Any thoughts on this business called ‘not fur long’ who are giving away their services for free using furloughed creatives?
They’re taking away paid work from other creatives who rely on this income to survive!
https://www.notfurlongcreative.co.uk/ineedhelp
Replies7
- @Alister Shapley thanks for your thoughts and I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’m sure there’ll be unintended consequences of their set up unfortunately. We have asked them to be clearer in their messaging. And asked why they’re heavily marketing themselves with ‘founders’ etc, and not quietly reaching out to smes, but it’s fallen on deaf ears. They also ‘wish us luck’ and suggest they’re better quality than small agencies, which frankly shows their lack of awareness.We look at their self satisfied marketing campaign and wonder why my more fortunate furloughed colleagues would think what they were doing was in any way helpful. The unintended consequences of their misguided initiative might devastating to some....Also this isn’t only happening in our industry - I’ve heard of qualified emergency services drivers having work turned away because furloughed volunteers can do it for free.... :(
- I'm similar to @Emilia Buggins, very much mixed feelings. It seems like a nice gesture to businesses who’re struggling but it makes an already competitive market into a near-impossible market. I’m sure the people who set ‘not fur long’ up didn’t do it in a malicious way but it definitely has negative impacts on freelances or studios who work with SMEs.The obvious negative for freelancers and small agencies is having work taken away but one which might have been overlooked is the mental impact this is going to have. With everything that’s been going on it’s very easy to be disheartened with a slowing of work. But to know that the potential clients you’ve been building relationships with are now getting the services you provide for free, you start to give up on the industry you love.It’s difficult for most small businesses at the moment and I hope that ‘not fur long’ does help in these difficult times without too much impact on freelancers or small design studios. Trying to be positive, I also hope that it will encourage small businesses to use and see the value of creatives once this has passed.
- @Emilia Buggins yes absolutely. Thanks for your thoughts. :)It doesn’t sound as though they’re targeting biz with £0 budget. This is a problem across sectors but this particular organisation are heavily marketing their free services. We have approached them and they ‘wish us luck’ and suggest their work is of better quality that small agencies offer.As I wake up to another Monday of no paying work, wondering how I will pay my freelancers and if I’ll earn any money this week, knowing that my small creative agency of 2 has lost over 20ks worth of contracts in 3 months and has over 40ks of projected work shelved indefinitely, I look at their self satisfied marketing campaign and wonder why my more fortunate furloughed colleagues would think what they were doing was in any way helpful. The unintended consequences of their misguided initiative are devastating.
- Had the same thought. I'm in two minds really. I will say, it's a lovely idea - wanting to support small businesses who may be struggling by providing pro-bono work and giving their time... but it also doesn't help those of us in the creative industry who are struggling at the same time, while adding unecessary competition at an already difficult time.I hope they choose to just work with those who have absolutely 0 budget at the moment. There could be some small businesses who take advantage of what's being offered, who could afford to work with a freelancer or small creative business, many of who aren't in the position to receive Gov support or be able to offer work for free. Bit of an oversight on the impact of their actions on those small businesses in our own industry really... :/
- @Laura Chapman I’m angry as you when I heard “you need few time to do this” ignoring our expertise and our path; we have the choice to not doing this job!
- @Marcello Ghirardi Paganella yes it will burn out but right now those who can’t afford to work for free are struggling as it is. This could make or break some people. :-(
- I’m not in accord with them, definitelly.I hope that our market show that free work could be a resource but not the solution and this solution will naturally burn out.
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