The Second Rule of Pricing: Keep it Sustainable

This contributor post was written by Tiffany Moore and is a follow-up to her earlier post, The First Rule of Pricing.

This week, I want to talk about rule #2 when it comes to pricing for your creative business: it has to be sustainable.

I know that sustainability is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, but the bottom line is this: if you are working towards a creative business that you can make a living from, you have to be sure that you set things up so that you can earn a living wage. You have to be able to pay yourself. Or else it’s not going to work.

It’s scary. It’s a big thing to consider, especially when you’re starting out.

The truth is that when you get started, you likely aren’t going to be earning a living wage from your creative business. Most of us have side projects or second jobs that sustain us while we get started, BUT you have to have a vision of sustainability in mind before you jump in.

Too often, as creatives, we focus on the passion, on the heart. On the craft of it all. And that all still can count for a LOT but bringing a sense of business in, even from the beginning, can often make the difference between making a living and having a hobby.

The point is for what you love to be what you do, right? Getting real about the business side of things sooner rather than later will help solidify that as a reality.

What is the best business decision you made early on? On the flip side, what is the one business decision you WISH you’d made early on? How were you able to find your sweet spot?

*image via WilloToons: Stitching it all Together

Tiffany Moore, co-founder of Teahouse Studio is an artist, life coach, change agent and magic maker. She helps creatives live their happiest, most sparkly lives (starting NOW) and thinks that everyone in the world is beautiful, including you.