Should You Ever Work for Free? A Smart Business Strategy or a Red Flag?

Welcome to another episode of I Hate

Numbers, the podcast that is there to help make

you money, save tax, win the battle between your

ears and strengthen your financial foundations.

What's not to love about that?

Now, tonight I'm gonna be talking about a

topic that gets a lot of people very fine up,

lots of opinions float about, and it's the old

aged question, should you ever work for free?

There's a bit of a spoiler alert.

The short answer is it's a classic.

It depends.

Now, we've all seen that, haven't we?

The request comes in, can you just give us a

few minutes of your time?

It's gonna be great exposure.

We don't have a budget and the inevitable,

but comes in now.

If you've heard those words before, and I've

heard them several times, and in my own business

and personal capacity, you are not alone.

Whether you're a graphic designer, an accountant,

a coach, a director of a small business, that free

work dilemma is real.

Now in today's podcast episode, I'm gonna

break it down looking at the good, the bad,

and it's not a van Cleef say the gray area.

By the time we get to the end of this episode,

you'll have a better understanding when

free is smart and when it's just plain daft.

So why do people say yes to free work?

Well, let's start with the reasons

why people say yes.

Some are strategic, some are emotional.

Reason number one is this idea of

visibility and exposure.

We've all heard this, haven't we?

We would do this for free.

Could get you noticed sometimes as three.

Sometimes that is a little bit off,

stressing the truth.

You might be invited to speak at a well-known

industry event.

There's no fee but a room full of

potential clients.

Now, if the right people in the room,

it might be worth it.

You get access to that client base.

You may not normally have got access to

client acquisition.

Costs are reduced, and it might get

to a better return than advertising and

networking would ever do.

But remember this rule exposure is

not the reward, it's the stepping stone.

Now, another reason it's quoted is building

your portfolio.

Now, if you've just starting out a business

or you are pivoting, trying something

new, a bit of free work can help you.

It gets something under your belt.

You can point to it as proof of concept and

say, I've done that.

But again, you can be careful when you've

gotta set boundaries.

It's a short-term strategy.

It's not a long-term sustainable

business model.

Reason number three, it's a passion project.

Sometimes you work for free 'cause you just want

to, the whole thing about being in business is

you have that feed into decide what you will do

and what you won't do.

You do it because your heart tells you to.

It aligns with your values.

You might wanna volunteer your skills for a cause.

You care about help out a friend

with their project.

Support your local community, and I think

those reasons are solid.

I myself have over 40 plus years in a

personal and a business capacity, do lots of

things for free without blowing my own trumpet.

I currently sit as a NED and a trustee

of two charities.

I've been a charity trustee for 30

plus years here.

So there's lots of things I would do 'cause

I want to do them.

I enjoy doing them and I wanna give something

back now, not when I'm too old to do so.

But again, that's a personal choice.

But whatever you volunteer for has gotta

feel you energized and a sense of accomplishment,

not feeling like you're being exploited.

Now, let's look at the other side of

the coin, the dangers of working for free.

Now, the blunt truth is working for free has

real associated costs.

Number one, your bills don't get paid

by free work exposure doesn't pay your rent.

A thank you tweets might feel good, but it's not

gonna buy you lunch.

You can't invest in growth, get help, upgrade

your equipment if you're not earning money.

And ultimately, we're not running a

hobby here, we're not playing a business.

We at need to have a business, whatever

shape or form that is, that generates income.

That covers our costs as a bare minimum

and makes us money.

Otherwise, we've just got a full-time exhausting

hobby in our hands.

Number two, doing things for free will

undervalue what you do.

If you offer something for nothing.

What's the message that you're sending out

your time, experience, and knowledge are

worth charging for?

Not only does it affect you directly, but

also arose the value in the sector that

you're working in.

There's also that issue that if you

do decide to start charging, it becomes

very challenging where people are used to zero.

To suddenly start paying you cash.

Number three, there's a real risk of burnout.

Two early unpaid jobs.

In favor stacker.

You end up tired, stressed, and frustrated,

and I have seen it in other people.

You can become quite ebit even though

you can't stop it.

You still feeling very frustrated and annoyed

when that happens.

The passion over spills.

Into your life, into your business, and

that starts to fade.

So how do you decide what to do?

There are five key questions I think

you should consider.

So let's give a bit of clarity and bit

of structure, and there's five questions

I would suggest to ask before saying

yes to unpaid work.

Number one, what do I actually get out of this?

And be honest with yourself.

Is it realistically has the potential to

lead to green clients, does it have an impact

in positive terms of growing your audience?

Or is it somebody who just wants a favor?

If there's no clear benefit and doesn't

tick that emotional box, say no.

There are ways to say no, and there are ways

to say no, but ultimately no should be the answer.

Question number two, are you choosing

this or are you being emotionally exploited?

Are you being pushed to make a decision?

Do you actually wanna do this?

Or do you feel guilty perhaps flattered

or pressured?

Take a step out.

Never make any snap decisions.

And remember, you are in control.

Question number three, can they actually

afford to pay me?

Now, if a client is a startup with no income,

you might wanna show some flexibility.

I. But if it's a company that's established,

it's profitable, there is no excuse.

If they make money from you, from your work, then

you should do as well.

Question number four, is this going to set

a future precedent?

Are you making a rod for your own back?

If it's free ones great, that's fine.

Next time it builds up the expectation

they want the same.

So you're gonna think long term.

You can message and manage it correctly,

but you've gotta be very careful.

That setting yourself up for doing it free

creates that expectation in the client's mind.

Question number five, what's your gut say?

And I don't mean what are you eating for

lunch, but what does your gut say about that?

What does your instinct say?

And we don't often talk about this in business,

but instincts matter.

We can get spreadsheets, graphs, software.

But don't dissociate yourself from the

humanity, from the human being that you are.

If something feels wrong, give credence to that

voice and listen to it.

Now, that's all well and good, but are there

ways to say no without alienating somebody

burning bridges and creating a very negative

acro environment?

Saying no can feel awkward, especially

when you're at the early stages of your

business career.

But trust me, it gets easier.

Not easy.

I'm gonna share a little bit of a script with

you and some tips.

So center, one slide.

Thanks for thinking of me.

I love to help by contact on unpaid projects.

At the moment, I.

Center number two, if you've got a budget

in future, I'll be happy to chat.

It's professional, it is polite, and most

importantly is clarity.

You don't need to justify.

You don't need to apologize.

Remember you've got a business to run.

You might also wanna say, thanks very much.

I'd love to do that.

But it wouldn't be fair on my clients.

But remember, when you write that message,

read each yourself.

Give it time.

Don't send it as a, an emotional reaction.

Come back and read it.

Firm and kind can go together.

Now doing things for free can actually

be a smart move.

So this is not a podcast of our

never work for free.

That's not the message I want you to take away

is about being smart.

And thoughtful for myself.

I've done that as well.

I've done free things.

I've delivered free talks.

I've participated, volunteered,

help people out.

There's no immediate business that comes

from that, but they come back to me.

There's that message there.

I've got something out of that.

Whether it's a testimonial, whether

it's some feedback, a proof of concept,

whatever, and money is earned in the future.

I've showcased events.

I have crowds of money done, free stuff.

People meet them for the first time, check them

out before they know it.

It's inquiries are turning to real business.

That's a return, that's a strategy, not charity.

Now think of free as a bit of your

marketing budget, a bit of free space.

Let's reframe this.

If you're doing something for free, ask yourself.

Would I be willing to spend money for

the same result?

If the answer is yes, it's a smart marketing

boot, potentially.

If no, it's that red flag, and we know

what red flags mean.

Now, some final thoughts is the bottom line.

Free work is a strategy, not a habit.

Usually it's sparingly, usually on your terms.

Usually when it aligns with your goals,

your values, and business direction.

Your timing is valuable.

Your experience has weight, and your work

deserves respect in every sense, including.

Financially.

So next time somebody says it'll be great

exposure, just smile and ask yourself,

do you also pay your landlord in exposure?

That all for today, folks.

If you found value in this episode, I'd

love it if you share it with somebody who

needs to hear it.

You've got a story about working for free, good,

bad, or the ugly, and I'd love to hear it.

And don't forget, subscribe to.

I hate numbers when you get your podcast.

Until then, keep your value high,

your numbers strong, your term respected.

Plan it, do it, and profit.