View Full Version : awkward conversation about money
oh dear, so i made some business cards for the mending and other sewing work that i would like to do on the side, Basically i like doing it and it is not cost to me to pass out some cards and see if anyone has a need places like work. i have earned a whole $10 for a short job and help advertising.
So now a friend at work asked me to do a few things for her, so far it has been very quick, like under 30 minutes total. But still it takes the years of practice i have in order to do it that quickly. i went hiking with her yesterday and she asked about the one purse i had not done because i was moving and i am doing it today. She also asked me to sew on a button (really people don't know how to do these things?) and one other small thing. However the awkwardness is that she has not mentioned payment at all. She does lots of poor talk, we earn the same with our recent raises but she still seems stuck in poor talk.
i am setting my rate at $20 an hour plus materials. i count shopping time, actual time at the store, if i need to find speciality things not in my stash, plus i will charge time if i need to pick up or deliver (i see her at meetings so that is not an issue). i am not charging anything less than 30 minutes, that is for a couple buttons, an easy hem, etc.
i am thinking that she is assuming this is part of the friendship deal. She is a pretty new friend so i don't know how she handles money. i have had other friends i have sewed for and they buy a nice lunch for us or fancy coffee drinks. but i am now up to 4 small purses, a leather purse and 2 buttons on shorts. i am not willing to make a big deal about this but i am concerned about the 'friend creep', so how to bring it up casually and give her a chance to offer payment or at least promotion of my side job.
Did you give her an invoice?
no, my one friend suggested that i mention that my friend limit is 5 free items so she has the option to pay me or at least make sure we are not in friend creep area. i could write my rates on the back of a card and give her several and just tell her how much time i spent?
i am being a little wimpy on this one, new territory here
Set rate and time boundaries on this now or it will haunt you for a long time. Minimum rates to start and an hourly rate with quotes for general services in the ballpark.
If you cannot set the rate up and feel comfortable about it, you should get some help in doing so. You are providing a service that has been requested. It is not you a person providing help to a friend, it is a business service for a customer so be detached and objective about it.
Been there and done that so this is the voice of experience talking.
rosarugosa
6-21-15, 7:10pm
Zoe Girl: I cannot for the life of me imagine expecting a friend to do my mending free of charge. I think when you give her the the other purse, you could say something like, "I'm setting my labor charges at $20. per hour. Does that sound reasonable to you?" Then see where it goes from there. If you find that she expected you to do the work for free, consider it a lesson learned for not setting expectations up front, but don't accept any additional items from here without clearly setting a price. Hopefully, she will respond with something like "That sounds reasonable to me. How much do I owe you?"
Good luck!
awakenedsoul
6-21-15, 7:48pm
Your rate sounds very reasonable to me. I wouldn't do any sewing or mending for free. Since it's a side job, it sounds like the reason you're doing it is to increase your income. When I had a business I would always put in writing the date, the service, and the cost. You're worth it. I think it's a great idea, and a creative way to use your talent and passion for sewing.
thank you guys, i had a really good talk with my best friend about how we agree we did a good job of this when our kids were young (now we live kinda far apart). it was good to have that conversation and realize we both felt good about it. we traded a lot of babysitting but when she had to go back to canada and i did full time daycare for a week they paid me. So that felt great.
one thing i am definitely doing is adding my prices to the back of my cards so i don't end up this way again, it is not losing a friend over $20 but it would if it kept going on like this. And i can also encourage her to do some advertising for me which is really good, people in our department know that i have done work for her so that is advertising by word of mouth.
Glad to hear i am not the only one with this issue!
Maybe you aren't willing to lose a friend over $20 but if she is then she isn't worth having as a friend in the first place. KWIM?
rosarugosa
6-21-15, 8:00pm
I agree with Awakened. I wish you lived near me - I can sew my own buttons and hem, but I wish I knew someone who was skilled with alterations and could replicate a simple garment. As a point of reference, our dry cleaner charges $10. to hem a pair of pants and $11.00 - $15.00 (I think it depends on his mood or something) for letting out a pair of pants. You are providing a valuable service!
iris lilies
6-21-15, 8:17pm
And set a minimum time. If her job took 25 minutes instead of 30, wouldn't you still charge 30? maybe a one hour minimum is more reasonable, for you.
In addition to wanting to know your price structure, as a paying customer, I would want an estimate regarding how long a particular project would take and what the final bill would be. For instance, I would expect it to take longer to alter a lined jacket than a simple skirt and some materials are more time consuming to work with than others. Something like the tailor that charges X amount to hem pants, Y for jeans, and Z for skirts (or probably more than one price, depending on how full the skirt is). That not only is good for the consumer but it also protects you from later having them question whether whatever project you completed really took that much time.
radicchio, good points, that is one reason to not push charging is that i didn't set prices up front so she could not choose what she could afford. i can be clear about what i expect in costs when the expectation is set that there will be a charge.
I would just tell her "I'm turning this talent into a side business, so in the future I will be charging for my work. Since you know the quality of my work would you mind letting people know? Here's my business cards with rates. Thank you!"
That removes any weirdness about whether she owes you for past work. Clean slate.
good idea, and a chance to practice what i am doing for the future.
If this is a side-business meant to supplement income, no freebies. You could have a "friend minimum" of 15minutes for these little jobs. 3 mendings/buttons took me 15" so that'll be $5 please. Be clear with those certain people, that your friend min is just that and that your customary minimum is 1hour (Iris Lily's suggestion).
I would not ask if rate is acceptable. Businesses do not ask the customer. If there are no customers, that is the signal to drop the rate. If you get the income you want from this supplemental income, your rate has been supported by the consumer.
Business is business.
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