Work 4 free to get experience? -

I have wanted to be a fashion designer all my life since I was a kid I ve been designing outfits and have gotten a lot of good responses and complements. I know I m good at this, I m just very confident about this. I ve come up with a plan to start my own thing but due to a lack of funds it s going to take me a good six to eight months before I can branch out on my own with my ideas. Well for now I ve been offered an opportunity to design for someone who has connections in the films industry (mainly low-budget films) but I wont get paid now. She is just getting into this part of the biz, so she has no funds to pay me now - but there is potential for pay in the future. What should I do? I haven t worked in this field ever this could be much needed experience that i might could benefit from. I m just not sure if I want to use my designs for this project when I can use it for my own project in several months. I also keep thinking that I m not getting paid, I don t know if I want to work for free. I m sure this person will get paid but not sure how much she expects to get in her bank account before she thinks it s safe to begin paying me? This is quite a dilemma for me. I m hoping that someone can help me get some clarity on what is a wise choice here. -Thanks for any advise you can offer.

Get a good contract protecting your designs, guaranteeing they remain your property. Also the time you expect to be paid and the percentage.