Chris Do taught creatives to talk about money.

Chris Do is the founder and CEO of The Futur, an online education platform that teaches the business of design. The Futur's own profile describes him as an Emmy-winning director, designer, strategist and educator. He started the motion design company Blind in Los Angeles in 1995, taught sequential design for more than 15 years at ArtCenter College of Design and Otis College of Art and Design, and began making the YouTube videos that grew into The Futur in 2014, according to an origin-story interview.

A caution on numbers. The Futur says Blind generated over $80 million in creative services, and sources differ on the category and year of the Emmy. I am reporting those as the company's own claims.

What is Chris Do known for teaching?

The main subjects are value-based pricing, sales negotiation and creative business strategy. Value-based pricing means setting a price from what the result is worth to the client, not from the hours it takes. It matters most for people who sell expertise, because hours punish the faster, better professional.

The Futur says its purpose is to give creatives the guidance Chris wished he had when starting out. He also credits a business coach, Keir McLaren, with 13 years of mentoring, which is a useful reminder that teachers have teachers.

My take

This is opinion. In my work a price is part of the brand. A price is a sentence about who you are for. If you charge like a commodity, people will treat you like one, however good the logo.

Chris Do's contribution is to make creatives say that out loud. I see the same mistake with founders in every industry: they describe what they do, price it by the hour, and then wonder why buyers compare them on cost.

This links straight to the Brand Growth OS™. Clarify decides what result you create and for whom. Convert is where that result meets a price. When the two do not match, the price is the first thing that gives way.

Three questions before you set your next price

• What result do you create, in your client's words? Not your process. The outcome they would describe to a colleague.
• Who values that result most? The answer is rarely "everyone". Price for them.
• Does the price match the position? If you say premium and price as a budget option, buyers will believe the price.

The Value Pricing Worksheet walks through the first two, and the Price Rise Calculator shows what a small rise does to profit. The Brand Growth Audit™ shows whether your positioning supports the price you want.

Sources

The Futur: Chris Do · Brighter Future Studio interview · All American Speakers profile. Financial and audience figures vary between sources and are not repeated here. See all brand voices · About Mike Bruce.