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#freelancing#contracts#legal

Mike Monteiro: F*ck You, Pay Me

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  • Recommended by 12 people: 12 on Hacker News.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2015 to 2025.
  • Presented by Mike Monteiro
  • An opinion. It argues one side of a question engineers disagree on.

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

859K views14 years ago12 recommendations

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Mike Monteiro and his lawyer explain why creative professionals must use contracts and legal boundaries to ensure they get paid.

The most popular CreativeMornings talk of all time, Mike Monteiro gives us some valuable advice on how to get paid for the work that you do. Mike Monteiro at the San Francisco chapter of CreativeMornings on Mar 25, 2011. Portions of this video have been edited for copyright purposes. If you would like to request the original version, please reach out to community @ creativemornings.com. Free talks like this one are hosted every month in cities around the world. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspiring videos: bit.ly/1jeJwut Want more CreativeMornings goodness? Sign up for our newsletter: creativemornings.com/newsletter

Why it's here

12 people recommend this

What people say. Engineers and freelancers widely recommend this talk as the definitive guide to contracts and getting paid for client work.

thaumaturgyon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Freelance Isn't Free Act Passes in NYC”

You really need to watch this (very famous) talk by Mike Monteiro, called "Fuck You, Pay Me": link to this video Especially the section where his attorney starts talking (at about 7:20).
View on Hacker News

MrFoofon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Freelance Isn't Free Act Passes in NYC”

Please watch this: Fuck You, Pay Me: link to this video The $1250 I spent once to have a business attorney draft up a template for my services agreement is the best $1250 I ever spent in the past 7 years. That $1250 makes me money , because I never have to harass clients to get paid, because they know I have legal recourse if they don't. Since then I've maybe paid him $1000 to deal with things clients wanted to redline in my service agreement. That $2250 total (which is a legitimate business expense) is a pittance compared to what I would lose for a single unpaid invoice. Meanwhile, I always hear from freelancers that don't get paid, but claim lawyers are "too expensive". You know what's really expensi…
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Improvotteron Hacker News • Recommends

On “I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project”

I watched this video from Mike Monteiro and I always refer to it since. It's about getting paid for the work you do. link to this video
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Mandatumon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Job descriptions should show a salary or salary range”

Fuck you, pay me for those of you uninitiated, this talk by Mike Monteiro is awesome - about not getting paid in creative services: link to this video
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wwkeyboardon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Ask HN: I'm owed 8k by a startup that's going under. What do I do?”

It's a little late for you, but Mike Monteiro's "Fuck you, pay me!" talk has a lot of good information. link to this video
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quanticleon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Fucking Sue Me (2011)”

…different parts of the world, but we signed some crazy things (which were dealbreakers if not signed) in the past and no-one ever sued us for it I will be extremely honest. You got lucky. You put your head in the mouth of the lion, and it didn't bite. It doesn't mean that what you did was a good idea, it just means that you got away with it. 1: link to this video…
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gravypodon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Fucking Sue Me (2011)”

This is some bad advice because there are people who will "Fucking sue you". If you want to learn about how a professional deals with contracts, payments, and contracting I'd say to check out "Fuck you. Pay me" 0 that gives a reasoned explanation of negotiations, what to expect, and reasonable ways to react/behave. 0 - link to this video
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somedangednameon Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Magic Behind the Scenes of Docker Desktop”

You give people something cool for years at no cost and now they're pissed that they have to compensate you for your labor. The way that people value software these days is completely insane. People writing you hate mail are bad clients that you don't want and you can feel free to ignore them. Also watch this video that was doing the rounds on HN a couple of years ago: link to this video Your app looks neat - I'll go try it out.
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morphleon Hacker News • Recommends

On “I'm an engineer that needs to sell my services. Any good books on sales?”

Very good advice for consultants and freelancers: link to this video TL;DR: Make good consulting contracts with a proper lawyer
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ClearAndPresenton Hacker News • Recommends

On “Ask HN: Freelancer's Dilemma – Client Won't Pay Despite Clear Agreement”

As a palette cleanser and loin girder: link to this video (You already guessed it was Mike Monteiro.) For this project: Did they refuse to pay actively ("We won't pay you."), or passively (No replies to emails.) The latter might be incompetence. As others mentioned, specific legal advice depends on respective jurisdictions, but an offical lawyer's letter sometimes wakes up legal when accounting is drifting. Did you deliver the final access to the code / server / credentials? If not, gently bring servers, DBs, platforms to a halt pending final payments. Future projects: Contract, always. Up-front commencement payments, always. Price yourself higher in the initial quote, and ask for staged payments, such…
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Zealotuxon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Ask HN: Freelancer's Dilemma – Client Won't Pay Despite Clear Agreement”

…up, be flexible with clients (delays in payments are a common occurrence with any company) but don't be afraid to go after dishonest clients, if you can't afford it or don't feel like going this path then you need to set up as many contingencies as possible upfront (see previous point). A classic video that might help you get in the right mindset: link to this video…
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SamuelAdamson Hacker News • Recommends

On “No Pay, No Work; Early Career Lessons”

I also recommend watching this talk if you have not seen it already. Mike Monteiro: Fuck you, pay me. link to this video
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jackmaneyon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Business Can Pay to Train Its Own Work Force”

> if a business invests $20k in training and $80k in salary, there is nothing stopping another employer from offering $90k in salary after training is complete. Then that business will have to pay better. You want me to stick around? Fuck you, pay me1 (or give me some other reason that is compelling--to me, not to you--to stay). 1: link to this video
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davismwflon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Ask HN: Slow paying client and how do you deal with them?”

I have lived this many times over. You will always have clients like this, these are the best ways I have found so far. 1: do not give net 30 day terms unless a client has earned them or applied via credit. Some exceptions can be made for large firms, but many small to medium businesses are terrible about paying. Large businesses might be a little slow, but almost always pay consistently the same, unless there is a known issue. 2: If you do give net 30 terms (or anything more then 10 days), provide a discount for payment within 10 days. This makes almost all larger businesses prioritize your invoice and get you paid. You may think it is minor, but many businesses do this over hundreds or som…
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rocket_surgeronon Hacker News • Mentions

On “YouTube ads appear to be ramping up, with as many as 10 unskippable ads”

People who don’t pay (or watch ads) are no different from the greedy dickheads who offer to pay artists and developers in “exposure”. Ether pay, or don’t use. Fuck You, Pay Me: link to this video
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killjoywashereon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work”

> pro-free-cultural moral views Mike Montero would like a word "Who in this room is now, or has at some time, been in creative services? "Who here has, at some time, had trouble getting paid by a client for work they were doing? "Raise your hand if any of these are familiar to you: "'We ended up not using the work.' "'It's really not what we wanted after all.' "Alright. Who's familiar with Goodfellas ? "Alright. 'We got somebody internal to do it instead.' "'Fuck you. Pay me.'" "'Fuck you. Pay me.'" link to this video
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