working for friends

[Champy]

My problem isn't what to charge (cause it's not a business for me), but with who gets what amount of help......if I help out one "good friend" neighbor, everyone else on the road seems to expect equal use of my time/equipment. Its probably the same problem if I charged - If I discounted prices to one neighbor, the others would expect equal reduced rates.

I do have one neighbor who is a close friend with a landscape business ... buildings, equipment, workers, insurance, taxes, etc...and he always charges me the going rate - no discounts or favors. Its his business / livelihood and I can accept and respect him for that. I pay him the full amount knowing that I am keeping a local business and friend going, and that I will get the highest quality workmanship beyond what anyone else would ever do for me (this is the friendship benefit). I could pay less, but he ALWAYS gives me 120% - on time; great job (overdone); cleans ups; works til we're satisfied; etc....and I end up being a poster child for promoting his business. Someday it will be my turn and his model works for me.

 

[jmfox]

Is it okay for your friends and relatives to hire your competiton? What are you saying to your friends and relatlives when you say you will not work for them?

jmf

 

[davitk]

What are you saying to your friends and relatlives when you say you will not work for them?

jmf

"Here's the phone number of a guy who does good work and is not so busy."

 

[shane]

My neighbor asked me one day if I could help him with his tractor. It was an old Massey and hadn't had any work done on it since it was new. I rebuilt the engine for him and when he asked me what he owed I told him he was a good friend and I wouldn't take anything from him.

About 8 years later I got my 8N stuck and asked him if I could borrow his Massey to pull it out. He tossed me the key and said he'd given up farming (he was 83) and told me to park it in my barn when I was done, if he ever needed it again for something he'd know where to find it.

His parting shot was "you fixed it and wouldn't let me pay you so as far as I'm concerned it's yours".

Wow! I like that story and when I grow up I want to be like your neighbor. He is one classy dude in my book.

 

[rox]

hernando,
ithink my husband hashe right idea when he owndhis restaurant. he always charged the full rate to everybody, but to friends and family (well he never charged my parents I mean thatwould be crazy) he wold give a little extra. If it was a dinner he would send out a special desert. If it was a party he would throw in an extra appetizer. You might want to think along those lines. This is your business not your hobby. Charge the full rate and then as a surprise do a little something extra that wasn't included in the deal. Even on our olive farm we do that. Friends and guests who rent our guest house, if they are pretty nice people and they buy olive oil. I alwys throw in a little something extra, a couple jars of tapenade or a bottle of vinigar. We dont' reduce the cost of our product but we give you a little something extra.

FWIW -I don't think your friends treated you properly.

 

[AMP762]

I've been a mechanic all my life, a long time ago I started telling people when I open my tool box I have no friends. No misunderstandings,no hard feelings.

 

[emmy71]

Never do for free what you do for a living.

Terry

 

[Aquaman]

My neighbor asked me one day if I could help him with his tractor. It was an old Massey and hadn't had any work done on it since it was new. I rebuilt the engine for him and when he asked me what he owed I told him he was a good friend and I wouldn't take anything from him.

About 8 years later I got my 8N stuck and asked him if I could borrow his Massey to pull it out. He tossed me the key and said he'd given up farming (he was 83) and told me to park it in my barn when I was done, if he ever needed it again for something he'd know where to find it.

His parting shot was "you fixed it and wouldn't let me pay you so as far as I'm concerned it's yours".

It's that kind of story that keeps me feeling good about helping people out when they need it. I have lots of friends that I would be happy to do freebie work for and lotsa friends that would do it for me. Don't let a bad experience change your attitude about loyalty to your buddies. It's what seperates us from the animals.

 

[GV40U]

Those of us that own a tractor for our own use and pleasure have to deal with requests for tractor work for friends/neighbors. I don't work for any friends and neighbors, I work with them and only if they work with me. I don't work with anyone I don't know. I'm glad to exchange labor with those that help me on projects. If there is significant tractor time involved, say more than an hour or so, I now tell them (and there are just a few that I will work with) that I have to charge an hourly rate for the tractor. I start with the local daily rental rate for a similar size machine, calculate a per hour charge, reduce that by a bit since I'm not trying to make a profit and only charge for actual hours used. The friends/neighbors feel like they are getting a deal (tractor + operator for less than the rental yard rate) and I feel good about helping with projects. Funny thing about helping others...it seems that I always gain more, either in shared labor or knowledge than I contribute and my friends and neighbors apparently feel the same.

 

[jimmysisson]

I have another take on this, trying not to be cynical. It's possible the friends just don't know how much it costs you to own, maintain, and operate your equipment. Most lay people have no idea. How about sitting down with them and explaining how you would charge someone else to do the same work. Show hard costs first: fuel, materials, labor (not marked up, just an hourly wage). Then maintenance (everyone thinks someone else should pay for that) like lube, filters, wear parts, tires, etc. Don't be stingy, and don't be generous, try for actual.
Those two lines are what it COSTS you to do the work. Already, it's getting to be more than they paid you, or you asked for. Then, discuss whether you should do the work for nothing, in other words, with no thought to upgrading your equipment, or health insurance, or disability insurance, or liability insurance. Many would recommend that whole last group of expenses MUST be part of your COSTS. Any business consultant would. Then, talk about how someone taking the risks with his equipment should be making more than wages. (Who would pay if you damaged something of theirs...?)
If they still think you should charge them less than anyone else, then you're out of luck. You won't work for them again, as they don't respect your efforts. (They should know that, by the end of your meeting.) You should be mad at yourself, not them - it's just an attempt at a job that didn't work out.
You haven't lost a lot of money here, and you've learned something about your friends, and how to approach your work. You will very likely give an estimate ahead of time to the next customer. There's a lot worse stories out there.
Good luck, Jim