We don’t like to talk about money, not just creatives, but everyone. It’s uncomfortable for whatever reason.
Art of Money – Tara Gentile
We’ve all been taught that it’s not so polite to talk about money. I don’t know why, but the subject is taboo. It’s too prying to ask someone how much they make a year. It’s pompous to announce how much profit you’ve made from a great product release.
We are always reluctant to reveal numbers and figures.
Maybe because we aren’t making enough for our efforts and it’s embarassing. Or maybe because you don’t want to shine the light on your monetary success for fear of resentment or targeting by scammers.
Whatever the reason, the lack of discussion makes us all a bit clueless when it comes to understanding money. In a hush hush environment, we are bound to make incorrect assumptions. The more we don’t talk about something – the lack of education – the more problems come out of it. No surprise that creatives always have a hard time pricing their work and services. There are no perfect formulas or a widely accepted rate standard. Actually, there are professional rates published in the Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (link to Amazon.com)
I think that being clueless means that we don’t know our own worth. Money is an important and necessary part of our lives. We need money to survive, even it it’s not everything of course. It’s just another element that shouldn’t be pushed under the carpet or banned to underground communications.
It’s nice to know that many folks are opening up and discussing the topic of money. Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income actually posts his income reports on the internet, sharing the sources in detail. Maria Brophy has just written a post about how money is commitment. Tara Gentile’s book, The Art of Earning, opens up a conversation on the topic of money and wealth.
