LifeinAsia - 6:25 pm on Jan 22, 2008 (gmt 0)

The web designer was unprofessional to do business with the relative of a friend.

I completely disagree- there is absolutely nothing "unprofessional" about doing business with a relative or friend, AS LONG AS you treat the transaction/relationship as a business transaction/relationship and take any friendship/relationship issues out of the equation.

If you had a B&M business, would you refuse to serve your friends or relatives in the name of being "professional"? For many people, especially small businesses in their startup periods, the bulk of their business comes from leads provides by friends and relatives.