Comments on: Never work for free?

By: olivia love Leigh

olivia love Leigh — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:35:00 +0000

Can you edit my website? In a PDF? Olivia

By: olivia love Leigh

olivia love Leigh — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:33:00 +0000

I have a budget template website. Can anyone edit it for me in a PDF? I will pay you.

By: eleventhattempt

eleventhattempt — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:03:44 +0000

It would be good to work for free if the on the job training, association with the project, or opportunity to work with the people would be an investment of your time that could reap personal and professional rewards later.

By: Emily Heath

Emily Heath — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:41:14 +0000

Good article, good comments. Nice to see this debate being had.
I tend to do a job for what you might call ‘free’ about once a year, but it is either because I am learning a new skill, or, like this year, a barter.
Learning a new CMS:
I run a small web design partnership and we realised that we were not earning as much we really needed to because we were subcontracting all the CMS development to another agency. So last year I decided to learn how to set up ExpressionEngine as a CMS, and I needed to do this before I started selling the service, because without trying it, how could I know how long it would take and how much to charge?
I knew that I couldn’t just sit down and teach myself how to do this on a ‘pretend’ website because I wouldn’t be motivated and I wouldn’t be able to think up the challenges that a real life situation brings. So I offered to develop the CMS for a friend’s drumming ensemble who desperately needed to update their website (which had been built in flash and the designer had gone awol). They paid for the license themselves, and expenses associated with our meetings, but the rest of the work I did was for free.
This experience was invaluable. We haven’t had any paid work come from referrals from the group, but we have been able to put our CMS development skills into use on other jobs that have come our way since, which has significantly increased our turnover.
Bartering:
This year I am doing a website for a friend who runs courses which I want to attend. On these courses he teaches survival and awareness skills in the great outdoors (camping). He’s offered all (2!) of our staff a lifetime of course attendance for a website redesign and CMS. I find this especially valuable because I live in the city and I work full time at a desk/computer and I desperately need to get out to the countryside more. I think this exchange is not only fair, but it will also benefit the mental and physical health of our team, which is essential to the success of a service- and skills-based business.

By: steve

steve — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:07:30 +0000

Thank you for providing a lesson to many even if there are some who refuse to hear. there is a difference between volunteering and working for a paying client. You should be paid fairly for any service that you are providing. There are sharks that will eat you alive if you do not charge and it cheapens your work. If someone can get your services for nothing you can be disrespected! They can actually see you as an amateurish and unprofessional and they will pay someone else three times the amount that seems professional for the work that you did for "free". Seriously, do not diminish your value! the author is absolutely correct. if you want charge your client and throw in an image for free but don't build a client website for free. NO ! NO! NO! NO ! NO!

By: rainwebs

rainwebs — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:56:47 +0000

If your business is part of the Web you’ve to give something away for free if you wanna earn money.
If you are an individual who wants to become successful this is also true. There are a lot of Open Source “leader” examples, meanwhile working for the big business with better salaries and higher reputation.
If you’re in the “Web business” to give something for free is the standard now.

By: ilias

ilias — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:21:31 +0000

I totally agree with you on this.
Not only webdesign but design in general is undervalued by “friends”.
People just don’t understand that it takes more than half a hour to design a logo.

By: Jason Liebe

Jason Liebe — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:51:37 +0000

I just read a tweet by @mikeelliot, “The Best Things in Life Really ARE Free”, that made me think back to this post. If you’re feeling charitably you could build a web app in your spare time that can grow into a tool to help many people for years to come. I guess it’s the same principle as open source, but a different medium.
This ties in nicely to what you wrote under “It will be good for my portfolio” Paul.

By: Justin Yost

Justin Yost — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:02:20 +0000

I totally agree.

By: Ben May

Ben May — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:10:15 +0000

After doing some free work getting established, we normally do things at a highly reduced rate.. which basically gels with what you were saying about charities.