Hidden costs

The other day I was explaining to a high school mentorship student what all goes into the television show that I have been co-producing and co-hosting for more than a decade. It's not a complex or flashy program by any means, but it requires investing a large number of hours to ready each 30-minute show. The average student who helps on the crew and the average viewer at home have no idea how much time goes into it.

Conservatively, I'd estimate my time at 21 hours per bi-weekly episode. Add in roughly 17 hours for my co-host and 8 hours for crew--one hour multiplied by eight staffers--and the final approximation comes to 46 hours for a half hour program. Needless to say, the high schooler was shocked. Yes, the bulk of that time is actually viewing what is being discussed--research, if you will--but it all counts.

Breaking down the cost in time for such a production is what leaped to mind when reading about how much money one woman spent to make a scarf. Yes, buying and caring for sheep is above and beyond what most people would do. In addition, it sounds like she jumped into this with fanciful notions but without a solid idea of what she was doing. Still, I find it interesting to see how everything adds up.