Should Freelancers Ever Work for Free?

You've just been asked to work for free, perhaps with a promise of "great exposure." What should you do?

working for free

Whether it comes from a family member or even a potential new client, most freelancers have been asked to work for no pay. Perhaps the request was from a family member that doesn't realize the amount of time put in to the request, or from a client who would like a trial run before hiring a new freelancer. But should freelancers ever work for free?

The question has stirred up debates among freelancers, some insisting it's necessary to work for free in order to get started, others saying that it devalues the work and brings the price for that work down. There's merit to both sides of the argument – here's what freelancers should consider when they're asked to work for free.

Value matters.

Say you are ordering at a restaurant you've never been to before, and you want a really great pizza. There are two options on the menu– a $5.99 value pizza and a $15.99 deluxe pizza. Which pizza do you think is better? Most consumers will say that $15.99 pizza is better, because there's a value associated with price.

The more an item is priced, the more value people will associate with it. Most will automatically equate that $5.99 pizza with a greasy one-topping pie, and that $15.99 with a topping-filled tasty dinner. The same thing applies to things that are free. When you give your work away for free, it can send a message that you are a low skilled freelancer, because there's little value associated with something that's free.

Since free things have little value, freelancers should never work for free, right? Well, not necessarily. Whether or not a freelancer should do some work for free depends largely on the situation. Here are some examples:

When you should work for free

  • When you are a new freelancer, and you have no portfolio, you may need to work for free so that you have samples to show paid clients. This is just temporary – a few free projects to show what you can do. Don't place free bids for clients actively seeking freelancers; instead try seeking out a nonprofit and volunteering, creating a product for yourself (like a blog or logo) or opportunities such as guest posts that double as a marketing tool.
  • When you work in exchange for marketing. Sometimes, you may not get paid in monetary form, but through exposure. A prime example is the Huffington Post. While they have some paid writers on staff, they publish a lot of guest posts for free. Many writers have grown their business exponentially after guest posting for a large site like Huffington Post, because it offers a big boost in their credentials. That's not to say every freelance writer should write guest posts for free, but for some it is a great marketing tool.
  • When you trade services. Say you are a freelancer writer that needs a new logo, and say you meet a graphic designer that needs to update their website copy. There's certainly nothing wrong with trading services.
  • When the person that's asking is your mom (or someone equally important to you). There's undoubtedly some people in your life that you owe. Just be sure to set a limit and decide how far to extend family freebies (or if you want to do them at all).

When you shouldn't work for free

  • When you have a solid portfolio. I've come across this many times – a potential client asks for sample work done specifically for them, despite having very similar work in my portfolio. Charge for that work. If you are creating something that the client will be able to use, they should be paying for that service. When asked to do a test trial for free, politely tell them your rates for that work. Point them to your existing samples, and mention that it does not have to be long term if the first project doesn't work out. Again, when you offer work for free, you lower the perceived value of your service.
  • When the client reaches out to you for something like a free guest post, that should be a warning flag. That's sort of like asking for a gift, it's not exactly polite or good business practice. If they like your work enough to contact you, they should like it enough to pay you.
  • When your work isn't going to be connected to your name. Make sure before sending out any guest posts or similar "free" marketing efforts that you know how it is going to be used. If you create a guest post or cartoon that isn't linked back to your website, you've wasted your time. Take the time to write down exactly how your work is to be used and make sure both parties agree.
  • When the work isn't "evergreen." Sometimes, you may not get paid right away, but will reap rewards over time. A classic example is starting your own blog. You won't get paid one lump sum like blogging for a client, but those blog posts will continue to earn advertising revenue long after you've completed them. If you do need to create a portfolio, a great way to do so without working for free is to create a blog that has potential to earn you money down the road, long after you've completed it and are getting paid clients.

Most freelancers, at some point, are asked to work for free. For the most post, free work should act as a red flag. When freelancers offer work for free, it devalues their services. Time is valuable, so freelancers shouldn't work for free, at least not often. But, in a few cases, working for free can be a good marketing tool, and may be necessary for freelancers who have no portfolio.

What do you think? Have you ever worked for free? How did it turn out?

If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they are visible on this page.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com


The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

Social Network Recruiting Entrepreneurs and Business Builders

I find it amazing how many people on social networks are willing to recruit other entrepreneurs, bloggers and business builders to earn free advertising and nothing else… especially if you have options to earn so much more!

Bruce Jacobs

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

Essential Nutrients List

Essential nutrients for healthy living are now being sought out by so many people. We all know that thousands if not millions of nutrients can be found on this earth worldwide. So many nutrients brings one big question and that is which nutrients are listed as "Essential"? While so many multi vitamin supplements have less than 60 total, most prescribed pre-Natal multi-vitamin supplements have less than 50 nutrients.

More and more doctors, scientist and others now believe that "our modern intensive agricultural methods may be stripping increasing amounts of nutrients" Actually this conversation about our soils being depleted of essential nutrients have been documented for decades now by government and other agriculture professionals. The loss of these essential nutrients are now being linked to so many health issues that we face today.

So once again, which nutrients are identified as "Essential Nutrients" for supporting good health? I think Your quest of nutritional support info for supporting good health may start at Youngevity with their 91 Essential nutrients list. Find out about the 91 Essential nutrients from a doctor that understands agriculture, nutrition and how it relates to good health from a from a clinical science and a pathologist perspective.

Your quest of nutritional support info for better health starts here with the 91 Essential nutrients list that your doctor never told you about. Get the "91 Essential Nutrients List" but make sure you watch the video at http://90hive.org/

Bruce Jacobs

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

Robert Banning of Verizon Wireless

A Verizon Wireless manager name Mr. Robert Banning from the Willingboro NJ store on Route 130 sold me a Samsung Level U Bluetooth headset today. Ok maybe this isn't such a big deal to you and you're probably correct, unless you're looking for great service on a great buy. What made this purchase such a big deal for me is that I finally found a sales rep that actually listen to me. He not only listen to me but took his service skill up another level when he took his time to answer all of my questions with such knowledge, demonstrations and comparisons that I didn't even expect. I actually went in with my son to see about him making a decision on renewing his current Verizon account with a new phone purchase vs getting a new phone account with Sprint.

He broke everything down in writing of every possible plan that could benefit my son without any negative talk about Sprint or any other competitors. Well in between a little break in conversations with my son, I figure I would ask him a couple of quick questions about the Samsung Level U headset that he draped around his neck. Needless to say he broke down a few comparisons vs the LG Tone that I was considering and the rest was history as they say. I've worked in the customer service industry for over 30 years and professional people like Robert Banning need to be recognized for what they do when they do their job right.

When you get professional service like this, it's hard not to buy something. Yes My son renewed his Verizon wireless contract and I got my Samsung Level U wireless headset. Even though I showed him a much cheaper online price of $29.99 from his $69.99 it was worth every dollar more that he charged me. Thank you Mr. Robert Banning for everything today! If you are anywhere near his store, be sure to stop in for his superb knowledge and customer service!

Bruce Jacobs

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

New Years Resolution Healthy Solution

New Years resolutions of eating healthier for obtaining better health and wellness are at the top of millions of people resolutions around the world every year. The new year many times serves as a start over point for many people to do the right thing for the right reason, wouldn't you agree? If you never said it, I'm sure you've heard others that said they want to eat healthier, improve their health, loose weight and more. After all who wants to carry around the extra weight along with the many health risk and health issues that's associated with it. Even myself who got tired of walking around sucking in my tummy in public as I was around at 287lbs but approaching 300lbs at a rapid pace, said enough was enough. The mindset of so many people including doctors agree on is that changing to healthy eating and proper nutrition can be very beneficial in supporting better health.

For me to make impactful healthy changes in what I do, I needed to make changes in what I believe. For me to make nutritional changes in what I believe, I needed to make changes in the very fabric foundation of nutritional information that I've been learning for almost 50 years.  How many of us grew up hearing our mother or father say "eat those carrots, peas and spinach because they're good for you"? We also hear our doctor say something like " you can get all your nutrients from the basic four food groups", haven't we? We shop in our supermarkets for foods that contain chemicals, dyes and other impurities that certain government officials say it's okay to eat. There's nothing wrong with believing your parents, doctors and government officials but try to understand where they get their info from. If you followed the nutritional advice from your parents and doctors based on consuming on  approved foods at supermarkets and you're facing a nutritional deficiency health issue, reminds me of a question that a famous TV doctor ask "How's That Working For You?"

This new year comes with not any real new nutritional information but rather from a new nutritional source of info. Holding off many pounds for a few years now and watching others within my family reap the health benefits of the importance proper nutrition via healthy eating and proper supplementation has me believing in my earthly nutritional information source. Dr. Wallach has been a environmental, medical and nutritional source of information for so many people around the world for over 40 years.  If you're looking for clinical proven and science based nutritional information then Dr. Wallach could have some beneficial information for your healthy new years resolution. While his nutritional info can be so simple in nature and challenging for a few, his nutritional message is making sense to millions of people around the globe.

When you have a doctor that understands health issues and nutrition from the medical perspective of a skilled pathologist, I think he has a leg up over my personal doctor. One question is that I had to answer for myself is would I rather bet my nutritional health on a doctor that taught by others with little nutritional knowledge or trust a doctor that has done his own research that included thousands of scientifical autopsies and that have been published over 70 times in scientific and medical journals. Dr. Wallach is also the author of 14 books and various CD's. Dr. Wallach’s world-famous Dead  Doctors Don’t Lie Book/CD  message has sold over 200  million copies. Make sure you get the CD by clicking on the picture below.

When you start your New Years healthy foundation, consider the "Dead Doctors Don't Lie" book or CD information as your solution to your healthy New Years resolution.

Bruce Jacobs (#E100397)
Independent Distributor
90hive.com/ – Blog
90hive.net/ – Products
Im90ForLife.org – Main Info

The information shared here on this blog is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat anything in anyway and has not been evaluated by the FDA

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

Skincare for men by Soul Purpose

The Soul Purpose healthy skincare has products to support healthy for women and men skin in a natural way. Not only can the Soul Purpose products deliver the results that you'll truly love but also without the unwanted chemicals and parabens too. I've heard people say that Avon has great quality products with low pricing while others say Mary Kay has a slightly better quality at higher pricing. Actually I kind of agree from actually using both companies in the past, but I ask people have you read the labels? If you're truly looking for the best quality and pricing then Soul Purpose provides the best value for your skin … hands down (pun intended). 

Another great thing that I love about Soul Purpose is the support that I can get almost 24/7 everyday of the year. Many times guys like me may have questions and need answers fast. One late night I was doing some research on certain ingredients for healthy skin support. I noticed that there were several Soul Purpose products that had everything that i was looking for but they came in different formula combinations. So I went online to one of our support groups and asked the following question: "I have a tough question for myself but hopefully I can get some opinions. Which one of the shower gel / Custard combinations could be most healthiest for possible skin repair or rejuvenation of skin problems?" 

In less than 10 minutes one of Soul Purpose Team leaders posted my question and her answer in her online team forum this way: "our partner Bruce Jacobs asked me which product lasts longer the balm or the custard? My response is depends on skin type. Since he has dry skin, I recommended using the scrub to his liking 3 times a week to rid of dead skin cells and layer with custard and if needed followed by balm. Once skin is exfoliated and moisturized over time you can choose to layer with custard and balm or use one or the other just depends on how you feel. Hello Soul Purpose Team, What would you say?" I was so surprised to see how many ladies were chiming in after midnight with short but concise info. 

Soul Purpose has formulated their natural skincare and beauty product line to keep you looking and feeling good from the inside out and from head to toe. If your body has not experienced the Soul Purpose product line then this is “A Must ASAP” as your body will thank you for it while others around you may appreciate it too. 

If you would like to hear a quick 40 minute intro to most of the Soul Purpose beauty skincare line of products Click Here.

Bruce Jacobs (Youngevity Independent Rep. #E100397)

 

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

From Hopeful Work At Home Mom to Entrepreneur

Article By Rita Taketa – I've been a successful Work At Home Mom for 18 years, beginning when there was little career work available at home besides telemarketing. After working for several different companies being in charge of multiple operations, I now have plans to expand my business-to-business professional services with virtual agents.

work at home mom business and entrepreneur

I've been steadily working from home for 18 amazing years. In the beginning, however, it was not a popular decision. The pay was poor and the quality of work was mainly telemarketing for the consumer-to-business market, or some other type of odd tasks that were not rewarding.

I started on this journey after I had my second child. I had been working for a marketing firm as a supervisor handling inbound and outbound calls for clients in the restaurant industry. I had a great deal of responsibility with data and order entry, managing our team, training, and being responsible for the entire company phone system, which was my first introduction to Telephony Software & B2B Marketing.

As much as I enjoyed my career, I had a nine-year-old son at home to care for as well. I always felt torn between being a mother and a working women. I had already been through the route of daycare and before-and-after-school care and all of the challenges that go along with being a working mom. I felt guilty when I was not with my child, and yet I needed to work to help provide for my family, just like the balancing act that we all face today now that most families need two incomes to stay afloat.

Research on the internet afforded me to learn more about working from home, but there wasn't much of a selection to choose from except telemarketing. I started working with a company that produced customer satisfaction surveys for a national tire company. It involved evening and weekend work, so I was able to work my day job but bring in a little extra money. As I worked on different projects for the company, gaining more experience and confidence, I was asked to do more projects in different markets. Eventually, I started doing surveys for a vast array of markets including insurance.

Networking, researching, and trying different work-at-home tasks allowed me to transition into a full-time career working from home as a business-to-business professional. I serve as an extension of a company's inside sales team as an appointment setter, lead generator, and customer service representative. I've worked as an independent contractor for many years, so I took my experience and branched out with my own company to accommodate the needs of businesses in supporting their sales and marketing efforts. My goal is to expand by hiring virtual agents to help with my growing client base.

I chose a rewarding career path that has allowed me to be home with my family (which was my ultimate goal), raise my children, do meaningful work, and make a good living right from the comfort of my home office. Work At Home Mom = a happy mom!

If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they are visible on this page.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com


The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

Bloggers Help is Right Here

If you’re a blogger and are trying to increase your marketing reach to more viewers, please let me know. I will need you to connect your Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or the social network of your choice with my social network where I can share with you the latest technology and new strategies for more viewers. Plus you can meet other professionals that share your same entrepreneurial business mindset too.

Just message me for my social network link to get started or just connect with me now at https://markethive.com/brucejacobs

Bruce Jacobs

social-media-image (1)

Test Blog 16 Dec 2015

Test only

Post to Blog: Stephen Hodgkiss
Category: Social Media
Post Title: Test Blog 16 Dec 2015
Post Link: http://kawasakiz1.com
Tags: Kawasaki,Z1

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.

SendOutCards

SendOutCards: How to send a FREE card with my compliments

 

First you need to be a member of IBOtoolbox. Membership is FREE and you get a collection of FREE tools to help you. These tools are only useful if you want to promote your Business, Service or Product online.

Click here to become an IBOtoolbox member

Secondly, it's only worthwhile becoming a member if you have a 'Brick & Mortar', an ecommerce website, in an Affilaiiate program, work from Home, or are in an MLM / Network Marketing Business.

 

 

Watch the video above to see how easy it is to send a card from your cell/mobile phone

These Cards retail from us for US$1.98 plus postage

You can send a Greeting or Postcard anywhere in the World, as I have also included the postage cost to this free offer!

 

"You’ll Save Money

We print, stuff, stamp and mail your personalized greeting cards to any address in the world, all for less than the average price of a greeting card at the store. Plus, our gift selection is icing on the cake as it allows you to go the extra mile with a thoughtful touch."

 

"It’s Convenient

There is no need to drive to the store, wait in lines, look for addresses and then drive to the post office for a stamp. With our convenient system you can send a card from your mobile device in less than a minute!"

 

"You Won’t Forget

Keep track of birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions in our easy-to-use contact management system. We keep your addresses securely stored, and even send you reminders when it’s time to send a card."

 

For more Info: www.ibourl.net/SendOutCardsApp

 

Media Contact:
Company Name: Unique Results
Contact Person: Mr Michael Alvanos
Address: 18 Yerunda Road, Tomerong. NSW Australia (HQ)
Phone: +1 323 544 5934 Los Angeles, California. USA
E-mail: michael at Cme4cards.com
Website: http://www.Cme4cards.com

The info shared here has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any illness or disease.