Comments on: Turning Clients Into Friends: Why It’s Worth Doing

By: Barbara Saunders

Barbara Saunders — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:13:21 +0000

I have occasionally turned clients into friends or friends into clients; however, I also enjoy having business relationships with people who would never be my friends. For instance, as a journalist, I’ve had lunch with people who would probably scare me in a social context!

By: Victor

Victor — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:59:13 +0000

no thanks.

By: Adding Some Glue To Online Relationships

Adding Some Glue To Online Relationships — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:39:11 +0000

[…] this week, I read a post on Freelance Switch about turning clients into friends. In that post, Andy Howard made the point that when you work in an office, you invite clients over […]

By: Vicki

Vicki — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:18:02 +0000

Ever heard of Pandora and her box (okay that didn’t sound right)? And the saying don’t work for family/friends? Heed the warnings!

Human beings are greedy. Normal friends take advantage of friendships. I can’t imagine the client/friend conversion. How would one manage projects if a few clients become fast friends? They would demand a lot of attention and concessions (I nearly spelt concussions because that’s pretty much what it would feel like) and there goes the bottom dollar.

Sure, I’d have drinks and chit chat with my clients. I’d listen to their problems and give advice. But business is business and a line needs to be drawn.

By: Moriz

Moriz — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:27:09 +0000

I think the main challenge is getting a house by the beach. I think if I had a house by the beach I’d be too busy getting people out of it !!

By: Brandon

Brandon — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:03:54 +0000

I think it takes two. It takes a freelancer who understands how to handle friends as clients and a client who understands that a friendship doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be treated with a V.I.P. status over any other client.

By: Gauatm Chaudhury

Gauatm Chaudhury — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:06:57 +0000

I am a HR professional & intersted to join in assignmnets

By: Martha Retallick

Martha Retallick — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:27:56 +0000

While I’m all in favor of maintaining friendly relationships with my clients, I’m more than a little hesitant to have these relationships become friendships. Why? Because if something goes wrong in the business relationship, I’ve lost a friend as well.

Instead, I like to have friends and friendships for after-hours activities. Business relationships, such as those between me and the clientele, are for work hours.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:39:48 +0000

I’ve turned friends (more like chummy acquaintances) into paying clients, but rarely the other way around. The clients-to-friends thing has worked for me exactly twice, and it wasn’t an effort — more like a natural happening. My hat’s off to anyone who can do this and make it work. Great article Andy.

By: How Freelancers Can Kick Crappy, Outdated Business Norms | LifeDev

How Freelancers Can Kick Crappy, Outdated Business Norms | LifeDev — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:34:40 +0000

[…] of clients. If you need some further reading, Freelance Switch has a great article on how to turn your clients into friends. addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; addthis_pub = ‘blogfuse’; […]