What’s the difference between C.Y Twombly’s “Untitled” and that drawing you made when you were in kindergarten? 

Both of them feature random squiggles of crayon on paper, but one is worth $2.3 million and is displayed in a gallery, while the other’s worth is purely sentimental and was tacked up on the fridge.

The answer is so simple it’s difficult to accept.

The true worth of the artwork is not in the art itself but the man behind it.

Now, unless you’re incredibly talented and lucky, it is unlikely that drawing random lines of squiggles will net you $2 million, but maximizing your value can help you get the most out of your time and effort.

Mary Jane Cole is a painter, tattooist, and photographer based in Ventura, CA. It has been six years since she started her career, and in that time, she’s gone from starving to an award-winning artist. 

The reason? She learned how to maximize her value. She shares some words of wisdom on how she achieved this.

Improve yourself

Cole never had a formal education in the arts, but that has never stopped her from improving herself. She says, “I think my art education began as a toddler as soon as I could hold a paintbrush or pen,” and it has only gone on since then. 

She took a photography class in high school and promptly discovered that the structured lessons with their many rules just didn’t suit her. She said, “I actually failed all three years of Photography class in high school, and my teacher told me I didn’t follow the ‘rules’ enough to create successful photographs, so I stopped doing assignments altogether because I didn’t want to be told how to create.”

After this discovery, Cole moved to southern California, turning down scholarships from numerous colleges to acquire some real-world experience.

At first, it was hard. Instead of the art she’d come to California to create; Cole found herself doing the odd jobs to make ends meet. But she had a plan, and before long, she’d saved up enough to purchase her first professional camera, a DSLR. 

Again, she began improving herself and building her skill with the camera. She took shots of her friends and started posting to Instagram. Slowly, she began building a following.

The next thing was to create a professional image, so she hopped on Facebook and started a business profile, printed out some business cards, and began building her portfolio. She handed out her business card to anyone who would take it and took every job she could find, all while somehow juggling a day job.

The extra income from photography made it easier for Cole to afford better photography equipment. Better equipment meant better results, and before long, Cole had the skill, equipment, and client base to focus on photography full time. She quit her day job and set up her own business, and she has never felt more fulfilled.

Be Passionate and Persistent

I asked Cole what she thought was an essential trait that a photographer should have. She said, “I think Passion and Persistence are both really important to make a living in photography or any art. You are the only person holding yourself accountable for getting the work done, and you’re sometimes working long hours doing things that aren’t “fun.” You face a lot of rejection, and you have to really want it. If the passion isn’t there, it won’t be worth it.”

You can only do your best on a job if you’re passionate about it.

Know Your Worth

Your time and energy are valuable resources, and not every project is worth it. Cole started from the very bottom, so she got used to taking on projects that weren’t worth her time and energy even though she had long proved herself capable. 

When she realized what was going on, she set about to change things. At first, it was scary saying ‘no’ to a project, but she learned to set standards and boundaries and streamline tasks to get the most out of her efforts.

In her words, “Underselling yourself will only hurt you in the long run.”

Prune Your Network

In the same vein, not every client will match your standards. Ideally, you and your client will grow together, and you can form a long sturdy connection, but this is not always the case, and just like with trees, you need to prune low-yielding branches so that the flourishing branches can thrive.

Cole’s advice is to “Find clients that value your work and are willing to pay you a liveable wage because those are the clients you want to refer to their social circles.”

Conclusion

We often settle for way less than we should, either because we are not aware of our value or we are scared that setting a standard will hurt our finances. 

However, setting a standard and knowing your value is a crucial piece of your growth. It frees you up so that you can focus on projects that are worth your time, inspire your passion and connect you to like-minded people. 

Yes, you might experience a bit of a slump by screening out specific jobs, but it is better for you and your business in the long run.