Comments on: Why designers working for free aren’t doing themselves any favors

By: leandra

leandra — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:37:41 +0000

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.

By: Steve Douglas

Steve Douglas — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:32:43 +0000

@ 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.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:25:56 +0000

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.

By: Steve Douglas

Steve Douglas — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:10:58 +0000

@ 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.

By: Twitter Trackbacks

Twitter Trackbacks — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:25:18 +0000

[...] 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 [...]

By: Ross Kimbarovsky

Ross Kimbarovsky — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:17:12 +0000

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.