How To Avoid Freelance Consulting For Free

The meteoric rise in outsourcing sites such as Elance has led to a wealth of jobs and extra income for freelancers. Unfortunately a lot of that work has gone to workers overseas who are willing to work for a much lower rate. Sometimes these workers will use pirated versions of the software (check out the screenshots in the portfolio sections) or misrepresent their grasp of the English language by using pitches that are copied and pasted from other worker’s listings. All this aside, there is some decent work to be had on these sites if you’re the persistent type. Daniel DiPiazza has a few

methods for making yourself the more appealing candidate and I have a few ideas myself from being on the other side of the fence recently. A number of problems can arise, but one of the more cancerous of them is the overly inquisitive client who can sometimes manage to wrangle free consulting out of you if you’re not careful.

This is the client who asks a number of questions asking about various aspects of the project. All is well and good, and you get to the point where the client is saying something akin to “Great, great, I’m eager to work with you but what do you think about ________?” That’s when restraint comes in. At this point, it’s not the client who errors here, it’s you. When you indulge the client’s wishes and start answering questions that should really only be answered after a contract has been signed, you not only devalue your work, but everyone else’s. You also create a client that thinks it’s ok to get free advice, direction and otherwise without paying you. This has negative repercussions across the board and again, harms other freelancers.

A prime example I’ve seen is clients getting essentially free consulting by getting a textual blueprint from a unknowing freelancer of what steps they would take to complete a project, then the client turning around and using that very same blueprint as a step by step guide on what they want another freelancer to do. You should be getting paid for that!

Again, the issue here is not the client, it’s the willingness and possible desperation of the freelancer to impress, woo and to not offend a possible client. You need to stick to your guns, not be talked down too far on your rates (although there can be extenuating circumstances and let them know that it’s fine for them to ask those questions, but there needs to be a piece of paper with both of your signatures on it before you’re able to go too far into detail on certain things.