1 Valuable Lesson Doing Free Work Has Taught Me

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o share mine on freelancing and how they could take advantage of the vast resources on the internet to start a career.I spoke without taking a dime; I wanted to give back. I had little help when I started my freelancing career; it was hard and depressing, but I eventually found some success in it. It was a good thing I did, helping people start a career in freelancing, right? Wrong!Where I went to speak, I told them I created a Telegram group to help mentor them. No one joined the group. (In retrospect, I am grateful they did not. That would have been too much work for nothing.)At first, I thought I was not convincing enough, no. It was because it was free.I realized that sometimes there is nothing wrong with putting a price on the value you give back.A friend of mine asked me to write a resume for him in 2017. I spent a lot of time on it. If I was to put a cost on the resume I wrote for him, it will cost nothing less than $250.Later in 2020, he requested I help him update it. I did not have the files on my drive, so I told him to send me the copy I sent to him before.When he sent the document, it upset me; this was not the resume I spent hours writing for him. It was very tacky and very annoying to read.I asked him what

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happened to the one I wrote for him earlier. He said one of his friends told him the one I wrote was “complicated,” and hiring managers might not like it.So this friend offered to write my friend another resume for a fee, which my friend paid.My friend admitted what he received was absolute rubbish. [Pay attention to this part] but since he already PAID for it, he had to use it to apply to jobs. Son of a b**ch!In case you are wondering what happened next, I agreed to help him update his resume if he would pay the cost. He begged I do it free. I simply told him no.These are a few of the many instances I could share with you about how I wasted so much time helping friends and family FOC. They did not take advantage of my expertise but did a sub pair work with someone else they paid money to.I will not hesitate to charge anyone — friends and family — for my services. This is my livelihood; this is what I am great at. If they really need what I offer, they will pay.<h2 id="9727">I will round off with this:</h2>When that friend or aunt asks you for a favor that will require your time and skill, ask them to pay. (You might give a discount; this is entirely up to you).Remember: people value what they pay for.</article></body>

If you do not value your time and skills, no one will

This morning, I went through my documents on Google, looking for what to share with you good people on Medium. I came across several documents that I worked on for people. They were business plans, business proposals, marketing strategies, you name it.

To be honest, I was pretty disappointed in myself. I poured so much time and energy into the work and for free. The most annoying part is the people I wrote them for never used them. I assumed they would find value in it, and use it as intended, but it turns out that they never do. Why?

People do not value the things they get for free; they value what they pay for.

On November 5, 2019, I was invited to come to speak at my church to share mine on freelancing and how they could take advantage of the vast resources on the internet to start a career.

I spoke without taking a dime; I wanted to give back. I had little help when I started my freelancing career; it was hard and depressing, but I eventually found some success in it. It was a good thing I did, helping people start a career in freelancing, right? Wrong!

Where I went to speak, I told them I created a Telegram group to help mentor them. No one joined the group. (In retrospect, I am grateful they did not. That would have been too much work for nothing.)

At first, I thought I was not convincing enough, no. It was because it was free.

I realized that sometimes there is nothing wrong with putting a price on the value you give back.

A friend of mine asked me to write a resume for him in 2017. I spent a lot of time on it. If I was to put a cost on the resume I wrote for him, it will cost nothing less than $250.

Later in 2020, he requested I help him update it. I did not have the files on my drive, so I told him to send me the copy I sent to him before.

When he sent the document, it upset me; this was not the resume I spent hours writing for him. It was very tacky and very annoying to read.

I asked him what happened to the one I wrote for him earlier. He said one of his friends told him the one I wrote was “complicated,” and hiring managers might not like it.

So this friend offered to write my friend another resume for a fee, which my friend paid.

My friend admitted what he received was absolute rubbish. [Pay attention to this part] but since he already PAID for it, he had to use it to apply to jobs. Son of a b**ch!

In case you are wondering what happened next, I agreed to help him update his resume if he would pay the cost. He begged I do it free. I simply told him no.

These are a few of the many instances I could share with you about how I wasted so much time helping friends and family FOC. They did not take advantage of my expertise but did a sub pair work with someone else they paid money to.

I will not hesitate to charge anyone — friends and family — for my services. This is my livelihood; this is what I am great at. If they really need what I offer, they will pay.