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<blockquote data-quote="Horoscope Fish" data-source="post: 173157" data-attributes="member: 13090">The only other tidbits of advice I have:1. If you're going to start charging, you charge for EVERYONE except family. People talk and word will spread (the better your work the faster) and that you did it for free. Everyone will then expect you to work for them for free as well because you worked for so and so for free. If you *don't* charge everyone, then, ethically speaking, you really have to start to ask who are you screwing when you *do* charge for a job?2. The hardest thing EVER is getting a client to start paying you for something they're accustomed to getting for free. This is one of the best ways to lose a client (and don't think for one minute your client does not know this, or think they will not use this to their advantage, consciously or unconsciously). You can discount someone, toss in a few spiffs to sweeten the deal, stretch the hour a little but... NO. FREE. WORK. Everything else is negotiable in my book, except that. At some point, there is going to be some kind of fiscal compensation. Even if it's just $5, whatever. The point is to charge everyone, every time so you don't create an expectation of working for free.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Horoscope Fish, post: 173157, member: 13090"] The only other tidbits of advice I have: 1. If you're going to start charging, you charge for EVERYONE except family. People talk and word will spread (the better your work the faster) and that you did it for free. Everyone will then expect you to work for them for free as well because you worked for so and so for free. If you *don't* charge everyone, then, ethically speaking, you really have to start to ask who are you screwing when you *do* charge for a job? 2. The hardest thing EVER is getting a client to start paying you for something they're accustomed to getting for free. This is one of the best ways to lose a client (and don't think for one minute your client does not know this, or think they will not use this to their advantage, consciously or unconsciously). You can discount someone, toss in a few spiffs to sweeten the deal, stretch the hour a little but... NO. FREE. WORK. Everything else is negotiable in my book, except that. At some point, there is going to be some kind of fiscal compensation. Even if it's just $5, whatever. The point is to charge everyone, every time so you don't create an expectation of working for free. [/QUOTE]

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