Pro Bono Work
- Thread starter MisterX
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Yes and wouldn't do it again. It was free and it was full of "yeah but just change this" for months and months and months.
Years ago - when I was just starting out as a designer, I gave my stuff away for free a lot. It did serve it's purpose - which was to increase my portfolio and get my name and link out there as a designer. That method worked really well for me.
The major downside? Once I had developed a bit of a name for myself and developed a humble client base - the time came where I wanted to take the plunge into doing it as a business, rather than a hobby. When I started charging for my work - - some of the people that I did free work for weren't very understanding at all. If you do it for them for free once... they, unfortunately, expect it for free always. I can't say that for all my clients, however - - there were quite a few (many who are still clients today after 10 years) who were glad to begin to pay me for my work.
It was a hard transition to make.. but, really - if I had it to do over again, I'd probably do it the exact same way.
The major downside? Once I had developed a bit of a name for myself and developed a humble client base - the time came where I wanted to take the plunge into doing it as a business, rather than a hobby. When I started charging for my work - - some of the people that I did free work for weren't very understanding at all. If you do it for them for free once... they, unfortunately, expect it for free always. I can't say that for all my clients, however - - there were quite a few (many who are still clients today after 10 years) who were glad to begin to pay me for my work.
It was a hard transition to make.. but, really - if I had it to do over again, I'd probably do it the exact same way.
Exact same problem. Built a website for a friend.. now I have to teach her everything about the web and answer questions. I have no time for that short of shit. Atleast she pays me back in other ways.. hah.Nathan said:
Take care -Dan
It doesn't matter what I have given away in the past - urls, websites, templates, computers, cars, and even an ipod - It always comes back to bite you square in the ass (Where Is that Good Karma? )
Lesson learned is that if you give it away they will not respect the gift or the giver. Family or not they all want something for nothing..
Now I have stacks of stuff that will never be given away - hell - tried to donate a couple of mac's 4 years ago - to a women's shelter and they would not accept them unless I bought and installed office on both of them.
Sorry - Having a bad day - and my rant is off now...
Lesson learned is that if you give it away they will not respect the gift or the giver. Family or not they all want something for nothing..
Now I have stacks of stuff that will never be given away - hell - tried to donate a couple of mac's 4 years ago - to a women's shelter and they would not accept them unless I bought and installed office on both of them.
Sorry - Having a bad day - and my rant is off now...
One of my friends was in a band. He played for free at a local bar when they were just starting out (on my birthday). It went over awesome...the band was a hit.....
then he tried to get a few gigs..
he hot them...
but,
"whay should i have to pay you when "" didn't?" was the question he got....
And, ya know what, that second bar owner was right!
I have given my stuff away.....Now i refuse to do any work for anyone even for $......Ha That gets' em!!
seriously, every once and awhile a person will approach me and reallly want me to do a site for them, occassionaly i will, mostly not, i just toss a price that will be to much for them...all done....uinless its just the beginning...LOL
then he tried to get a few gigs..
he hot them...
but,
"whay should i have to pay you when "" didn't?" was the question he got....
And, ya know what, that second bar owner was right!
I have given my stuff away.....Now i refuse to do any work for anyone even for $......Ha That gets' em!!
seriously, every once and awhile a person will approach me and reallly want me to do a site for them, occassionaly i will, mostly not, i just toss a price that will be to much for them...all done....uinless its just the beginning...LOL
Argh.. hasn't every "computer guy" had this?
I used to repair computer problems for friends... and colleagues... and aquaintances and business associates....
Now I only, ONLY do it for true friends. Everybody else can pay.
Funny thing, my workload drops considerably once I mention $$. And for those that do not shy away from spending some money, I have reasonable rates. Reasonable, not cheap.
and jonjon... your story is just unbelievable! What a steaming pile of shit? What are they thinking?
::emp::
I used to repair computer problems for friends... and colleagues... and aquaintances and business associates....
Now I only, ONLY do it for true friends. Everybody else can pay.
Funny thing, my workload drops considerably once I mention $$. And for those that do not shy away from spending some money, I have reasonable rates. Reasonable, not cheap.
and jonjon... your story is just unbelievable! What a steaming pile of shit? What are they thinking?
::emp::
I did when I was starting out, to learn and also to build up a portfolio. I came to a point where I thought the time came where I didn't have to do this any more, so I moved to doing stuff for a discounted price. Same deal, there came a point where I thought I no longer needed to discount my prices and started charging normal rates.
I do however still create some discounted/free sites here and there, if I know that having my link on their site will benefit me. Latest example? www.tiffanynicolecentral.com - she is a rising pop artist who has a chance to really hit, so it was worth it to hook her up since I do a lot of music related design/servicing.
Just remember when doing pro-bono/discounted stuff - ensure it is a win/win situation, or at least has the potential to be. Also, make sure to tell the person you are doing this for to not tell anyone else the price you gave them, or the fact that you did it for free, you'll be dealing with "well so and so said they got their for $x."
I do however still create some discounted/free sites here and there, if I know that having my link on their site will benefit me. Latest example? www.tiffanynicolecentral.com - she is a rising pop artist who has a chance to really hit, so it was worth it to hook her up since I do a lot of music related design/servicing.
Just remember when doing pro-bono/discounted stuff - ensure it is a win/win situation, or at least has the potential to be. Also, make sure to tell the person you are doing this for to not tell anyone else the price you gave them, or the fact that you did it for free, you'll be dealing with "well so and so said they got their for $x."
Interesting topic, I was actually doing this not too long ago. When I started this company a few months back. It was under a promotional offer that I started to use in order to quickly build a client base. It doesn't feel too good of course, handing over very profitable projects for free. You do get your business moving faster though, expecially if your working with limited funds.
Julius Designs said:
Julius.. you have some damn nice illustration work.. how much for one of those hot women donning the WickedFire logo?
i have done a little bit of free design work, and i offer free hosting to folks that are doing shit i care about. the free design work gets frustrating for reasons already mentioned. free hosting takes very little of my time and feels good.
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