Small thinking in a small town (local business owner shares thoughts on paying for stuff)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

I have a friend who works at a local business. She was attempting to put in a good word for me regarding web work. The owner's response?

"We're in business because we find people to do this for nothing. The minute someone walks in and tells me they do this for a living I know they expect to be paid for it."

Errr...yes, and your point is?

The person who does his "free" work is getting ready to go on maternity leave and he has expressed his intent to find someone else to fill her shoes...for "free."

This guy owns a bar. Using his logic, I'd rather enjoy the $12 twelve pack of Heineken I bought at WalMart than go into his shithole of a dive bar and pay him four bucks for one bottle.

This town is something else. I've encountered the "I want it free" mindset in Silicon Valley, too, but here it's hard-wired into the DNA of the locals.

[Downwinder]

1. For free Web shouldn't you get free beer?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. You'd think so, wouldn't you?

[madinmaryland]

3. I am still due my beer and travel money. Nt

[KamaAina]

4. You buy your beer at Walmart?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. If we had an alternative to WalMart, other than the 65 mile drive to Vegas, I wouldn't.

Believe me.

We have Smith's, Albertson's, and WalMart. When Smith's charges the same as WalMart I buy it at Smith's (and that does happen often). When it's $2 more at Smith's, I drive 1/4 mile down the road and buy it at WalMart.

You can FORGET about the liquor stores in town. There is one that is advertised as a "discount" store on TV that charges $4 a bottle more for Jack Daniels than WalMart.

[Chan790]

6. I'm positive he gets what he pays for.

You don't do free web work for the same reason I will never again do free NPO comm work...we're not f**king amateurs.

People need to understand they get what they pay for. It goes hand-in-hand with something Sara Horowitz of Freelancer's Union talks about in her book The Freelancer's Bible*--when you hear someone in the same field charges more than you do for the same work, the correct response should never be "I'd never charge that!" but "Why am I not charging that much if my work is just as good?" Otherwise, it's just a race to the bottom for freelancers and the self-employed.


*-For freelancers and the self-employed, I highly recommend this book. I also recommend Freelancer's Union as membership is free and provides great benefits to the self-employed (low-cost health insurance in NY, low-cost liability and disability insurance nationally, retirement services, networking opportunities, workshops both online and in-person), though it's more useful if you're a NYC resident.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. You're right.

There's also a big difference between pro bono work and "free" work. I've done high-profile pro bono work that led to paying clients via referrals.. I don't do "free." Pro bono clients give back. "Free" clients take...amd take...and take...and they are never appreciative.

I'm going into Henderson tomorrow to look for potential clients who are more likely to appreciate quality work and pay accordingly. I've spent the day doing research. I've seen about 1/3 "good" Websites and 2/3 flat-out templates that range from "competent" to "embarrasing."

One of my all-time favorite quotes regarding people who make buying decisions strictly on price comes from Jeffrey Gitomer's "Little Red Book of Selling (page 75): "Cheap bastards are also a pain in the ass."