Many of our most celebrated professionals welcome opportunities to work without immediate compensation. Restaurants donate food to various projects, attorneys take pro bono cases, and medical professionals volunteer their expensive skill sets to impoverished areas around the world.
What about you?
Do you do the Happy Dance when a friend of a friend sends you a casually written email requesting your “help” (read: professional experience for which you are usually paid) on a project?
What about when a client requests “a few tweaks” to a project for which you’ve already been paid without asking any questions related to compensation?
Is it ever okay to work for free? If lawyers, doctors, and nurses do it, might there be something to this gratis phenomenon?
Some of our 9-to-5 compadres have taken to the free work theory, in hopes of snagging a for-pay job when positions open up. What are your thoughts on that? Brilliance or buffoonery?
For us self-employed folks, I dare say there are definite pros to willingly working without the benefit of a cash-for-service exchange.
When it allows you to give back. We don’t have to be shy here, we’re all in similar boats, right? While the benevolent and karmic rationale for volunteering ones’s services are commendable, and—in many cases, genuine, there is a hard-to-ignore benefit to pro bono efforts, and that is the “See My Halo” factor. Donating 50 of your widgets to a charity, or 30 hours worth of your services to an up-and-coming business with an itty-bitty budget can pay off by way of positive publicity, and credibility amongst a new group of potential clients, which—if you’re savvy—can equal income down the road.
When “Free” is a small fish that baits a big fish. Just like many magazines offer free issues with a discounted paid subscription, “Free” can be an incredibly effective form of enticement. BNET.com offers some great insight on Chris Anderson’s (Wired magazine) theory on “embracing ‘free’ as a pricing concept”.
When it’s a steroid shot for your portfolio. Established writers, for example, often accept offers to guest write or blog in popular print and Web publications to broaden their audience-base and add valuable clips to their portfolios. Your arsenal needs to stay fresh and with the times, and your blog (if it’s to be a form of income) needs traffic. A great way to consistently wave your “I’m here” flag is to sprinkle a bit of your seasoning on a new scene by offering your product for review or your service at no cost.
See? I told you there are some pros. But, of course, working for free can also have its drawbacks. Besides the obvious drawback, what might some of the other less-than-gratifying results be? Seasoned freelancer and author Michelle Goodman speaks in depth about “PIE” (getting Paid In Exposure), and other cons HERE.
Where do you stand on this issue?
Outright is secure.
What do you think?
What's your perspective on working for free?
Do entrepreneurs ever really work for "free", or is there always a payoff in the mix?
1
Early on I did two free jobs that turned out to be paying jobs in the end. If it's for a good cause I'll donate my time--like for a charity event or something. =)
Posted May 12, 2010 1:00:31 AM by: Jerrell Terrell Studios
1
I feel that working for free is sometimes necessary, and sometimes just good karma. Everything I do doesn't have to be for money. The major services, sure. But I can offer a few courses and a little support just to help out.
There are a few non-profit organizations here in Atlanta that I donate time and services to and don't expect anything directly in return. It's just nice to help out, and in one case because one of the organizations is political it's also nice to meet local & state politicians and have a say in what's going on.
Of course, while something may be "free" in terms of you not getting paid money directly for it, you can still benefit. I give free courses in the hopes of helping others, but also in the hope that they'll come back to me to purchase a product or service. The "free" offer goes a long way in marketing, as long as you do it ethically.
Posted Aug 20, 2010 12:11:22 PM by: Your Passive Income™