Getting what you’re worth.

Last week we had a tree removed from our property. This tree was a once-majestic sugar maple and when we moved here 11 years ago, it was already declining. We put it on a schedule of biannual fertilization and kept up with pruning and had a few cables put in to stabilize it. But at long last we had to face the inevitable, since it was so diseased that large limbs were dying and threatening the safety of our house, vehicles, and persons. I called several local tree services and got estimates ranging from $700-$900. We put it off and put it off, thinking the whole time about how that dollar figure would seem like nothing in hindsight if a limb landed on one of us. Then last week our neighbor mentioned a tree guy she had used who was very reasonable, and a phone call to him got us an estimate of $325. We jumped at it. I wondered if we would experience the “you get what you pay for syndrome”, but this gentleman was professional and efficient. It took him about 6 hours, including time to lower the larger limbs with a rope. The tree is down and we have firewood for next year, although a lot of work lies ahead to get it all cut up (which would also be true if we had paid the higher price, which did not include cutting and splitting either). The higher estimates I got were from companies that were multi-person operations, so I can only guess that the price reflected the overhead (so to speak).

Still, I struggled with my conscience over that one. Should I pay the higher price to keep up standards in the tree-cutting business and discourage “low-balling”, or should I support the smaller company? Not that there was really any question of the outcome, since there are so many costly and necessary projects awaiting attention here that we can’t afford to choose a higher price on principle when we aren’t even sure what the principle is. I was particularly glad to have paid the lower price when, in the course of our moving cars around to protect them from falling limbs, an unknown driver went past and side-swiped the driver’s side mirror on our old minivan and zoomed up the street without stopping. This left us with a new expense (as well as a slightly dimmer view [so to speak] of humanity).

As in tree-cutting and any other fee-based service, in voice-over work one must take numerous factors into consideration in setting fees. It’s important that voice actors be able to survive on the fees they make, so that they can a) continue to do voice-over work full time and be at the top of their craft as a result of their continuous work and 2) still be in business the next time the client needs their services. That’s pretty much it. Even if “all we do is talk” (and of course that isn’t all we do), it requires equipment, and utilities to run the equipment, and of course the housing of the voice (us!) needs to be fed and clothed. We also need respect, because there is nothing like feeling unappreciated to make someone not work to their potential. You tell someone often enough that they are terrific and they will be terrific. You tell them they’re not worth much and they will perform poorly. Paying someone below what they’re worth is another way of telling them you don’t think much of them. Accepting less than you’re worth is a way of telling the client that you don’t think much of yourself, and long before the job is complete you’ll be resenting the client and kicking yourself.

All this is not to say that I think poorly of our tree man. I’m grateful to him for taking our tree down at a price we could afford. And I have to assume that he is setting his rates based on what he believes the job is worth. He’s taking responsibility for his rates and does not assume that his clients are going to argue with him that he’s charging too little. Voice artists should do the same. Don’t give your clients that responsibility.

You should know what the “going rate” is in your market. When I’m in discussion about rates with clients outside my market, I ask the rate in their market. I know that I won’t get my own rate in a rural area and if I don’t want to work below that, I don’t have any business trying to get work there. Every path not taken has opportunities that we will never discover, though, and I don’t always limit my inquiries to the highest-paying markets. A few weeks ago I came across a company website that spoke to me. Despite their location in a very small market I knew I had to try to work with them. Fortunately the feeling was mutual and they offered me a fee above their usual rate, without my even asking. I love working with them and am so glad I didn’t pass them over because their location suggested a lower rate.

How to sum it all up? I try to aim for a certain place, but I also try to be flexible so that I don’t neglect the opportunity to have fun nor the opportunity (within reason) to provide a service to someone who needs it but might not be able to afford the higher rate. As for our tree man – we got a bargain and I’m grateful for it. I hope his business is flourishing so he’s there the next time we need his help. But despite my professed struggle with my conscience, I really don’t think it’s my job to worry about it excessively, and I sure don’t want my clients worrying about me!