How to leverage working for free

A lot of times in this industry we tend to have to work for free, whether it's early in our careers and we're just trying to get in front of new athletes or it's an unpaid internship. Working for free is usually a common factor in a lot of our careers at some point, but how can we leverage that free work and turn it into future paying clients?

I talk a little about utilizing 3 specific ways we can leverage working for free, like I said, usually working for free happens in a lot of our careers. That doesn't mean we need to get into a bad spot where people expect it, we should have a calculated approach when providing our service for free - we shouldn't just do it to do it. Is doing this session for free or this internship unpaid, or this clinic for free setting up future clients, opportunities or connections? If no, then maybe we shouldn't be doing it.

Remember to always value yourself and set boundaries early, don't be afraid to be the asshole and say no to someone who can't pay. The more times to just "let it fly" and let someone hop in a group session for free the more that narrative is going to spread, that narrative then becomes an actual reality. 

Hopefully these 3 ways to leverage free work help someone!!