Years ago… WOW nearly 10 years ago now!  I had decided to step away from my regular paying corporate job and start responding to invitations and requests to come speak about corporate culture.  One of the big questions I first faced was.  “Kirk, what do you charge?”  At first I thought well it’s just for an hour so I suggested a price that I thought was pretty high.  Fortunately the person on the other end of the phone loved me enough to give me some coaching….and give me a raise.  The essence of what they said is summed up nicely in the 3 following examples.

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

“It’s you - Picasso, the great artist! Oh, will you please sketch my portrait and charge accordingly! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he in a few short moments completed her sketch. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand pounds,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a few minutes to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “No Madame, it took me my entire life.”

(You don’t charge by the hour…you charge by expertise in each hour.)

KNOWING WHERE TO HAMMER

A man was suffering a persistent problem with his house. The floor squeaked. No matter what he tried, nothing worked. Finally, he called a carpenter who friends said was a true craftsmen. The craftsmen walked into the room, and heard the squeak. He set down his toolbox, pulled out a hammer and nail, and pounded the nail into the floor with three blows.

The squeak was gone forever. The carpenter pulled out an invoice, on which he wrote the total of $45. Above the total were two line items:

Hammering , $2
Knowing where to hammer, $43

Charge for knowing where to hammer! 

A few months ago I spent an hour with my dentists… he charged me $400 for that hour - I happily paid him because I was confident that he was going to do the right work on the right teeth.  I paid him for his wisdom and his work.  I paid for at least some of the time he prepared and qualified himself to do the work as well as the work that he did.

in summary… NEVER CHARGE BY THE HOUR

Charge by the expertise and experience you bring to each hour!

Kirk Out

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