Picasso and freelancing

There was a wealthy gentleman who wanted his portrait done by Picasso who was at the peak of his fame. Picasso agreed after discussing terms. He said he would charge a million dollars for the project and asked the gentleman to come to his studio on a certain date. On the appointed day, the gentleman comes to Picasso’s studio and after the initial pleasantries, he is asked to sit down on a chair. Picasso looks at the man for a few minutes, draws a few strokes with a couple of different brushes, adds a dash of colour, and says, ‘Done, there’s your portrait’. The man is aghast and angry. ‘I spend a million dollars for a portrait and you do that in five minutes? This is ridiculous.’ Picasso replies calmly, ‘Sir I may have taken only five minutes but I spent over 20 years learning how to do it in five minutes, the million dollars is not for the five minutes, but for the years I spent learning’.

I try telling this story to people who say I’m expensive (I am not). When you spend over 20 years in the industry you tend to do things faster, and the years would have blessed you with the necessary powers of discrimination so you can deliver quality work. Not that I’m comparing myself to the genius, mind, I’m just illustrating a point.  I tell the people who bargain with me that speed and quality have their price and that by hiring a senior person, they are actually spending less. The logic is simple: a senior guy can get the job done in less time than it takes a middle-weight or junior person.  A junior professional may be cheaper but in the longer run, because of his or her inexperience, will extend the length of a project by making mistakes which will end up costing you more. So by paying a senior person seemingly more, you are actually spending less. But the logic falls on deaf ears. Every time. It's hard to fight with an Excel sheet.