…I’m a writer so I love a Bill Shakespeare pun!
It’s a tough one, isn’t it? As entrepreneurs, we rue the fact that we do so much work with no financial recognition, all on the premise that eventually it will pay off.
We bemoan those cheeky folks that take advantage of our goodwill and squeeze every ounce of free advice from us they can get.
We tell ourselves it’s worth the risk because we can’t help but love what we do.
I’ve wrangled with this dilemma for a while. I already seem to drink copious amounts of coffee with people, help them with their challenges then it never converts to a sale.
You may argue that I’m not being assertive enough, or that I’m my own worst enemy, but I would counter that this has been an important learning experience and has grown my network. As a result, I’ve learned that…
Doing things for free is fine, as long as you are strategic about it (Tweet This)
I’ve recently joined Near Desk. It’s a national Pay-As-You-Go hotdesking ‘club’ with multiple locations in Bristol alone. I’m especially fond of Desk Lodge and work there from time to time for a change of scenery, some company (and the tasty coffee)!
Sometimes I just like the ‘feeling of going to work’ and that alone is often enough of a motivator to kick my productivity up a notch (brilliant when you are as accomplished a procrastinator as I am!).
I’ve just spent my first day working out of Desk Lodge offering a FREE business support drop-in service to help businesses with their writing challenges.
On my way home, I went via castle park and shot this short video:
If you’re being asked to do things for free, or if you are wrestling with a decision about whether or not to offer a free ‘hook’ to prospective customers, check out my quick and simple ‘test’…
Download my (non-financial) ‘Cost Vs Benefit’ crib sheet. No poring over your accounts or doing any difficult maths, I promise! This ‘test’ relies on you being able to add up 1s, 2s and 3s (simples!).
Download my ‘Cost vs Benefit Crib Sheet’ HERE
If you find this crib sheet useful, treat me to a thank you coffee by adding to my ‘Caffeine Kitty’ via PayPal. Thanks
Good idea – ‘Doing things for free is fine, as long as you are strategic about it’.
I’ve had some good leads from being generous with my knowledge, but we all have bills to pay!
Indeed, there’s a fine line between being generous and giving away too much!