One problem in doing business with family/friends is that things can get a
little muddy. If we’ve talked about the kids for over an hour, can I really
justify billing you for that time? No, I cannot. So a business appointment is a
business appointment. I’ll call you later to catch up on the kids. This is very
important.
What I found myself doing was cheating myself. I’d spend two or three hours
with my client (friend), half of that time was spent just chit chatting. I
couldn’t very well charge them for the full three hours, so I would have wasted
an hour and valuable/billable time. Now I try and keep to an allotted time. I
always say how long I have to meet and I control the conversation. If something
private comes up, I always bring them back to the topic of business.
If you put these policies in place at the onset of your business, you will
avoid problems with family and friends. Family and friends can be some of the
easiest clients to snag, but make sure that you conduct your business decently
and in order.