In a small business—especially a small, home-based business where we may be the only “employee”—we often develop very personal relationships with our clients and customers. As a matter of fact, many of our customers or clients may actually be friends or family members in addition to forming a professional relationship with us. It is a good idea, however, to try to put some separation between the professional side of your relationship and the personal one…
The problem with having too much overlap between the professional side of your relationships with clients and customers and the personal one is that you might have a hard time making a clear distinction between offering up product and service-related advice and suggestions and sharing personal observations and opinions. Clients and customers can get confused and might take personal musings as solid, professional advice. An easy conversation about personal stuff can quickly overlap into work chat and back again—and this is where the lines between professional information and personal advice can get blurred.
A client/customer/friend could potentially come back to you questioning why the “inside” information you shared turned out to be professionally unsound. This does not mean that you have to stop being friends with your customers or clients or stop converting friends and family members into supporters of your business. This isn’t likely to happen anyway. It is just as important to make sure that you are being very clear with the relationships and not abusing the intimacies and trust you may have with those personal relationships. Involving friends and family in your home business can make it more fulfilling and fun, but in order to preserve all the relationships and keep integrity and dignity in your business operations, you will need to keep professional information and personal advice separate.
Also: Too Much “Home” In Your Home Business