I did some work for a family member and their business partners, at a time when they were in great financial straights, and eventually got stiffed by them (the

I did some work for a family member and their business partners, at a time when they were in great financial straights, and eventually got stiffed by them (the partners outweighed the family member -- no problem with the latter). Get paid in a timely fashion! If this is somehow "inconvenient" for the other party... they are already not valuing your contribution. Walk away. Trust your intuition, too. If something "feels off", it probably is. I had that feeling early on, with those partners. I stayed in it for the sake of the family member (no regrets, from that perspective). P.S. To clarify, they pulled through and ended up doing ok. At which time, they stiffed me. It was not a matter of their failure.