Working for Free

Working for Free

By Steve Pavlina

Many people ask me how they can start generating(ˈjenəˌrāt) income from a new line of work, especially work that is highly creative or artistic(ärˈtistik). Some have already created quite a bit of content like albums(ˈalbəm) or books or paintings(ˈpān(t)iNG), but they aren’t making any money from it. Some have a decent(ˈdēsənt) level of skill, but they don’t have any customers or clients and don’t know how to get people to start paying them.

I usually tell such people to stop focusing on trying to get money and to focus instead of delivering(dəˈlivər) value. I point out that creating a work of art or building a skill provides(prəˈvīd) no value to anyone, so it won’t generate income. Sharing your creations or skills with others, however, is what delivers value, and therein lies(lī) the potential to generate income from your work.

If you’ve created an album, a book, or a painting, how many people are enjoying it each day? If it’s sitting in a box in your garage(-ˈräj,gəˈräZH), there’s no income potential because no value is being delivered.

One of the best ways to show people the value of your work is to share it with them for free. This minimizes(ˈminəˌmīz) other people’s risk and makes it easier for them to receive your value. In this manner(ˈmanər) you can start sharing your value immediately(iˈmēdēətlē).

For example, if you want to start generating income as a web site developer(dəˈveləpər), focus on sharing your skills for free. Invite(inˈvīt) as much free web work as you can manage. Ask for referrals(rəˈfərəl). Focus on clients where you can deliver a lot of value in a fairly(ˈfe(ə)rlē) short period(ˈpi(ə)rēəd) of time by working from your strengths(streNG(k)TH,strenTH). Decline(dəˈklīn) any clients that aren’t a good fit for you. If you’re halfway decent at what you do, you should have no shortage(ˈSHôrdij) of small businesses willing to let you help them for free. Once you start getting more qualified(ˈkwäləˌfīd) free referrals than you can handle, you can start charging a fair price for your work. Some of your free clients will probably become paid clients if you impressed them, and you should also benefit from ongoing referrals.

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https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/12/working-for-free/