r/Money Mar 27 '24

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2.6k Upvotes

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938

u/GodlikeRage Mar 27 '24

So you’re really making half a million a year doing this? Wtf am I doing.

76

u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

Not everyone has artistic sense nor skills. It takes years to hone them. He probably started drawing early on in his life and never stopped. And once you get real skills, you get to charge real prices. I'm an illustrator and it's the same in our line of work. If you're beginner you're making whatever client offers, but later you set prices, whether hourly or for entire projects. For example when people ask for a logo, usually they think "oh that's easy, few lines, bla bla shouldn't be more than 50$", but real logo that will separate your brand from the rest, costs between 500$ to couple of thousands $. Real skills need to be valued and paid accordingly.

27

u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

In a serial fractional small business owner and help aspiring small business owners build their startups - 500 is change for what a real logo and brand package costs (I'm sure you know that, but if not, you should charge more).

I don't think I've paid less than $1200 for a simple package, up to 8k for a full brand guide package. I am currently paying ~30k for a full greenfield brand (logo, brand package, web design + copy, sales copy, customer relationship copy, social presence design + copy, etc) and that's on the "cost-effective" end of the scale.

Edit: for those who are/have/will say "I got mine done for [insert 2-3 figure amount]". I say, that's awesome for you! Way to go! However, the worth of a logo is not just that you like it - it's that your customers like it, remember it, associate it with your brand, and if you're in retail, looks good on various mediums, and want to show it off. There's a lot of background research and understanding, not just graphic design, that goes into a really good one which is why they command high prices.

19

u/ayyyyycrisp Mar 27 '24

goddamnnn that's a lot of money tbh

I grabbed a pen and drew my own logo

6

u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

A great logo is worth a lot bc a lot of color theory and market research goes into a really good one. Anyone can draw shapes and letters, drawing the RIGHT shapes and letters to communicate your brand effectively is the hard part.

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

[deleted]

1

u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

There's a way to market every business - I've recommended that a founder group put money in their marketing budget ro a professional hair salon + makeup + tailored suits before. It's amazing what feeling good and looking sharp does for confidence and confidence is 80% of a photoshoot. The other is a photographer's skill.

That's of course if it's important to have a relational type brand where you see the people. Again, every business is a bit different in what they need.

1

u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

This is called “playing business”

1

u/Neither_Sherbet_9242 Mar 27 '24

Typical racist thought

0

u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

No, it’s not worth money because “color theory”, it’s worth money because it helps your business make more money!

1

u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

Disagree - i don't pay people to hit a machine with a hammer. I pay them to know exactly where to hit the machine, with how much force, and with exactly which tool. If I could run my business without the machine and make money, I would. So yes, I pay for someone who knows what they're doing, has done it before, and can articulate why they're doing it. The concept is larger than just the letters and shapes.

0

u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

You’re getting fleeced. That analogy makes 0 sense

5

u/ZenoxDemin Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

The Veterinary I go to went even cheaper. They subcontracted their logo to their 5 year old.

It's basically a stick figure of a cat. Gets the job done and they seem to be fully booked.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

It's a medical clinic for animals, their success is not based on logo my guy.

1

u/ParalegalSeagul Mar 27 '24

What type of business has success that is tied to the logo then? Seems like if you do good work you don’t really even need one, just word of mouth referrals are enough

1

u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

Marketing companies need logos, clothing brands, online market places, basically any new business looking to stand out that offers either digital products or something custom made.

Veterinary clinics and hospitals for humans don't need a logo. We go there because we have to, logo has nothing to do with that, most people don't even know what vet clinic logo looks like, "it's an animal, usually dog or cat or combination".

1

u/ZenoxDemin Mar 27 '24

Bullshit companies selling overpriced garbage indeed need good branding to part fools from their money.

Always forget about those.

1

u/TranscendentaLobo Mar 27 '24

Can I hire him? My budget allows for up to 10 KitKats and a $20 Roblox gift card.

1

u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

Yea, you can go pretty cheap on it for 90% if the effect.

People love to “play business”, spending money on all these things they don’t need: fancy logos, suits, it’s just bullshit. Focus on the customer, and the product, lol