“It only takes you 5 minutes of work “

It’s not a problem at all that it only takes me or someone else five minutes to do something. The problem is that more and more people do not appreciate other people's work and who would do everything for free and in good eyes.

Especially if you work in the creative industries.

It’s true. I write quality text in a relatively short amount of time and yes, I need less than someone who isn’t all into it. What no one sees is that I’ve been writing since I was little, notebooks filled with texts and stories I wrote since I learned to write.

It’s true. I swim through social networks like a fish in water and relatively quickly create a post and a text for it. What no one sees is that I have been running social media profiles for three years, in addition to doing everything else, learning something new every day and investing in my own education.

The double-edged sword of that profession is that you don’t get to advertise yourself, so people don’t know what you’re doing, and those who “know” – think it’s just posting photos and writing status.

The reality is far from it, but I’m not here to teach you digital marketing.

It’s true. Someone who is a designer, relatively quickly designs the whole visual identity, makes the visuals, the logo and everything you need. What no one sees is that someone was educated in the area for years and it took him years of practice to get there.

It’s true. It is easy for a developer to understand where a problem is on your website and can solve that same problem relatively quickly. What no one sees are years and years of trial and error in program code.

We don’t even have to dwell on the creative and technological industries.

It is true that every bricklayer, glazier, builder, economist or waiter only needs five minutes of work.

But it is also true that it took each of us time, experience and many ups and downs to get to those five minutes.

Do you see now what the problem is?

Do you see why we are not ready to accept your invitation for a favor with a smile on our face because it is nothing to us?

Of course, we will help our loved ones and of course, we will work for free for a certain period because we still need experience, acquaintances, contacts and the like, but my brother… We will do it for the time when we don’t have enough of those famous five minutes.

And then… Then comes the time when we learn to charge for our work because we do not live from praise but from money.

Personally, the worst thing for me is when someone asks me if I have any advice for him on how to advertise. Trust me, I have a hill of them. Pay me enough and I tell you all of them. Pay me half and tell you half. Don’t pay me at all and I’m not telling you anything. Okay, maybe I’m telling you something generic enough that it means nothing to you. It’s very simple.

Is that rude and selfish of me? Maybe it is. And maybe it’s stupid that you can’t invest in something you need. And realistically, if you didn’t need it, you wouldn’t even inquire.

It’s time to stop underestimating someone else’s work, whatever that work may be. It’s time to learn to put in someone else’s shoes. It is time to realize that every competence and advantage requires years of trial and error.

After all, it is time to learn to value ourselves and say no when we feel we are being exploited.

Because if it’s all so easy, why doesn’t everyone know everything?

Do you get what I am saying now?