One of the best ways to look at this is illustrated perfectly in this story about one of the great geniuses of our time, Pablo Picasso.
The legend goes that Picasso was sat on a park bench sketching when a woman, a very bold one at that, asked him to do her a sketch. It went something like this:
"Oh my, I can't believe it, you're the great Picasso! Please, sir, you must sketch aportrait and I shall not leave unless you say yes!"
Well, being something of a gentleman, Picasso agreed. He sat for a minute or two, studying her, and then put his pencil to the paper and with a single stroke, completed the portrait. The time the pencil was actually touching the paper must have been a few seconds, maybe less.
"It's…magnificent!" The woman was beaming, gushing in fact, about how Picasso had captured her very spirit and likeness in the one stoke.
"How much do I owe you sir?" the woman asked.
"Ten thousand dollars" replied Picasso, without missing a beat or raising an eyebrow. He was deadly serious.
The woman was naturally shell-shocked, and had trouble gaining her composure.
"Ten thousand dollars??!!" she said. "That's preposterous! Why, it took you just a few seconds to do this!!"
Picasso breathed deeply for a second, and then replied
"Madame, it took me my entire life."
While the chances of you becoming the next Picasso are probably slim, the fact remains that when you charge your rate, you must take into account all the years of experience that made you the designer, copywriter , or art director you are. You are not charging just for your time, but the many years of blood, sweat a
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