Sage Advice?

Guy Hovis and Ralna English were regulars on The Lawrence Welk Show, which aired on a local Los Angeles station from 1951-1955, then on ABC from 1955-1971, then on national syndication from 1971-1982.

They were paid union scale (everybody on the show was), so they had to play weekend gigs (many out of town) to supplement their income. Working on the TV show Monday through Thursday, then doing extra work on Friday through Sunday, didn't give them much time for rest.

Consequently, they began to look a bit peaked. Lawrence Welk noticed this and when told of their rigorous performance schedule, gave them his sage advice: "You should work less and charge more."

Great anecdote. It reminds me of something my father once said. He’d been working too hard and wanted to cut back on his medical practice. So he raised his office visit prices, thinking that the higher price would discourage new patients from making appointments.

Well, that didn’t work. His practice grew, so Lawrence Welk’s advice, while sensible, sometimes doesn’t work if your “product” is too good to pass up. Sometimes raising your rates is a great way to increase favorable public perception of your work.