AFRIBIZHUB GIST: Should friends get a special price?
Is That the Price for Everybody or the Price for ME? 👀
By Àgbékẹ́
This is a fictional story. But if the conversation sounds familiar, we are not calling anybody’s name. 😂
When Teni opened her fashion business, nobody celebrated louder than her friend, Bisola.
Bisola posted the logo on her WhatsApp status.
“My friend is a CEO! You people should come and buy quality!”
She shared the launch pictures, dropped fire emojis and even helped Teni arrange clothes for her first product shoot.
So when Bisola needed an outfit for her cousin’s wedding, she knew exactly who to call.
“Babe, I want that your boubou with the lovely neckline. The purple one.”
Teni smiled.
“You’ll look so good in it. It’s £85.”
There was a pause.
“Okay. But how much is my own?”
“Your own what?”
“My own price, Teni. Or have we started doing stranger?”
The friendship had entered the invoice.
Teni stared at her phone.
She had already calculated the fabric, trimmings, sewing, packaging and the time it would take to finish the outfit.
But how do you explain all that to somebody who still has pictures of you sleeping with your mouth open in university?
“Bisola, £85 is the price.”
“Ah ah! After all my free publicity? Even if you won’t give me free, at least collect £50.”
Teni’s smile disappeared.
£50 would barely cover her costs.
She typed a reply. Deleted it. Typed another one.
Finally, she sent:
“Let me get back to you.”
That was how an ordinary outfit enquiry became something both women needed to recover from.
At Bisola’s end, it looked different.
“Imagine,” she told her sister, Yemi. “I’ve been advertising this business everywhere. Now I want to buy one thing, she’s charging me normal customer price.”
Yemi looked up from her food.
“Are you not a customer?”
Bisola frowned.
“I’m her friend.”
“Can you be both?”
“Yemi, you know what I mean.”
Yemi put her spoon down.
“Did she promise you a discount when you were posting her business?”
“No, but must she promise? Some things should be understood.”
There it was.
Bisola had been expecting a special price.
Teni had been expecting her friend to understand the full price.
Neither of them had mentioned it until now.
Meanwhile, Teni was doing her own calculations.
She opened her notebook again, hoping the numbers would somehow become friendlier.
They did not.
The fabric seller had collected full payment. The delivery company had collected full payment. Even the electricity meter was minding its business and collecting money.
Only Teni was being asked to remember friendship. 😭
Still, Bisola had shown up for her. She remembered the hours they spent arranging that first shoot, steaming outfits and moving furniture.
She didn’t want to dismiss that support.
She also couldn’t keep reducing her prices every time somebody she knew placed an order.
Then Yemi asked Bisola one more question.
“Can you afford the £85?”
Bisola sighed.
“Honestly? I budgeted £60 for the outfit. I still have transport and a wedding gift to sort out.”
“Then tell her your budget. Why are you turning it into a friendship examination?”
Bisola went quiet.
Because the truth was, she wasn’t trying to ruin Teni’s business.
She wanted a lovely outfit. Her budget was tight. And she had assumed friendship would cover the difference.
That evening, they finally had the proper conversation.
Teni called first.
“Babe, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But I can’t make that particular outfit for £50. I’ll be taking money out of the business to finish it.”
Bisola leaned back on her sofa.
“Okay. I hear you. My actual budget is £60. I should have just said that.”
“Do you remember the simpler purple style I posted last week? I can do that within your budget. It doesn’t have the same neckline detail, but it’s lovely.”
“Can I still look like somebody’s rich aunty?”
“You’ll need to supply the attitude yourself.”
They both laughed.
Bisola ordered the simpler outfit.
Teni delivered what they agreed.
Nobody had to write a WhatsApp status about fake friends.
So, should friends pay full price?
A business owner should be able to name their price without having to defend the friendship.
A friend should also be able to say, “I can’t afford that right now,” without being accused of not wanting the business to succeed.
Sometimes there’s a cheaper option. Sometimes the purchase has to wait.
And sometimes the owner chooses to give a discount because they want to. That kindness feels much better when it hasn’t been squeezed out of them.
Support matters. Bisola’s help mattered.
But if either person expects something in return, they need to talk about it.
Otherwise, one person thinks they’re giving love while the other is quietly recording credit.
Now tell us the truth. Are you Teni, Bisola or Yemi in this conversation? 😂
Should friends get a special price? And has a discount request ever made things awkward between you and someone you care about?
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