How to resolve conflicts of interest between freelancer clients?

Question

JavaScript

I've been struggling with the issue for a long time.
Starting position: a freelancer and two regular clients from the same field, competing with each other.
In what format should work be done with them?
Should a freelancer/studio warn a client about their other clients with similar topics?
How beautiful to destroy it?

Answer 1

codepen => search => calculator js
example

Answer 2

No, you shouldn't. It's not a customer matter who you work with and what you do to a competitor.

Answer 3

This is a matter of business ethics. If you work for a direct competitor, then of course I would inform the client about this.
As for developments and ideas, you cannot use everything that from your developments legally belongs to the client (most often it will be only code / specific documents / architecture, if you have not signed any additional agreements). The rest is part of your experience, so feel free to use it however you like.

Answer 4

Thanks everyone for the replies! It was interesting to read your discussion.
I found interesting arguments on this subject from Artem Gorbunov. I will quote:

“Design work a priori involves the circulation of ideas, patterns and techniques between projects and clients. If we take away the circulation of ideas, our profession will cease to exist.
Where the limit is, the designer has to decide for himself. If two banks come to me at the same time, I will not offer one bank a cunning loyalty system that I learned about in a conversation with another. If I came up with this system myself, I will gladly offer it to both. But the solution template will inevitably be deposited in the head and pop up in some other task - this is how the brain works. The idea cannot be hidden, only delayed for a while - if she gets bored in the chest, she herself will jump out in someone else's head.
This puts a lot of responsibility on the designer and explains the client's fears. Perhaps the NDA requirement means that the client does not accept this reality, and it is better not to work together. So I honestly say all this to the client when it comes to "secrecy".
We learn from our clients at their expense. We can only thank them with conscientious work and ethical behavior.

Answer 5

And what kind of conflict do you have, well, you are sawing the code here and there, I don’t see a conflict.
It would be nice if you sold the data right and left.

Answer 6

many here advise that everything is fine, the main thing is money, but look from the other side, from the customer.
Sooner or later they will find out about it. there will be a lot of negativity, especially if they find out from the outside, and at least they begin to suspect of leaking insider information to competitors, no one will figure it out. and as a maximum crap will start. One way or another, they share different information with you, trusting you that you are on their side, but in fact it turns out not quite like that. It's like a lawyer who works for both competitors . If they do not share such information with you, then there is no problem, but judging by the question, this is not the case.
If your name and business reputation are important to you, then you should warn both. Explaining how it happened, how it started and how you keep their secrets. At a minimum, they will know what information they can share with you and what not, and it will be fair. Perhaps they will refuse (but not both). But in any case, they will respect you for your openness, and most likely will continue to work and recommend, in contrast to the situation when they find out from the outside.
Many here write that only money is important, and this is true, but there is momentary money, and there is money in the future . Gaining an honest name and a good reputation, you get real reviews and raise your rating and pay, otherwise you will have to mess around in the middle league of nameless and paid at an average rate all your life.

Answer 7

1. The task of competition is not your task.
2. Your task is to perform the work required by the Customer for his money and on time.
3. Any attempts by the Customer to find out whether you worked / work for competitors - should be nipped in the bud with a banal answer: "Nobody has ordered from me yet similar to your solution, with a similar business process."
This will be true, because. there are never 2 absolutely identical business processes - there are always differences, even in seemingly identical technical specifications .
4. Any next question in this direction - your answer: "I propose, after all, to proceed to the discussion of your project and begin work."

Answer 8

This is what you need to ask these clients. Or don't ask.
A great analogy here is to have two mistresses. If this does not contradict your personal principles, both are provided / satisfied, sometimes it happens that they even know about each other.
And it happens that everyone has, but if they find out - a scandal, a "scoundrel", sometimes even revenge.
And further. If you have good competencies in the business area, in fact, perhaps you need to think not about how to resolve the conflict between two customers, but to expand the clientele to 10, 100, 100,500 customers.

Answer 9

Ask, answer honestly. You will most likely lose a client after that.
Kookies will begin, "how is he?" And in general with trust of a problem can arise.

Answer 10

if you think about everyone, then you can generally sit without customers. use different paths and strategies just at the same time and check which one is better

Answer 11

What's the question? Should you "knock"? Are there multiple answers?
Do quality work, silently.

Answer 12

You can divide clients between different web studio employees who will compete with each other.

Answer 13

I don't see much problem in transferring solutions.
At the expense of the client, you made a certain solution from scratch (module / parser / plugin / etc.), if you did not agree that everything done for the client is strictly forbidden to be used somewhere else, then you can sell it further without any problems - in fact, this is your experience and if you refine the code / rename the variables, it will still be a similar solution, even if you write it from scratch.
For example, when working with Bitrix, many studios make some kind of module / ready-made website for a client, and then sell it on the marketplace as a circulation solution and everyone is happy.
In fact, this is not much different from the fact that before you needed 10 hours to lay out a page, and now you have learned how to make it in 3 hours and you can sell this service cheaper to the delight of the client.
In fact, the "problem" can arise if you always make from scratch to one client, and then sell it to the second, i.e. he always freebies and gets ready. If one gets the chips of the other, then vice versa, then there are no problems at all.
You don’t have to worry about working with a competitor, unless you are working with some “business secrets” of both. Figuratively speaking, there are two furniture stores in the city and you both make the same type of sites. There are no problems here.
If you were engaged in advertising and moved both in one word, then you could be suspected of fraud because. you would essentially drain their budgets in your favor.
If there is a direct question like "what are you working with our competitor?" you can't hide it
To questions like "how do they do %something%" you can either say I don't know or answer like "I won't answer because it could harm my client and my reputation, and you probably wouldn't want me leaked information about you to competitors in the same way."

Answer 14

In what format should work be done with them?
Should a freelancer/studio warn a client about their other clients with similar topics?
How beautiful to destroy it?

Do not leak the secrets of competitors to them.
Everything else is not your concern.

Answer 15

Two thoughts to expand the understanding of competition:
1) In today's world, everyone who sells something competes for the same consumer money. Regardless of industries and niches.
2) Competitors in the same niche can become partners if they wish.
Tip:
There is nothing to destroy here. Regardless of the industry, do not distribute information received from your customers. If you've built a trusting relationship with them, it won't matter if they find out about each other. And if there is no trust, then sooner or later you will lose a client one way or another. Those. the point is not whether they know each other, but whether they trust you. Build relationships, build trust and not be afraid of these questions.