go out of business for this reason. I've been self-employed for two decades, quoting small design projects to dozens of clients over the years. One of the best pieces of advice I got (at a seminar years ago) was this: The market value of something is what a buyer is willing to pay. Period. If a prospective client objects to my (seemingly high) hourly rate, I don't tell them about my costs (computer, software, workspace, insurance, marketing, etc.) They NEVER care and they see it as whining. If they tell me can get "the same thing" cheaper, I say (with varying degrees of cheerfulness), "That's nice. Go for it." All we can do is seek out buyers who value what we offer. Also, there are things that simply are not valued by humanity enough to make the necessary expenditures (say, getting to Mars... it could be done but at a huge cost). There is no human right of "getting people to value [an object or service that I'd like to provide] enough to cover my costs." I LOVE handcrafted goods and wish everything I purchased could be handmade. Unfortunately, that is not in my budget. I simply can't afford to buy ALL handcrafted everything for my family of 4 (including 2 small children who grow like weeds!). There are people who struggle to buy $5 gloves and hats from places like Wal-Mart. They are working their asses off, probably at a job they don't even like, just for the basic