It was brought to my attention, well numerous times actually, that my prices are so "reasonable." The latest one was from a particularly easy project and it made me think, what kind of quotes were they getting? My price was my typical pricing for what I make on these kinds of informational sites and it's more than acceptable for me to make a comfortable living. SO, because I'm a maniac, I did some sleuthing. (<-- I hate this term. It makes me want to stab people when I hear it but I'm leaving it because it's Wednesday and sometimes you gotta feel stabby.)
Apparently, people have the audacity to charge five figures for a site that will take them a matter of an hour. Maybe two. MAX. No joke. Now, because I'm a Gemini and because my brain works on many levels at one time, I was initially like "whoah, who's paying these prices? Why would they pay that? Why would you charge that? Should I raise my prices? Why would you take advantage? How much money do you actually need?!" But all at once in a blur of Hunter S. Thompson-esque chaos.
And then an ad for Amazon popped up and DING, yeah... we're in America. Where capitalism is the sole way to live and accept each other. Where everything, EVERYthing has a price. Thanks for the wisdom Million Dollar Man. And I felt like puking and punching. Again, simultaneously. Because that mentality is the exact reason amazing businesses won't see the light of day. Why Mom's have to work three jobs to make sure their kids eat. Why over and over and OVER we see the chance to earn a comfortable living decrease, while income inequality builds even more momentum. And why artists and creators end up taking the "safe" route and working for some ginormous corporation with more rights than them.
It's gross.
And I simply will not abide by that way of thinking. Do I want to make a living and create a secure life for my human child and furry children? Absolutely. But not off of the backs of people trying to do the same. We need to end this charade of hustle and grinding our life away for the benefit of someone else. The bullshit that to be "great" you have to have X amount of cash in your account. This pay to play, influencer, MLM, Facebook ads, TikTok trends shit has to go. It's not fruitful. It fills absolutely zero holes in society with positivity and frankly, it's turning everyone into absolute jackanapes.
So there it is. Is it the most "business savvy" way to see things while running a business? Not to most people I'm sure. And that's fine. I've got myself to reckon with and between you and I, I'm good with who I am.