Shoutout to the client who made me stop giving free advice

Honestly, I used to give away hours of consulting for free just to be nice, thinking it would get me more work. Then this guy from a startup in Austin asked for a full marketing plan review, promised a contract, and ghosted me after using all my ideas. That was six months ago and it changed everything. Now I send a simple one page proposal with a fee before any real talk, no exceptions. Anyone else get burned like that before they set hard rules?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_alex18d ago

Heard a buddy got the same treatment, totally backs up what @robert_craig said.

robert_craig25d ago

Read a blog post that called free work the "exposure tax." Your one page fee sheet is the perfect answer to that.

masonpark25d ago

But what if that exposure actually leads to real work? Sometimes doing a free project for the right person can open way more doors than a fee sheet ever will. I've seen it happen, @robert_craig. A simple one page price list might just scare off a potential big client who wants to test the waters first. Turning down every free ask could mean missing a huge chance to get your name out there to the exact right crowd. It's not always a tax, sometimes it's a real investment.