Freeloaders Abound On Craigslist
By Nick at 16 August, 2007, 2:46 pm
What is with all of the freeloaders on Craigslist? There are an increasing number of companies and individuals looking for web designers who are trying to get something for nothing. You probably have seen them; those ads offering equity instead cash. This is about as bad as the anonymous comments that people make on blogs. Attention ALL web designers! We charge for our work. Do not get suckered into giving your work away for free.
New web developers often under-value themselves. From the many conversations I’ve had with startup web designers on this subject, it seems that a great number feel that the best way to adjust for the lack of confidence they feel is to donate a lot of their time for free to clients. They decide on a reasonable hourly rate, and then proceed to actually charge that rate for only about half of the hours actually worked. This makes no sense, unless you want to double your hourly rate to make up for it. You must charge for the actual hours you work.
Web Designers and web developers need to be selective in the clients that they choose to accept. One such company that is selective is 14East. 14East is a full-service interactive media firm located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a leading provider of managed Internet services with an emphasis on serving the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets around the globe. 14East offers a wide range of high-end Internet solutions that includes advanced web design & development. I first met the founder of 14East, Jon Juriga, when their office was on Oakland Park Blvd. Since then they have moved to a much bigger office in Plantation. Â
14East only accepts clients that have a budget of no less than $5,000 allocated to their website. According to Juriga, the higher the budget that a client has allocated to their website, the more serious they are about their web site. You might say that small business can’t afford a web site with these firms. However, as with any business, you have to do business planning, and that means allocating a certain amount to your website. Take this business plan and get a business loan or line of credit at your bank to finance your web site.
You’re either on the clock or you’re off the clock. You’re either doing something for a paying client, or you’re doing other things you want or need to do. It’s not hard to tell the difference. When you’re on the clock, you need to charge for it. And in order to charge for it, you need to keep a record of the time you’ve worked.
The message for all web designers, freelance or companies, stop falling for these freeloaders and start charging for your work. Repeat after me: “We Charge For Our Work.” Hopefully they will get the hint and go away.
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Nick,
I’m not sure that I agree with your calling startup companies “freeloaders” because they are offering what is commonly referred to as “sweat equity” to people willing to provide it. Not every company or individual starts out with deep pockets and some start with a simple idea that needs to mature to a certain point before it warrants an investment.
I think the distinction between good idea bad idea occurs when someone is a very senior or experienced developer vs. someone who is either establishing themselves, building their portfolio, or just building their skills.
Case in point: A web developer needs to pick up a new skill like Ruby on Rails, but their current project list or employer doesn’t use Ruby on Rails. They can work on their own project, but in reality, it might actually be easier to collaborate with others on a “sweat equity” project and get collaborative experience.
Now there is one other consideration and that is the fact that Craigslist allows free job postings in Fort Lauderdale. I suppose that you get what you pay for, and this case the site is free so “sweat equity” jobs are a no-brainer. You won’t see these jobs on Monster or Careerbuilder. The flip side of this is that on those sites you will not see startup company jobs at all because they can’t afford to pay $300-400 to post a job.
I totally agree with you….. I answered a few ads for data development and in the end all I heard is ‘but I have no money”… I charge $100-150/hr …. the last guy was making about 4-6K a month and told me he did not have the 1000 bucks needed to update his site… so I counter that he paid me commission off each client that that used the new site I create.. he never answered my questions…. so I look at it this way… if it is so easy why don’t you do it….but it is not easy so they need to pay…
No bucks!!! No Buck Rogers to save the day….
I used to be an Art Director (Advertising), I get you and good work!
You managed to put into words what I have thought for some time.
Keep preaching!
What planet have these people landed from? A guy was making about 4-6K a month and told the developer that he did not have the $1,000 needed to update his site. This guy makes $60k per year and cannot afford $1,000. What is wrong with this picture? Some of us have struggling businesses and are up to our ears in debt, and this guy cannot afford a measly $1,000.