You have really established your business and your products and/or services are top notch and well developed. You aren’t the only person who understands how well you are doing. Other people seem to have a good sense of your capabilities as well. Whether you own a product- or service-based business, requests for freebies can be a touchy subject.

1. compukol.com http://www.compukol.com/blog/how-to-avoid-giving-freebies/
How to Avoid Giving Freebies
By Carolyn Cohn on Jul 25, 201325
You have really established your business and your products and/or
services are top notch and well developed. You aren’t the only person
who understands how well you are doing. Other people seem to have
a good sense of your capabilities as well. Whether you own a
product- or service-based business, requests for freebies can be a
touchy subject.
Handling the situation delicately
The last thing that you want to do is insult other people. However, on the other hand, it is
not fair for other people to assume that you are going to give everything away for free.
Afterall, how are you supposed to support yourself and your family if you give everything
away at every opportunity? It is unfair if it isn’t mutual. However, if you and the other
person (whether that person is a friend or a family member) happen to have the kind of
relationship where you help each other out, that is something else. On the other hand, if one
of you takes and the other gives, it won’t work because there may be a lot of resentment
that gets built up and eventually erupts and ruins your relationship. Often, people don’t
realize that they are taking advantage and using a personal relationship to gain in other
ways is really unfair.
The sensitivity of asking for free things
If your business sells products or it sells services is irrelevant when it comes to people
wanting handouts. If you earn your living from selling products and/or services, it is wrong
for anyone to take advantage of that. If you, as the business owner, want to give the
person something and you insist that they do not pay you, that is your choice. The fact that
the person even made the request may make you feel a few things. First of all, it may make
you feel as though the other person has no idea about what you do and how valuable it is.
If they did understand the value of what you do, they would understand that that it is not
fair to ask you to give it away. Also, their asking for something for free might make you feel
as though they don’t respect your time, your talent, your expertise and anything else that is
connected with your business. Although all of these points are true and they may strike a

2. cord with you, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they intentionally set out to hurt you or to be
disrespectul to you in any way. It is entirely possible that they didn’t have any idea how it
translated to you. Also, it is very possible that they have no idea how much you earn
everytime someone hires you to do what you do so well. It is not a bad idea to gently let
them know the truth about that.
Just say no
It is important for you to understand the balance of when it is okay to comply with a
request from one of your friends or relatives and when you need to dig your heels in and
say no. If someone asks you something small that will take you a very short amount of
time, it is probably okay to comply and give them the information that they are looking for.
On the other hand, if you get a request to help them and it takes you hours and hours to
complete the task, that is something else. As a business person, you will find that there are
many situations in which bartering works well. If you have or can do something that the
other person needs and they have something or can do something that you need, you may
want to consider exchanging products and/or services. In that situation, nobody is taking
advantage of anyone else. You both will hopefully get what you need and want and
everyone will be happy in the end.
Remember to set the proper boundaries
It is very important for you and your business to have the ability to set boundaries
correctly. Open communication is very important and you will have a much healthier, more
comfortable relationship with the other person if you really talk to each other. You may be
surprised at how well your feelings are received by the other person if you really tell them
how you feel and what you need. Sometimes, you may want to help the other person out
and sometimes, it gives you a good feeling to do something nice for someone else just
because it is the right thing to do. It is called being a human being.
Conclusion
It is understandable that you don’t want other people to take advantage of you. On the
other hand, if a person asks you to help them and it is easy enough to do, it may make you
feel really good to do it. You need to treat it on a case-by-case basis and just see how it
goes. In any case, if you decide that you are going to give the other person what they
need, you also need to make sure that you get what you need. The last thing that you
should do is to allow yourself to feel used. It isn’t worth it and you will become resentful
very quickly in that situation. If you see that that is happening, you should do your best to
nip it in the bud.
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About the Author.
Carolyn Cohn is the Chief Editor of CompuKol Communications LLC. Mrs. Cohn
has a wealth of experience in business writing as well as having a strong editorial
background. She manages all of the company’s writers, journalists and editors as well as
writing, editing and publishing several business articles a week on a consistent basis, which
are syndicated globally.
Mrs. Cohn has run several editorial departments for other companies. She has over 25
years of editorial experience and her expertise covers a wide range of media, such as
online editing, and editing books, journal articles, abstracts, and promotional and
educational materials.
Throughout her career, Mrs. Cohn has established and maintained strong relationships with
professionals from a wide variety of companies. The principle that governs her work is that
all words need to be edited.
Mrs. Cohn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University of New
York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
Mrs. Cohn is a member of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).
Tags: free, freebies, friends & family, giveaways, marketing strategies, relationship
management, small business