Use your next request to work for free as a teachable moment – ‘unfortunately I am unable to take on any more unpaid projects or meetings at the moment’
Opinion: Help, said the message in my DMs, how do I tell the constant stream of people who ask me to work for free that I am not a charity and, while I care about my work, I have bills to pay like anyone else?
I hear you, was my reply.
“There is no budget for this, but if you do it for us, it will raise your profile” and “Could I buy you a coffee and pick your brains …” are phrases that can strike dread into the 150,000 or so of us who are self-employed.
However the request comes, you are being asked to do unpaid work using the skills and experience you usually trade to earn your living.
It can be awkward as hell to navigate.
Six years into my consulting business, here’s how I’ve learned to tip toe through this.
When I started out, I set two business rules.
My first rule is that I don’t give away time and expertise to somebody else who is going to make a profit from it. If the conference is for-profit and I am not offered a speaker’s fee, it’s a no from me. I was recently asked by a corporate to do substantial consulting work for free (for my profile, of course) which, not surprisingly, I declined. (Don’t work with dicks is my second business rule.)
My aim is that those doing the asking reflect on what they are asking me to do, that is, forfeit my income for the sake of theirs.
Other requests, I take on a case-by-case basis. Say if a young woman reaches out looking for career advice and I think I could be helpful and have the time, it is very likely a yes.
This is also aside from my volunteer roles, where I freely and joyfully give my time away, in my own time, not on my business time.
Doing a bit of digging around, being asked to work for free seems to be a widespread occupational hazard for many advisors and consultants.
So here’s some tips about how to manage those pesky requests.
Work out what your boundaries are. If you are starting out consulting, maybe the opportunity for high-profile work and no payment is worth it, or maybe it isn’t. Decide which causes you really care about and will go in boots and all and, by elimination, what you will not do for free.
Be ready to respond the next time you are approached by someone to pick your brains. Instead of screaming into the back of your hand “why don’t you value my time?” or “why are you such a cheapskate?”, try these: “I’d really love to help you. Let’s book a session, and I am happy to offer you an introductory rate for it” or “unfortunately I am unable to take on any more unpaid projects or meetings at the moment”.
Use your next request to work for free as a teachable moment. I am now blunt enough to say “I made a rule for myself when I started my business that I don’t work for free if you are going to make a profit off my work.” My aim is that those doing the asking reflect on what they are asking me to do, that is, forfeit my income for the sake of theirs.
I include volunteering for government departments in my definition of ‘profit’. They can be the worst at expecting unpaid work from experts and community leaders.
It’s great that many more of us are choosing self-employment (about 13 percent of the workforce). Being self-employed can mean more flexible, better work and even more income.
But let’s all take a moment to pause and consider our business etiquette about what we are asking our self-employed colleagues to do, and what we are prepared to pay for or not.
