Question:

I have a good friend who wants me to help her with her kitchen remodel, but I think she expects me to do it for free. It could get even worse, I will feel guilty about billing her and that usually means I won’t get around to billing my time at all.

This is looking like a loose, loose situation because if I tell her that I can’t do it then I will really feel bad. What do I do?

Answer:

The best way that I know of handling these friends and family jobs is to first figure out exactly how much time and money you would normally charge a regular client for this job.

Then, and only then, make a decision about how much gift you want to make to this friend/client. Write a Letter of Agreement for the job, showing the gift time/money up front and the remaining cost of the rest of the job.

By being clear in the beginning about what you want to give her, she can then acknowledge the gift and there will be no expectation on either side of more giving.