A long time ago in a career far, far away I used be part owner in a tool and die shop. I remember when we setup a new work area we had an amazing coating installed on the concrete floor that was nice to look at, wonderfully non-skid, and most importantly it held up to the brutal environment of the heavy steel being transported on a daily basis over it.
It worked out so well that when I bought my second home I wanted that coating to go on top of the usual, stained, cracked, and unattractive garage floor you could imagine from any previously occupied house. Thus, I asked who we used and if they would be interested in a small residential project. The surprise that came back for me was that, since I was an owner of the business they were servicing, they would do the job for free.
Instead of just saying yes to what seemed to be a very generous offer I asked a trusted person, who worked for me in another business, what I should do. His advice was to get a bill and pay for the service. You never want to find yourself sometime in the future where you owe them for giving you the job for “free.”
As simple as the advice was it actually made total sense for me and it is something I have lived by ever since. Sure, it is great to have a network of vast skill sets to call on but the lesson learned is to never have anything get in the way of use using the best solution available, for a fair price, even if that means changing providers somewhere down the road.
(Originally published on Medium)