How To Be Shame-Proof (In A Good Way)…

Someone I know is a contractor, running a client-based business.

One of his clients has an assistant who handles correspondence between her boss and the contractor. She sees how much money her boss pays to the contractor every week.

Apparently, this assistant got the idea that she could collect some of this money for herself. So she’s set up a service-based business, offering the same service that the contractor offers. And now she’s attempting to undercut (and cut out) the contractor by turning her current boss into her first business client.

Client-stealing. Happens in the service industry all the time. I’m not saying it’s right — I’m saying that it happens. And it’s not going away.

The contractor, realizing what’s happening, drew a parallel to what’s happening to him to the movie The Founder. The 2016 movie depicts (and argues) that Ray Kroc stole the McDonald’s concept from the McDonald brothers after whom the business is named.

The contractor shared this scenario with me. I told him that while this is surely unethical, it’s not illegal. Which means that someone can do it to you, and there’s nothing you can do, legally-speaking, to stop it.

Your only recourse is to appeal to people’s ethics and sense of do-the-right-thing-ness. It’s quite…