I have worked with quite a few startup businesses seem to find it difficult to get out of the trap of doing FREE work for people.The thinking behind free work, or contra-deals as many try and dress them up as, is that they are simply not earning you any money.Getting caught up in the fact that a deal could be done for an exchange of services so that you get what you want and the other person gets what they want, doesn’t really help your business grow.Sometimes start-ups can get caught in this trap as they feel that it is the only way to start working with businesses and be seen to be busy but does it pay the bills at the end of the day? Does it bring money in?Some contra deals may expose you to your clients audience and allow you to sell into them – this is prominent in the coach, trainer and speaker world. But what if you are a fitness trainer, if you make great cupcakes or if you are a hairdresser. flat pack kitchen cupboards . viveros marcos paz . Wouldn’t it be better if you actually got paid for your work?My view is that if you value someone enough and see value in their services, then pay for it. If you have someone asking you for a ‘deal’ – ask yourself a question, “Do they value what I do enough?”Most of the time it will be down to how you have communicated your message to them. Do they really understand the value you can give? Are they able to see what they are going to get out of working with you?I am as guilty as any other startup business for do lots of contra deals when I first started up, but in reality, I would much rather have had people paying for my services and then I would have had the money to pay for theirs. pet packaging design . As soon as I made the decision to stop things became great! I started to get paid for my work.Now a few years down the line, I will always suggest that if you are looking to grow your business with contra deals as a primary strategy for growing your business – STOP.Focus on the people that want to pay you for what you do, then return this to the people you need to work for you. Get the money into your bank account to pay the bills.
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