Forum Moderators: phranque
Thing is I am tempted to say fine as friends it is free, but hey they charge me for their services (they own a bar!) and it could lead me to getting some business with their neighbours etc.
What do you do in sits. such as above? Charge regular price give whacky discounts or go free?
ask for a free bar tab for the month :)
But on a more serious note anyone running their own business will not expect you to work for nothing
Of course, this was a head-case, and an acquaintance... A rare example.
I am now creating my own ezines and web sites, hosting them, and using them as examples and templates. No more freebies. I still get requests from "friends", but a counter-request for a nominal charge gets them off my back faster than flea powder.
Don't laugh at the free bar tab - I've done it. A lot of places don't have a lot of cashflow right now. I did a web site for a package store (a signup page "specials" e-mail list promoted in the store - no SEO no fancy nothing). Spent about 3 hours on the job and I got "'up-to' a case of beer a week for 3 years" as payment. I moved away after about a year and a half, but still visited the area once a month or so. At the end of the term, I'd received about $1500 in free long-necked beachwood aged perfection.
G.
At the end of the day its up to yourself.
How long will it take you to do? Do you have that much time to spare? Do you mind doing it for nothing?
I would blag some free drinks out of it at least though....
JOAT
I think when you go cheap or free, people are more likely to ascribe it to friendship, real or imagined, and are more likely to expect the for-granted favors you wouldn't think twice of asking of or extending to a real friend. Of course, I've also found that, unlike a real friend, they're never too quick to offer anything in return for your trouble.
I'll go with tigger: "Business is business." When I'm asked anymore for a cheapie/freebie I usually politely and apologetically cite a full plate. Of paying customers!
Rarely will this be the case. If its just one page and its a close friend, then its your call. The problem is, I can't think of any situation where just one page would be needed. Unless of course its a one page bio or similar hosted on a free hosting server of some sort.
One page will typically turn into two. Once that happens, then your friend realizes that they need another page to do this. And then another to do that. Eventually that one page ends up being 10 or 15. If you are feeling generous, go right ahead. Just make sure you set some ground rules in the beginning like what it is you'll be doing for free and what they need to pay for.
I can see it now...
"Hey, Visit_Thailand, that was such an excellent page that you built for me. I've had a few people tell me that I need a contact page with a custom confirmation script. Can you help me with that? How about getting me in the #1 spot in Google for this search term (a one word wonder). And the list goes on and on."
I do work for friends all the time, but not for free. They pay the same price that any other client would. I'm still investing the same amount of time with them that I would with a business client. My time is valuable, and so is theirs. Turn the situation around on them and ask them if you can have their products/services for free in exchange, see how that works out. Make sure there is equal value in the exchange.
I think you never really know how many of your friends are head cases until you start making free web pages for them.
I do a lot of free web and email group work for nonprofits related to our kids activities - cub scouts, soccer leagues, their elementary school, daycare, etc. Helping with those groups has almost all been positive experience. Many of the people involved with those groups are either volunteers themselves or depend on volunteers, and they seem to be respectful and appreciative of each others time.
However my experiences with doing stuff for friends for free (not barter) has never worked out. Since they aren't paying for your services, they have no concept of the value of what you are doing for them and have no constraints on asking for changes. It's amazing how demanding people who are getting something for nothing can be. I stopped doing any free web pages years ago. For portfolio experience I either worked on my own sites or did nonprofit work.
