When I started out as a coach I gave away coaching sessions because I thought I had to. I figured that I wasn’t a ‘proper’ coach yet, and that I had to practice as much as possible to get to a point where I felt like I could charge someone for a coaching session.

When I’m working with a client who’s starting up a service business, whether it’s a coach, and interior designer, a yoga teacher, a sales consultant or a photographer – there’s inevitably a point where they’ll have to decide whether to work for free.

As I commented on Allena’s article, if you have a skill that’s valuable, a talent that’s marketable and you (hopefully) love what you do, don’t’ believe for a second that you need to give those things away for free.

As I experienced myself and as I see with clients, a lack of confidence can get you thinking you have to work for free to get started – and you need to be brutally honest about whether you really need to work for free or if it’s a case of being more confident in your capabilities.

If you work for free because you feel like you have to to get where you want, that you somehow have to pay your dues to succeed or because you feel you’re not ready or good enough to be paid yet, then you need to take a step back and look at things differently (and more confidently).

Do not give away what you can do for free because you lack confidence in what you can do. It devalues you and it devalues what you do.

That devaluation is true for your own sense of self, but it’s in others people’s heads too. When I gave away coaching sessions they rarely worked out, simply because people held the perception that if I’m giving it away that it can’t be worth anything. With the belief that what I was offering had zero value, they weren’t committed to giving the coaching a try in the same way as if they were paying.

Starting out, you need to be willing to figure out a pricing structure that works for you and your target market. Of course, there are always exceptions, and there might be times when it might be wise to work for free. Those times are when it will give you valuable experience, make a valuable connection with someone (which might lead to all kinds of other work, experience and connections) or if it’s something that’s important and relevant to you.

If any of those things are true then go for it – it’s a worthwhile thing to do. Just know when enough’s enough, because there’s always someone out there who’s willing to take advantage of someone who’s generous.