Creative people have a love/hate relationship with money.
We love it, because – well, who wouldn’t want it?
But we also hate it, avoid dealing with it, and avoid even talking about it. Here are some of the reasons why.
1. We Think It’s Not Important
And of course we’re right. There are more important things in life than money – love, art, justice, world peace and coffee being just a few.
We live in a world obsessed with money, where human beings are treated according to their bank balance, not their intrinsic worth, and we instinctively revolt against this.
Creativity offers a window on a different world, with different values. Art exists in a different, more meaningful dimension. In a world gone mad, it can serve as a reminder that money is not the be-all and end-all.
2. We Don’t Know How to Get It
The starving artist cliche didn’t come from nowhere. It’s no secret that many creatives don’t earn as much as they’d like. And it’s not much fun talking about something you don’t have.
If we were better at selling than making, we’d be salespeople, not creatives. Sales and marketing can feel like impenetrable mysteries – we don’t understand what makes people buy, so it’s tempting to retreat back into our comfort zone, doing the best work we can and hoping that will be enough.
3. We Don’t Know What We’re Worth
One obvious barrier to earning a decent living is not charging enough for our artworks, products or services. That might sound like a no-brainer, but many creatives simply don’t realise the value of their work to potential buyers.
To us, it’s nothing special. It’s just what we do. Looking at it with a perfectionist’s eye, we see all kinds of flaws that are invisible to the untrained eye. That’s great for perfecting your craft, but not so great when it comes to closing a sale.
Because what may seem barely good enough to us may well look utterly fabulous to a potential buyer. But if we price ourselves or our work too low, it knocks buyers’ confidence, and makes them assume there’s something wrong with it.
Believe it or not, many people are happier paying more for quality than shopping around for the cheapest option. Who wants to have a knockdown painting on their wall? Or to give their loved one a cut-price ring? Or to do their big launch or party on the cheap?
4. We Don’t Want to Sell out
One of the reasons creative people have a reputation for eccentricity is our ambivalent attitude to money and success. The rest of the world would jump at the chance for fame and fortune, but even when it’s laid on a plate for us, we hesitate.
We hesitate because we are terrified of selling out – selling our artistic soul to the devil, earning piles of cash by churning out commercial crap. We know that all the money in the world won’t compensate us for the loss of our creative integrity.
5. We Don’t Want to Look Greedy
We’re sensitive souls aren’t we? And we have to be, it’s part of our job. If you’re not finely attuned to the subtleties of sounds, images, words, textures, movement and/or rhythm, you won’t go far in a creative career.
But this sensitivity has a flipside. We tend to be shy and diffident, easily pricked by barbed words or the merest hint of criticism. So we’re not always the best negotiators, and can shoot ourselves in the foot by avoiding discussing money issues for fear of looking ‘greedy’.
6. We Don’t Know How to Manage It
Spreadsheets, balance sheets, cashflow forecasts, profit and loss sheets, amortisation, appreciation, depreciation, fixed costs, variable costs, cash cows, averaging ratios …
Have your eyes glazed over yet?
The language of finance can be bamboozling – let alone the actual numbers. No wonder many creatives do the bare minimum of accounting, often at the last minute, when the tax deadline is due. It just seems too complex, too intimidating, or too plain boring for us to get our heads around it all.
7. We Wouldn’t Know How to Spend It
The whole process of earning, collecting and managing money – while at the same time preserving our creative integrity – can seem so difficult that we never seriously think about how we would spend the money if we did succeed. In other words, we don’t consider the purpose of money in our work and lives.
Sure, we may daydream from time to time about winning the lottery or landing the big contract, but we stop at daydreaming. We don’t articulate our financial goals, set ourselves targets and make concrete plans for using money to bring us security, stability, freedom – and even to support our creativity.
So we creatives have plenty of reasons for looking down our noses at money, or ignoring it and hoping it will go away.
But deep down, we know this is dangerous. Money is a fact of life, it’s not going away. Sooner or later, we have to deal with it.
Because money is important. Not the most important thing, but maybe more important than we care to admit, when we avoid thinking about it, talking about it or doing something about it.
Money stress is no fun. It poisons every aspect of life. That’s true for anyone, but if your passion is creativity, then one of the biggest dangers is that worrying about money will kill your creativity.
As a creative, your headspace is your workspace. If it’s taken up by worries of any kind, it’s hard to settle to the task in hand, and harder still to get into the creative zone where you do your best work.
Does that sound like a reason to take money a little more seriously?
“OK so what do I DO about this?”
I’m glad you asked that. 🙂
The first thing to do is to visit this page and claim your free copy of the audio seminar I’ve recorded with Sarah: 5 Essential Money Skills for Creative People. It’s packed with practical advice to help you get a grip on your business finances and use them to support your creativity.
And if you want even more help getting on top of the finances of your creative business, check out Money for Creative People, our new course for creative artists, freelancers and entrepreneurs, teaching you the mindset and money skills that will help you succeed commercially as well as creatively.
What do you think?
Which of these seven reasons do you relate to?
What would you add to the list?
Do you agree that creative people could benefit from taking money more seriously?
About the author: Mark McGuinness is a poet, creative coach, and the owner of Lateral Action.
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« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 … 8 Next »Wow, as a successful creative professional, this post really offends me. Seven reasons? More like seven stereotypes.
It's great to hear you're successful Erika, but the response to the post suggests that others are still struggling with these issues.
And it's hard for me to offer solutions without first describing the problem. :-)
I worded myself very poorly, Mark. Please accept my apology. I should have been more clear that what offends me are these reasons -- that they exist, that they are so commonplace, and that they are so accepted.
I spent years in the corporate art world, with many awful bosses. One seemed to find joy in berating the artists and one day he made a wonderful woman burst into tears. Rather than being sorry in any way, he justified it by saying she was just a typical overly sensitive creative type that wasn't cut out for business. I have a career full of stories like this one.
My intent was to say what you and Melissa said (better) above -- it's all in your mindset. You can either accept that you have a downfall and blame it on being creative, or you can work your ass off until it no longer holds you back.
It's fine Erika, thanks for the clarification.
It's an emotive subject and I share your passion for empowering creatives. :-)
I can relate to 1, 4, and 6.
1. I don't think money is all that important as far as it being a driver for my creativity. And with the old wealth paradigms dying out in the current economic crisis, we're going to see a shift back to the intrinsic rather than the extrinsic value.
4. I never believed in catering to the masses to make money. Yes, I had to do some "work" photography to make money, but that's a whole different area as compared to the creativity. Plus, I do feel once money becomes a goal, creativity is put on the line.
6. I am not a businessperson. It's enough to manage the affairs of my house. And here in New Jersey (USA), state laws make it tough for one to be an entrepreneur. The nuts and bolts involved can be dizzying and can hurt creativity.
Thanks for letting me share.
Thanks for sharing Victor, totally agree that the drivers of creativity and commerce are different.
And a bit surprised to hear New Jersey makes it tough on entrepreneurs - I always imagine America as the land of entrepreneurship, I guess the grass isn't always greener. :-)
It is great to read about successful creative people, like Ms. Block above, who don't need this kind of post. I like to meet people who are comfortable talking about money and who can make money doing what they love. At the same time, I do have these problems. I guess I am a stereotype. I need help figuring out how to get over my issues with money and it helps to read that other people are working on similar issues. If some people are offended, well, I'm not. I want help. I don't want you not to talk about it because the people who are comfortable think there is no need. So. One day, I hope that when I come across another post on this topic, I can say, "I'm so over that." But instead of feeling insulted, I'll offer some helpful suggestions for neurotic types like I am now.
Really, I've had several shows, and I found deciding on the prices of things and sticking the price tags on the work to be very difficult. I keep feeling--who am I to ask for money for this? And worse is if a tag falls off or something and someone has to ask me directly.
So thanks for the article. Glad I came across it.
Thanks Marta, you don't sound like a stereotype to me. :-)
I hear about these issues so many times from coaching clients that I've realised they are just an occupational hazard for creatives. But when you're struggling with the issues on your own, it can feel like you're the only one. So I wrote this piece partly to show people that most of us are challenged by this at some point in our careers.
Message received. More on the way. ;-)
That sounds to me like the wrong question. Supposing you stopped thinking about yourself, and focused on the potential buyer and their response to the work? Notice how their eyes light up when they see it. And start to think about all the different ways they could enjoy the work, both for themselves and sharing it with others...
Btw your art is fabulous - but I had to hunt through your site a bit before I found it. Maybe make it a bit more prominent on the home page? No point hiding your light under a bushel. ;-)
Thank you for taking the time to look at my work--especially since I haven't made it easy. I need to work on that. I'll see what I can do.
Thanks Mark,
Absolutely agree with all 7 reasons! Great article...you nailed it. In 25 years running my art practice money has always been the most problematic thing. Your clear layout of the key areas helps clarify things and remind me that it's okay to want to make money from my art.
You can and will overcome anything you want to overcome, Marta. That is exactly what bothers me, that these reasons are generally considered acceptable. Society expects creatives to fail. Then, whether they realize it or not, creatives expect themselves to fail.
If your child is a great artist but struggling in math, you foster the art while working on the math. You would never tell your child, "it's okay to fail math, good artists are often bad at math." Because you're basically saying, your skill set is pre-determined, so feel free to stop trying when something's hard for you.
We all have things that come easily to us, and things that give us a hard time. I can certainly relate to all of these points myself. But the difference between successful artists and struggling artists is whether or not they allow themselves to be hindered.
I didn't say the reasons are pre-determined, or that anyone should stop trying, or allow themselves to be hindered.
If my child were struggling with maths, I wouldn't be doing her any favours by pretending she was good at it, or that maths didn't matter, or that she wasn't frustrated by it.
I'd help her acknowledge the problem and solve it. But it wouldn't be as simple as saying she can overcome anything and shouldn't allow herself to be hindered.
It's funny how you seemed to have felt my struggle. I am working full time for a boss, but that wasn't satisfying enough so I started next to that my own business.
Now last week I had my first paying customer. We talked the project over and we both have been exited. I am over the freedom given en he about the ideas just boiling out. Till we came to the tedious point of "and how much will this all cost me" and I fell silent and my stomach turned.
I did prepare myself for this, market research, compared other prices and studied the guidelines for prices in my field, took the average - 20%, but I just couldn't get the number over my lips. My mouth got dry and I think he saw panic in my eyes. "what if i am to expensive" "I am a beginner - though I work in my field now 3 years for my boss - but that's different - why would he pay that much for a no name company" and other sentences like these raced like a steam-train through my mind, distracted me and my mouth just busted out a 3ed of the price my research told me my services are worth.
In this case I am lucky enough that he informed himself as well and he advised me before on taxes and book keeping. He knows my difficulty with money and he gave me another chance to recalculate the price to "a more realistic amount" as he called it.
End of the story is, I am still sitting with a stone in my stomach and haven't relayed the price yet...I know what I have to do, but I can not find the confidence - or the switch in my head - to do it....
Thanks for sharing the situation Nadja - I know a lot of people who can relate to this one!
1. It's scary for EVERYONE the first time you name your price to a potential client. It's not just you - this is something all freelancers and business owners have to go through.
2. It sounds like you have found a wise client who values your knowledge and skills and who is giving you a golden opportunity to price your services appropriately. You should make it your goal to find more clients with this attitude!
3. Never feel you have to quote a price on the spot. Any reasonable client will understand that you need time to assess the project and price it appropriately. So if you're not sure, always ask for a day or two to think it over before submitting a quote - it looks like the professional thing to do.
4. It's a very common mistake to price yourself too low when you start out. You may be a beginner at working for yourself, but if you have 3 years' experience of this kind of work, then you are not a beginner! So I don't see why you should charge 20% below the average.
5. It sounds from your comment as though you are conscientious and will do your very best for this client. Believe it or not, that kind of dedication is not something your client can easily get elsewhere! It sounds to me like he is getting a good deal and he knows it, so I'm not surprised he is happy to pay you the going rate.
So you know the answer. :-)
In Japan there is a very old temple called Kiyomizu-dera with a big wooden platform on a hilltop. The Japanese have a saying that at some point in life, everyone has to jump off Kiyomizu-dera - i.e. make a leap of faith. Maybe this is one of those times for you...
Kiyomizu is an absolutely gorgeous temple. I hadn't heard that saying. I do remember--more than 40 years later--how exquisite the building is, braced on the side of a hill. I took photos of the wooden structures holding it up.
I think there's also wisdom in focusing on the simplicity and grace of the infrastructure beneath the temple: maybe a way of envisioning the financial and practical supports for our artistic lives.
Hi Mark,
thank you for your response. That's very kind of you!
Anyway, I'll write a comment later, in the meanwhile enjoy the folllowing points:
1) Aristotle said “The hardest victory is the victory over self”, but it is a victory that enables you to win in all other aspects of life.
2) Extracted from :
http://www.butler-bowdon.com/James-Allen-The-Path-To-Prosperity
( very meaningful article!! )
Ciao!
Fab
Wise words from Aristotle. I think the Buddha would have approved. ;-)
Recently reading The Power of Intention has helped me reframe money and abundance, though I admit I'm making baby steps towards sloughing off my own assumptions and misgivings about money and creativity.
And this feels like just the beginning... like - I start valuing myself and putting myself out there, break the silence about money and creativity, but that doesn't assure me financial success just because I've broken down some of my barriers.
I still feel like there's a missing key ingredient I haven't landed on no matter how much work I do around this subject. Maybe it's patience.
Yes, changing our attitude to money is critical. If we don't do that, all the financial advice in the world won't make any difference.
As I said to Melissa, we also need to do the calculations and take action. Maybe this is where you'll find your missing ingredient, now that you've broken down the mental barriers.
Rest assured, we'll be covering both of these areas in more depth on Lateral Action... ;-)
glad to hear that the Power of Intention is working well for you. As Mark says the attitude change is absolutely critical. Have you had the chance to listen to the audio seminar Mark released yesterday as that's where we're starting to talk about the solutions
I can relate to every point made. Wow, well said! But, uh, have I missed any solution offered? I know I ought to read the comments, but would have to get back to those. :)
Thanks so much! Just being AWARE that the way I feel and function is relatively normal for 'creative types' is good info to have. Awareness is empowering after all.
Thanks Guy. Glad to hear it had the desired 'normalizing' effect. :-)
And yes, more concrete solutions are in the pipeline, stay tuned...
Guy, now that we're a few days down the line from this blog post I thought I'd check and see if you'd had time to download the ebook and the audio seminar ... we talk about solutions in the latter, best, Sarah
Hi Mark,
you are right 100%!!
Anyway, here is another very meaningful link:
http://www.butler-bowdon.com/prosperity-principles
They are pretty hard to put into practice all at once but little by little, as you say in English:
"You never know...!!"
Ciao!
Fab