> What if I go missing or die? The right people are told and my business can continue to operate for *my clients*... I was hospitalised in 2012 and lost my business back then and I couldn't get the data to my technical 2IC in time without frustrating *my clients*... *My clients* are telling me this is a strong sales feature when they trust me with their hosting and technology accounts.

I am not sure why this focus on clients in a context like this feels unsettling to me, but it does.

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romeo19361 an hour ago | parent | next [-]

I'm building a business for the long term and those clients are investing money into me. My next of kin is notified first. It just seems sensible to give my clients long term security if I have another health issue or die.

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bayarearefugee an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

I can see some decent reasons for a dead man's switch, like notifying people in the situation where you live alone and have pets (though you'd want it to be much shorter than a week) or to send a goodbye or legal documents to a loved one, but I'll be honest, I don't feel the least bit of obligation to anyone who is just a business contact after I'm dead. They can figure it out, or not. Not my fuckin' problem anymore.

	▲	dofm 36 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Over the years as a freelancer I have had clients who would be more devastated by my death than my own family, and it’s not like my family doesn’t love me. When you are a small business you often have small business clients, and it is fully possible for projects to be at a fairly delicate stage where it’s crucial for their business, they have part-paid, and the time and money in finding a replacement for your input would put them at some risk. I once had to try to help a company whose web developer had died of a heart attack just before rolling out a really major bit of code that had been months in the making. I couldn’t help much (couldn’t get access to things) but the company could not afford to redo the work. The people who urged me to try to help them were their most direct competitor! The world of some small businesses is that precarious and interconnected that their competitors were trying help them stay in business.
	▲	romeo19361 an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I like my clients :)) that's all I can say. Thanks for the comments.