“I want your advice but I don’t have money to pay for it.”
Not a week goes by that the independent consultant doesn’t receive requests from corporations or organizations to give free advice or presentations. “Think of the exposure you’ll get,” they say.
Generally, that exposure is not worth much. Follow-up work is about as likely as getting a free car by telling the dealer, “My friends will see me in it. Maybe they’ll want to buy one.”
“But we need to understand what you can do for us.”
Organizations need to judge whether the consultant’s thinking is what they need.
At the Internet Time Alliance, that’s why we publish more than a thousand free articles and give dozens of public presentations annually. We also help numerous NGOs, universities, start-ups, and students. We write books. We are nothing if not generous with our intellectual capital.
However, if we give away all of our time, we won’t be able to pay the bills, the people who depend on us will starve, we’ll lose our houses, and that will be the end of that. Unlike the people asking for free services, we don’t receive paychecks.
“But it won’t take long.”
Pablo Picasso is enjoying an aperitif with friends at the Deux Magots. A beautiful woman approaches the great artist’s table. “Will you sketch my portrait on a napkin? I will pay you for your work, Monsieur Picasso.”
Picasso deftly draws the portrait with six rapid strokes. “That will be 4,000 francs, Madame.”
“But it only took you twenty seconds,” she protested.
“Non,” replied Picasso. “It’s taken me forty years to be able to do this.”
Many of us independents can identify.
Quality has a price
As for me, I’ll take part in Online Educa Berlin because I know that any surplus is going to fund noble causes like eLearning in Africa. I’ll attend DevLearn because I’ll learn a lot in exchange for sharing my thoughts. I’ll accept invitations to Lake Como or China or other great places in exchange for an all-expenses-paid tour accompanying my professional work there.
But when a prosperous company or other deep-pockets operation asks me to give away my thoughts, to make in-house presentations for nothing, and to cut into my time for learning & research, I’m going to point them right here. My answer will be:
Is this unreasonable?
____________
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PS. I am finding this post useful for emailing people who hit me up for freebies. I probably should have also said that for a few thousand a day, I’m all theirs.
I understand what you are saying, and mostly agree. I try to help for free, when I can. But, we all need to make a living, and sadly, some people try to take advantage. If you work for free, or cheap, too often, it could also refelct negatively upon you. Some times we all need to take a, “you get what you pay for” kind of attitude.
Kind regards.
The post about Picasso was brilliant. Cheaper is not always better or even cheaper in the long run. Generally speaking the better a service provider is the more that they can charge per hour. You might go to someone with a lower rate, but they tack on all sorts of a la carte fees and they may take significantly longer to perform the job. Also, work boots that are more expensive might last longer so that they will need to be replaced less often, again resulting in a lower overall cost. Consultants deserve to be paid, and the free market will determine if their fees are justified. The consultant should be adding value to the company or person contracting them, so it is not just the cost of the consultant but the net gain from interacting with the consultant that also needs to be taken into consideration. If you are really good then you can charge more and it should still be an even better deal for a client to deal with you.