Will you be working a booth for free?

[Dean]

Originally Posted by ShawnCarla

The point being missed is that it's WORK.
You should never WORK for free.
If you're going for the experience, great. I'm ALL for that! But if you're WORKING for a company, they should be PAYING you!
Bottom line!
And here's something to think about...
Everyone knows which booths pay and which don't.
So if you're WORKING for a company that is known not to pay its booth-workers, you're setting a precedent. People know you'll work for free. When they know you'll work for free, it's ten times harder to get paid gigs after that.
Just as something to think about and know your worth.
Again... going for the experience is great. I went to The Arnold a couple years ago and had an absolute blast!

Agreed. There are other situations where working for free makes sense, like school internships, where you're getting experience and earning college credit. But in this industry, where you've worked hard to "look the part" and are selling a sponsor's products, you deserve to be paid. Sure, there's a lot of competition and the threat that someone else will seize an opportunity if you don't, but the idea is to be above that and never undersell yourself.

[Ron]

If you are going to work a booth at any event, you should always get paid something - whether it is money, free products, expenses - you should not be working for free.

However, sometimes if you feel that it may help you in one way or another by giving you the chance to network and gain valuable contacts, or the ability to get the publicity you need that will help you in the future, by all means, go for it. Don't let others do hinder your thinking.

Get the opinions of a few of the people that you like or trust. Then decide for yourself what is best.

[Trainer007]

Originally Posted by Fleur

I'll be at the Arnold. I by no means expect to get rich but I am doing it for the experience & it gives me a chance to see & meet people. Some from my org, some from the IFBB/NPC, twitter & here on Sioux. That's worth it to me.

This industry will hardly ever pay your bills or make you famous. YOU do that.

In the meantime, I am going to save my $$$ and look forward to having a great time at something I've always wanted to experience.

WORD.

[fastnfit]

I Have no problem working a booth for free for a bit. I think its kinda cool to just be a part of something bigger than me. But I do understand that time is money!!!

[Powerlinefit]

When I first started competing, I probably would have worked a booth for free to "gain exposure". BUT now I realize that the high dollar supplement deals that they used to give back in the day have come to an end and the chances of being "discovered" are slim.
At the end of the day, EVERYONE'S time is money and these companies are just taking advantage of these girls. Is it worth the time and the money to POSSIBLY "gain exposure"? Especially if you are only going just to volunteer. I feel like there are more effective ways to network.

[jewelofnile69]

I worked a booth at Jr. Nats in 2009 and luckily it wasn't for free. I go comp'd for both my time and travel and they provided the "outfits." But I was going to Jr. Nats anyway to watch a friend compete (as I wasn't competing in NPC shows at the time) so I probably would have done it for free anyway....and I ended up getting to meet a bunch of Siouxcountry gals. I'm in no way naturally the type that does fitness modeling or pretty enough to get "recognized" working a booth so it wasn't for exposure for me in any way.

But as Tre said, Issac isn't the first person to come to this conclusion. But, I guess he's trying to be the "nice guy" by pointing it out again.

[ashlibbie]

Im may be at a booth next year this is an interesting topic because im a newbie to the business side

Sent from my LG-P509 using Forum Runner

[asuit2rememberJen]

I've worked booths in the past and was compensated w/travel expenses paid, flat fee per day, per diem, and we got to keep our outfits. There was a group of us from GA that traveled together for a couple of years. We worked originally for VPX then a co. out of Canada. We did the GNC Show of strength, Arnold, Olympia.....I had a great time. Would I have done it for free? Probably not.

[fastnfit]

Just got back from Ohio. Now I am no pro at all so I decided to help a friend with their booth and it was an amazing experience(alot of work lol) I had a great time and met a ton of great people. Cant wait till next year