Picking good targets to do free work for is arguably the most important step in this whole process. The key thing to keep in mind is that you want to aim high. Find people who are seemingly unreachable to a recent college graduate, and go after them.

Because youʼre willing to work for free, your qualifications will matter less.

You can approach the "high-hanging fruit" that no other graduates will be going after. Less competition means a better chance of you getting work.

In my opinion, a person taking the free work route should try to work for a successful entrepreneur who is still on the upswing. There are many reasons for this.

• First of all, entrepreneurs tend to move at a breakneck pace compared to the corporate world. They are not interested in pushing papers; they want to get things done fast and make change happen. These are the people you want to be around, because you will begin to absorb their attitude and work ethic.

• Secondly, there are a lot of entrepreneurs but only a fraction of them are successful. The ones who are unproven are much riskier for you, because they may never succeed. Not only are they too poor to pay you, but there's also a decent chance that they will always be too poor to pay you. When you work with an entrepreneur who has already achieved success and now has their sights set even higher, you'll have a much better chance at being involved in a future success of theirs.

Before you reach out, however, you need to do a lot of research on them.

[What should you find out]

This will ensure that you don't sound like an idiot when you introduce yourself, and will prove that you are extremely familiar with who they are and what they value.

Now you have your target picked. They're working on a project that you are interested in, and you've done your research. You know you can benefit them in a big way... but how should you contact them?

Simple: just send them an email.