Say ‘No’ to Freelancing for Free

For some reason, people get confused by the ‘free’ in freelancing.

Teamup Team

Even after you’ve established yourself as a ‘freelance business’ some clients will ask you to do ‘spec work’, ’wireframes’, or ‘just a quick sketch’ for free. This type of client wants you to prove yourself before beginning a project.

Does that sound reasonable? If you’re thinking yes, look at it this way: would you be asking for free appetizers before the main course at a restaurant? Of course not! So how should you respond? For your sake, and the sake of the freelance business community: say, ‘No, thank you.’

Why? Because a client like this who ‘doesn’t know if he/she will like your work’ and who ‘isn’t ready to start until he/she sees a sample of what you will do’ will not trust you. This client will never feel like you’re doing enough and will question your work & process the whole time. This client will make you feel miserable.

Saying ‘No’ is not easy. You might wonder if you’ll get other clients, you might regret, but trust that you did the right thing for your business. Be proud, stay brave, and above all, keep doing great work.

…And the client: you need to have a little more trust.