Of Love & Discounts

I think that at any time in business, but especially with new businesses, there's a temptation to giving into our friends when they ask for discounts/freebies. This is a mistake I have made, and I'm just as guilty as everyone of this, to this point. We love our friends, we want to keep our friends and make them happy. BUT. And here's the kicker - love will not pay for my new 17-55 2.8, or, metaphorically speaking, feed the kids.

Also, I should say right off that no one, not even family, gets freebies from me on photos (unless they're a gift, but that's different), but even family pays my costs. My list of those who will continue to get items at cost is itsy bitsy, and if you don't already know who you are, no, I will not add you to the list.

Why am I blogging about this? Because this is not a conversation I wish to have with every friend who thinks, "I love your work," means, "Your prints should cost me the same as they would on Snapfish." Because, well, I don't print with snapfish, I print with a high-quality professional print-house and especially in the print market I've found, you get what you pay for. Now, I do offer discounts from time to time, and those are available to everyone, but discounts do not equal free/at cost.

For more on this, check out a recent discussion thread on Flickr.

And for those of you who asked/wanted to know about my blind date last night? (First in two years (blind, not date that is)). Well, you'll just have to ask me later, because I'm just not going to blog about that kind of stuff.