There is ALWAYS Someone Cheaper than You. Value is important.

Software, retail, writing, copyediting, psychologists, banking, artwork, cars, homes, yachts, contractors, design, consulting, accounting, marketing, full-time, part time, freelance, corporation, executive, CEO, founder, teacher, musician, security, technology, advisory, electronics, accessories, doctors, lawyers, engineers…

What do they all have in common? Someone, somewhere, is always being paid less than a person in any discipline or field. The ones who are paid the most deliver the most: value, (and your confidence of it) in every way. And it comes down to a 360 understanding of who your brand is, and what your identity is.

Serena Williams has been the top tennis player for quite a few decades, but yet, Mariah Sherapova was paid much more by sponsors, why? Though Serena was “excellent”, “excellent” didn’t matter in the world of tennis spending. Serena has admitted on her latest interview with Naomi “it is an elitist sport” — a loaded term. It is classist, racist, and thrives on hierarchy, not who has the most wins. So why did Maria win the salary game? She beat Serena once, so she was a “good” enough tennis star now and thats all she needed. After that, she needed to be valuable to the sponsors: top of the made-up racial hierarchy, physically attractive, costistently “good” enough at the sport, and eurocentric in mannerisms. Optimal conditions like those make Sponsors money — because she physically appealed to the larger population of spenders at Nike, Tag Huer, and the rest. This only applies in that market and scenario, but the value of the player is the same.

But that’s just tennis.

What about fashion?
Well, Balmain has been a very famous house for a long time, but they have been obscure. 24 year old Olivier Routseing became the head of the house, and he has now been there for 8 years, catapulting and tripling the brand’s profits. The prices of the clothing have not changed, so what did? The value that he brought them: His ability for fashion to reach the consumers who want to be seen, heard, felt and understood. This 360 process was not only through clothing it was his image, his PR, his connections, his exposure, and very importantly, his reputation. A full onslaught of factors drove Balmain to become a highly profitable brand, and Olivier as Creative Director has remained at the helm for these years. He will adapt with the market when the value he offers becomes limited, or the relationship will go.

Value is an intrinsic term and it varies on contexts, markets and situations, so it can be volatile. The safe game is commodification, which comes with its own risks. You are a student to the market you serve, not an owner of it.

What does this mean for you as a person who is crafting your discipline?

It means that you are to spend a considerable period of time learning and reiterating. Be bold enough to raise your prices, but also to take risks in experiencing new projects and saying ‘yes’ to everything until you are wise to start saying no to the wrong ones.

Lastly, focus on your own trajectory, and skill set and offerings. Some people are good at making their image look better than yours, but that holds no value to you. Value to you should be the enjoyment of the work being produced and the fiscal incentive of producing this. Next, you should assess how can you produce this continuously for scale.

The race is for both the swift, the slow, and the persistent. Everyone can win, survive and thrive, in their own way for their own lives. Take discipline, tunnel vision, and confidence into your next endeavor; Don’t let them break you, aim yo and fly with grace.