Notice what's being offered instead of payment ...and what is not.
1) Nobody offers a personal recommendation and the names and email addresses of ten business associates ...who need logos designed.
2) Nobody offers to first go out and get two or three sales for the designer
before they ask for a favor. These paid sales would -- in no uncertain terms -- prove the recipient values what the designer does. ...Doesn't happen. Ever.
3) Few offer to trade their valuable services, or if the designer prefers, trade their services to a third party for something the design would want.
4) Fewer still will go to the trouble of developing a clear, concise design brief. Rather they will suck up your time making up their mind and demand multiple versions. In other words they will demonstrate zero respect for your time through the action of making their job quick and effortless for the designer.
Instead what's being offered is invariably
the very least the person can possibly figure out to offer. They don't have traffic. They aren't offering a testimonial or endorsement. They aren't really going to "give you more business," because they could just as well line it up beforehand.
You can, however, bet you eye teeth these people are going to be every little bit as demanding and finicky as if they paid double the going rate. Someone short on money has lots to offer to exchange value for value. And those people are due respect and good work.
Finally, often, when doing any kind of barter deal what's offered has several times the face value of the simple cash transaction. Try buying and selling a diamond -- there's a big Bid/Ask spread. That's based on the illuquidity of the market. Blue chips stocks have a small bid/ask spread. Penny stocks have huge bid/ask spread. All due to the riskiness of getting your money out of the investment: A simple acknowledgment of basic economic and business fundamentals.
That means a logo "trades" for several times face value, not a fraction as is typical for designers without a lick of business sense. Doesn't matter if it's plumbing services traded for cattle feed or whatever, that's basic trading versus cash. ....except for graphic design.
So, if a Fortune 500 company comes to ask for a free logo -- you do it. Chances are they'll back the new logo with several hundred thousands of dollars in publicity and a prestige that's worth putting in your portfolio. Chances are a story specifically about your logo will be in magazines in front of other business people who are likely customers. On the other hand, penny-stock companies -- and those below penny stock level (read: everyone asking for a logo instead of paying for one) -- have the portfolio value equivalent of a bag of gravel.
Dead links to sites that have gone out of business have less-than-zero portfolio value.
Number One Indicator of Business Failure:
Not having enough money to pay for stuff.
Number Two Indicator: Not understanding basic business principles like trading value for value, and the time value of money.
Number Three Indicator: Magical thinking about what a logo is
Design View / Andy Rutledge - Logo Misapplication