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What? You Don’t Have a Blog?

I have been studying this stuff pretty closely for a few years now and I’ve come to this conclusion:

“It’s all about your blog.”

If you plan to do any business at all on the internet, your blog needs to be your business’s front door. In fact, I’m pretty convinced that almost ANY business needs to blog. I’m in the process of making changes on this humble space this week, I’ll be changing the Affluent Artist’s Blog address slightly to Affluentartist.com. Why? Because about 1,200 of you a week are reading this space and that number keeps growing! So my speaking business and my book business want to be somewhere you can find them!

So, here’s few of the ideas I’m having about blogs:

* Your blog is where people get to know you and people would rather do business with people they know. Social networking is, after all, about being social. A year or so ago we were really worried about people becoming too isolated, the explosion of FB and Twitter have made that much less of a problem, people are more than willing to begin new relationships on line. They are less than thrilled to get hit with sales pitches every time they see you, just as they are in real life, so give them something to come back for and let your new friends get to know you.

* Be generous. I have a few friends at the National Speakers Conference in Scottsdale this week and I wish I was there. The spirit of generosity and the willingness to help fellow speakers is reviving my friends’ energy. Give your best stuff away, people will appreciate authenticity and a generous spirit. Your blog should be a place people love to hang out and to gain something whenever they log in. You’ll get paid in the long run.

* I’m switching from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, the new template allows me to use this WordPress format on my own website, a pretty neat little trick. It seems, quite by accident, that I have become a semi-famous “blogger”, so it will be less cumbersome to have everything on one website. I have what a lot of businesses wish they had, new people coming by all the time. Does that mean my new site will be full of “sales” stuff? No, it will look a lot like this page actually. MY big bet is this, web pages, at least as sales tools, are dead. They are “so 2008″. You have to have a web page but you must have more.

*We’ve been talking about Web 2.0 in this space lately and, as newspapers and magazines go away, people are looking for content that interests and informs them. Our creative renaissance depends on being able to find people who want to hear your message. Your blog is the best way to get your work out there. Twitter, I believe, is the best way to find and create a list of people who are your audience.

*A blog helps you specialize, If you are a realtor in your town, blog about Little League games, bake sales and local restaurants. Your newspapers probably going out of business, take it’s place! If you are the local hardware store, you should have articles that combine local events with your “how to” tips. (Like how to use a chainsaw, right after the hurricanes come through).

*Video: Get it up there! There are a whole lot of people who’d rather not read. If they can play you on their IPOD, that’s what they are going to do. I plan to begin doing that next week, you’ll see more video of me on blogs.

With any luck, we’ll be in new digs by the end of this week, I’ll keep you posted. And, I hope you’ll give blogging some serious thought, it’s time!

The Ketchup Kountry Klub

Before I knew about Don Henderson, I wrote about him in The Affluent Artist. Actually, I wrote about artists who keep day jobs in the arts to pay the bills so they could pursue their own artistic ambitions “off the clock”. Keeping a job to pay the bills, keeping your day job, is a real good idea, well, let Don tell you:

“I work as a graphic designer at H.J. Heinz, or the Ketchup Kountry Klub as I like to call it. I’m always in need of finding some free time to do something for my soul. I find when I do too much commercial art and not enough of my art, I get stressed. One thing I try to do is get up early, 4:30-5:AM, get all those distractions out of the way early, FB, Deviant Art, e-mail… that way they are less of a distraction later in the day. I go into work early, usually 45 minutes to an hour early, get some coffee and spend some time working on my stuff. I also pack a lunch so I can work on my stuff during my lunch hour. Plus any free time I have during the day, I work on my stuff. At home, there are a lot of distractions, wife, kids, the house… but usually on Saturdays and Sundays I get a lot done by getting up early when there are no distraction. I’m conditioned by the nature of my job to work fast, so I can really get a lot of artwork done in a few hours.
Getting an early start works!”

Here’s some of his “stuff”:

Don is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators and have been in several PSI shows as well as the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Alumni shows. He did the illustration for the 25th Anniversary poster for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix and has artwork on permanent display at AIP and at Whiteman AFB in Missouri, as well as Dyess AFB in Texas.

You can  see his latest work on Deviant Art http://yankeedog.deviantart.com/

Don’s “Stuff” is free lance work that includes many successful projects for the US Air Force, The Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, LeAnn Rimes, Big & Rich, Toby Keith, Dave Matthews Band, Montgomery Gentry, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock to name a few.

Don understands that corporate work is not always judged by people with art sense, that some of his best work ends up on the cutting room floor. He is especially happy to work with art directors who trust his artistic judgement and let him use his talent and creativity to create really amazing work.

The Affluent Artist lessons here are many, Don is at the forefront of the Revolution. Again, I’ll let him tell you:

“Without artists and designers all the billions spent on the endless array of computers, software and tools would be useless in the hands of non-creatives and yet our creativity is taken for granted. The knowledge, the experience and the skills that an artist possesses are not something That should ever be taken for granted and yet they are. We make it look easy, but that doesn’t mean that it is, and because something looks easy in the hands of a skilled and talented artist doesn’t mean that it should go unrewarded or cheap and yet that is what many of us face. “Oh you like doing that…” Yes, I do like doing that and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do, but it also took me years to develop my skills so that I can make it look easy. I’m not condemning the non-creatives, as creatives, we depend on the non-creatives to buy and admire our work, we depend on the non-creatives, but a world without creative people would not be worth living in. A little respect and understanding goes a long way.”

Thanks Don, we are big fans!

The Loneliness Factor

Robert Genn,  a successful working artist, writes a remarkable  “Twice Weekly” newsletter. On Monday morning, his post hit me right between the eyes: “Are You Lonely This Morning?”.  Because, as it happened, I was.

Pulling work up from the inside puts you in a place where it is really easy to feel isolated from the rest of humanity (Sometimes that’s a good thing, people sometimes suck). If you are intuitive and a little introverted (like me) being alone can be very seductive. Couple this fiendish “Lone Wolf” impulse with that whole “approval thing” and it’s preferable, at least some of the time, to be alone with your work.

I made a choice, a dozen years ago, to leave the environment of a national investment firm to strike out on my own and open an independent office. Being away from the cut throat, competitive dynamics of a Wall Street firm, being away from office gossip and not having anyone to answer to, has been a real bonus, in fact, it changed my life completely. The only negative is that sometimes I feel like I am in solitary confinement and I have to make an effort to reach out to the big world out there. I try to have lunches out, stay in contact with like minded people and keep my brain stimulated.

While I understand most people get home from work and like to crash, to get caught up on work they didn’t get done during the day and to watch TV, I just can’t do it. I work to live, I’m too old to live to work. I need my music, need the gym, like to do work for the Little League, and make friends. I will, if we meet, have a cocktail with you. (Isn’t that a great old phrase? “He’ll have a drink with you”).

If you find me sprawled out on a couch you may assume death is near.

Back to Robert’s piece this week : there’s a lot of this loneliness thing going around. In my new version of Rick, (Rick 5.0 or something like that) as a writer and guitar player, I’ve found that isolation is also a danger. Good ideas seem to come from within: however, if I leave my dungeon and actually speak to someone, you know a person, my inspirations get better. I think every artist sees his creation his own way, the last thing we want to do is have someone else mess with that vision. It’s a fine line between getting input and having your precious inspiration screwed around with.

A camel, the old saying goes, is a horse designed by a committee and many creatives cringe when they hear the word “collaboration”. On the other hand; I know many successful creatives who are great team members, they learned to work and play well with others and seem happier knowing others who understand their work, understand their process.

As I wrote in the Affluent Artist, there are some amazing people designing theme park rides, dolphin shows and Super Bowl half time shows who are part of amazing teams. They understand, ultimately, that art has to be appreciated by someone, there has to be an end user: a person who sees the results of your work. Getting feedback and help along the way is very valuable.

Hugh MacLeod has a new, wonderful book about Creativity and, the title is apropos to this Loneliness concept: “Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity“.  Hugh warns us  how threatening your new idea is to those around you. New ideas change the “power” in a relationship. (If new Ideas threaten your friends, hmm, it’s time for new friends). Those that strike out to improve themselves, who take action, upset the balance in a relationship. Following your passion is not the safe road, but, as a creative, you have no choice.

My question: if you find your self working alone a lot (spiritually, physically or mentally)what is your remedy? How do you keep from going crazy? (Or, if you have gone crazy, tell us what it’s like there!)

I’d love your comments, I know commenting on this blog is a little clunky, you simply have to click on the title of the blog- The Loneliness Factor- and you’ll go to a page that has comment spaces.

Please: share!  It would be great to hear how you deal with being a lonely creative.

This song came on Pandora while I was writing and it seemed perfect:

Unmarried Couples

Yesterday’s news wire said that a gay couple was handcuffed after a kiss on the cheek in:

A. China

B. Saudi Arabia

C. The United States

D. Afghanistan

Click Here: The Answer: C  (Hint: I’s almost always C in multiple choice and of course, it was in Salt Lake City)

So todays blog is a little different because I’m going to give you a preview of a new home study course I’m working on, and I’d like to give “unmarried couples” two things to do TODAY. It seems, as I talk to creative people all over the world, that many of you are “shacking up!”

Whether you have chosen to live with someone in your life without getting married or if it is illegal for you to get married, there are some financial and legal decisions you should deal with as soon as you can. Today, I’d like to give you things you can do without a whole lot of trouble, things that might just give you a little more peace of mind.

The first thing you can do is this: Check your beneficiaries! An untimely death is difficult enough to deal with for your partner, it makes it a lot worse if your IRA account, 401K and life insurance proceeds are left to an Ex or someone who is related to you but otherwise someone you don’t want to end up with your estate. In many cases, beneficiaries are after thoughts when an account is being opened and as you make changes in your life, it’s easy to forget to change them. Contact your financial services firms and make sure that the people who you’d like to see inherit your assets actually do end up with them!

The second tip is have that awful health care discussion and get the paperwork done. You know the discussion, the “pull the plug talk”. Again, having someone who is only related to you by blood make a decision like this is not, usually, desirable. If you want your life partner to make these decisions, see an attorney and have him create a durable power of attorney and living will.

While you are with the attorney, having a will and other legal questions are very much worth discussing in detail. I recommend you find an attorney who has extensive knowledge of estate planning and one who works with unmarried couples.

I hope this helps you out, the principals of the Affluent Artist is that taking care of the money stuff allows you to be even more creative.

Ryan Seslow: Web 2.0 and the Modern Artist

We’ve been talking about Web 2.0 and how creatives can use the new tools of social networking to get the word out about their work and to meet interesting people along the way. One of the principals of the Affluent Artist is the concept of a new Renaissance; an idea that the new tools available to get our work out there and find new audiences is unmatched in history; when you combine the internet with the never ending need for content and the pending death of “mass media” there has never been a better time to be alive for creators. I met an artist this week who is at the cutting edge of Web 2.0 and, oh yea, his work is pretty amazing too.

Ryan Seslow is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in New York. Ryan is the creator and founder of the NEWYAWK brand.

Working in all mediums Seslow shows his work both nationally and internationally. Ryan Seslow is also a professor of fine arts teaching studio art courses simultaneously between 4 colleges in the NY area.

Ryan has an amazing creative flow, he has hundreds of works on Flickr and Etsey, he has public art displayed in New York and even has a series of downloadable coloring books available on his website! I met Ryan through Twitter (His was the one Tweet not selling something that day!) and he is very active in seeking out other artists, you should check him out on Twitter or Facebook!  He also has extensive You Tube Videos of his work. Ryan directs experimental films and writes and plays music too, the creation seems to pour out of him.

Some days I just love my job more than others and today is one of them, meeting talented people who are also professional is an amazing gift to me. I hope you’ll make friends with Ryan and help get his message out, I think you’ll gain much by having him in your world. Why not start here on his blog!

Procrastination II

We’ve had a wonderful response to Monday morning’s post on Procrastination and I thought I’d share a few things to do to get out of “Stuck”. I wrote about my “vileness” of putting things off, and, as I discussed in my book, there are some things you can do to get going. As I mentioned, “Resistance” is the enemy, it is a nasty creature, out to defeat us all. It knows our soft spots, our insecurities and our soft underbelly. We should all learn to hate resistance.

Here’s a few things that work:

* Just Begin: When I have to write something, and I am distracted by 100 other things and notice an hour as gone by with no action, I just open the software right in front of me, without giving it a thought, on an impulse,  and let the empty page stare at me. My A.D.D. gets distracted by this new shiny object and before I know it words start to appear on the page. (Today the words were: “We’ve had a tremendous response to Monday…”). So just take a step.

* A schedule: If you set aside 2 hours a day for creation and turn off the phone, E Mail, Twitter etc and know that whatever you create that day is OK, you’ll get stuff done. One of the points of The Affluent Artist is to treat your creativity like a business, have regular “business hours”.

* Get off “Someday Isle”. Take daily action, do 5 things a day towards your goals.

*No self editing. Do something that really sucks if you have to, like “Opposite day”, do something you know will get rejected, that everyone will hate. That’s ok, at least you are finding your heart, your creativity. Too much of our time is spent worrying about results. You have talent, let it free.

*Your soul: Please it. Meditate, pray, run, stand on your head, it doesn’t matter. It’s my belief that I am not a material body who happens to have a soul, I believe I am a spiritual being who happens to have a material body. My soul is visiting this world for a while. While I’m here, I want to do work that pleases my soul, so I try to get in touch. When you are in grace, in that state of oneness with everything, creation just flows; no effort required. Get quiet, learn to be still and listen.

*Think like your customer. The more empathetic you are the better. Imagine being the person in the last row of your concert, the person reading your blog, the person using your website. The more you understand your client’s needs, the more you can see things through their eyes, the more excited you will be to complete your project. Ask your client a lot of questions, go sit in the back row, try to use his website, get the opinion of people who are similar to your customer. After seeing through their eyes, your talent will know what to do.

*Come from love. Creation comes from love, God is creation, God loves creative people. After all, that’s his line of work too!

*Get off the couch, put down the remote, no more donuts.

Remember right brains are taking over the world, the revolution is here!

Wait till Tomorrow… Procrastination

My particular version of self loathing and sabotage seems to be procrastination. I’m a pretty high A, high achievement, task oriented kind of guy normally, but I have to keep watching myself for those instances I put stuff aside until it piles so high that all momentum comes to a grinding halt because I have to tackle my “pile”. Partly to help you understand your own form of vileness and partly as a catharsis, I’d like to address this procrastination beast… Tomorrow.

Only kidding! Remember not long ago, I talked about Resistance and Steven Pressfield’s wonderful book, The War of Art. Steven blames everything on “resistance” the enemy of all creatives. I agree with Steven completely, I keep his book on my desk and refer to it often. Here’s a few ways my particular form of resistance crops up in my life:

*”I don’t want to”: Sometimes, I lack ALL self discipline and think I can simply ignore shit like paperwork and bills because, after all, I am a creative soul. This form or irresponsibility can be very seductive, after all, I am a creative soul!

“Tomorrow” I can get pretty caught up in this one and actually fool myself into believing it. Yea, that’s a great idea, certainly needs to get done, I’ll get it tomorrow morning. It’s almost like starting a diet…

“I’ll doing something creative instead” Gee whiz, I really need to fill out this bull crap, boring and static compliance report or I could start Friday’s blog, that’s it, I’ll start Friday’s blog, I’m feeling inspired all of a sudden.

“I’m afraid of failure/ success” What if they hate this new product? What if no one really wants to hire me to speak? They don’t really really hire speakers like me? Or, conversely: How will I get all these orders fulfilled? I don’t have the infrastructure…

“I don’t have time” I know this new blog idea could make me at least rich and maybe even famous but I have to file these forms and clean out these cabinets. I have to be organized.

“I’ll surf the net” There is news on the NBA free agent market, I need to know if Rasheed Wallace signed, there’s my blog and my God there is Twitter. Web 2.0 is calling me…

So, here’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to knock it off. Every time I don’t get something done that I need to get done, I’m going to let you know. I’ll send out a tweet or something. Here’s an example. I’m good at working out but crappy at dieting. I usually eat whatever I can eat without getting out of my car. But Tuesday night I’m joining a new workout class that includes dietary guidelines. I’m going to finally lose the middle age gut and go for it, flat out for 6 weeks, no excuses, no resistance. I’ll let you know my progress on FB or something, but  I’ve been putting this one off for too long!

Anyone want to join me? Make a pledge, right now, for the whole world to see under comments, come on, I could use a team behind me! Let’s support each other!

Shecky Hancock, Continental Comedian

I’m taking a few days off for the Fourth, but in honor of Independence Day, I’ve dug up transcripts of a Philadelphia Night Club Comic, Shecky Hancock, doing his act at the Continental Congress Press Club Dinner in 1776. Enjoy it, and remember, these jokes may have been funnier 223 years ago.

Cue the fife and drums playing the Tonight Show theme and host John Hancock saying, “Heeeeeere’s Shecky!”:

Wow it’s great to be here, I just rowed in from Hoboken and boy are my arms tired! It’s so great to be here in Philadelphia in such esteemed company. Last week I played the state legislature in New Hampshire and I’m not saying they were a tough audience… But I just got the feathers scraped off my ass with tar remover. Tough crowd. That live free or die thing? Let me tell you, they are pretty  glum up there. Comedy is not their thing. Let’s just say they make the Quakers seem like party animals!

Hey, did you see where John Adams is saying he really gave Jefferson all the ideas for the Declaration of Independence, that Jefferson only put the words down on paper? Yea well, Adams is also claiming he invented something called the internet.

Oh, Mrs. Washington, good to see you: your doctor sent a letter, turns out those are splinters…

Wooden teeth Martha, that’s all I’m sayin…

What a classy broad; seems like Big George isn’t just first in War and Peace!

He’s first where it counts, if you know what I mean… (Spreads hands).

Everyone say hi to the band led by fife player Doc Williams. I’m not saying Doc likes the ale here in Philadelphia, let’s just say that the serving wenches all have played his fife too. Give him a big Colonial welcome.

Then there’s the big guy from Boston, my cousin, he got me this gig. I’m not saying John Hancock is vain, but when congress asked him the reason he signed his name so big on the Declaration of Independence, he was surprised and asked: “You mean you wanted to sign it too?”

Hey, come on now, that’s funny, what is it the Red Coat?

Should I take it off?

Hey, that reminds me! Why did the chicken cross the road?

Cause the British are coming, the British are coming!

I know, I got a million of them, be sure to tip your serving wench

Speaking of the British, rumors that King George is mad were confirmed when he offered us a Peace Concession:

Free British Dental!

Cause you know the British don’t have very good teeth, Work with me People. These are the jokes, you can laugh or you can just revolt, we got an hour of this stuff.

That Nathaniel Green sure likes his grog, I’m just saying, buddy, Rhode Island, is that a state or Massachusetts’s back yard? … Hey, the Indians called, your loan is due! They want blue beads this time.

Hey, you’re all right, I kid because I love. Rhode Island’s great: I spent a week there one afternoon.

Hey there’s the guys from New Jersey, Paulie, Tony, Paulie Junior, Tiny, Big Tiny, Anthony. How You Doin? Hey, can you get me a deal on a powdered wig, you know, one that fell of a wagon?

Hey I kid the guys from New Jersey but don’t take it personally. I mean PLEASE don’t take it personally, I’m kidding ok! You wacky guys! Seriously, if you want to make a little book, these are the guys to see. You’ll love their payment plans… I’m taking Washington at Valley Forge, getting 6 1/2.

And Sam Adams, keep those beers coming buddy, your great, love the hair babe, love the hair.

How about Betsy Ross, look I’m not saying that Betsy is ugly, let’s just say that bell wasn’t cracked before she got there, ok?

I mean’s she a real two sacker…

Sew a flag? Hell, that was a face mask for the Cotillion! Yowsa!

Hey there’s Ethan Allan, anybody ever tell you you make a helluva bed? It even holds up for Ben Franklin’s “special” parties.

Virginia you’re all right, good to see your delegation here. Tall men, wooden teeth, long hair, is this a congressional delegation or a reunion of Led Zepplin? Lee, Mason, Jefferson, doesn’t anybody have a last name?

Don’t worry about that slavery thing guys, nobody will notice. It’s not like they’ll start a war over it or anything. No really, you’ll be ok. (to rest of the congress; Oh My God!)

Ben Franklin, Hey Ben CAN YOU HEAR ME?

I’m not saying Ben is old but he didn’t just discover electricity, he discovered daylight.

Ben invented the lending library, the post office and bifocals. But, Ben, how about inventing mouthwash? I’m just saying, Ben had garlic for dinner… Last Tuesday. Really Ben you could knock a bald eagle off a manure cart.

You can call it “Macaroni” if you want Ben, but that’s not what comes out of a pony.

It’s ok, I kid Ben cause I love him… And because he won’t remember what I said in five minutes. Right Ben?

Ben’s from here in Philadelphia. They settled on “The City of Brotherly Love” as a motto because “Streets full of horse shit” and “Swamp fever: it might not kill you” were already taken.

Come back this weekend guys, we’ll have fife and drum karaoke and all you can eat Goat Brains. Mighty tasty! Grog is 3 for a shilling unless you have our Constant Grog card, we punch a hole and every 6th grog is free! So come and make Merry. And if Merry is busy, you can enjoy one of our other fine young and meaty serving wenches. Badda Bing!

And how about that economy huh? You didn’t like taxation without representation, how do you like it with representation?

I know congress has spent more money than it really has, don’t worry, it’s not like they can do that forever!

George Washington threw a dollar over the Potomac 20 years ago, but he can’t do it now. It’s not that George is twenty years older, it’s that the dollar doesn’t go as far these days!

and now:

The Top Ten Reasons Your Man-Servant Might be a Torrey Spy

10. You find him going through your tea bags.

9. He roles his eyes and salutes you as “Mr. Congressional Smarty Pants”

8. He killed a Frenchman, just to watch him die.

7. Armada, what armada?

6.  Your muskets always seem to be plugged with goose dung.

5.”Benedict Arnold, uh no, we never met. Good to meet you Ben.”

4. When he has a few drinks he looks at you and says “God Save the King and Die you Patriot Bastard!”

3. He passes notes to beautiful women one third his age. No wait: that’s Ben Franklin

2. He told Paul Revere, “No it’s TWO if by land, THREE if by sea.”

1. Three words: Union Jack Undergarments.

You know you crazy congressmen, that’s it for me. But seriously folks, before I go, I gotta tell you, I dig this whole Revolution thing you guys are stirring up. The whole countryside is into this whole crazy independence movement, people are singing Yankee Doodle, reading Common Sense and they are getting their kicks from this kooky revolution kinda thing and you cats are doing the work of the Man upstairs.

May Jehovah Bless you and Good Night!

According to the transcript: Shecky was then shot by Aaron Burr.

Negotiating Your Price…

Right brains, as awesome as they are for creativity; sometimes don’t quite get the business part of putting your work out there for the approval of others. Capitalism is a tricky thing, those of us who are getting paid for our creations can get nervous, cranky or just plain defensive when it comes down to naming our price. I posted a video last week about negotiating your price and it was a huge hit, it got a lot of laughs and got re-tweeted all over the place. However, I think it gave the impression that anyone who won’t meet your price is trying to screw you and, unfortunately, it is a whole lot more complicated than that in the real world.

Negotiation in any business, is adversarial, try not to take it personally. Business projects are expected to make a profit; not support artists. Nightclubs hire entertainers to sell more drinks, radio plays songs to sell more ads, writers get advances to sell books.

Ultimately, you get to decide the worth of your talent and what you will work for, if you believe you are good enough to charge a whole lot more than other people in your field, for the same work, that’s ok, but realize you’ll get less work. This is not a bad strategy if you have more work than you can handle and want make the same money doing less work. We’d all like that option, but the fact is, very few creatives are in the position to name their own price, most people have to be somewhere around the competition.

The other extreme is to work as cheaply as possible and get as much work to pound out as possible, even if quality suffers. Elance and street corner theater are your venues and it is probably hard to feel good about yourself if you are always the low bidder. If you are a commodity, someone who only wins on price, it’s good to understand that and know that you have made that choice.

SO is there a middle ground? Of course there is. Obviously, people don’t always buy the cheapest option, heck did you see the lines at Apple this week for the new I Phone? There are some basics of capitalism and markets that you need to know and love.

1. Know your market. Price out a job like the one you are offering and see if you are in the ballpark. If jobs are going for $200 to $600, you’d better offer quite an apparent improvement to the buyer if you want to charge $2,500. Keep in mind, what you think is an advantage to the buyer may not be something he feels the need to pay extra for. You might be surprised that there are good people out there with a whole different price structure (higher or lower) than yours.

2. Understand your client. Ask a LOT of questions, most jobs don’t even go out to bid if the buyer has found someone who can give him exactly what he wants. Some jobs don’t need a whole lot of customization and talent, some do, you should find out why the customer is doing a certain job and adjust your bid accordingly. A client may have a low budget on project because he anticipates the project is not going to be all that profitable, it’s a good idea to understand his goals. It’s not the buyers problem if your costs are higher or if you have to do all the work yourself because you don’t have a staff. The buyers obligation is to get the work done for the best value.

3. Be able to add value. If your job is seen as a commodity, say you transcribe, then most people will go with the low bid because they are going to get the same results. Buyers understand it’s good business to save money where you can. BUT: If you tell me you’ll not only transcribe my work, you’ll correct the grammar and clean up my syntax, I’m going with you, even if you aren’t the low bid.

4. Be gracious. People would like to think that you want to do their work, that you care about them and that they are more than a wallet to you. Even if you don’t get a job you’d like, it is good business to be so gracious that next time, the customer remembers you and feels like he owes you one (Or maybe tell his friends and readers about you). In general, people do business with people they like and know. Price is not the only determination but yes, you might decide that you’ll lose money on a job or it’s not worth the price to you. That is YOUR choice, be gracious.

So, that’s enough for today, running a business is not antithetical to creative minds. Right brainers who plug into a customer’s need using empathy and paint pictures with stories can get paid a lot more than the low bidder. Use your creativity to not only do great work but to GET great work!

Here’s how negotiating with a dentist might go: