Categories
personal

Picasso and his napkin art

Picasso sat in a cafe one day when a fan asked him to draw something on a napkin. He did and asked for $12,000. The man said it only took him a few seconds and Picasso corrected him.

Effortless things take years of effort to accomplish

Female client: This bill is outrageous! Who do you think you are?
Me: I think I’m someone that needs to get paid for the work I do.
Her: For four pages of work?
Me: Let me tell you a story: Picasso was sitting in a cafe one day when someone asked him to draw something on a napkin. He did and asked for $12,000. Like you, the man said that it was outrageous because it only took him a minute, to which Picasso said, “Actually, that took me 40 years.”
Her: So you think you’re Picasso?
Me: No, but I did spend the 15 years learning how to write that four page document you’re holding in your hand. If you could have done it, you would’ve. You came to me, not the other way around. You don’t work for free, why do you expect me to?

It’s a never-ending thing in the service industry: explaining the difference between value and price.

Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso collaborated...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Location: back from the gym
Mood: irritated
Music: my brush would take me there But only If I were a painter
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

Enhanced by Zemanta

5 replies on “Picasso and his napkin art”

I can’t stand when people ask for discounts (e.g. 100% off?) on professional services, when they were told the fee upfront.
So did she grudgingly pay up?

VERY grudgingly. It’s always a struggle with some clients and with others, not an issue at all.

There’s a saying that I’m finding out to be very true, which is that 20% of your income takes up 80% of your time and vice vera.

What a @#$@#$@# pain the neck!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.