What Am I Worth?

I’ve never understood the whole ‘get paid what you’re worth’. Why are we constantly trying to monetize our worth, our value? What I’m worth cannot be quantified in a monetary value. I am not my job and what I do for work doesn’t define my worth. Unless it’s ONE BILLION DOLLARS, then by all means, pay me what I’m worth.

Instead, as a creative entrepreneur, where I could technically price my services at any price, I get paid what my customers are willing to pay. If I had no work, I’d know I’m probably charging too much (or I wasn’t offering anything of value—which is another story). If I’m so busy that I’m booked months in advance, I could probably charge more.

What I’m worth, or even what my services are worth, have no bearing on what they cost. The money is separate to the value, since it’s simply what the market will bear. Creativity isn’t a monetizable commodity.

The value of any creative entrepreneur shouldn’t even be based on money. Creativity strictly for money’s sake sucks… because it shows. Obviously there’s rent to pay and food to eat, but that shouldn’t be why any of us do what we do. Something beyond that needs to be in the drivers seat.

So what are you worth? Hopefully you can’t break that down into a dollar amount (unless it’s ONE BILLION DOLLARS). The trick is to figure out what your audience is willing to pay for what you offer.