Nataliey BitatureEmpowering Africa's Next Generation: Leadership, Innovation, and Impact with Dr Nataliey.

How to spot a bad business deal

9 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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1:02

In this solo segment, the speaker addresses entrepreneurs who risk undervaluing their services by offering free work to build reviews or attract early customers. She explains why giving away services can feel exploitative when compensation is absent, emphasizes the emotional toll of being used, and advises setting clear limits (e.g., a fixed number of free products) before transitioning to paid offerings. The speaker stresses the importance of saying no to uncomfortable arrangements to avoid bitterness, and highlights that practical guidance on evaluating business deals is rarely covered in formal accounting education.

Chapters

Someone is using your services or your skills, your talent, your products, and you're not being compensated accurately for it, fairly, right? I think there are the challenges on both sides. When you're an entrepreneur and you're starting out, you need good reviews, you need customers. So you either start with a low price, or you say, I'll give my friends and family for free, they'll talk about my business. There, that's okay, you're consenting. But now to feel used is different, because also you, you didn't speak up when they were trying to use you. You're like, ah, let me just do it because I need the business. But the truth is, it hurts you. So I think if it's going to hurt you, say no. Don't do something you're not comfortable with. Don't do something that you're going to regret. It's going to make you bitter. How many people did I give free services and now they haven't called me or paid me? That's the cost of doing business, but plan for it. Say the first 10 products I'll give free, and I hope it's the right mileage, and I hope it takes me far. After that, I have to charge, otherwise I'll have no business. It has to be an assessment of the entrepreneur on their point. That's why I'm saying entrepreneurs need this kind of specific information because it's not— you're not going to learn that in an accounting class.