This is just a very long-winded way of describing "paying in exposure". You don't ask your mechanic to replace one part for free and then you'll see if you pay

This is just a very long-winded way of describing "paying in exposure". You don't ask your mechanic to replace one part for free and then you'll see if you pay him for the rest. In my experience, when freelancers struggle to find work it's often because they're expecting work to come to them. When that happens it's nice, but when you're starting out, that's the exception, not the norm. You have to go out there and look for work, sell yourself and your services, fail, and try again. That's hard, but all good things are hard.