On one of the forums on which I participate, I had a recent back-and-forth with a creative who didn’t mark up several of his expenses. This wasn’t the first time I’ve had this debate, but it does make me so frustrated that I thought I’d rant here.
Creatives have a double-barrel guilt shotgun pointed at them when it comes to making money. On the one hand, we have the culturally-ingrained image of the starving (or at least struggling) artist (or, as I like to think of it, artiste). This image perpetuates the idea that somehow, if an artist is financially successful, s/he is either a very rare fluke or, more likely, a sell-out. Make a profit? You can’t be a real artiste, we tell ourselves.
On the other hand, there is the self-imposed perception that a creative’s work is less valuable than others’ work. Doesn’t matter if it’s a dentist or a brick-layer, that person is doing “real” work, whereas the creative is getting to do drawings or take pretty pictures or whatever–and none of that could possibly be considered “real” work. Getting paid well, making a profit, isn’t deserved because it isn’t “real” work.
Of course, both hands are full of crap.
If you are a creative professional, not working as an employee for someone else, you are in business. As a businessperson, it is your duty to generate a profit for your company (actually, as an employee it is too). Businesses cannot survive, much less grow, without making profits. There is nothing evil or dirty about it.
Knowing your CODB and using that as a starting point is a great first step. But to maximize your business’ success while NOT screwing over any customer/client, marking up your costs when you bill is absolutely a necessity. The best way to do this fairly is to mark up everything by the same percentage. That way if a client says “I know I could get that widget for $100, but you billed me $125!” you can say that you mark up everything you provide for your clients by 25%–as is standard practice. That’s a much better response than “Well, I didn’t mark up the photos so…” which makes you look less than professional.
So everyone, repeat after me: Profit is not a dirty word.