Instead of waiting for him to offer payment, tell him you appreciate his thinking of you, and the price is XXXX. Only if he balks should you offer the discount. He may be someone you're fond of and who gave you something to do, but it was unpaid work and any more freebies are taking advantage.

You're right – asking for a freebie is like walking into a store and just taking what you want without paying.

I have a similar but not quite situation where one of my pro-bono "portfolio builder" clients just asked me if I was available to do another project for him. No mention of pay though. I'm going to tell him I'd be happy to do it for him at a 30% "friends and family" discount since he helped give me my start in writing but that I can't do it for free as I need to concentrate on paid projects now. I'm afraid I'm going to lose the testimonial he offered to give me. I was afraid I might lose referrals from him too, but on the other hand I don't want him referring me to people as the girl who'll work for free either. Who knows though, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and he'll agree to pay me for my work. He has been very nice to work with so far.

Solution for that chatty person – when you answer, preface the conversation with "I have about five minutes before I get on another call. Can we rap it up or should we just push this to email?"

It is refreshing, Paula, even with the paperwork! Good to hear. 🙂

Thanks, Anne. Now the task of her finding a job. 🙂

We had termites about six years ago. This is preventative work. After getting rid of them that year, it's been clear sailing. Amen!

Annual termite inspections? Here in CA we pray they keep holding hands 😉 and only inspect on sale or when they become visible.

Sometimes I do free stuff for good clients… hard to quantify… depends on what they want and what else is on my plate, but although I do some, it's usually not much.

Hugs

Today I'm fighting to finish (okay…start, if you want to get technical) a small project, but have been hit by a pile of a paperwork from a potential new client. It's a fairly big company, and you have to got through a quick screening to ensure you really are a professional writer and file your taxes, etc… I was going to get my supporting documentation sent in now, but decided I better do that after the paying work is done.

As annoying as it is to prove I'm in business, it's kind of refreshing that in this era of cheap content mill labor, some companies are taking steps to make certain the people they hire are legitimate professionals.

The holidays are not a time to be handing out free work. Even if you're not busy workwise, there are so many other things you can and should be doing with your time. My rule of thumb is if I can answer a question or perform a task in 15 minutes or less, I'll do it for a client who provides me a steady stream of projects. After that, it's taking up time I can be spending on work that pays and therefore is no longer free.

I've currently got an individual at one of the companies I write for who, all of a sudden, likes to gab on the phone. I don't usually charge for phone consultations, but one hour? No, WAY too much.

Devon, exactly. I may love what I do, but that's no reason to think I don't want to be paid for my work.

Cathy, I'm with you on the time wasting! If I had every minute back that I wasted on Bejeweled Blitz, I could write a book. Not that I wouldn't just go right back to playing that obnoxiously addictive game….

Eileen, I suspect your clients appreciate you for your own giving. That's a great combination, and a super suggestion.

Suzanne, you've hit on it exactly. If the client is someone who is a pleasure to work with, you don't mind helping out once in a blue moon. If it's a client who's been a bear the entire time, why stick your hand back in that flame?

Congratulations, Jake! What good news! Even the tough interviews can pay off. 🙂 And I love the "slush fund" idea. I'm using that with my favorite clients next chance I get.

And a 15 minute slush fund is a good concept, too, Jake. BTW-congrats on the editor's kudos. Isn't it funny how that works out?

On the free stuff: I have sort of a mental, 15-minute slush fund for good clients. Like Suzanne, I have a design partner that will do small tweaks without charging, and I think that's a good model to follow on the word side, too.