FULL DISCLOSURE: I still do a ton of work for free, so I don’t have a real answer to the title of this post… But I sure do got some thoughts on the matter!
As freelancers and creative-types, it can be a challenge finding the right kind of work – or often, any kind of work. Cold calls and emails, networking, perfecting your reel, making business cards, changing your instagram to a business account… all great ways to turn your hobby into a lucrative side hustle (gag). But it takes a lot of time to get consistent work that actually pays the bills. Often times, you’ll feel obligated to take work that doesn’t pay or pays significantly less than what you deserve because it looks good on your reel or the client has a larger reach than you – i.e. “exposure”.
There’s nothing wrong with working for free. It’s not going to kill the industry or make you look bad. Maybe you need more experience before you feel comfortable charging money. Maybe you really want to work on the project. Whatever your reason is, try not to get taken advantage of. If you’re working for free, you get to call the shots. You don’t have to do things you don’t want to do. You get a certain amount of creative control that you wouldn’t get if you were expecting a paycheck. The client isn’t your boss is what I’m saying, so have some fun with it.
When I began my freelancing journey, I did several jobs for free until I was comfortable working with clients and producing some work I was proud of. And after that, I charged a tiny fee. Like $200 for my first several gigs. It was nothing. I was making some cool videos too! The next step was asking for $500. I got a lot of rejections and I thought I had made a mistake asking for that amount of money. But then I got some clients that were happy to pay my fee and allowed me to make the video I thought was best. It was awesome. I did this for a while, barely scraping by. Most of these gigs were nightmares. I hated the client, I hated the project, and I wasn’t making enough money to justify my misery. At this point, I had two options… Ask for more money, or start working on projects I was passionate about. I didn’t think anyone wanted to pay me more than they currently were, so I stopped freelancing all together, got a big person job, and focused on my own creative work.
On the rare occasion that someone reached out to me for work, I was happy to accept. I didn’t need the money, but it was definitely helpful and every project is a good opportunity to learn something new. But still, I made some things for free. Most of the music videos I’ve done were for nothing. I’ve helped friends make personal projects without charging them or sometimes even taking credit. The ball is always in your court. Either you’re searching for client work and making what you deserve or you’re taking a financial hit with the hope of bringing it all together in the future.
Don’t lose hope. Keep making your art and eventually the money will come. Or it won’t, but make your art nonetheless.