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Never undervalue what you do

Josh Welton in his shop.

Whether you’re creating art, writing, or putting together how-to videos, you’re giving the world a few commodities that don’t have a specific price tag: your time, your energy, your thoughts, and your experience.

I’ve done a bit of all these things, and it’s been in a new world. It must have been 2004, and I was taking a welding metallurgy class at the UAW/Chrysler training center in Warren, Mich. One of my early mentors, Tom Soley, was the instructor. He had a few decades of welding behind him already, and he dabbled in art. This was a few years before Brown Dog Welding, but the ideas were rolling around in my head.

Tom said, “You won’t be able to make any money creating art. To sell your work, you need exposure. Just to get exposure you’ve got to travel across country to shows every weekend. With working a day job, it takes too much time, too much energy. It’s a fun outlet, but it will never create much of an income.”

This was about the only thing Tom told me that wasn’t gold. I started selling my art around 2008, and I’ve done very well with it.

Tom wasn’t a psychic, and he hadn’t counted on the reach of the Information Age. Through social media avenues like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, it became possible to put my work in front of an audience that was, literally, unprecedented in scope. That being said, everyone else now has the same opportunity to sell their work. It takes a creative touch to cut through the clutter, as well as some intuition and trial and error to maximize your value.

As much as I’m asked about how I build a sculpture, I’m asked how I price it. No artist (or very, very few) begins a career getting peak dollars for their work. Last year at the Detroit Autorama, a young man walked by my display and looked at a motorcycle sculpture. His eyes exploded at the price.

“Oh man, you may not believe this, but I do the EXACT SAME stuff! I had no idea it was worth this much! I just give them away to friends.”

“Uh, well … it’s probably not worth this much,” I replied. “Nobody knows who you are. Nobody is familiar with your work. And you’re literally giving it away.”

Forget for a minute that, no, his work was not the “exact same” as my work. Say it was. He still hadn’t spent years growing his worth. The first bikes I made I sold for $35. Then $50. Then $100. $300. $500. $1,000. There’s a progression as (A) the work evolves and (B) exposure is gained. At this level a collector wants to know the artist has a track record of sales. They also want to know they’re investing in something unique, well thought-out, inventive. I attempted to explain this, but it just went over the dude’s head.

“Well yeah. I just didn’t know my work was worth this much.”

Bike sculptures by Josh Welton.

Face palm.

The folks that create cool stuff and engage with the world in fun ways via social media begin to see their following grow, and a responsive audience is valuable, perhaps even beyond the scope of their specific niche. Recently I received a message from another welder, someone who was beginning to see opportunities arise and requests for his time and he wasn’t exactly sure what to ask in return. How should he be compensated? Here was my response:

“Man, it's tricky. Welding is easy; business is hard. All brands do things differently. You can usually feel them out, but I tend to let things happen organically, and I only work with companies and people I like and trust, which is why I don't have a bunch of sponsors. The real thing is, what's important to you—money, or product, or getting recognized—and how do you value your time?”

Never forget that your brand is your credibility, and your time is worthwhile. Don’t be afraid to say no, to hear no.

As the Joker says in “The Dark Knight”: “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”

Your work won’t be for everyone, but to those it’s meant for, it is worth the price of admission. Never undervalue what you do.

All images courtesy of Brown Dog Welding.