July 2, 2025 at 8:22 pm

She Helped Her Friend With Her New Business, But Then Her Expectations Became Outrageous

by Ashley Ashbee

Woman typing on laptop

Pexels/Reddit

Some people will try to use you under the guise of friendship. It’s uncomfortable and upsetting, but necessary to set up boundaries.

See why this person’s friend strongly disagreed.

AITA for refusing to keep helping my friend with her side hustle after she started treating me like an unpaid employee?

I have a friend, Chloe, who started an online jewelry business a few months ago.

She asked me to help out here and there with packaging and social media stuff, saying it’d be chill and fun.

I agreed because I wanted to support her.

At first, it was super low-key, like an hour or two a week.

Instant regret has entered the chat.

But over the last couple of months, it’s gotten way out of hand.

She sends me daily to-do lists, expects me to drop everything for her biz, and gets mad if I don’t put her stuff before my actual job.

She’s even started calling me her “social media assistant” to our friends, even though I’m not paid at all.

Last week, she told me I had to spend my entire Saturday helping her prep for a craft fair, saying, “You owe me this, you’re part of the team!”

But she won’t back down.

I told her nicely that I love supporting her, but I’m not her employee and my time is valuable.

I said I couldn’t keep helping if it’s not casual and if there’s no pay for all the extra work.

Chloe flipped out and called me selfish, saying I was “abandoning” her and not a real friend.

Now she’s telling our friends I’m the bad guy for not helping her “dream” come true.

AITA for setting a boundary and refusing to do unpaid work?

Here is what people are saying.

It’s beyond outrageous.

Screenshot 2025 06 08 at 10.20.17 PM She Helped Her Friend With Her New Business, But Then Her Expectations Became Outrageous

Jerks love to play the victim.

Screenshot 2025 06 08 at 10.20.34 PM She Helped Her Friend With Her New Business, But Then Her Expectations Became Outrageous

That will shut them up.

Screenshot 2025 06 08 at 10.29.34 PM She Helped Her Friend With Her New Business, But Then Her Expectations Became Outrageous

LOL I love the sarcasm. There are lots of narcissists in the small business world, I can attest.

Screenshot 2025 06 08 at 10.31.40 PM She Helped Her Friend With Her New Business, But Then Her Expectations Became Outrageous

Not according to her friend…

Screenshot 2025 06 08 at 10.21.32 PM She Helped Her Friend With Her New Business, But Then Her Expectations Became Outrageous

Never be a doormat.

It always leads to garbage.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.