What Mavis said about this being true if anything one is selling is
true. But I want to tell a particular story so you can all see how
people are. I charges $55 an hour for kids parties in my entertainment
co. bac in 1985. At that tim it was the going rate, but due to rising
costs, I went up to $65. I had alot of competitiors in that city and we
were polite with each other, but fell short of discussing price. So one
person calls me on the phone and says, "look, I am going to raise my
rate. To be fair to all, each of us should go up to $65." I had been at
$65 for months. But, he didn't kow this. He tried to talk me in to his
viewpoint, when my other 2 lines rang. On the end of each was another
entertainer, telling me about him ... something was afoot. It took a few
days, but the punchline hit. I was cold calling some businesses I worked
with, an trying to book spring events ... his rate had dropped to $45.
He cheapened himself, even though he was a quality act, and I am sure
people wondered why he was so desperate. And he made all of us look
greedy. But only for a time. People looked at him suspiciously, and
hired all of us anyway. I presetly raised my rate to $85. And crossed my
fingers. I had a way at that time to promote myself as #1, because I had
just performed at the White House Easter Egg Roll. I touted my high
quality and bet that people would pay my price based on the info I used
to promote it. And I made the others look cheap, or ordinary ... and I
won the day. I have been involved as a craftsperson
since I was 16 yrs old. The question of whether or not we get paid our
worth, has always been there and always will be. I suggest that
you promote your artistry, show what you have and never care about the
people who can't or won't pay what you ask. Yeah, and I am the one who
had an emergency sale this year ... which was a different thing
altogether. You mght need a better marketing plan if your stuff isn't
selling at the price you want, or you might need to redo your
promotional material or reassess the value of what you have. But don't
sell yourself short. Only if it's an emergency !
Honeybunch