While it may seem only natural to develop as many clients and as much
business as possible, you have to be a bit circumspect when combining
your professional life with your personal life. I recently observed
a situation at my son’s school that points up the dangers of
working where you live. While I wasn’t privy to the exact nature
of the dispute, it points up some important guidelines to observe when
making clients of your friends and neighbors.
Not in front of the children
The reason for this particular dispute remains unknown to most of us,
but, whatever the cause, the consequences spilled over onto the school
grounds one morning this week. One parent began loudly complaining
about another while that parent was clearly within earshot. It was
an obvious attempt to enlist other parents in their cause, but the
scene quickly turned ugly with loud recriminations and “in-your-face” shouting.
Even worse, this battle continued in the afternoon while parents were
waiting to pick up their children. Clearly, this was not the time or
place to be airing dirty laundry between parents, but people often
don’t consider their actions well enough.
As far as I can tell, this started as a professional dispute. One parent
recommended a friend to another parent who somehow felt ill-used by
this friend. Their anger was then directed at the parent who originally
referred this person.
Choose carefully
When my son first started at this school, I wondered aloud to my wife
(editor and business advisor) whether it would be a good idea to market
my computer services to the parents. It was a potentially lucrative
new market of people who had never heard of me before. While the possibility
of new clients intrigued me, I immediately saw problems. What would
happen if someone was displeased with my work? Would they express their
displeasure to the rest of the school? Would my son suffer in the process?
Would he suddenly not be able to have a play date with a good friend,
just because their parents couldn’t get along?
In the end, I decided against marketing directly to the parents for
this and a variety of other reasons. It simply seemed too fraught with
problems that could effect the entire family and not just my business.
Of course, you can’t always hide your light under a bushel, so
some parents found out about my computer work and asked to hire me.
So far, these relationships have all been great, but I am constantly
on the watch for any issues that might arise. Additionally, I have
thought long and hard about the possible ramifications of these issues
and how it might effect my family and me.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
One important part of my relationship with these clients, and all my
clients, is my firm belief that satisfaction is guaranteed. While I
don’t have an official statement of this policy on my business
cards or web site, it is part of all the work I do. If a client isn’t
happy, not matter the reason, I will do whatever it takes to make them
happy. This goes double or triple for someone who is also part of my
personal life. It is a sure road to personal unhappiness, if not career
failure, to leave these clients unhappy with your work. You have to
face these people every day, in most cases, and an unresolved conflict
can quickly boil over in such an environment. In extreme cases, I would
be willing, if not eager, to fully refund any payments to the client
in an effort to resolve the conflict.
Unfortunately, even this might not be enough to repair the damage done.
When working for clients that have additional connections to your personal
life, you have to be ready to face the fact that you may end up making
some enemies along the way. Normally, a disgruntled client, while problematical,
doesn’t have the ability to effect your personal life in dramatic
ways. Working for fellow parents at your school, friends of your relatives,
and other personal connections has the danger of complicating your
personal life beyond imagining.
My best advice is to “tread lightly” when mining personal
relationships for professional clients. You might find yourself embroiled
in highly-charged disputes with someone who is very close to you. Be
aware of the potential pitfalls so you can do your best to avoid them.
Then, develop plans for dealing with these issues, just in case. Enter
into these relationships with open eyes and you will be able to improve
your high-tech career without destroying your personal life.
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