My Sister-in-Law and her boyfriend, are great people, but they did something last week which my made head spin. They signed a contract to buy a home for $250,000 without having an attorney review it.
The document was 21 pages in length, and contained paragraph upon paragraph that is likely not to be considered English (or English as most people understand it). Yes, you may remember I am an attorney, so they have FREE counsel. Could I have done their closing; no, because I am admitted in a different state than where they live, but could I look at the contract? Yes. Their argument was that they are ripping the house apart, and don’t want to complain because they think they are getting a steal. BUT THEY WAIVED RIGHTS THEY DIDN’T KNOW THEY HAD! UGH.
So what is my point?
It is your Responsibility to Identify People’s Talents
Everyone reading this has people in their life that have certain skills and talents. It is irrelevant whether those skills are God given, a result of years of trial and error, or even learned from years of schooling. These people may be friends, traditional family, friends of friends, family friends, friends that might as will be family, etc. You need not be a manager in a business to recognize talents in others.
Do not take me the wrong way, I am not saying one should exploit other people, but take my example above. All they needed was to call me or even just shoot me an e-mail saying, “hey, take a look at this” and I would have. Similarly, if you have friends, family members, etc that you can help you should.
Don’t be Shocked if Family and Friends Charge to Help
I have discussed my constant struggle with charging family and friends for legal help. But, my personal feelings are…if it costs the helper time and energy it is not crazy to charge something whether that is a couple beers, a dinner, or dollars is decided by the situation and relationship between the participants.
Do you network or utilize your friends’ skills?
My brothers and I all have various IT related skill sets in varying levels of expertise. As far as the family goes, we have the bases covered for any kind of computer problem or need.
It’s pretty funny listening around the room when we’re all together with in-laws and other friends for the holidays. If somebody brings up a random computer question they might get 2 or 3 different ways to solve their problem, with a debate springing up on the correct fix – LOL
Dave C.´s last blog ..What Are Warrants: Or Why Is Warren Buffet So Smart?
Yeah I have a hard time asking friends/family to pay for my services as a photographer. I’m not professional yet but I do charge for sitting fees. So I feel at a loss when I take family photos.