Comments on: When to Cut Someone Loose http://wealth-and-wisdom.com/2009/05/19/when-to-cut-someone-loose/ Wealth and life balance through entrepreneurship Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:15:19 +0000 hourly 1 By: Brandt Smith http://wealth-and-wisdom.com/2009/05/19/when-to-cut-someone-loose/comment-page-1/#comment-753 Brandt Smith Sat, 30 May 2009 19:31:45 +0000 http://blog.wealth-and-wisdom.com/?p=303#comment-753 @Clair Schwan-Thanks for the thoughtful comment. It mirrors and complements my post well. I think we are on the same page. I have seen it too many times where friends (and especially family) take liberties and feel like they deserve special treatment. This even happens when expectations are clearly defined up front. @Clair Schwan-Thanks for the thoughtful comment. It mirrors and complements my post well. I think we are on the same page.

I have seen it too many times where friends (and especially family) take liberties and feel like they deserve special treatment. This even happens when expectations are clearly defined up front.

]]> By: Clair Schwan of Sensible Small Business Ideas http://wealth-and-wisdom.com/2009/05/19/when-to-cut-someone-loose/comment-page-1/#comment-751 Clair Schwan of Sensible Small Business Ideas Fri, 29 May 2009 22:22:09 +0000 http://blog.wealth-and-wisdom.com/?p=303#comment-751 I can't tell you how many "friends" and "a friend's son" are building websites in my community, but I do know that all are either off schedule or over-budget, none have been completed, and what portions have been completed don't work well at all. You must have serious players on both sides of the equation if you expect success. It helps to walk through the entire project so customer expectations and employee abilities are out in the open. Only then can you match up needs with skills, interest, availability and so forth. When I was in Chicago, an acquaintance of mine called a man to inquire about a simple odd job that required him to haul a special part to a shipyard using his personal truck. The job paid $150. There was a verbal agreement made and a date set to have the part loaded and delivered. The day before, my fine young acquaintance had his truck inspected and it didn't pass, so it wasn't available to use. He called the man and explained that he couldn't do the job and therefore had made other plans for the day of delivery. The man was upset and said that he needed the part there so badly that if he had known of this potential glitch, he would have rented a truck for my acquaintance to drive, and still paid him the $150 to run the errand. If they had only focused on what was needed up front, and walked through the entire scenario, looking for potential pitfalls, the deal might have been arranged differently to begin with and my acquaintance would have made $150. No matter how well you try to plan things, there are many things that can go wrong. Unfortunately it's always the boss who is to blame because it's the boss who needs to get the work performed. The employees can always find another job out there, but the boss can't always simply start up another business. And, you're right on target. Friends don't usually make good business partners, but good friendships can result from business interactions. It all starts with respect, and those close to you may not respect you as well as someone who views you as a customer first and foremost. Clair I can’t tell you how many “friends” and “a friend’s son” are building websites in my community, but I do know that all are either off schedule or over-budget, none have been completed, and what portions have been completed don’t work well at all. You must have serious players on both sides of the equation if you expect success.

It helps to walk through the entire project so customer expectations and employee abilities are out in the open. Only then can you match up needs with skills, interest, availability and so forth.

When I was in Chicago, an acquaintance of mine called a man to inquire about a simple odd job that required him to haul a special part to a shipyard using his personal truck. The job paid $150. There was a verbal agreement made and a date set to have the part loaded and delivered.

The day before, my fine young acquaintance had his truck inspected and it didn’t pass, so it wasn’t available to use. He called the man and explained that he couldn’t do the job and therefore had made other plans for the day of delivery.

The man was upset and said that he needed the part there so badly that if he had known of this potential glitch, he would have rented a truck for my acquaintance to drive, and still paid him the $150 to run the errand.

If they had only focused on what was needed up front, and walked through the entire scenario, looking for potential pitfalls, the deal might have been arranged differently to begin with and my acquaintance would have made $150.

No matter how well you try to plan things, there are many things that can go wrong. Unfortunately it’s always the boss who is to blame because it’s the boss who needs to get the work performed. The employees can always find another job out there, but the boss can’t always simply start up another business.

And, you’re right on target. Friends don’t usually make good business partners, but good friendships can result from business interactions. It all starts with respect, and those close to you may not respect you as well as someone who views you as a customer first and foremost.

Clair

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