# What to pay a friend to create rhinestone designs (contract work)?



## diana13t (Mar 11, 2009)

I have been very blessed the past few months and have been crazy busy working on rhinestone orders. I just bought the 1v-2p cams machine (which i love) but I really need help creating designs for stock and custom orders. I have a friend who got laid off early summer and is interested in helping me create designs. I would love to have her help me and pay her as contract labor. Basically pay her for each design she creates. So here are my questions:

1. What is a fair price to pay her per design? We both don't think it's fair (at this point) to pay per hr becasue she needs to learn the software first. 

2. I want to own all rights to the design so what do I need to have her sign to cover this issue? She doesn't have a problem with this.

3. Is there anything else I need to know or issues I need to address?

I want to be fair to her and not over or under pay her. She's just excited to help and wouldn't mind just being paid by being able to make herself shirts, but I'd feel better about actually paying her because in the long run, she'd probably feel she needed to get paid $. 

Thanks,
Di


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Diana,
I say if she just wants to work for shirts that might be a good way to start out.You are giving her the oppourtunity to learn the software.You dont know if she will be able to come up with designs that you think will sell.if she does start coming up with designs you want then give her what you think they are worth.


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## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

I agree with Eric, also you are jeopardizing a friendship by mixing with business. I am sure they are many people out there that started with their friends but at the same time there are many that were destroyed by
having a friendship. 

I would find a employment lawyer and ask for a consultation, many business are getting sued for not having proper documentation now that we are in a recession. People are sue happy if you don't have it written down some where you have no proof that its an established practice. 

Also, if you don't have a contract set in place you are making it that much easier for someone to steal business away from you. 

Leave the friendship at the door..


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## diana13t (Mar 11, 2009)

I agree, I definitely want to get whatever I/we agree to put in writing. I also want to have a no compete clause and ownership of all designs. She will be using my software so it's not like she's using software she already owns or will purchase. 

I was thinking about starting off with letting her make shirts as payment (if she wanted), then pay her around $15 - $25 per design depending on the complexity or maybe a just $20 so it all evens out. Once she gets faster at it with practice, she could probably pump out several designs an hour. 

She also isn't expecting this to be a full time job, just something for extra spending money and as an "as needed basis" by me. 

So does $20 per design sound fair? Some of them will be basic font designs and some more complex, so I think it would all even out in the end (or am I being too cheap?).


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Heck ill work for ho ho's.lol


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

Leg cramps said:


> Heck ill work for ho ho's.lol


Eric, you are so funny.


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

What if the designs don't sell? If she designs several an hour and you pay her $15 per she really hasn't helped. 

I know you want to keep the designs, and you own the software, but I think you'd be better off giving her a $1 every time a design sold. So, if you sold 15 t-shirts with her design, she gets $15.00. If you sold 100 shed get $100.00 etc. etc. 

What kind of software are you talking about, Photoshop or Corel draw? You can download Gimp or Inkscape for free. Than she can have her own copy. 

The reason I'm saying this, is due to the Contract employee agreement. If she uses your software and has to come to your office/home that's more like an employee not a contractor. Also if you start saying she has to produce so many an hour that starts pointing toward employee again. 

When you start getting into software useage there are more laws to that thanks to Ross Perol. He was tired of Trade people becoming Contractors and driving up prices. So he lobbied to have laws created to say a contractor had to have a company they worked for. He won and many contractors had to go to companies to represent them. They still made good money, but not like they were. 

Hope I didn't discourage you. There's always a way around things.


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## vgary (Mar 31, 2010)

selanac said:


> but I think you'd be better off giving her a $1 every time a design sold. So, if you sold 15 t-shirts with her design, she gets $15.00. If you sold 100 shed get $100.00 etc. etc.


I've been mulling this over too and this is the perfect answer for me. Thanks!


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