On Monday I did something I hate doing - I had my picture taken. Yes, I'm one of those people who never thinks they look good in photos, so I avoid them like the plague. I must have inherited this from my mother, as my father loved to be photographed and he always looked good. I digress. If you've looked at my photos on my website, here and my Facebook page, you probably figured they needed updating. So did I. As luck would have it, one of Son's former wrestlers is a photographer. He likes taking pictures. He'd like to do it for a living. He's at most of the matches, just like me, and I see him taking photos. I asked if he wanted to do mine. He agreed and we met. You know I almost never name names here, but I'm making an exception. Eugene Maddy is the young man's name, and he did a really lovely job. That's high praise indeed from someone who rarely meets a picture she loves. He has a good eye and an engaging personality, and he really captured my essence. (That's on top of being conscientious and reliable). I'm sure you'll agree when they're all posted soon, and if you look at my blogger profile, you'll see one of them already. (If you want his number, I have it).
Anyway, the one thing Eugene and I had not discussed prior to the shoot was price. He knew me, I knew him, and we knew we'd work it out. At any rate, he quoted me a very, very low price. I know why he did - I'm coach's mom, he knows me, he's just starting out, he doesn't have the fancy cameras and equipment more seasoned photographers have..... It sparked a discussion about pricing. You see, those are all really good reasons for him to quote me a lower price. It is not a good reason to give his work away. Pricing not only takes into account experience, and in Eugene's case, possession of specialized equipment. It also takes into account other factors like overhead in the form of rental of premises, gas for his car from Prince George's County to Rockville and back, batteries for his camera, flash drives, and incremental costs for the purchase of his equipment (like that new laptop he wants, and Photoshop to put on it, not to mention a more expensive camera that does more). The costs of all of those things have to be factored into the price quoted. Beyond that, however, price has to take into account a number of intangibles. For a photographer, it is the ability to compose a picture, manage the exposure and the shutter speed, engage the subject and capture their essence. Some people can do that and others cannot. That's why not everyone is a professional photographer. Valuing those intangibles is tricky; you have to know what value a client places on those factors and what others with similar talents charge. Beyond that, you have to have a sense of your own worth as a professional. Someone just starting out doesn't know that yet.
But wait, there's more. Price yourself too low, and you will always be the photographer without the really good equipment that makes a lot of difference in the quality of photos you can shoot, the computer program to edit your photos and the computer to handle it. Why? Because you will always make just enough money to cover your expenses, both in the business and in life, with no money left over to improve. Plus, your customers won't come to you because you're a great photographer; they'll come to you because you're cheap. Is that how you want to be known - as the cheap guy? Isn't better to be known as that great photographer who charges a fair price? Of course it is. Don't worry, after this discussion, Eugene and I came to an understanding about a price that was fair to both of us, taking into account all of the factors. I'm thrilled and so is he.
That discussion led me to think about the Trenches, but you already knew that. Isn't this just like lawyers in the Trenches? Of course it is, and Eugene and I actually talked about it. For lawyers, overhead is a large part of pricing. It certainly is for me. I have to pay for my office space, the independent contractors who pick up the slack, the office supplies (especially the paper and the toner, because we here in the Trenches love to kill trees), the electricity and the water. That costs a lot of money. In order to stay current, I also have to attend continuing education programs, update my computer systems and programs, and market my practice. Those are also part of overhead.
What about experience and the intagibles? In my mind, those are at least as important in the Trenches as they are to Eugene. A newly minted lawyer has to look up everything. They are reviewing the rules and statutes constantly. Trust me, you want them to do that. All of that takes time that I don't need to spend because I'm very familiar with the rules and statutes. Certainly, I need to double check here and there, but I don't need to study them the way a new attorney does. That's part of the reason they charge less; because they know less, it takes them more time to do the things it takes me far less time to do.
Then, there's the intangibles. A retired judge paid me an extremely high complement a little while back. He told me he likes mediating my cases because I know the value of a case, what's worth fighting over, and what's not. He also likes how I'm able to communicate that to my client in a way that they can understand. The judge doesn't say that to everyone, because not everyone is able to do what I do. It comes from experience, certainly, but also from a rapport with people, an understanding of their needs, and a sense of what is compelling. Knowing how to price that quality relative to others in the Trenches is an art. Sometimes I undersell myself, sometimes I decide to reduce my fee, but I never give it away unless it's for a good cause. It took a long time to figure that out (and some who know me say there are still occasions in which they don't think I've learned it).
Certainly, I get a calls from clients shopping solely on price. You all know how I feel about that. Some lawyers charge very little and make a living on volume. Others charge a lot. That's a poor way to choose a lawyer. Price is not value. A lawyer is a personal fit. They are someone who understands where you're coming from and where you want to go. They understand your risk tolerance. They listen and work with you on how you want and need to resolve your case. That may be the cheapest lawyer. It may not. My experience is people who hire based on price alone don't appreciate the intangibles. They are focused only on price. They don't care that quality work takes time. They don't care that other clients deserve their attention. They don't care about any of the intangibles. They want what they want and they want it now and for next to nothing. Those aren't the kinds of clients I want, and I'm comfortable turning away business because I know there are clients out there who value the work I do. Those are the people for whom I want to work, and for them, I'm the lawyer they want to have. The price shoppers can go down the road. Here in the Trenches.
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