How To Tackle Mates Rates

Tackling mates rates is a tricky one for small business owners.

Here you are, slogging your guts out, crunching the numbers and wiping sweat from your brows, even though it’s Autumn.

All of a sudden, in waltzes Uncle Max and automatically you begin serving him pancakes with extra raspberries.  You blurt out “on the house” and return to your busy workload.

It’s easy to get caught up in trying to please everyone as a small business owner.  So how do you tackle mates rates effectively and avoid those awkward conversations?  Here we’ll take you through some things to keep in mind when your bestie wants a free shirt.

1.  Be clear.  Yes, this can be uncomfortable, but starting off on the right foot- i.e. alluding to mates rates or the absence of mates rates is important from the get go.  Comments like “yeah, this top would look super cute with those jeans you have- and it’s only $20!” Or “Mate, that surfboard is perfect for you.  How about we do a bit of a discount” will cement where you sit during a transaction with your friend.
2. Price list, Price list, Price list .  If you’re a freelancer,designer or working in another creative field, ensure that your family members or friends are given a copy of your price list before you begin work for them.  This will atleast provide them with a rough idea of what they think you’ll be charging.  For example, if the service you’re providing them with is valued at $50, they should be switched on enough that they won’t be getting it for $10.
3. Value.  When discounting rates, ensure that you don’t cross the threshold from “hahaha yeah no worries mate, totally cool!” to “yeah let’s do an 80% discount because you bought me a beer last week.”  Not only does this make your work appear less valuable, you may potentially be losing money from completing this job, once you take resources into account.  A 10-25% discount is nothing to sneeze at, but we would suggest not going much higher than this.
4. Timing.  Don’t take mates rates work over fully paid projects.  If your sister is coming in to get her hair done at your salon and the exact same treatment has been requested by a full paying customer- sorry sis, you have to take the full paying customer.  Your fam will still love you- split ends and all.
5. Choice.  You may not want to employ mates rates at all, and that’s completely fine.  Perhaps you’re working in a niche field and your family and friends don’t know about all of your services or maybe you work remotely and are a mysterious mermaid when it comes to business.  Ultimately, the choice is up to you when tackling mates rates, so go get ’em (whoever ’em are to you).

Did you find any of these mates rates tips helpful?  Do you have any other mates rates tips for small business owners?  Let us know in the comments below!