Doing Business with Friends and Family

[Pure Peace]

what is your policy or opinion on this?



whether going into a business together as partners, or providing goods and services to your friend/family (vice versa), investing in property/ventures, being employed by (vice versa), loaning money to/from, etc....


I am firmly against going into business together as partners of the same company or investors in the same property (personal or investment) with any friends or family


i will never loan $$ to anyone, id rather just give $$

ive denied every single time a person has asked me for a personal loan

no Ifs, Ands, or Buts

several friends, cousins, acquaintences, etc. have tossed around the idea of buying a beach or lake house together and i immediately, but politely decline and state that it is my own personal policy and nothing will get me to budge on it.

i will provide services (non sexual) from my business to friends and family at "preferred rates and attention", but they still have to do their part and pay my invoices on time and not treat me like a "friend"

ive actually "fired" some friend and family clients that didnt pay me on time (or ever)



some friends and family view having a "hookup" as getting something of value totally for free from the friend, without that friend gaining anything in return
i have friends and family that thrive off of "Getting hooked up" from friends and family for every single thing





when i ask a friend or family contractor to do a job in my home, I personally do not expect a giant discount, I just expect good service from someone i trust with just maybe a tiny discount



i bet contractors deal with this shit all the time form friends and family

 

[dc007]

I don't like mixing any of that stuff either. When my friend asked me to stay at my place for a week while his kid took an acting class nearby, I asked why he wasn't just commuting in with him each day and he told me can't afford the bus so I just sent him money as a gift to get them in every day. I told him if he wants to pay it back, fine but I see it as investing in his kid.

Kid booked his first TV role shortly after so hopefully he'll have a nice career ahead of him.

 

[syct23]

No...

/Thread.

 

[TidWell]

Not a good idea, i seen friends get greedy, money changes people.

Sometimes it works out like with the fertitas and dana white

 

[j123]

I don't do it.

These folks are looking for a penalty free career. Many times I've seen a company with a third cofounder who has no business being there as a guy with no productivity and just sits back collecting income.

You have to look at this from a business perspective "what does bringing him/her on provide me and the business? What problem are they solving? Will them working with me increase my bottom line and goals? "

Not "my friend does good work, will be awesome to work alongside". Naw, axe this train of thought immediately.

 

[Pure Peace]

i deal with lots of clients, and 1 thing Ive noticed about those always looking for a "hookup" , is that they are the most annoying, nitpicky of all clients

not only do they want to beat you up on price bc you are "Friends", but they will squeeze everything out of you, expect you to cater to them at their beckon call, treat themselves like some sort of "VIP" with your staff, etc.

a while ago i had to put my foot down bc it was beginning to become a problem with some people

i can feel the old man creeping in bc these days, instead of being nice about it and sugar coating it, i straight up tell people that the only "hookup" they get from me is a TINY discount and the assurance that someone they trust will be doing the job properly with a slight personal touch to make them feel special

if they are hoping to get a basement deal or an on-call type of service from me, they should look elsewhere


one of the best things about being self employed is the ability to get rid of problem clients and be selective about new ones

 

[faustian]

I don't mind borrowing money from friends/family because there's a good chance I'll be able to avoid repayment

 

[coopdro]

Pretty much nailed it on the head with all of your points OP. I keep my "family" pretty small, so if they need to borrow money, I'll just give it to them. They say they'll pay me back every time, but I never expect to see it again. Then again, my family hates asking to borrow money from me. Usually it's just given before ever being asked because I can see something is amiss.

I really don't like doing work for friends but I'm happy to help them out from time to time. I also don't put my friends in a position to feel like they have to "hook me up". I'll pay fair rates but expect the job to be done right. I'd rather business go to a friend of mine that I know does a good job. If they let me down, I just usually won't do business with them again.

Right now I'm letting a friend sell my house. In hindsight I'm regretting that. I didn't apply my normal views of business with friends because this is the first house I've sold. I don't think I'm getting near the exposure I should be as he doesn't know the area I live in nearly as well as his. I learned from this and won't make that mistake again. It's good to choose qualified people over just people you know. Only thing better is qualified people you know.

 

[sub_thug]

Never mix the two. I don't mix family and business.

 

[Uptown Swinger]

10 Crack Commandments
# 7
This rule is so underrated
Keep your family and business completely separated
Money and blood don't mix like two dicks and no bitch
Find yourself in serious shit

 

[MaxMMA]

It all depends on the friend or family member. I recently had a long time friend buy into my business, got me some new equipment, updated a few assets and then a few months in decided the business wasn't for him.

We agreed to a buyout rate and I'm still paying him off, however his initial contribution to the business opened some new doors, we were able to land more and larger clients and he left my business in better condition then he found it.

So in this case, getting into business with a friend paid off.

 

[Jesus X]

it doesn't end well.

people underestimate the power of money and what people will do for money.

your best family member will betray you or cheat you if enough money is involved.

money is more important than family to some people and you only learn this until enough money gets involved.

 

[xcvbn]

Bunch of sheisters itt

Although I will say I'm hesitant to go into any major($100k+) investment with relatives. It's just asking for trouble. I'll also be much quicker to give a close family member a couple grand than to loan them $10k+.

 

[Pure Peace]

Pretty much nailed it on the head with all of your points OP. I keep my "family" pretty small, so if they need to borrow money, I'll just give it to them. They say they'll pay me back every time, but I never expect to see it again. Then again, my family hates asking to borrow money from me. Usually it's just given before ever being asked because I can see something is amiss.

I really don't like doing work for friends but I'm happy to help them out from time to time. I also don't put my friends in a position to feel like they have to "hook me up". I'll pay fair rates but expect the job to be done right. I'd rather business go to a friend of mine that I know does a good job. If they let me down, I just usually won't do business with them again.

Right now I'm letting a friend sell my house. In hindsight I'm regretting that. I didn't apply my normal views of business with friends because this is the first house I've sold. I don't think I'm getting near the exposure I should be as he doesn't know the area I live in nearly as well as his. I learned from this and won't make that mistake again. It's good to choose qualified people over just people you know. Only thing better is qualified people you know.

one of my friends who is a "realtor" (conveniently whenever he knows his friends or family are looking to buy or sell) gave me a lot of shit and took it personal when I told him I was not going to use him when I bought my first home and my 2nd home (that one stung him more). when he took me aside to explain his grievances to me, he ended up emotional, guilt tripping me trying to make me feel bad asking why i didnt use him as our realtor.

I pointed out that the way he was emotional, angry, and putting guilt and blame on me for a venture we never even went into together, is EXACTLY the reason I'd never do business with him. He huffed and puffed a bit more, and i repeated that the anger and emotion he was showing over this is all the confirmation I need to know i made the correct decision to not use him. he eventually realized this and i believe he went through a self-reflection stage after my comment and realized all the deals he missed out on bc other people had the same feelings about him and he never realized it until i told him

This same realtor friend is the same guy that has gotten "hooked up" for so many things by so many people. ie: his lawn mower was given to him by a friend, his snowblower was his dad's, he renovated his house using a bunch of diff friends of friends as subs, making it a 2 yr project versus a 6-9 month project, when he goes to kids bday parties he is "that guy" who asks the host if he could take home a bunch of food , etc...

10 Crack Commandments
# 7
This rule is so underrated
Keep your family and business completely separated
Money and blood don't mix like two dicks and no bitch
Find yourself in serious shit

how could i have forgotten this verse!

It all depends on the friend or family member. I recently had a long time friend buy into my business, got me some new equipment, updated a few assets and then a few months in decided the business wasn't for him.

We agreed to a buyout rate and I'm still paying him off, however his initial contribution to the business opened some new doors, we were able to land more and larger clients and he left my business in better condition then he found it.

So in this case, getting into business with a friend paid off.

in this case, you got lucky....
but as someone that has dealt with over a hundred family estates and businesses, believe me when I say that your experience was the exception and not the norm

you have a solid friend though, that's for sure

 

[therealdope]

I don't do it.

These folks are looking for a penalty free career. Many times I've seen a company with a third cofounder who has no business being there as a guy with no productivity and just sits back collecting income.

I had that in my first business and you are very correct. Partnerships are bad enough, the third player is there only to suck money out of the other two. Guaranteed.

 

[JAEGERX]

most of the biggest corporations in the world started and most have stayed within the family that created it, sure its not easy but it wouldnt be any easier with other random people

 

[MaxMMA]

one of my friends who is a "realtor" (conveniently whenever he knows his friends or family are looking to buy or sell) gave me a lot of shit and took it personal when I told him I was not going to use him when I bought my first home and my 2nd home (that one stung him more). when he took me aside to explain his grievances to me, he ended up emotional, guilt tripping me trying to make me feel bad asking why i didnt use him as our realtor.

I pointed out that the way he was emotional, angry, and putting guilt and blame on me for a venture we never even went into together, is EXACTLY the reason I'd never do business with him. He huffed and puffed a bit more, and i repeated that the anger and emotion he was showing over this is all the confirmation I need to know i made the correct decision to not use him. he eventually realized this and i believe he went through a self-reflection stage after my comment and realized all the deals he missed out on bc other people had the same feelings about him and he never realized it until i told him

This same realtor friend is the same guy that has gotten "hooked up" for so many things by so many people. ie: his lawn mower was given to him by a friend, his snowblower was his dad's, he renovated his house using a bunch of diff friends of friends as subs, making it a 2 yr project versus a 6-9 month project, when he goes to kids bday parties he is "that guy" who asks the host if he could take home a bunch of food , etc...



how could i have forgotten this verse!




in this case, you got lucky....
but as someone that has dealt with over a hundred family estates and businesses, believe me when I say that your experience was the exception and not the norm

you have a solid friend though, that's for sure

Well it's funny to me how many people are friends with people they wouldn't trust their life, wife, or money with... maybe most people have less friends then they believe?

 

[DarkneT]

Lol

All my family are much better off financially than me
They wouldn't borrow from this scrub!

 

[Pure Peace]

Well it's funny to me how many people are friends with people they wouldn't trust their life, wife, or money with... maybe most people have less friends then they believe?

how you came to that conclusion, is beyond me

ever take a reading class before?