Want the big bucks? Then do it for nothing first.
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“You want how much?”
I couldn’t quite believe my ears when he told me how much he thought he was worth to one of my companies.
He hadn’t graduated yet from college. His first startup flopped, and his second startup was struggling to get any sort of traction. When I approached him about coming on board part time to fill the gaps in his income–of which he had none–he let me know exactly what he wanted.
To work for me, he wanted the equivalent of $60,000.
So I told him a story. My story.
Running the floor, for free.
I learned the hard way that Converse sneakers don’t offer great arch support.
That wasn’t anything that ever occurred to me before I began volunteering at events and conferences. I had never walked so much in my Chucks. But now I did a speed walk from one end of the conference hall to the other. Then back again, and again.
Damn, my feet hurt.
That was my life during my junior and senior year in college. Between school, working in the Admissions Department giving tours, and running my fraternity chapter, I’d make the time to research different podcasters and bloggers who talked and wrote about entrepreneurship.
Then I’d reach out to them. Sometimes, they’d even respond! I wanted to find a way to get into their inner circle, and the strategy was to help them any way I could in order to earn that ticket in.
I was open to any opportunity that came my way.
One day, an opportunity came my way. A podcaster was running an event in Chicago, and I wanted to help him out. So I used my credit card to book a train to Chicago–braving no WiFi and a 4 hour delay–slept on people’s couches, and showed up every morning in a suit and a smile.
I must’ve done something right enough, because he asked me to help him at his national conference in Texas later that year. For free, of course.
Of course, I said yes.
A 12 hour drive, an Airbnb, a 12 pack of energy drinks, and some Ramen.
I drove to Texas and found my cheap Airbnb.
All I had with me was a pack of energy drinks, some cardboard noodles, my suit, and a smile. My goal was to do as much as I could that weekend in the hopes of nothing.
Yes, nothing.
I wasn’t trying to get noticed, and I wasn’t trying to meet the keynote speakers. I wasn’t even trying to get paid. For whatever reason, I wasn’t trying to get anything.
No, I’m not pious.
Reflecting back on that weekend in Texas, I honestly don’t know why I didn’t have any ambition to “be seen.” I didn’t have an ulterior motive or secondary motivation.
What I had was a genuine desire to help as much as I could.
I ran back and forth on that conference floor. No task was beneath me, and no amount of work was too small. I’d do it, and I’d do it as fast as I could. I gave myself a rule: solve every issue within 5 minutes. I did favors for attendees, helped the sponsors set up and tear down, and I even acted as a concierge for an introverted speaker who was being mobbed and just needed to eat some lunch away from it all.
We had Thai food, in case you’re wondering.
And wouldn’t you know it, I got noticed.
People stopped me.
They’d ask me questions.
“Who are you?” “What are you doing?” “Why are you walking so fast?”
It’s amazing what happens when you pay a little less attention on getting noticed and devote a little more effort into performing at a level that can’t go unnoticed.
One person in particular stopped me and asked a fantastic question.
“How much are they paying you to do this?”
That person ended up covering my expenses and paying me a huge daily rate to work her conference. More importantly, that person became one of my greatest mentors in my industry. That’s something I value so much more than any amount of money she gave me.
That was the beginning of a company that spits off cash for me and helps others achieve their goals. Oh, and it also led me to an opportunity to write for The Good Men Project.
Free work is invaluable.
Take this literally.
See, free work has huge upside and very little downside. In other words, you can only exceed expectations when you perform work for free.
When I volunteered for the event in Chicago, the organizer had very low expectations of me. That’s exactly the position to be in when working for free. Sure, it can be tough on your ego. Forget about that or suck it up, whichever you prefer. The payoffs can be big.
If the bar is set low for you, then it’s much easier to step over it.
But you don’t just want to “step over it.” That’s what everybody else is doing. Instead, find a way to leap over it as high as you can. Outperform even your own expectations. Do such high quality work that people stop you and ask how much you cost.
And here’s the key.
Do it with no expectation that anyone will notice.
Trust me. They’ll notice.
Now, I’m the one who notices.
I’ve got a handful of companies now that I “run” thanks to great teams.
And what type of person do you think is on those teams?
They weren’t the ones who felt entitled to anything except hard work. They weren’t the ones who thought they were better than any task. And they weren’t the ones who told me they were worth $60,000 a year with no wins under their belt.
They were the people who have done incredible free work for me.
My goal is to turn them into the ones noticing others.
Want the big bucks?
Work for free.
Would you like to help us shatter stereotypes about men?
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Photo: Flickr/LuisAlmaguer
Hi Jay, Your article got me, I read it through. Why – one because it was your story/experience, not what you think others should do. Secondly it was passionate and thirdly it will help other guys. Paddy Murray GMP writer