more haggling; this is my rate.
You'll have less customers, but your customers will be better and you'll work less hours for the same pay. You'll attract more positive attention. You'll shuffle off the riff-raff. Take stock; are you providing the services that top customers expect? What would you reasonably expect for your rate -- and for the doubled rate? Do you provide that? Think about it; try it.