Making together
Propose a swap
A swap is work for work with no money in it. The five minutes you spend agreeing the scope is the reason you will still like each other at the end of it.
10 min
4 steps
The walk
4 steps
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Propose it to one person
Not to a board: from their page, which their name opens on a call, a mentorship post or a gathering they are hosting. Write what you will give and, if you know, what you would like back. Their work tells you whether it is a fair trade better than any message could. -
State the scope and the dates
In your half, in your own words: the thing, the size of the thing, how many revisions, and the date it is due. Vagueness here is what turns a quick logo into four rounds and a website. -
Let them write theirs
They write or rewrite their half, or decline in one press without a conversation about it. Any rewrite, by either of you, clears both agreements, so nobody is held to words they did not agree to. -
Both agree, then both deliver
Once you have both agreed, neither half can be rewritten. Nothing can be marked delivered before that. Mark your half delivered when it has gone; the swap is complete when both halves are in.
Good to know
- Name the number of revisions. It is the single line that keeps a swap from quietly turning into a job.
- Deliver your half first if you can. It is a small thing and it changes how the whole trade goes.
Worth a sentence each
The four things people forget to agree
Revisions
Two rounds, named up front. Unlimited revisions is not generosity, it is a trap for both of you.
Credit
Who is credited, where and how. Costs nothing to agree now and is impossible to settle afterwards.
Use
Where each of you may use what you receive — a portfolio, a shop, an advert. One line is enough.
What happens if it slips
Agreed halves cannot be rewritten, so write a date you can keep. If it slips anyway, say so early; the swap stays open until both halves are delivered.
Questions, answered
Does Phyrne take a cut of a swap?
No. No money moves, so nothing is taken.
Can it be part money, part work?
Keep the two apart — the paid half as an order on a storefront, the traded half as a swap. Mixing them makes both vague.
What if they never deliver?
The swap stays open, waiting on them, and you can tell us: taking somebody's work and not sending yours is a conduct matter. Either of you can cancel a swap that is not going to happen.
Propose one this week
Five minutes of writing it down is what keeps a good trade from turning into a grudge.