Unfinanced Entrepreneurs

I think most have us have run into that kind of crap. I know I have. Good links. I especially liked this one from column 210:

"How long did it take you to draw that?" he asked.
"About a half-hour," Sergio answered.
The man was horrified: "You expect me to pay you a hundred dollars for a half-hour's work?"
Sergio showed uncommon restraint — at least for Sergio. He calmly said, "You're not paying for the half-hour it took me to do the drawing. You're paying for the forty-one years it took me to learn how to do that."

One of my favorite scams is the design "contest." A company (or some dude in his mom's basement) holds a contest to design a character or logo. Lots of people do the work and submit for free. The "winner" gets the honor of designing a logo for free and possibly a piddling cash prize.

Great links. Thanks!

One of the hardest things I've had to deal with is when I worked outside the art field and my employer or coworkers have found out I am creative. They have expected me to design posters, business cards etc, along with my normal duties. I've finally wised up and when working outside the field I keep that side of my skillset secret.

Hey, speaking of scam artists online, I think one of them left a comment on my blog. Anyone know anything about Brian T. Nowac?

Phacker, you don't necessarily have to keep your creative activities private. You can tell your employer that those skills fall outside the scope of the position you were hired for, but you'd be happy to discuss freelance rates with them. That usually gets people to back off, but if not your could end up with some extra cash in your pocket. It's all in the presentation ;)