Work for free?

I thought that today would be a good time to talk about the idea of working for free.

In the current economic climate with lots of people losing their jobs, and it being even harder to get into the creative industry, I’d like to share with you the unusual idea that if you really love what you do, you should try working for free.

In the traditional mindset, work is a terrible idea. No one would ever turn up to work. So, instead, we are paid to go to work. Wages are simply a compensation for the crap-ness of any particular task.

Question:

If you wern’t paid any more, would you turn up in your current job at 9am tomorrow morning?

If you’re like most people, there is no way you would consider slaving away for free.

But if you are lucky and love your job, you’d turn up just because you wanted to.

As I write this, I’m in the office on a Saturday, working because I love it. Some of my colleagues are here too.

If you are struggling to get into a creative career, I strongly urge you to see if you can work for free somewhere amazing. Even if its just for a few weeks. You will learn so much about yourself, and your industry, and you will free yourself from the idea of working because you have to, to working because you want to.

Give it a try and see how you get on.

I worked at several different companies for free, and often work on projects because I want to, rather than because they pay well. If you can cultivate this positive attitude in your life, it will really change the way you view your career.

Problems?

Firstly, working for free, in most economies, cant sustain itself for very long. You need to eat, you need a place to live, you need to travel to and from your work. However, there are thousands of people who manage to work for free in some capacity for years and years, in fact, you probably know someone who does so! Volunteering, or working unpaid for charities and other causes is a great start. It helps you build skills like leadership, management, human relations, and all sorts of other useful skills in your spare time.

In some situations you may even PAY someone to work. A good example of this would be taking on a training course, or a university course. You actually pay to complete tasks, knowing that one day you will be able to charge people for those tasks, and your investment will pay off.

In some situations you may invest a lot of your own time and energy into a hobby, that effectively becomes a second job. I have seen plenty of people who have converted their attics or basements into amazing places with elaborate train sets, or who have built a bar in their home to serve drinks to their friends, essentially “working” a couple of hours a week in their own “bar job”. Many peoples “Home offices” are better equipped than their regular offices!

Working for free, also, does not devalue your work. This is very important. People will say, “If I do this for free now, they will expect it for free next time” – but in many situations I have experienced, people respect you, and you are able to charge perhaps more, because you have “paid your dues”.

Dont forget, you are also earning intangible benefits by working for free. You are learning how to get inside an industry, you are learning how everything works, how things fit together. You are learning skills that will last you a lifetime. You are making connections and making friends, and these are worth far more than money.

That’s why this guy in Australia will work for you for free. That’s why this guy is encouraging photographers to work for free. That’s why Business Week is talking about working for free. Its why Wikipedia is written entirely by passionate volunteers who just LOVE their subject.

Changes

Not so long ago, you didn’t have a Job, or a Career,  you had an occupation. – Something that occupies your life, occupies your thoughts, passions, dreams and professional conduct. So, if I were to say to you “Don’t tell me what your job is, tell me your occupation…” What would you say?

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