I’m a little bit late with this post (the video has been floating around for a while), but only because I wanted to put some thought around it first.
“Design for Free!” If you saw that you’d think there was a catch, or at least I hope you would (there’s a lot of people that wouldn’t!). Yet in the tech industries we’re often asked to do exactly that.
Can you produce me some website designs, if I like them I’ll hire you to turn them into a website.
What you’re saying here is that you’d like us to put in several days work for you to decide if you actually like what we produce and only then you’ll decide if you’re going to pay us for those days work?
What would happen if you tried this elsewhere?
Zulu Alpha Kilo has made a great video what happened when he tried it, it’s hilarious but really shouldn’t be, he goes on to try to negotiate long term agreements and rights over intellectual property (you can keep updated on peoples thoughts on this on twitter #saynotospec).
I don’t get to try a coffee before I pay for it, I wouldn’t see a personal trainer and expect to get fit before paying for their time, it just doesn’t work.
Would I ever do this?
You’ll be surprised to hear the answer is yes, sometimes.
Sometimes I’m happy to produce a proof of concept when it’s something new and different. With a quick proof of concept on something I haven’t written before I can quickly tell you
a) If it’s possible, and
b) Give you a better estimate of how much time/money it’s going to take to implement in properly.
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