dear Blessing, should I work for free? - Issue #11
Dear you,
I received many letters this week, asking me different questions, but this one was really compelling:
"Dear Blessing,
I have been following your letters since the very first one and I am intrigued by how high you have risen in the tech ecosystem and the brands you have worked with in your career. I am just starting out and I don't know how to build my portfolio and clientele. I have been offered some free roles but I have read everywhere and experienced that exposure doesn't pay bills or rent. I am a rookie right now but I want to be able to work with established brands and prove to them that I can get the job done. Should I ignore what everyone else is saying and work for free?"
My answer is simple - Don't work for free. Work for value.
Value payment is what you say it is. It is what you think is enough in exchange for the amount of work/service you are giving.
Let me tell you a very personal story: Lemi Ghariokwu, Fela Kuti's Album cover designer, was one of the first people I met when I got my first job in Lagos. I was interviewing him for an office program called Indlu, alongside Oreoluwa Oluwatobi, the cofounder of StreetChurch (I would have tagged it, but I don't want you guys to see the video, we tried but the person that did my makeup didn't like me, clearly!).
Anyway, when I met Lemi. I was intrigued by him but I noticed he didn't have a website and all the stories that existed about him where told by others. So, I asked him, "Lemi, how come you don't have a website?". He went on to tell me a painful story about how he had always desired one, but someone swindled him. I made him a promise to make a website for him. I'm sure he took it with a pinch of salt, because of his experience with the swindler. That weekend, I showed up to his studio with my partner, we bought a domain name, but hosting. I didn't collect 1 naira. We went on to build a simple Wordpress site for him. He was so full of joy and gratitude. I instantly became his hand bag. Lemi took me everywhere and told everyone about me. He exposed me to the world of art and introduced me to some amazing people who went on to become my clients, and friends. Why this long story?
At the time I was doing this for Lemi, value for me was not money. It was friendship and he is one of the closest friends, I have now. You should hear him talk about me. Watch this.
Value transcends money. Sometimes, it can be money, other times, it might be something else
Building an amazing clientele list will take time. What you see now is almost a decade of work. It might take you a shorter time. You might intern for Google or a simple company and that will boost your credibility! You might build visibility and credibility from partnerships and sharing your work. There are different paths to earning the trust of established brands. Choose your clients with care and with a goal in mind. When you say yes to a client/job, know what value you intend to get from that client or job.
Different things will be valuable to you at different times. Don't let people define what you see as value. Don't let people tell you what is valuable to you. Only you can decide what is valuable to you. Your definition and perception of value can change - today it might be money, tomorrow it might be network, blue tick, exposure, experience, food, etc.
I remember a conversation with Frank Donga at Startup Grind. He said a well known social media brand reached out to him to use his content. He knew that based on some factors they also had rights to his content, so he didn't demand cash payment. Instead he asked them for verification and that to him was valuable at that time.
If you don't deem the exchange valuable, don't do it.
Value your work enough to get paid in the value you appreciate.
But once you've said yes to a "value exchange", you have no excuse. You don't get to complain and say "I won't give my best because they paid only x dollars". Once you've said yes, you must show up with excellence and not excuses. So be careful what you say yes to. Say yes only to what you deem valuable (in terms of time, effort and compensation) and you might just be a little happier with your work, results and life.
I hope this helps you in your journey.
With love,
Blessing Abeng