papiris<p>So this person / startup contacted me to consult on development of their new product, a sort of agricultural drone. They found my <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/floss" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floss</span></a> work on high-speed cameras and optical flow, and want my help.</p><p>Their product and the end-game of a product I'm developing (drone shepherd which protects grazing animals from predators) uses similar technology. So the work would have to be done by me in the end, a few years down the line. I told them I could help out, on the premise that all code I produce is free software. </p><p>The thing is, in terms of money... I have no money. I also have more pressing matters at hand, and a lot of features to develop and services to provide for products I already offer.<br>The company asking me also has no money, for now. </p><p>A person has to eat, and I do run a flosshw consultancy, so this is exactly the kind of thing I should take payment to do.</p><p>How should I bring up the matter of compensation / providing a livelihood for myself while doing the work?</p><p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/business" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>business</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/fediask" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fediask</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/foss" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>foss</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/work" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>work</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/freelance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>freelance</span></a></p>