Our Time Has Value: When to Say No to Free Exposure Work

Maybe this is something you can relate to.

Over the years, you’ve busted your ass behind the scenes to build a name for yourself.

You’ve lost track of all the countless hours you poured into your craft as you strive for that “10,000-hour mastery.”

You’ve invested boatloads of money into school, books, online courses, workshops, and conferences to put yourself in a position to thrive.

Now you’re to the point where you’re steadily building a monetized side hustle or full-time business doing what you love (if you’re not there yet, stick with me).

Here’s the kicker—not everyone outside of your bubble will understand where you are in your creative career. Many people will perceive what you do as a hobby. They don’t fully understand the value of your time and craft and feel they are doing you a favor by offering you the chance to work for exposure.

Maybe you also don’t fully understand your own value?

Today’s topic was inspired by two things:

1. My good friend James Lewis, who showered us with value in episode 69, recently started an Instagram awareness #Ourtimehasvalue campaign.
2. Some recent large-scale project inquiries offering free exposure work.

My goal isn’t to convince you that doing free exposure work is an evil game for fools. In fact, I’ll actually mention when doing so could be beneficial.

My intentions are this:

• to make you believe that your time and skillset are valuable
• to fuel your hunger to relentlessly pursue the monetization of your craft

I’m no expert, but I hope my perspective on this topic can help you make a decision when you find yourself in this pickle.

When Should or Shouldn’t You Do Free Exposure Work?

Trust me, getting asked to work for exposure gets almost as old as getting asked #whatpenisthat?

(It seems to be local businesses who are the repeat offenders.)

What really grinds my gears is seeing people, who produce far more jaw-dropping work than I do, get asked by brands or companies who could easily afford it.

I’m lucky that my day job provides the essential income for me to survive.

However, taking on freelance is necessary for me to:

• pay off the mountain of student loan debt I’ve accumulated from a private college
• help cover my wife’s maternity leave since she doesn’t get anything (which is some major bullshit, by the way)
• put money toward baby essentials
• invest into crypto (only halfway kidding)

Many of my talented friends work for themselves full-time, and they survive off paid gigs. For them, working for exposure may mean not being able to put food on the table or pay the rent. However, the situation might be favorable for them if it’s from a dream client.

Before you become a Judgey McJudgerson and think that I’m too good for free work, please digest my 7 Situations When Free Work May Be in Your Best Interest episode.

As I mentioned in that episode, there are moments when doing work free exposure work or work-for-a-good-cause is totally encouraged. However, let’s stick to the free exposure work scenario for the moment.

Saying Yes & Working for Exposure

When you’re transitioning from hobby to side project, working for exposure is great—especially if you have a day job that covers your living expenses.

I’ve said this before, but I did my first three murals for local businesses for free. Why should someone trust that I do good work if I’ve never shown I could crush a large-scale mural before?

Sometimes you need to prove it to them—and yourself—that you can deliver.

Not only did these exposure opportunities show proof of concept and bring attention to my work, but these opportunities also built some solid relationships that attracted paid jobs in the future.

When you’ve proved you can do the work and start to monetize your craft, this is where things can get tricky.

Saying No & Standing Your Ground

When you’re at that phase where you’re elevating those side projects to a side business, exposure work doesn’t cut the mustard anymore.

Face the facts: free exposure work doesn’t pay off student loans, mortgages, maternity leave, baby doctor bills, groceries, gas, etc. You know, the things you need to survive.

You’d never ask a plumber or a doctor to work for exposure, would you?

How ridiculous does this sound? “Hey, Mr. Plumber, if you could hook me up and fix my bursting water pipe beneath my cast iron sink, I’d tell ten friends about how great your work is.”

Someone may be crazy enough to pull this stunt, but expect a harsh and appalled reply.

Over time, you’ll unlock that level where you’ve proven you can deliver, and you’ll slowly monetize your craft.

When you reach this point, speak with conviction, politely say no, and/or firmly stand your ground on your pricing.

Simply put, YOUR TIME HAS VALUE.

It’s taken me almost 30 years to believe this about myself and the value I can provide others.