I was once told by an old wise man that “The number one mistake young entreprenuers make is that they don’t charge enough for their services.”.  In many cases, this is certainly true.  Yet, when he told me this I couldn’t help wondering how I would have been able to build a solid Marketing Agency Portfolio without doing a little work here and there for free.  In a previous post, I mentioned some of the deadly sins of marketing and one of these sins was doing work for free.  Since I am contradicting myself a bit here, I’d like to explore this a little further, so let’s have a look…

To get right to the point, you can’t take consistent, or even semi-frequent, work for little or no payment for your services.  But, there are a few exceptions that it can be worth it to knock out a project with little or no compensation.  Do this too much, or at the wrong times and you’ll sink for sure.  Choose wisely and only for the most specific projects, and it can certainly help your portfolio.  Your own best judgement is the key.  But please, for God’s green earth, don’t take this to mean that you should do work for free on a regular basis or even semi-consistent basis.  In doing so, you will completely de-value your work and, not shockingly, if you ever try to charge that client a market rate for your work, they will look at your like you are some kind of transient asking them to take you into their home for a few months.  Remember that you set a precedence by what your first charge a client for a project or service.

So when do you make this fool’s errand?  Well, even the great Storm Pilot cannot answer this for you.  One example though is if you are going after a vertical market.  To go vertical, you need a showcase that pertains to that particular industry.  If you have some financial padding and are intent on going after a particular industry, this could be the time to build some portfolio items. 

Another time to consider pro-bono work is that there is a high-probability that this site would drive additional work to you.  I’ve accurately made this gamble before so it is possible.

Behold the poor decision though! Lo to those who make an ill-prepared decision and choose to do work for an ungrateful client or a client that will chew you up, spit you out and then try to sue you.  They are out there and the only way to avoid them is to pay careful attention to any warning signs you may come across and make damn sure that this is the client you want to do this for.

And always remember that it is the clients who pay the least, will expect the most and will be the biggest pains in your asses.  They are just like those people who eat dinner at a restaurant (for those of you who have worked in food service) who are oblivious to all other patrons in the restaurant, and expect you - the server - to give them your undivided attention.  And for those of you who know what I’m talking about, if you slip up even once (ie. not bringing them their diet coke within 30 seconds of them asking for it) - they will most likely stiff you.

In the words of Yoda, you must “feel the Force around you, here; between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere!...”