Being of value: charging what you're worth
Thoughts that came up while I was contemplating payments for freelancers.
Now that I’m older—and thankfully a little wiser—I almost never work for free.
That doesn’t always have to mean money; it can be fulfilment or doing something because you genuinely believe in its importance.
For example, I create children’s books for the Dutch and Belgian markets, where about 80% of the work is unpaid. I choose to do this because I believe these books matter and hope they’ll benefit a larger audience. That’s why I take on (where I can) projects where I feel my input truly adds value and when I feel it must exist.
When I was asked a while ago to give a talk about the importance of fair pay for freelancers—and wasn’t offered payment—I said no. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony.
If everyone within an organisation is being paid, and yet I, as a creative freelancer, am expected to go unpaid (which happens far too often), I say no.
If people think my time or expertise aren’t worth anything, it doesn’t mean I need to offer it to them for free.
If I feel that my time and the value I always strive to bring aren’t being appreciated, I say no. It’s all about self-worth and knowing what you need in life. I’m not in the position that I can work for free, while not worrying about bills to pay. I know some people have that privilege, and I know some are in the position to offer more of their time for free. Although I do feel that sets a predicament for others to feel pressure to work for free too, even when they can’t.
When I was younger, I said yes far too often. I didn’t want to disappoint people. I was scared they wouldn’t ask me for the next paid opportunity (which, spoiler alert, never happened).
Writing blogs about freelancing and sharing lots of help for free, attracts more questions. So, I often get requests from freelancers asking if I can help them with something. I often say I’m happy to sit down and share my experience and insights, but not everyone wants to pay for that. And that’s fine; it tells me they don’t value it at the same rate as I do. I don’t hold that against them—we’re all in different situations, where different amounts of money have different value.
It’s just good to realise that you are not obliged to lower your own personal standards to fit theirs.
If people are willing to pay me what I need to keep afloat, we are at a similar wavelength. When clients pay me fair and square, I’m willing to run the extra mile. If they’re underpaying me and they ask for more than they’ve paid for, I get annoyed with the project and with them.
I ask for fair payment because I don’t want to be annoyed with them, because then I produce work that isn’t as good as it could be. I get annoyed with myself when it’s not up to my standards.
Getting older also means I feel the harsh realitity of how short life is.
Every minute I spend on others I have less time to experience life. And I see it passing by so quickly already. Having less hours in the day due to my health, I feel setting a filter before offering my time to others is useful.
When requests come in, I ask myself: How much does this bring to my life or the community? The less value it holds, the higher the rate I ask. I know that when I’m less busy, I can focus on things that truly matter and make a positive impact, in whatever small way I can.
Sometimes, what you feel you’re worth isn’t what others think you’re worth—and that’s okay. That value is very subjective to both parties and has nothing to do with eachother. There’s no need to lower your needs to fit someone else. It just means you need to move on to people and opportunities that align with your values, where you can do your best work and feel valued in return.
Thank you Marloes. 100% !!! It’s so downgrading and soul destroying being the only unpaid person in the room. Or the lowest paid at best… ❤️
Thank you. 🙏🏼