Like the late great heath ledger once put it while staring as the joker in the Dark Knight, “if you’re good at something, never do it for free”
Now that’s a great piece of advice to take on board, But, is it a statement to live by?
If we dissect that quote in an entrepreneurial sense then we can try to break down what it means.
By repeating the statement, only this time wording it as it’s most likely received, we get “if you’re good at something always get paid for it? So it only makes sense that this quote is about making money from your talent? Well, this is how I rationalized it, all those years back… oh poor, young, naïve me.
The reality of this statement is that it has a deeper meaning than a simple monetary quote of motivation. It actually has 4.5 ways you can trade what you’re good at for something of value.
Say you have either a highly useful and efficient set of skills, a service, a product, or even just a big heart that’s always ready to lend a hand. Then the problem is that not everyone has your well-being in mind when they want something from you, and this is where “if you’re good at something never do it for free” comes into play.
For example, if you’re wanting to become a web designer and you have no clients because you have no work to show off what you can do, then, unfortunately, you may have to take a massive cut in payment or do the work for free.
So like I said earlier there are 4.5 ways to be paid for short and long-term success. Now as you have just noticed I said 4.5. That’s because there is always something you should be growing and that is a portfolio. Regardless of what industry you’re in… you need to grow a portfolio. This is the .5 because you would get this regardless of being paid or not.
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A portfolio is important because it’s your story of what you can contribute to the world, for example, if you’re a baker, you should take photos, if you’re a writer, you should make copies.
You need to build a portfolio in your field of interest asap. If you get asked to provide something such as a service or product from someone and you can take something away that’s presentable to others and not just a “new skill” then that is one way you can be rewarded for your work.
Alternatively, if you’re asked to do something that has no way of being shown off, displayed, or advertised, I would highly consider not doing it, unless you can acquire one of the other 4 ways of exchange.
If you have someone ask you for advice or to teach them something, then there are 2 ways that this can be carried out.
One way is that you sit down and have a chat about the issue/subject. The conversation ends, 2 hours have gone by and you have nothing to show for it, they feel better and a week later you meet someone else with the same issue.
Now helping someone in need is a beautiful gesture and I strongly encourage it however, when time and money are involved it should be considered before taking it on.
The alternative to this is you either write or record yourself through audio recording or video talking about the issue or ask to record the interaction with the other person involved (the issue could be anything, such as car problems, relationships issues or even IT related, etc) by recording the information shared or stated you can then (with the other person’s consent of course) upload that content online for others to benefit from.
This in turn also puts your skills on display for others to witness which creates awareness around you and your brand.
The 2nd last one on our list is…
Agreeing to a trade of value is not a bad thing especially if you’re expected to do something for free, to begin with. By asking a favor you show that you’re aware of the value you’re providing along with what you think it’s worth in return (in a non-monetary sense)
Preferably, you would want to be smart about who you bargain with when negotiating the transactions of a favor for a favor. because, If the person asking you to help them have little to no useful skills that can help you to grow or scale, then asking them for a favor may not be worth the time of the project. So this is highly based on the capability of the other individual.
And finally, the last one on the list is of course money. If you can do it for money and for what you truly and wisely believe it’s worth always charge correctly and fairly.
Now the ideal transaction would be to make sure that your skill, service, or product can benefit from receiving each of these with every possible transaction. Because by building your portfolio, content, and testimonials, you will slowly build the foundation for a footing as an authority figure within your industry and at that point, you may charge for your time at a way higher price point.
So in short when you can trade something of value to another human being make sure you can at least walk away with one (if not all) of these at the end.
Because “if you’re good at something, never do it for free”
© 2021 James Osborne-Byrnes. All rights reserved.
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