Many of you know that I run a blogger mentoring program. Many of you know that this program is completely free and voluntary. What many of you might not know is that not only is the program free, but I do not earn one single dollar from administering the program. And I’m completely fine with that.
Admitting that you work for free and don’t mind is an unusual statement to make. I’ve thought and planned out numerous ways to make money off of my mentoring program but when it came down to it, I nixed every single one of those plans for several reasons. Although I spend a good amount of time working on all aspect of the program each week, I’m still fine with working for free. Because when it comes down to it, there really are a number of benefits to working for free (whether it’s as a freelancer, intern, volunteer or any other title that can apply to unpaid work):
- Portfolio building. If you are just starting out, you need a portfolio of work to show potential clients. This is extremely essential if you work in any sort of artistic freelance capacity such as makeup artist, hairdresser, photographer, graphic designer, even a musician. The best way to build up your body of work is to offer services for free. Once you have a few clients and examples under your belt, you can start showing proof of your outstanding work to potential clients and customers. In exchange for the free work you can ask for…
- Testimonials. These are so important in the life a freelancer or new business owner. Not only is it great to have examples of your handiwork but having feedback and statements from existing and former clients praising your work allows new clients to have an inside look to what people think of you (and your business). The better the testimonials, the more inclined others might be to work with you. You can also gain positive testimonials if you are effective at…
- Networking. Ah, networking. The shy, unconfident person’s nightmare. But it’s so crucial to running successful business that there’s no way around it. Networking can lead to paying jobs or opportunities to engage in projects to build your portfolio (which can lead to testimonials. It’s great how they’re all connected). If you find it hard to network in person, there are plenty of ways to do it online. This works particularly well for freelance writers, graphic designers, copywriters, and others in those types of fields. Also, when you offer work for free, you might get asked to do so at an event with dozens of top people in your field. This can lead to exposure for you, your work, and your business and might even land you a…
- Paying job. The ultimate goal when we work for free is to land a paying gig. It doesn’t have to be a full-time job; it can be a bunch of little jobs cobbled together to make for a decent income. But income is the ultimate goal. In fact, I know a number of people who have started their businesses by doing free work and it’s landed them a paying job. When you work for free, your employer or client get a chance to see firsthand your work ethic, the quality of your outputs, your ability to get along with others, and they get to test your creativity. These are all characteristics that are difficult to ascertain in an interview and can give you the upper hand when it comes to hiring (and can lead to good testimonials which also will help with obtaining paying jobs).
Other potential benefits of working for free include: building work history (extremely important for high school and college graduates looking to enter the traditional workforce), obtaining references, expanding your skill set, and you can be a little pickier about what projects you choose to work on (if you’re freelancing). It also gives you the ability to talk about concrete, specific examples during a job interview rather than giving hypotheticals and abstract answers.
Working, putting in a full-time job hours, and not getting paid is hard to digest. After all, free work doesn’t pay the bills and it doesn’t put food on the table. I really only recommend working for free if you have another source of income for life’s necessities. But if you have that, and you can think about the long-term benefits, then working for free becomes much easier to handle.
Readers, have you ever worked for free? How did it turn out for you?
P.S. While we’re talking about working for free, here’s an opportunity for My friend Ryan owns a career/education company and he’s trying to do some research. He wants to help at least 3 people (for free!) in the following categories:
1. Unemployed people who need a job now, but want to advance their career as well
2. People stuck in a so-called “dead end” job (serving, bartending, sales, etc) but want to start a professional career in another field.
Essentially he’s promised to get you a job if you do what he says and let him document the process. If you’re interested, please send me an email and I’ll put you in touch with him
Nice one Jana. Many people think that you should never work for free, but there are times, such as this, that it is important. It also usually always pays off. If you take your time to do something and don’t expect payment, others will take notice and will remember you for it. Congrats on the success of the program.
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Jana,
You can definitely put volunteer or free work on your resume, too. That goes hand-in-hand with building a portfolio, but could be easily forgotten. Potential employers see free work as nothing but a good sign.
-Christian L. @ Smart Military Money
Its basically the same way an internship works just maybe a few differences since you may be doing things on your own. Also I would say another benefit is that even if you are working for free, you are also most likely doing something you enjoy, so its a little easier to do it for free when its fun. I play in a band that doesn’t make much money but we cover expenses and its fun as hell.
Your also right about networking. That’s how I met you and John, and I’m sure glad I did!
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Jana, sounds like you’re doing real well on the side! Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing these tips!
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All of your points are great and are especially applicable to young people just getting started in their careers. It is so important to get some real world experience under your belt and doing an internship or other work for free projects cam be so helpful in the resume building department. We are always looking for young people to come get some experience. Even though we are getting “free” help, it takes a lot of time and effort to properly mentor a person. I think it is a fair trade in many situations.
Great article, Jana. My favorite “for free” work was when I started a home schooling co-op (small private “school”) for local homeschoolers. I started and ran it for free for 3 years, then handed the reigns off to someone else so I could focus on my own family more. It was super hard work, but a great experience, and people are still enjoying its benefits today.
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I know several people who were offered jobs from volunteer gigs. Once you get in there and prove how hard you’ll work and how quick you learn systems etc. they would be foolish NOT to hire you.
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Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. (Sorry, I love this post.)
I was an online editorial intern for LearnVest for an entire year. Some weeks, I was so busy I barely slept. Others, they barely needed me. But I did it all for free and it was worth every minute of my time. I built up a small portfolio of writing, I learned so much about working on an editorial team as well as for a startup, and I met some amazing women along the way. And it helped me get my position now, which is managing editor of another startup.
No regrets here.
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Oh, and after the year was up, they kept me on as a (paid) freelancer. 🙂
Cait recently posted…Update: April 2013 Budget & Goals
There are some awesome benefits to working for free! My girlfriend and I originally volunteered to help our landlord out for free (I was interested in learning more about rentals, and she has a big heart) and eventually it turned into a great deal where we now get free rent. My girlfriend is also going to be leaving her restaurant job soon to work for him for similar pay but more flexible hours and lots of potential for more money down the road. Sometimes working for free brings up more opportunities than working for pay!
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Working for free also gives one a sense of purpose that can be psychologically rewarding. This also reprograms the mind to uncouple work from money; the two are mutually exclusive as are the benefits.
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