People often forget that running a business takes more than just skill — it takes time, energy, and years of effort.

One massage parlor owner found herself reminded of this when her own family asked for a “quick favor” that really wasn’t quick at all.

It left her questioning where to draw the line between work and family.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to give my brother-in-law a free massage even though I own a massage studio?

I basically run my own little massage therapy business.

I rent a comfy studio, have regular clients, and honestly, I work really hard to keep the business moving.

It’s my full-time job, not just a side hustle, and it pays my bills.

This weekend, my sister and her husband came over for dinner.

But it soon became clear her family saw her career as just some casual hobby.

At some point, my brother-in-law casually asked, “Man, I’ve been so sore lately. Can you just give me a quick massage while we’re here?”

I kind of laughed it off and said, “That’s what I do all week. You can book a session with me if you want though!”

This didn’t go over well with her family.

He looked offended and said he thought family should get freebies.

My sister chimed in and said, “Yeah, come on, you can’t just do a 20-minute back rub for him? It won’t cost you anything.”

But to her, it’s a clear line in the sand.

I told them it does cost me time, energy, and the skills I spent years training for.

If I start giving away free massages every time someone in the family feels sore, I’d basically be working for free half the time.

The rest of the family refused to let this go, and it’s got her second guessing herself.

They got kind of grumpy about it and said I was being stingy, that it’s just a massage and I “should want to help family.”

Now I’m feeling weird because I don’t want to be selfish, but I also don’t think it’s fair to expect me to work for free just because I own the business.

AITA for not giving my BIL a free massage?

In any business, family is the hardest type of customers to deal with.

What did Reddit think?

If her family really cared about her business…

When you try to weasel your way out of paying for a legitimate service, that also classifies you as “stingy.”

This is an odd request for other reasons too.

And what if the roles were reversed?

If she’s the only one who actually respects her work, then so be it.

But she should absolutely refuse to give out her hard-earned expertise for free.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.