Should I work for free?

[Justme]

I saw this & thought that it could also be applied to "should I do this job cheap?"

 

 

Should I work For Free

[Bob Slade]

big gray area, i sometimes do green woodworking demos (polelathe) free. however if they are charging people to come into an event then they must pay. i had one last year that wanted me to drive 30 miles to do a demo and pay £20 for a pitch. she said "you can sell things" i said are you charging people to come in and if so how much? £5 ph. then you can pay me. why? she said. because i do this for a living and i expect payment, would you drive a round trip of 60 miles and work for a day at your work for no pay. no she said. then why should you expect me to. she said oh and put the phone down. but there have been lots of times that i have done a demo for nothing and given a percentage of the table sales to the charity. it all boils down to if they can afford to pay then they pay.

[kenwood]

Dam right, good on ya bud.

[18 stoner]

As I've grown older I feel I have become wiser, and one of the things I have come to realise is you either charge full rate, or do it for free and there will be a favour returned one day.

 

No grey area.

 

You need to earn a days pay, no point in doining it half cocked, or at a reduced rate as the other party will feel they have rewarded you fully and you will be out of pocket, either financially or ethically.

[Quickthorn]

I've come across one or two people who suggest you work cheap. One in particular used to say that you should work cheap when you're slack, and treat it as "contribution to overheads". He'd normally be telling this to people who he was helping to train (often people starting up), and there'd often be the suggestion of more work to come.

 

I felt for it once, and did a "day's" chipping for £120, to clear up the mess his real mates had made and should have cleared up, but it was such a mess it took 3 days, and to cap it all, the chipper blew a hydraulic pipe on the job. I spent £60 or so on diesel traveling, about £60 on repairs to the chipper and probably £20 on diesel to run the chipper. Lesson learned.

[henchard]

I was a photographer until I retired. Similar questions used to get asked a lot. This guy has my answer.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE]YouTube - Harlan Ellison -- Pay the Writer[/ame]

[skyhuck]

I was a photographer until I retired. Similar questions used to get asked a lot. This guy has my answer.

 

 

He's right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Robert_S]

I was a photographer until I retired. Similar questions used to get asked a lot. This guy has my answer.

 

 

 

Brilliant ..Spot on!!

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I was a photographer until I retired. Similar questions used to get asked a lot. This guy has my answer.

 

 

He's right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Brilliant ..Spot on!!

 

Totally right. Like he said, amateurs undercut the professionals. Bar stewards.

 

Work for free??? NO NO NO

[Stephen Blair]

i wonder if he got paid for that interview?