A friend asked me for advice, “How much should I charge to do this web site?”

A wealthy investor was converting some commercial space into an art studio. The new art studio asked him to do a web site for them. You know, it’s for the artists. My friend was contemplating a price of $750.

He told me his rational. He thought it would take him about 10 hours. Okay, I thought.

But I had the opportunity to tell him this little story, which I heard from somewhere else (here it is, but not where I heard it):

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.
“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

Since Merge is going through the pricing of building out our future space, I know that this man is spending some serious dinero (their space is 15x our space). This simply tells me he’s qualified to afford a reasonable price.

I asked my friend: “How many years of school did you go to learn creative, to learn web?”

“A lot.”

“How much is the computer worth that you’re working on?”

“$3,000. And another $2,000 in software.”

“Okay, how much do you want to charge? What do you think it’s worth to the prospect?”

No business will get ahead if they charge for what it costs them to produce their service or product. Why do freelancers do the same? We are in business to make a profit. Some may say a “reasonable” profit. I say PROFIT. As long as you provide the value, charge as much as you can-and be willing to walk away if the prospect won’t meet your price. Isn’t it ironic, that most businesses charge as little as possible to get the work? Concentrate on a great product that provides tremendous value, and then you don’t have to worry about price.