Don’t you just
hate when people offer to do something for you…for nothing? Sure, everyone loves to get FREE stuff, but is anything ever free? Get free groceries, by
signing up for a new credit card. Get a free muffin, you just have to buy 3
more muffins to get it.
You’ve heard the
saying “you get what you pay for”, so what do you get when you pay nothing?
I know that I
don’t like to work for free, and I don’t know many people that do. Yet everyone
wants to get a deal, and we often forget what the cost of this is. Allow me to
demonstrate a couple of examples:
You ask your
friends to help you move – this is going to cost less than hiring movers,
right?
Let’s do the math:
- 5
friends’ labour = free
- Case
of beer = $40
- Pizza
for everyone = $60
- Truck
rental and gas = $150
- Broken
or damaged furnishings = potentially hundreds of dollars!
- Cost
of a no-show that either slept in, had another commitment, or simply decided
they didn’t feel like it?
What happens if
no one shows up?? What did "free" really end up costing you?
I hire cleaners
to come in once a month to help with the house cleaning that I would prefer not
to deal with. I hire a property maintenance company to clear my snow in the
winter, and care for my lawn and gardens in the warmer months. Does this mean
that I have a lot of money to spare? No, but it means that I value my time, and I value the notion of hiring someone to do what they do best, and leave me to do
what I do best. My neighbour generously offered to take care of my lawn needs for
me, but what happens when I notice that it’s been a couple of weeks, and the grass
is growing out of control? Am I allowed to get upset? How do I get him to cut
it…like now...when he has offered to care for it for "free"?
When building
your business, it’s easy to look for cost-savings and thrifty alternatives, but
use caution with these. I had a friend ask if a friend of theirs could
photograph my next home staging project for free to build up his portfolio. I
explained that I didn’t like getting things for free, and my friend looked at
me like I had two heads. “Who doesn’t like to get things for free?” he asked. I
explained that I didn’t know this guy, or the quality of his work, and if the
pictures didn’t turn out, I would then have to schedule a second shoot with my
standard photographer! In the end, I caved and booked this friend’s photographer. I set
up the appointment through the listing agent to shoot at the house and blocked off the time in my own calendar accordingly. The evening prior to the shoot, the
photographer asked me if we could reschedule, explaining that he had hurt his
back, and apparently this would affect his ability to hold a camera. Not only
had I already booked this time for the house, but the property had already
accepted a conditional offer, and we would be expected to destage the property any day now.
Add to that the time of year, which was peak season for us, and my schedule was
jam-packed for the next two weeks! I politely thanked him for his time, and
called my own photographer. If you want quality work, pay for it. And if you
expect to get paid for your quality work, you need to respect other
professionals.
Looking at the
flip side of this now – NEVER offer your valuable services free of charge, no
matter what. Ultimately, this devalues your services, and sets an expectation
of future fees. This is a common mistake made by new entrepreneurs, in order to
build up a portfolio, and a presence, but there are better ways to do this, and
create an expectation of quality and value. Create accountability by setting
your fees, and abiding by them.
Bartering – this
is a great way to build your portfolio, while still receiving compensation in
return. Get to know other small business owners, and see about doing a trade
for services. Make sure that the services traded are valuable to both parties
(eg don’t trade your time for a dining table that you don’t need, or for dinner
at a steakhouse if you’re a vegetarian).
Friends and
family discounts – I don’t believe in discounting services generally, but this
is a great exception. Time spent providing service to friends and family is
time spent away from building your business and bringing in paying clients, so do not ever offer your services for free. By
providing a discount, your friends and family feel that their relationship is
valued, and it provides them an incentive to give you a chance and "try you out", which can easily turn into additional referral business for you, as well as help you to build your own portfolio.
Trials – this is
a great way to offer a ONE-TIME discount, but be sure to keep it to one-time
only, and set your parameters for this. This is not my favourite option, but it
could be a way to get your foot in the door with a new client if you operate a
business that is likely to have repeat clients (ie in home staging, I would
offer this to real estate agents exclusively, and would not offer it to
homeowners – agents sell a few houses a month, and homeowners sell a few houses
in a lifetime). Make this a limited time offer, and make your future pricing
very clear in your offer. Then, be sure to wow them with your service so that
they’ll want to keep coming back for more, at the full price.
Remember that you
are in business to make money, and your expertise is valuable. Be sure to
respect what others have to offer, and be respected in return.
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