Would anyone ask their dentist to perform work for free? You might ask, but I think we all know what the answer will be. Same goes for your mechanic. Your accountant. Lawyer. Hell, even the kid that cuts your lawn on Saturday morning for ten bucks. When it comes to design, seems lots of people aren’t similarly predisposed and requests for free work, spec work and discounted work are the rule rather than the exception. Not sure why it is. Perhaps because most end-of-project tasks are carried out on computer, there’s a notion that any design task only takes a few minutes and there’s some magical “design this” button. Or perhaps it’s because design isn’t what most designers do, but what they are, that leads to a perception that because (in theory) we enjoy what we do, we shouldn’t expect to get paid for the time we spend doing it.
Do this for free and I’ve got lots of work coming your way
In any case, requests for free and spec work come quite often in the design profession. Trouble is, working for free isn’t doing yourself any favors, even if carried out with the purest intentions. Or in response to the “just do this, and I’ve got lots of future work coming your way” request. If I had a nickle for every time I had heard the “future work” pitch, I’d have an awful lot of nickels. I generally don’t take these potential clients up on the ever-so-generous offer. Not because I’m some arty-farty prima donna. No, I usually give people my blanket “the promise of future work has no bearing on how we deal with this project” statement for one simple reason. When people promise a ton of work, if only you’ll complete one task for free, they’re seldom genuine. Working a limited time for free doesn’t lead to additional paid work sometime in the future. It’s so consistent, that it’s pretty well a rule. In fact, let’s make it a rule.
Even with active clients, and active projects, performing free work can be problematic and might have the opposite result to the one you intend. Gonna tell you about a recent incident at the shop, where “throwing in” some work for free not only didn’t help, but eventually cost me a decent client. Not going to use real names here (for obvious reasons) but it illustrates, in very real terms, the practical downside of working for free.
The ‘Designer’ & the ‘Tech Guy’
The gig, for Bob’s Money Mart let’s say, was a fairly simple web design project. Bob was a wonderful client, a little pushy on the delivery times perhaps, but a client that was good to work for. He prepared his web content on time (a stumbling block on many web projects), listened to suggestions, and knew mostly what he wanted. The build went off without a hitch. As did creating the Flash animation that would make up a lot of the site interface. Because Bob was so reasonable, I didn’t mind working over a weekend (scuttling some personal plans) to get his site launched in just under a week. I pitched him concepts and revisions within hours. I gave him my personal cell phone so he could call me at night (sometimes a risky proposition – I have an office and an assistant for a reason). I even brought in a paid colleague to help speed things up. All things considered, the project went smoother than a typical web design gig. I didn’t even have to install the files on Bob’s server. He had some ‘tech guy’ (“costs me a fortune”) that did that and at project close I simply ZIPPED the files and send them into the ether. The client was a happy camper and loved his new site. In terms of business, the project had ended up being marginally profitable. Win, win.
The danger of freebies
Once the site was launched, Bob wanted some contact forms. His “cost a fortune” tech guy supposedly didn’t know how to set one up (in retrospect, I think he knew all too well), so I offered to help. I had a .php form script that I had a web developer create for me a few years back. I didn’t want Bob to get bombarded with spam, so I gave him a custom CAPCHA script that I had paid someone to create for an earlier site. According to our original agreement, since this additional work was being done after finalization of the project, and after the site was ‘live’, I should have charged Bob above and beyond the original budget. But I didn’t. My thinking went something like this:
1) Bob’s been a great client,
2) I already have the finished scripts
3) the project went down fairly easy so there was a few hours left on the budget and
4) if I made Bob happy by helping him out it would lead to future work.
Yeah, that old chestnut. I sent the scripts to Bob’s tech guy and he uploaded the files. Trouble is, he couldn’t make them work (once again, I think he could have) and was now telling Bob that the script dysfunction wasn’t his fault. Had to be the stupid designer’s wonky script. Bob starts to use the cell phone number I gave him earlier. He’s not terribly happy because his ‘tech guy’ charges him a fortune and fixing the form/CAPCHA system was going to be “horribly expensive”. Once again, I offered to help. I knew the scripts worked just fine on my servers. Probably needed some tweaking to make it work on his. And I did get it to work. Trouble is, a ‘favor’, using a script that I had paid for, had now eaten up 5 more hours on a Saturday morning with the back-and-forth, checking this, checking that, uploading files, etc, etc. Now the project HAD gone over time budget. Not a big deal, but by doing a free favor, I had managed to turn a profitable project into one that’s not so profitable. Ah well, at the end of the day, I had shown Bob that I was a decent guy and I had built up some client good-will. All I had to do was wait for the additional work to roll in.
Not quite.
About a month later, I received an e-mail from Bob. Someone at his office had come up with a wonderful idea – some movie thing that they wanted to add to the site. They needed to add the page and add it to the menu system. Not a big deal, but it was going to take some time to retool the layout. I took a look at what Bob wanted and figured it would take 3 – 4 hours. I told Bob that I’d only charge him two. Well, even that wasn’t on. Bob questioned the fact that I’d bill him at all. After all, I had “added that form thing after the web site was launched” so why was this request any different? Have you ever tried to explain to a client how one portion of a project was done as a favor while you expect to get paid for another? It’s not an easy discussion. Bob demanded that I make the change, without billing him. He reminded me that he had “tons of work coming our way” and if we only performed this one change, it would be all ours. I put my foot down. If Bob wanted me to make the changes, he’d have to pay me to perform them. The inevitable “send the photoshop files to our tech guy” e-mail came hours later. I suspect that Bob’s “cost me a fortune” tech guy performed the changes. And billed handsomely for it. I don’t expect to hear from Bob again.
How to earn respect for your time? Bill for it.
See, here’s the thing. When it came to the ‘tech guy” Bob KNEW that he “cost a fortune”. Bob NEVER wasted the ‘tech guy’s” time because he knew he’d have to pay for it. I screwed it up by performing free work as a favor. Bob respected ‘tech guy’s time even though it still pained him to pay for it. I had given Bob reason not to respect mine. When it came to installing Bob’s contact form, the important factor was that I was solving a problem. A very big problem. Bob would have been glad to pay for having that problem solved. Yet I thought I needed to go the extra step and solve Bob’s problem for free. At that point I had changed the business relationship forever. Bob now KNEW that I’d perform ‘no-charge’ revisions. All he had to do was figure out to ‘motivate’ me to do so. Which turned into a glorified game of “chicken”. And as anyone knows, when playing “chicken”, you have to be prepared to go all the way. In this instance, going all the way lost me a decent, well-paying client.
So next time a client requests that you perform work for free, keep this little tale in mind. And think long and hard before offering to perform design work without billing for it. In the long term, it won’t accomplish what you think it will, and may end up turning a good designer/client relationship into a bad one.
I know that after 30 years in this business, I may have finally learned my lesson. Maybe.
Tags: business, design, free, graphic design, spec
Steve – it’s always helpful to learn by reading from a personal experience, rather than theory. Thanks for sharing. I am sure many people – regardless of profession, have similar stories to tell. An accountant who helped out a family member or client…a music teacher, a mechanic, a doctor. We all do “favors” for friends, family and often, clients. And most of us regret, at times, doing those favors.
But there’s also another side to this story (and it has nothing to do with business models). I’ve always found that with some people, a certain level of credibility is established when something (a good or service is provided for free). When I had a problem with my car years ago on a long trip, a mechanic spent 3 minutes and fixed it – and didn’t want to take a penny for the trouble. My doctor talks to me on the phone but never charges me for phone consultations (maybe a problem with medical billing…). I have many more examples. Now – that mechanic earned some respect from me for doing something unexpected. I won’t take my car to his service – he’s a 1000 miles away. But in a small way, I’ve grown to respect mechanics just a little more. The doctor – he continues to earn my trust and my business.
People who do something I don’t expect (whether I ask for it or not) always earn my respect. It could be the smallest thing…
So – I absolutely agree with you that there are real risks when you give work away from free. These risks are not small – and they have consequences. But few things are all risk or all reward. For some, the risk/reward ratio will make little sense – as you’ve concluded for your business. For others, the risk/reward ratio will suggest that the action is worth the risk.
At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice. As it should be.
@ Ross – Agreed. But in terms of this particular story, I had already performed about a 7 hour ‘freebie’. That should have earned me some cred, similar to your mechanic story. It didn’t. As I pointed out at the introduction, the attitude towards design work is often quite different to that of mechanics. Should probably have added doctors too I suppose.
I also wasn’t referring to “doing something that people don’t expect” (a different principle entirely), but rather performing a task that had been specifically requested by a client.
Naturally, working for “free” is a personal choice. Though I’m amazed at how many non-designers are currently arguing for a designer’s right to work without pay. Usually, there’s a connection, and often not a very distant one, to that person benefiting, quite directly, from designers supplying their product without pay.
I’m also of the belief that this ‘personal choice’, like any ‘personal choice’, should be made with a decent amount of knowledge about the pros and cons of same.
BTW – thanks for the comment. For what it’s worth, you’re the very first.
[...] Designers working for free aren't doing themselves any favors | Diary of A Mad Designer http://www.stevedouglas.com/20.....g-for-free – view page – cached Next time a client requests that you perform work for free, keep this little tale in mind. And think long and hard before offering to perform design work without billing for it. In the long term, it won’t accomplish what you think it will, and may end up turning a good designer/client relationship into a bad one. — From the page [...]
In the mechanic example, since you knew it only took two minutes I suppose not charging could be helpful in gaining some trust. I will note, I have had people do those things for me before also, but it rarely compels me to go back to them. I go back to mechanics who fix my car right and explain things in detail.
Also, there is a difference between providing some conversation without billing and providing actual work. When I finish a project, I do budget for a few emails of questions about where things are or how things work and I don’t bill for them. But I wouldn’t go in and add more functionality for free, that type of thing has bitten me before too. That’s like the doctor example. As a professional, I want to make sure you can use the work I have just provided to you, and although it’s not my job, if you have forgotten your password to something trivial, I will help you out. Same with a doctor who is willing to answer questions about the prescription they just wrote you. As freelancers, our hourly bill rate needs to include miscellaneous things like invoicing, accounting and some communication, but not actual work.
@ Alicia – following up with a client to see how their website or other design project is working out for them is an excellent suggestion. I can see how that could diffuse a lot of potential problems and lead to future work. Thanks for dropping by and adding that to the mix.
I did a quick (15 minute) sidebar plug-in update for a client whose website was finished by me about two months before. I never sent him an invoice, but he emailed me asking how much he owed and told me flat out that he fully expected to pay me for my time. I wish all my clients were like him but, ultimately, I also learned a valuable lesson.
Thanks for sharing your experience.