Stop Asking Entrepreneurs To Work For Free

For those who ask entrepreneurs/freelancers/artists to do work for free, I want you to think about this first.

These people have invested a lot of time, money, and energy into their craft. Many have had sleepless nights wondering if they will be able to pay the bills. Many are still paying back money from investments to get where they are now (school, certifications, coaches).

Asking them to do free work does more damage than you might think, and you effectively:

👎🏼 Cause them to question the value of their work.

👎🏼 Force them to be the bad guy if they can’t or don’t want to.

👎🏼 Take a spot from someone who is willing to pay.

I empathize with anyone who can’t afford help that they need. However, some entrepreneurs can’t afford help that they need because of this problem.

You can almost always offer something in return that isn’t money. Are you good at something they might need? Offer a trade. You could even offer to leave a review or LinkedIn recommendation.

Just remember to treat entrepreneurs the same way you would any business.