If you’re a friend of mine, I probably love you very much. Which is why I would happily have helped you out for free in the past.
But, I discovered recently that working for completely free actually really does do a major whammy on my ability to stay in business. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that I’ve been very nearly put out of business in the past by doing projects for my friends for free.
Here’s the deal. We’re going to make an agreement here. Even if you can’t pay anything now, you’ll need to agree to an exchange and keep to it, or you won’t be able to get my help in the future. We form a real agreement, with an exchange that works for us, and then I schedule your project in just like my fully paid clients.
If your project is rush, you don’t qualify for lowered rates. You will have to pay full rate, since you’re knocking a full-rate client out of top spot.