Fuck No I Don’t Have “Bro Rates”

Yo, let’s talk about bro rates.

A friend of mine once asked a painter how long it took her to complete a painting and she looked up and said, “70 years”. When you hire an artist you’re not just paying for an hour of their time.

No, you’re paying for the 29 years of their life they’ve been able to experience and grow and learn.

You’re paying for what they learned in a 30,000 dollar degree for 6 years.

You’re paying for the time they interned and put in their sweat for free, and wrote 15 articles a month for peanuts just to get to a place where they have a following that you can promote your business or product on.

Don’t show up at my door asking for a fucking bro rate, and don’t ask any of my sisters or brothers or any other artist or human either.

Do you call your lawyer and see if he will pay you half his hourly rate? Do you ask your plumber if you could just get him next time because you’re in between late payments of your client?

Fuck no you wouldn’t, because you respect them and it’s time that you start respecting artists too.

And artists, it’s fucking time you start respecting your brilliance, your craft, your energy, your time and honour yourself and what you are here to do.

One of the most healing experiences I had as a writer was 3 years ago.

A friend approached me to write some blogs for his business and asked for my rates. “I charge $450-$650 an article, but…” He stopped me. “No but, I don’t want a bro rate, Janne. I want to pay your full prices. I used to run a shop and I know that in a bro rate, only one bro benefits.” It was so fucking important for me to have that experience and if you haven’t had it yet or stood up for yourself and let people walk all over you and pay you peanuts like jackasses—allow me to set the record straight tonight.

If anyone asks you for a bro rate you can tell them to go fuck themselves and hire someone on Fiverr.

No bro rates, only rates.

And secondly, no one can ever take advantage of you—we betray ourselves by abandoning our brilliance and worth and bending for others and it is our back that we choose to bend. They aren’t bending us.

So own your light, say fuck no to bro rates and walk forward.