Should You Ever Work for Free? A Smart Business Strategy or a Red Flag?

Welcome to another episode of I Hate Numbers, the podcast that is there to help make you money, save tax, win the battle between your ears and strengthen your financial foundations. What's not to love about that? Now, tonight, I'm going to be talking about a topic that gets a lot of people very fired up, lots of opinions float about, and it's the old-aged question, should you ever work for free?

No as a bit of a spoiler alert, the short answer is - it's a classic it depends. Now, we've all seen that, haven't we? The request comes in, can you just give us a few minutes of your time? It's going to be great exposure. We don't have a budget and the inevitable, but comes in. Now, if you've heard those words before, and I've heard them several times, and in my own business and personal capacity, you are not alone.

Whether you're a graphic designer, an accountant, a coach, a director of a small business, that free work dilemma is real. Now in today's podcast episode, I'm going to break it down looking at the good, the bad, and it’s not a van Cleef say the gray area. By the time we get to the end of this episode, you'll have a better understanding when free is smart and when it's just plain daft.

So why do people say yes to free work? Well, let's start with the reasons why people say yes. Some are strategic, some are emotional. Reason number one is this idea of visibility and exposure. We've all heard this, haven't we? You would do this for free - could get you noticed. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes that is a little bit of stretching the truth.

You might be invited to speak at a well-known industry event. There's no fee but a room full of potential clients. Now, if the right people are in the room, it might be worth it. You get access to that client base you may not normally have got access to. Client acquisition costs are reduced, and it might get to a better return than advertising and networking would ever do.

But remember this rule - exposure is not the reward, it's the stepping stone. Now, another reason it's quoted is building your portfolio. Now, if you're just starting out a business or you are pivoting, trying something new, a bit of free work can help you. It gets something under your belt. You can point to it as proof of concept and say, I've done that.

But again, you can be careful when you've got to set boundaries. It's a short-term strategy. It's not a long-term sustainable business model. Reason number three, it's a passion project. Sometimes you work for free because you just want to. The whole thing about being in business is you have that freedom to decide what you will do and what you won't do.

You do it because your heart tells you to. It aligns with your values. You might want to volunteer your skills for a cause you care about, help out a friend with their project, support your local community, and I think those reasons are solid. I myself have over 40 plus years in a personal and a business capacity, do lots of things for free. Without blowing my own trumpet,

I currently sit as a NED and a trustee of two charities. I've been a charity trustee for 30 plus years here. So there's lots of things I would do because I want to do them. I enjoy doing them and I want to give something back now, not when I'm too old to do so. But again, that's a personal choice. But whatever you volunteer for has got to feel you energised and a sense of accomplishment, not feeling like you're being exploited.

Now, let's look at the other side of the coin, the dangers of working for free. Now, the blunt truth is working for free has real associated costs. Number one, your bills don't get paid by free work. Exposure doesn't pay your rent. A thank you tweet might feel good, but it's not going to buy you lunch. You can't invest in growth, get help, upgrade your equipment if you're not earning money.

And ultimately, we're not running a hobby here, we're not playing a business. We need to have a business, whatever shape or form that is, that generates income that covers our costs as a bare minimum and makes us money. Otherwise, we've just got a full-time exhausting hobby in our hands. Number two, doing things for free will undervalue what you do.

If you offer something for nothing, what's the message that you're sending out? Your time, experience, and knowledge are worth charging for. Not only does it affect you directly, but also erodes the value in the sector that you're working in. There's also that issue that if you do decide to start charging, it becomes very challenging where people are used to zero

to suddenly start paying you cash. Number three, there's a real risk of burnout. Too many unpaid jobs will stack up. You end up tired, stressed, and frustrated, and I have seen it in other people, you can become quite embittered. Even though you can't stop it, you’re still feeling very frustrated and annoyed. When that happens,

the passion overspills into your life, into your business, and that starts to fade. So how do you decide what to do? There are five key questions I think you should consider. So let's give it a bit of clarity and bit of structure. And there's five questions I would suggest to ask before saying yes to unpaid work.

Number one, what do I actually get out of this? And be honest with yourself. Is it realistically has the potential to lead to green clients? Does it have an impact in positive terms of growing your audience? Or is it somebody who just wants a favour? If there's no clear benefit and doesn't tick that emotional box, say no.

There are ways to say no, and there are ways to say no, but ultimately no should be the answer. Question number two, are you choosing this or are you being emotionally exploited? Are you being pushed to make a decision? Do you actually want to do this? Or do you feel guilty, perhaps flattered or pressured?

Take a step out. Never make any snap decisions. And remember, you are in control. Question number three, can they actually afford to pay me? Now, if a client is a startup with no income, you might want to show some flexibility. But if it's a company that's established, it's profitable, there is no excuse. If they make money from you, from your work, then you should do as well.

Question number four, is this going to set a future precedent? Are you making a rod for your own back? If it's free ones, great, that's fine. Next time it builds up the expectation, they want the same. So you're going to think long term. You can message and manage it correctly, but you've got to be very careful

that setting yourself up for doing it free creates that expectation in the client's mind. Question number five, what does your gut say? And I don't mean what are you eating for lunch, but what does your gut say about that? What does your instinct say? And we don't often talk about this in business, but instincts matter.

We can get spreadsheets, graphs, software. But don't dissociate yourself from the humanity, from the human being that you are. If something feels wrong, give credence to that voice and listen to it. Now, that's all well and good, but are there ways to say no without alienating somebody, burning bridges and creating a very negative environment?

Saying no can feel awkward, especially when you're at the early stages of your business career. But trust me, it gets easier, not easy. I'm going to share a little bit of a script with you and some tips. So sentiments like thanks for thinking of me. I’d love to help but I can’t take on unpaid projects at the moment.

Sentiment number two, if you've got a budget in future, I'd be happy to chat. It's professional, it's polite, and most importantly it’s clarity. You don't need to justify. You don't need to apologise. Remember you've got a business to run. You might also want to say, thanks very much. I'd love to do that. But it wouldn't be fair on my clients.

But remember, when you write that message, read each yourself. Give it time. Don't send it as an emotional reaction. Come back and read it. Firm and kind can go together. Now doing things for free can actually be a smart move. So this is not a podcast about never work for free. That's not the message I want you to take away. It’s about being smart

and thoughtful. For myself, I've done that as well. I've done free things. I've delivered free talks. I've participated, volunteered, helped people out. There's no immediate business that comes from that, but they come back to me. There's that message there. I've got something out of that. Whether it's a testimonial, whether it's some feedback, a proof of concept, whatever, and money is earned in the future.

I've showcased events. I have clients of mine giving free stuff. People meet them for the first time, check them out. Before they know it, there’s inquiries that turn into real business. That's a return, that's a strategy, not charity. Now think of free as a bit of your marketing budget, a bit of free spend. Let's reframe this.

If you're doing something for free, ask yourself: Would I be willing to spend money for the same result? If the answer is yes, it's a smart marketing move, potentially. If no, it's that red flag, and we know what red flags mean. Now, some final thoughts. It’s the bottom line. Free work is a strategy, not a habit.

Use it sparingly, use it on your terms, use it when it aligns with your goals, your values, and business direction. Your time is valuable. Your experience has weight, and your work deserves respect in every sense, including financially. So next time somebody says it'll be great exposure, just smile and ask yourself, do you also pay your landlord in exposure?

That all for today, folks. If you found value in this episode, I'd love it if you share it with somebody who needs to hear it. If you've got a story about working for free, good, bad, or the ugly, then I'd love to hear it. And don't forget, subscribe to I Hate Numbers when you get your podcast. Until then, keep your value high, your numbers strong, your time respected.

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