Family & Friends as Clients : Questions You Must Ask Yourself

There is nothing more fulfilling in life than helping your family and friends succeed, but what about when they become your client? How do you decide the cost for your services, or the creative input they should be allowed to give? Having been there before, I have formed a list of the key points that I always need to address before taking on any family or friend as a client.

Will this working relationship help or hinder your personal relationship?
This is the first thing you should always ask yourself before taking on any family or friend as a new client. Obviously we can all see that the worst-case scenario would be to have an extreme falling-out, which could result in excommunication between you. From my experience, and from talking with other colleagues, this tends to be a rare occurrence and you shouldn't let this fear consume your decision-making. What I have found useful is to create a list of the Pros and Cons for taking on this new client. For instance, you may place your dislike for your Uncle Alfred into the Con column but at the same time you could assume that working closely with him may allow you to get to know him better - this could go into the Pro column. In order for this to list to work, you are going to have to be completely honest with yourself. If you fib then you'll only be hurting yourself.

How will you be compensated for your work?
When working with family and friends, the hardest things to discuss is usually compensation. The best thing to keep in mind when determining your price for this project is to not be shy of proclaiming your worth. Price out the project like you would any other and then determine how much of a "discount", if any, you would like to give them. I've talked to several colleagues about this and have gotten different ideas of their "family & friends discount", but the average seems to be around 25%. I have found that one of the main reasons behind a 25% discount is because, if you are following the pricing guidelines set forth by the AIGA or GAG, then you should still be able to comfortably make a profit with 25% of your cost shaved off. If you have been giving higher discounts then you may want to think about going pro-bono on some projects.

Sometimes it makes more sense to do a job pro-bono than for a discount, which can ultimately decrease the conceptual value of your expertise in your client's eyes. Simply put, if you do something for 75% off the original price, then your client will expect that same discount in the future as well, but if you provide your service for free, with the understanding that you are doing them a favor and expect one in return, then the client will understand that you intend to charge them full price for future projects. From my experiences, it is extremely difficult to get a discounted client to become a full price client the second time around.

Who will you be working with and answering to?
Your best friends may be a great person to have in your wedding or go on a cruise with, but people seem to be very different when it comes to their professional lives. Think twice before agreeing to answer directly to your friend for all design approvals. Instead, it is best to designate someone else from the client's company, usually a project manager, to handle all communication on their end. By using a project manager it doesn't mean your friend can't have a say in the approval process on their end, they're still free to make decisions internally however they would like, but at least this limits any weird situations that could arise between you. Likewise, try not to make yourself the key contact on your end either. Hire a project manager or assign another designer to take care off all communication with the client so there isn't a constant "open door" between you and your friend taking up all of your time. On the off chance that something does go sour, don't try to hide from your friend, instead, pick up the phone and call him to talk it out.

What should be the end result for the project and your relationship?
I've seen a few relationships corrode from projects that went sour due to poor planning. Without proper planning we often leave many open assumptions for the role of the client and the designer, the list of tasks that both parties should complete, and the final deliverables that should be given to the client upon project completion. Before starting any design work, bring both your friend's team and your team together to outline what the final outcome should be for the project and how you will all get there. For instance, if the final outcome is a website redesign then sit down with both teams and outline what all of the necessary task and milestones will be to get to a completed website. The result of this meeting will be an outstanding list of tasks that must be followed for both of your companies.

Make it legit!
Now that you’ve answered the questions above, make it legit by putting together a contract for work between you and your friend. I can’t stress enough the importance of a contract between friends. It may seem harsh or feel unsettling to make things “legal” but in the end, this contract can be a saving grace for you and your friend to settle any discrepancies that may arise. The best way to explain it to your friend is that the contract for work will benefit and protect both of your interests. If you do not have a standard contract for work then you can find some excellent contract examples at GAG (http://www.gag.org/contracts/agreement.html) or start with the Standard Form of Agreement at AIGA (http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm?contentalias=standard_form).

So why do it at all?
Helping your friends and family out can be the most fulfilling feeling you may ever experience in your professional life. It has its risks just like any other client or project that you take on, but knowing what those risks are ahead of time, and planning through them head on, will ensure that you can complete the project without jeopardizing your relationship.