Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was painting in the garden when a bold woman approached him.
“You – Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must paint my portrait! He insisted.”
So Picasso agreed to paint it. After studying her for a moment, use one pencil to sketch her picture. He handed the women his artwork.
“she’s perfect!” flowed. “You managed to capture my essence in one stroke, in one instant. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”
The artist replied: “Five thousand dollars.”
“Bb but, what?” The woman splashed. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to paint it!”
Picasso replied, “Madam, it took me all my life.”
I love this hilarious tale, as do most graphic designers. It perfectly shows how much dedication and energy is devoted to the love of art, which clients sometimes do not appreciate. I know a lot of graphic designers who get really upset about this; They get upset that customers don’t appreciate their craft. The question is, should they get upset? The answer is no.
In our previous example, this woman hired Picasso for art, and that’s what he created. This is what most graphic designers are made of – art. Business owners, unless they’re selling art, don’t really want art from a graphic designer – that’s not what they’re buying.
I know, you should be saying, “What? If they don’t buy art, what are they buying?” In speaking with business owners, both clients and non-clients, I have discovered that more than any other reason, Businesses hire graphic designers to grow their business, make them more successful and make more money. That’s not what art does, and that’s not what Picasso does – as a business owner, You probably shouldn’t hire Picasso for your graphic and web design. And if you are an artist, I suggest you spend more time working on the function of your craft rather than the form.
So what does this mean? Well, it means that savvy business owners won’t be looking for a Picasso sitting in the park or a Starbucks to design a logo, add-ons, or website for their business, instead they will hire someone who can help them make more money. Graphic designers (artists) are only a good investment if they can help you grow your business, attract the clients you want, and help you make money.Say, for example, that you hire a graphic designer to create a full-color advertisement in a local magazine. You have what feels like the absolute best ad in the entire post, you run the ad for 6 months and the ad doesn’t generate an inquiry even though your ads in the past did. Do you feel you wasted your money?Bottom line for smart business owners:
Smart business owners are less concerned with the designer price and more focused on the return they will get on their investment. Instead of shopping around and finally choosing a designer at cost, they should ask themselves, “If I invest $XX in this person, will I be able to get my investment back?“If you’re a smart business owner, you want to go beyond just looking at the cost. Now this isn’t to give Picasso $5,000 for free, but look at the investment, and ask yourself, Will it make more money at the end than it cost in the beginning? If yes, then invest. If $5,000 will get you a piece of art that won’t help you make more money, don’t invest unless you want to make more money, don’t invest.”There are three main ways to make more money:
- Get more clients
- Get a higher price for your customers
- Sell more to your customers (repeat purchase)
If your designer isn’t helping you achieve one, two, or all three of these ways to make more money for your business – then you need to look into working with another designer – period. This is why it only makes sense to hire business-savvy designers who do more than design, they can help you grow your business, and guarantee their results. Between the business-savvy designer and Pablo Picasso, who would I personally give $5,000 to design my work? The person who can make my work more money – Sorry Picasso.