I’m on acquaintance level with my state senator due to the nature of my job. I hate his politics, but am a professional, so he’s none the wiser about it.
Out of the blue his assistant emailed me asking me to document and compile a large amount of data that very few people would have access to.
It would have involved at least a dozen hours of me googling, looking through records, and calling people.
So I replied, “Hello, I would be happy to assist. My freelance rate is $20 an hour. For a project of this magnitude, I am able to estimate at least 12 hours of work. Please let me know if you would like to move forward and I will send a contract.”
That rate is not even crazy, but I got radio silence from his office. As I suspected would happen. I’m not gonna bend over backwards for someone I find morally repugnant just bc he’s powerful.
I saw his assistant at a function the other day and she proceeded to ask me for another favor lol. The audacity!! I told her to give me her business card. Which I later threw in the trash. Guessing this isn’t the last time they’ll try to get free work out of me.