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August 20th, 2014 - 04:41 PM
Everyone (I hate to assume) has associated costs pertaining to their artwork. Some things might include:
Internet
Your time
Phone
Petrol
Vehicle
Food
Insurance
Discs
Editing software
Cameras
Lenses
Batteries
Storage (memory cards)
Joe, the amateur photographer, decides to take a 90-mile round trip to the local mountains to photograph for a client. He will be traveling by car. Let's set aside peripheral equipment for a moment and just concentrate on the daily fees of other basics.
Monthly costs divided by 30 days. These are simply average numbers.
Internet $50 / 30 = $1.66
Phone $45 / 30 = $1.50
Petrol (to and from the shoot) = $8
Food (for the trip) = $12
Vehicle insurance $200 / 30 = $6.66
Time (Joe's daily working wages) $100, but the trip only covers one half of the day. $50
Joe has spent $79.82 in this scenario. In order for him to turn a profit he has to decide on his mark-up price. Let's say his mark-up is 30 percent.
$79.82 + 30 percent = $103.78.
This is Joe's morning cost of doing business, not including peripherals or the final printed image.
Camera + lens + tripod + memory card + battery based on a 5-year equipment life expectancy:
$1000 + $500 + $200 + $10 + $40 = $1750 divided by 5 years = $350 per year, divided by 365 days = $.95
Software = $800 (Photoshop + plug-ins), 5 years before he upgrades = $160 per year, divided by 365 = $.43
$103.78 + $.95 + $.43 = $105.16
Assuming on a POD site (or to his client) Joe expects to sell his image only one time, in order to make a profit Joe needs to sell his image for $105.16 plus materials (e.g. paper, ink, mat, and framing) for the morning trip.
What about all those other images that sit idle and do not sell - how much more money is waiting to be recouped? Once you determine what your daily costs are, trimming the fat off your expenses will increase income and allow a more realistic idea of what you should charge.
Disclaimer: Figures are fictitious, but close in proximity. I recommend accounting software to properly track your expenses.
Comments
Kathy K McClellan
9 Years Ago
Florence, AL
Jeffery, Very helpful. Thanks for sharing.