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Doing Pro Bono Work

Posted by Tom on Monday, February 26, 2007 to Random Thoughts, Small Business

Have you ever been asked to work for free or very little money, but instead be compensated with high-ranking business contacts or more projects “down the road?”

While this may sound like a good investment at first, I’ve learned that it almost never bears fruit. Just think about it for a minute or two. You may find yourself in a situation were you fall behind on or even turn down paid work while working on a project for free. This makes no business sense at all, especially for most of us in the small business community. Unless you are sitting on a pile of cash, you simply can’t afford to be compensated by intangible promises.

Don’t get me wrong though, I do support non-profit or community efforts by working essentially for free, but those are a different story. I engage in these projects with the understanding that there will not be any “formal compensation” other than the feeling of pride and joy in the event of a successful effort.

Have you accepted compensation other than money from clients or business partners? If so, what has your experience been? Please share in the comments.


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Comments

Comment By Mitchel Sellers on Thursday, March 01, 2007 at 3:39 PM

I have to say that for the most part I agree with you. Doing work under the pretense that it will get you further references in the future has never worked out for me in the past. I have done some stuff for significantly cheaper than what I would normally do when I first started out, but I needed to build a reputation for myself and my company so I had to do what I could to get postitive feedback.

Comment By Tom Kraak on Thursday, March 01, 2007 at 8:25 PM

Thanks for chiming in Mitchel. You bring up a good point. I think most entrepreneurs go out of their way to get a new business off the ground. And I think that’s fine as long it does not become a habit.

Comment By Woody Groton on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 at 9:12 PM

I am fortunate in that my significant other is the primary breadwinner for our family. I have probably done as much pro bono or discount work as I have done paid work. If I was the sole provider for my family I doubt I could afford to be so generous. Of all the free work I've done I have only received one paying customer...and a lot of thanks. I believe that if you do a good job most people are willing to pay you for your time as they should be. A good example of pro bono work Seablick has done is the fantastic Mystic Velo Club website at www.mysticvelo.org. Check it out.

Comment By Tom Kraak on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 at 10:43 PM

Thanks Woody. Speaking of MVC, I could actually use your help :)-

Comment By Ken on Friday, July 04, 2008 at 1:07 PM

We often provide free services for non profit or community groups. as well as bartering service exchanges with some of our better hosting customers but you need to be very careful to avoid getting bit by the tax man.

Promises of future work in exchange for real work now is just another example of the carrot and stick trick used to get the jackasses to pull the ore cart up the mine shaft.

Avoid them

Comment By Lois Martin on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 9:57 AM

Another thing I learned the hard way is, when doing work for charitable organizations, do it for free or charge full rate. We tried half-price for a charity, but it was still a lot of money for them, and the were more demanding than our full-rate customers. In the end, neither of us was all that happy.

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