There have been many articles written regarding this very subject that have been circulating around the Internet for a while now. Many have fallen prey to the smooth-talking “friends” who demand for the special treatment or to put it straight “for free work” which is the height of stupidity if you do so. When you establish your new small business and notify your friends and family about it, mostly and at least a few of them are bound to ask about a "family/friends discount" or “freebies” on your products. The request for free work always has strings attached. Sometimes friends may not truly recognize your business, and as an outcome, they may undervalue your service or overestimate your profit. The fact that you cannot run your freelance business like a charity is worth taking the time to explain. The costs involved in running your company, including payments , supplies, rent and other variables are the major factors people need to understand before they open their mouths for the free service.

Many good friends even these days fail miserably to realize that your brain costs money to maintain. All those paid training classes, expensive books, gaining certificates, costs of memberships and mastering those skills cost a bundle of hard-earned money and it’s about time your hardwork pays you back. You need to protect your investments. As a good friend, if you call yourself one, ask yourself how fair and justified is it to the people, who have acquired the knowledge and skills by burning the midnight oil, to give away all their capabilities thus and so that acts as a only mean of their livelihood? Now, don’t get offended. If you do, maybe you deserve to be offended because you’re one of those friends who assume that if the Internet, being so widely available, is loaded with free information, the others too have to provide information for free. Not happening sorry! You need to understand that it is unflattering to approach your friends for freebies as they have business to run, employees to pay, rent to settle. You may hurt them financially. It doesn’t make them selfish or ungrateful if they decline the offer to give you anything for free. You need to understand that their knowledge has value. They have invested a large part of their life and money into learning that craft and it’s not fair to expect any favours. As a friend, your responsibility is to understand the boundaries. Instead support their entrepreneurial endeavours by buying from them. A great friend is the one that pays full price to support their friend and help them out in their journey to build themselves up. It takes a lot it time and effort to let your business run. Buy their services to support their time, work and wisdom. Friendship is friendship and business is a business and you need to draw a line between them. Be more inclined to help them succeed by not playing your “best friend” card. You either support someone fully or you do not. Asking them for free goods is disrespectful to their art and downright rude. Every good is priced wisely keeping in mind all the details and it would not be fair to them if you will ask for free stuff in in exchange for our blood, sweat, and tears. Every entrepreneur is filled with anger and frustration with the thought of obligation to give you free stuff now in order to not lose a friend. If friends cannot support you then who will? Buy your friend’s dreams at full cost even if you don’t need it it or even if it’s overcharged. It’s a gesture of a support. The bottom line is that do not damage their confidence to save yourself couple of bucks. If you really want their services/products, pay for it.