Should artists work for free?

Welcome to another episode of From Passion to Profit.

And in this week's episode, I'm going to be tackling a question that understandably

stirs up a lot of emotion in creative circles.

Should you ever work for free? Now, it's not a straightforward question to

answer. It's a tricky one. And on the one hand, you want to get your

work out there, enhance and build up your reputation, people's

awareness of who you are, what you do, you want to connect with exciting

opportunities. But on the other hand, your creativity, your skills, your

time all have a value. I'm going to be looking at the pros and

the cons and also the middle ground when it comes to working for free. By

the end of this episode, you're going to be in a situation where you're going

to feel more confident about making the right choice for you and your

creative business journey.

Let's explore why some creatives, including yourself, will say

yes to free work. Now, this is working for free, by the

way, without money entering into your bank account, compensating you for your

intellectual ability, your creative flair, your talent and

your skills. And firstly, and it's the big one, is this idea

of exposure. You will hear things such as, think

of all the people who are going to see your work. Think of all the

audiences you can showcase your talent to. This could lead to bigger and

better, brighter things. And sometimes it's true. If the

opportunity puts your work in front of the right audience for you, the kind

of people who would normally commission you, become more aware of you, be part

of your community, potentially hire you for future gigs, for future

work, then it might be worthwhile considering that. But you need to be very

careful here. The exposure should be a stepping stone to

something, not the reward in its own right. Another

consideration is this idea of building up a portfolio. Certainly very

appropriate when you're at the start of your creative career. You might even be switching

or pivoting what you do. A different medium, a different audience,

showcasing your skills for the first time, and is

understandable you would consider offering your services for free.

I've done that myself in my own businesses, so it's not specific to artists,

but I would do that for a limited time. It is a great way to

build up examples, case studies, portfolios, to get

testimonials that you can use and you can use that and leverage that to

attract paid clients. There's also other reasons, like it's a

passion project, you're going to be in that situation, you're going to say yes to

Free work because you just want to. It's your business. You're the creative. You

decide what your calendar looks like and how you fill it. Maybe it's

a charity you care strongly about. Maybe it's somebody that you know, a friend, perhaps

their community project. Or maybe it's a chance for you to collaborate with other

artists that you admire and you won't get another opportunity at this stage in

your career. If it feeds your creative soul, absolute

or joy, or gives you that creative freedom you wouldn't normally get elsewhere, then

that is a form of value. Grab it but. And it's a

big but. Passion projects should feel exciting,

not exhausting. Now there are dangers of working for free.

Let's have a look at the other side of the coin. While there are lots

of good reasons to say yes, there are also very strong

reasons to say no. A difficult discipline to become good

at saying no. But you need to manage that. And the first is

quite straightforward. Your bills aren't paid in exposure as

much as likes on a social media platform don't pay the bills.

Exposure in its own right doesn't pay those bills that you will have

your rent, your groceries, your materials, your travel costs.

They cost hard cash. And when you've worked for free, too often

it becomes harder to support yourself as a working creative.

That time you're spending doing that free project may be time that you could

spend prospecting, doing paid work. And when you can't afford to

invest in your own creative practice, it's not just your bank balance that's going to

suffer. It's your growth. It's your opportunities, your well being as

well. Having no money does act to that mental pressure

that you will feel. The second danger of doing work for

for free is it has the potential to devalue your work. When you

agree to work for free, especially for organizations or individuals who could afford

you, you risk sending a message that creative work is not worth

paying for. And you dilute the impact of what you do. You end

up subsidizing the organization, you end up subsidizing the

people who are engaging you. And worse, it's not just affecting

you. It's going to also be much tougher for artists and musicians

and writers and crazies coming after you who are trying to make a living

too. Working for free in the wrong situations. We can

unintentionally make it harder for all of us to earn fair pay

for creative work. Now there's also the burnout factor.

Saying yes to too many unpaid gigs can leave you drained

Even will lead to resentful behavior. And it makes you disconnected from

your passion. And that's the opposite. The not the reason that you became

a creative in the first place. Creativity should be an

energizing force, not one that exhausts you. Now, there is a happy

balance. There is a right medium. So how do you find find that

balance? How do you decide when it's okay to work for free and when it's

time to politely, but with conviction, decline?

Let me give you some questions that you should be asking yourself. Number one, is

there a real benefit to me when I look at this? Is the exposure

genuine? Is this actually a new audience? Is this one that I should be working

in and I want to work in? Is there a cause that means something to

me? Am I a yes person? Does it accept and saying yes to everything

without actually thinking through what my decision should be?

Is this a new skill I'm trying to develop or a portfolio I'm trying to

enhance that I can showcase? Or is it somebody trying to hustle you

in getting something for nothing? Now, I'm not suggesting a negative mindset

here, but think clearly. Is there a benefit to me and how can I

use that benefit to my advantage? Am I agreeing on my own

terms? If you're choosing to offer your work freely because it excites you,

fantastic. Are you feeling pressured though? Flattered or guilty? As

human beings, a lot of us find it very difficult to manage our

boundaries and to say no to things. The choice should always

be yours. You are in the driving seat and yours alone.

Thirdly, consider, can they actually afford to pay you? If the person or the

organization approaching you is making money off the back of you, making money

from your work, they should be by rights paying you as well. It's as

simple as that. Charity gigs, collaborations, or tiny

community projects, maybe big brands, profitable businesses, or

anybody making commercial gains from your skills, you need to rethink that

one. They should absolutely have a budget for creative work. And

sometimes, sometimes pushing back and saying no might make them think

to say, okay, fine, we will pay you. What I normally do as

a tip by those folks is don't ever rush to saying a yes or

a no. Come back, consider, reflect it, or say to that person,

well, my accountant is going to be very upset with me if I

agree to do this for nothing. And actually there might be other clients

it's unfair to because I'm charging them. So therefore it becomes

problematic as well. So reflect and come back later on.

But don't just say an immediate yes, you need to reflect on this carefully

and think is where is the advantage for you. Consider are you setting a

precedent? Because once you start to work for free, offering discounts

is the same idea. It's suddenly difficult and challenging to ask

for payment next time round. Offering your services from nothing now

might be setting up a long unpaid relationship. Think long term

and be strategic. Now as a handy tip here folks, if you do

end up working for free, one thing I would recommend is raise an Invoice,

give it 100% discount. Mark your normal fee there.

Present that to the person who's using your services so at least they

know what the underlying value is that you're giving to them for

free. How you present yourself now has a big impact of

how you present yourself in the future. Also, think about what is your gut

feeling and this is a really powerful one. Don't ignore your emotions

completely. If it doesn't feel quite right, if it feels slightly

off, it probably is. Your instincts are there to help you, and if

you are feeling slightly uneasy before you start, it's often a sign to say

no. Now I've alluded to a couple of tips already, but how do you say

no without burning the bridges? Without upsetting somebody? And

saying no can feel really awkward, especially when you're at the start

of your creative business journey. Having said that, I've met many creators, even

several years later will still find it difficult to say no in

the right way. Now remember, professional doesn't mean

being rude. It's very manageable to climb politely,

but also with a degree of firmness. Now here's a simple script

you can use. You could say thank you so much for thinking of me. I'd

love to collaborate, but unfortunately I can't commit to

unpaid projects at the moment. If you've got a budget available in the future, I'd

be happy to chat. It's short, it's concise, and it's clear.

You don't owe big ass long rambling explanations to anybody.

And you don't definitely owe anybody your time for nothing.

So let me share some final thoughts, some conclusions. Working for free

isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it will open the

doors, sometimes it will build up your skills. Open mic

nights, for example. It's a great way where you can develop your

musical muscles. Get the experience of performing in front of an audience,

but make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. You're doing it for you,

not because you feel obliged or emotionally blackmailed into

having to do that. Your creativity has value. Your time

has value and you deserve to be paid fairly for what you bring to

the world. Now here's a golden rule to leave you with Free is

a strategy, not a habit. Use it wisely and only

use it when it truly serves your creative business journey, your passion,

and also your profit. Now I hope this podcast has made you feel

slightly stronger, clearer, more confident about

valuing your own creativity. If you've enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if

you share with a fellow creative. Subscribe Join our newsletter to stay

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a look out. Check out our free, dedicated creative community

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allowed in. Until next time. Keep creating, keep

growing and and remember, your passion deserves to be profitable.

Plan it, do it and profit.