Will Work For Free

[Blog Post #25 of 21-Day Blog Post Challenge]
It’s fun reconnecting with friends from two incarnations ago when I was a commercial real estate broker.
CRE brokerage was a heady, fast-moving, ego-driven world. Super high risk, high reward.
Yesterday I received a call from a friend who I worked with 10 years ago.
I gave him a 20-minute download of my new life in residential real estate at Redfin and my continued obsession with social media marketing.
I also told him that I meet monthly with four accomplished professionals outside of real estate to discuss their social media strategy. He was intrigued and asked how much I charged.
“I do it for free. I enjoy helping them. It’s fun for me.”
[Cue in the sound of crickets]
“Hmm,” he said.
And then I launched into the business justifications for giving away my time. But they were weak.
There’s no way I could possibly know if the 6 to 8 hours I will spend each month will be financially beneficial.
But it doesn’t matter. I’m helping people whom I like and respect.
If they follow my suggestions and it improves their business, I’ll feel great.
And that “feeling” will be sufficient remuneration.