One of my best friends has her own photography business (you can see her work at http://kadlecphotos.weebly.com/ ). She has put in an infinite amount of time, effort, and dedication into the business, and her success has soared. However, there always seems to be THAT customer that assumes she’ll take photos for free, just because they’re friends.

Would she be successful if she gave every single person free photo shoots when they wanted? No. And that’s why you should support your friends’ businesses.

Everyone has a dream of what they want to do for their future. For a lot of people, their aspirations can only be achieved if they begin from within. That’s what my friend did. And because of paying customers, she now has an actual source of income doing what she loves.

It’s appalling that people assume that just because they are friends with someone, they will get things for free. As a friend, you should want to support their dreams and help them achieve success. The best way to do that? Pay for their services. Buy their products. Support them and show them that you believe in them, and that you will help them grow as a business.

If they offer you their goods or services for free, there’s nothing wrong with taking them up on it. However, you should still want to do whatever you can to help them succeed. Don’t be THAT customer, it’s not that hard.