Should you invite,(SELL!) friends and family into your business?

13 years ago

I don't feel comfortable to sell to friends or family. If my products and services are selling well, i guess they will come without I market it for them.

Beside thanks to google saved us the effort

G+1 your website / product / service and let google do the magic when a friend search for products similar to yours.

A friend or family for me is much more valuable than my whole business.

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JSThompson

13 years ago

I think you guys are over analyzing this. If your product is selling well, what does it hurt to help a friend or family member out? Why do you have to sell it? Why not help them? Haven't they done things for you in the past? There is a time when greed takes over and pushes rational thinking to the side.

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Burton Lancaster

13 years ago

in short. NO. you can use family and friends for initial testimonials but I would highly recommend not charging for the product.

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myob 13 years ago

I could never sell my products to friends and family.
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Ga RedNeck

13 years ago

I totally agree with the above Ive given my brother all kinds of things and helped him in alot of ways in this biz.
I would not charge anyone in my family

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Rach72

13 years ago

Friends and family are taboo when it comes to business.

It is very rare that you will provide them with anything that they really need or want (other than a commercial free relationship). If they feel that your product can seriously help them, then they will ask you for it in their own time. If they do ask give it to them for free.

Rach

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stevenjacobs

Banned 13 years ago

I agree you should never sell products and services to your family and friends because it can hurt your relationship with them, proably over a 17$ product.

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IMWinner

13 years ago

I don't see the idea why I would sell my products to my friends and family. They are already there for you whether you are into the business or not, and for sure, they are also there to support you in any decision that you would make. Although I could say that it should not be the case that all your friends are included in this no sell idea, since you are into a business, it might create some problem to your business if you are into giving your products to them. You can give them some free samples but the next time they want the product, you could give them some discounts and not for free.
In addition, in the case for family members, I could say that they are to be free of charge since "blood is thicker than water". Family is more important and valuable than commodities or any goods available out there in the market.

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Dee Odus

13 years ago

I will not be able to sell my product or service to my friends or family, especially being an I.T technician. If you dare charge your friend/family to repair their computer, it means for the rest of the life of that computer you will have to fix it for free, they will call and say "The computer you fixed the last time, I haven't touched it since but today I decided to use it and it's still not working" ;-)

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4Frankie

13 years ago

Have to be careful with business and family - definitely relationship with family is very important

If family or friend needs help - wouldnt that be free but if they cant understand or get the results you are getting that can hurt relationships and be embarrassing

A sticky question. Up to individual case or circumstances I think.

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Mr.money411

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron Barnas

Should you invite,(SELL!) friends and family into your business?

I'm sorry I am very passionate about this subject. I believe your business needs to be separate from friends and family. Especially when you are first trying build up your business.

I know what some of you will say, if you believe in your products or services why not get your friends or family involved.

Here is why you do not mix business and family.

1. You should being doing a business for profit. Is it right to make a profit from your friends or family?

2. Your beliefs in your business our yours. Your friends or family members may agree to buy into a part of your business just because of your relationship, only to find out later it was never something they wanted.

3. Now the real big one. If your business takes a nose dive for what ever reason your friends and family may never forgive you. Is it worth losing a relationship over?

These are just a few reasons I just wanted to throw out there. I would love to hear from both sides.

Well said most that say get your friends and family involved is that MLM crap which who actually is getting rich from that besides the ones that created it.

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dadamson

13 years ago

My girlfriend helps me in the administration aspect of my SEO business and it is working out great.

I previously outsourced this, but as I only really had contact via email it was frustrating when things went wrong and I need answers right away.

Now I just pay my girlfriend on a monthly basis to do some of the admin on a regular basis throughout the month.

It is working out great because if I have any questions or concerns I can just ask her and resolve internal issues a lot quicker than waiting for an email.

One of the better decisions I have made in my business.

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Mike Cruickshank

13 years ago

I truely believe you should never sell to friends and especially family. If you aren't making any money then you should move on / find another lead generation techinique.

Trying to make money from friends and family is the lowest of the low. Only people that would attempt it are people who are desperate to make cash.

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Tony Marriott 13 years ago

I see why you ask the question as I often read in "e-books" (especially ones about "viral" traffic, to "contact your friends and family first".

I can honestly say that ranks right up there as one of the more stupid pieces of advice. For me, that tells the value of the training too (ZERO).

It looks like a pretty unanimous verdict from the other posts. Don't use your friends and family to start or build your customer base.....Good grief!!

If your products and business is that good I am sure you can figure better ways to help it benefit your friends and family. Unfortunately including your friends and family as customers is more likely to be considered because of desperation.

If your business model is that bad, change it!
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Bballer1

13 years ago

If you plan to go into business and you're looking for a partner, and you think a friend or family member has the skills and talent that you're looking for, then I believe there wouldn't be any problems if you set the ground rules early on. The important thing is that you know the person well and there is trust between you guys already.

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MickoP

13 years ago

No. Never-ever do that.

Don't mix family, friends and business. Better work with your enemy, than with your friend some business. I did that mistake few times when I started with IM. Then and never again.

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Geeked Labs

13 years ago

My friends and family are paying whether the currency be good will or actual cash.

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WebPen

13 years ago

I think that it depends.

I'm not going to sell my family a weight loss product or IM product, for example.

But if they want to pay me to make a cool video, I'll take it (as long as they're not trying to pay me too much)

For hte most part though, business and family don't mix.

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Richard Tunnah 13 years ago

Trying to sell to family and friends always reminds me of MLM meetings I've been to many years ago. I think there's a high chance of it ending in tears.
Now if you're talking about helping family and friends I've tried a number of times to help friends out but unfortunately most don't seem willing to do what is needed so give up very quickly.

Rich
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- Terry Hatfield 13 years ago
  
  I think a better option than having them join you in your online business is to teach them to do internet marketing and let them start their own.
  
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kaper7

13 years ago

If you are selling a solid product, you should be able to offer it to anyone. On the other hand, I would rather give them a review copy than to sell it to them.

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art72

13 years ago

As the newness of IM wares off, I have stopped trying to explain my 'vision' for internet marketing to others, especially friends and family!

The way I see it, when my online success becomes a reality, they'll know, and I won't need to speak of it!

I'd prefer they continue to 'shake their head' in disbelief at this point, as it motivates me to work harder, so later on... when they're still commuting to a job they hate, and limited on time...

I'll be shaking my head

Short answer... "No" -I never could sell to family or friends. Too much like 'pushing' Amway, Avon, or the like.

To the contrary, I do believe business friendships can develop from a sale and almost transcend salesmanship into the likeness of creating 'new found' family members though.

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JerrickYeoh

13 years ago

1. You should being doing a business for profit. Is it right to make a profit from your friends or family?

Yes, if they is your target market group as well. Friends and Family is once of your network as well. Impossible you give up those opportunities since they the one.

2. Your beliefs in your business our yours. Your friends or family members may agree to buy into a part of your business just because of your relationship, only to find out later it was never something they wanted.

Yeap, you unable to force them if they found something they that not they aspect for.
That why you need to work independent sometime.

3. Now the real big one. If your business takes a nose dive for what ever reason your friends and family may never forgive you. Is it worth losing a relationship over?

Not only family and friends, all shareholder is the same. Everything happen , they will pull out their invest anytime. They invest on your business is because they trust you.

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fairusfarok 13 years ago

I don't know whether this might be relevant, but while i was doing MLM i did the whole 'Sell-to-a-friend-and-lure-them-in' ga-jig-mig. It became ugly...very ugly...

I lost two of my greatest friends when i fought with them about this. That was really rough Thankfully over time, we've patched up, but we're not as close as before.

Simple rule, Don't even try to pitch anything to them. Cause their relationship with you is FAR MORE vital than a profit. Even when they're looking for help, give them like a cut price or even for free.
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- Suthan M 13 years ago
  
  The short answer is NO.. This is me speaking from experience.
  
  I am quite succesful with internet marketing, and i have programs and stuffs where i open for the masses. Naturally, as i get better, even my close friends gets attracted to my success and wants me to teach them.
  
  Taking them up on their offer is the single WORST thing i did- for them and for me.
  
  #1: i cant teach them like how i teach to other regular folks.
  They are my friends, so i tend to be more biased, more caring, more nicer and generally try to cater to their whims and fancy. If this is somebody else who i dont know, i wouldnt have let it happen
  
  #2: Things gets emotional fast
  When i tell off normal people, they know i am doing it, becouse they did something wrong, and correct it. On the other, with friends, they take it personally and this brings a lot of negative energy.
  
  #3: High expectations
  Just becouse they know us personally, they sometimes expect that we need to teach the shortcuts only and not from the basics. When i teach the basics, my friends yawn, and say, hey get to the interesting stuff. But then, becouse their understanding is shallow, things dont go well, and the blame comes back to me.
  
  #4: Everything becomes business
  Well, remember the times when its carefree and you hangout becouse its fun and stuff? The moment you pull in your friends in, expect everyday conversation to revolve around this topic and expect a more profit-loss situation around you. Trust me, even a drink out session or poker nights wont be fun anymore.
  
  So yea- bad deal.
  
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jsk1161

13 years ago

I make it a point of never ever involving family (other than wife) and friends in any business ventures I undertake. It's too personal and very hard to be objective if anything goes wrong. So, for peace of mind and maintaining a good relationship, I stay clear.

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jimmynastic

13 years ago

Dealing with family is very stressing especially where you have to contribute money and do a mutual business.
Avoid itif possible but in the unfortunate situations, be very cautious in what you do, this are some great tips to tacking it..
1. be very open to each other.
2. contribute equal amount of money and if not equal agree on how to share the profit.
3. share all the work in the business equally and never fall a victim of working for the other.
4. in case of theft, don't shy from quitting the business, this will save you from future stress.
thanks.

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Should you invite,(SELL!) friends and family into your business?

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