Happy Wednesday, folks.
People often ask me what in the world it is that I do.
Here’s the technical answer: I help small business owners get, or keep, their businesses on track.
With some clients, that has been as simple as making sure their calendars give them the work-life balance that they desire. It could be posting newsletters and blogs. Reconciling their business finances. Or my fave, project management for a launch.
I work with a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. She is tenacious. She is a ruthless decision-maker. She is open to suggestions. Before we head into a quarter, she already has it laid out and just needs me to make sure that it gets done.
I can do that.
I love working with her.
I also work with a woman who knows what she wants, but is in the beginning stages of figuring out how to get it.
So I hold her hand. I lay out a plan, give her some directions, and see to it that it all gets done.
I can do that.
I love working with her.
My ideal client can take on two faces:
ideal client #1 – someone in control of their business decisions, but open to the suggestions of her trusted support team to get ‘er done.
ideal client #2 – someone who has a big vision, and craves the direction of her trusted support team to see it come to fruition.
Their successes are my successes.
I take pride in every opt-in, attendee, sale, and glorious testimonial. I don’t take credit. I take pride. I’m happy for my clients’ wins.
And sometimes, we don’t win. Something goes wrong. The message didn’t resonate with enough people. The pitch was botched. She’s in a weird place during sales calls. We didn’t cover all of the bases.
So next time, we won’t make the same mistakes.
On the flip side, there’s a type of client that I do not like to work with. She’s the know-it-all. We have all met her before.
They have all of the answers and do not keep an open mind to suggestions. They are sure to get burnt out because they’re so busy trying to do it all themselves.
I have become really good at spotting her – and I politely decline the partnership.
Aside from my client work, I take a lot of pride in choosing my friends, personal vendors, volunteer groups based on the same principles.
So a funny story.
I am on the lookout for a new cleaning company for my home. The women I work with now are lovely, but we need to make a schedule change and they cannot accommodate the adjustment. So I wanted to put out feelers to see if I could find a company who does a comparable job, at a competitive price, on a different day.
And I met some lovely people.
One duo fell under “ideal client #1” – they were professional and confident. They knew what they were doing, and the best way to get it done. Though I have no doubt that if I made a suggestion they would have taken my knowledge of my home into account. They were great, but outside of my budget – more than twice what I currently invest.
A second candidate fell under “ideal client #2” – she had a fire burning in her belly. She loved to clean, but didn’t have a lot of experience. She was open to hearing what had worked for me in the past. She was great, but her schedule was not conducive to mine – only being available to clean in the late afternoon, through dinnertime, in stages over the course of two days during the week.
Then came candidate number 3 – and the moment I saw her at the door, I knew she was a know-it-all. For her interview, she came staged with a mop, broom, and bucket.
Ummm…come in?
She stumped me.
She dropped her stuff at the door and was raring to go. I reluctantly asked if she’d like to at least see the house so that she could gage the job. Her response?
“I’m really good at what I do. This is only going to take me 3 hours. I clean a 1-bedroom house in 30-minutes.”
I opted to show her around anyway – just for kicks.
There are four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths in our three-floor abode. We have three kids and a cat {our beloved Tag passed away on June 21st…his 13th birthday would have been yesterday}. Hardwood floors that need to be mopped, tile that needs to be scrubbed, and carpets that need to be vacuumed. For goodness sakes, the sheets on five beds need to be changed.
She didn’t seem phased and confirmed her 3-hour goal.
And forgive me, Lord, because I told her to go for it. This I had to see {our current outfit consists of 2 capable women scrubbing and dusting for 4-5 hours at a clip}.
As promised, 3 hours later, she was out the door. I was on a team call at the time, and so I quickly paid her and let her know that I’d look over the house after my call. Gave her my thanks, and off she went.
I let it go when she hadn’t made the couch pillows look pretty or folded up the throw blanket – maybe it was an oversite. I was a little disappointed when she hadn’t taken the garbage out. Isn’t that standard?
That said, I put it on myself, and made a note to state my expectations clearer the next time she cleaned.
She texted me that evening to make sure I was happy which I thought was a sign of good faith. I wanted to give her my honest opinion, and sometimes, by text, I come off as short. So I decided to sleep on my response in order to give her the one that she deserved.
I slept well that night on my newly changed sheets.
In the morning, I jumped into the shower and then proceeded to walk over to the side of my bed where my phone had charged overnight.
And that’s when I saw it.
Two pillowcases on my one pillow.
Did she put a clean pillowcase OVER the dirty pillowcase?
The very definition of change is to “make or become different” or “take or use another instead of”. Well, she certain made them different, but not by standard means!
I apprehensively lifted up the fitted sheet. Slowly and carefully with the fear of finding a monster beneath.
And again, I found two.
I responded to her text a moment later.
I am not mocking this woman. But it should be said that she did not know as much as she thought. She didn’t want to benefit from my suggestions. She just wanted to get her job done quickly, because we all know that time is money. But her time, or lack thereof rather, cost her my money.
I wanted her to succeed. I wanted her to do it in 3 hours. Or to do it in 5 hours, and acknowledge that she had miscalculated, but knew better for next time. I would’ve given her another opportunity to get the job done well.
But she never responded to my message.
I couldn’t help but think about her after I texted her.
Had other clients never mentioned these things? Is there a slew of people sleeping on two pillowcases right now?
Who knows, but for now, I will hold on dearly to the women who have cleaned my house for the last several years, because having my home look, smell, and feel clean and beautiful after they leave here is worth the minor scheduling inconvenience.
Thankfully, in the hours since, I had a client call with ideal client type #2 and a sales call with ideal client type #1 that restored my faith in my intuition.
So, when people ask me what I do, in my work and my life, here’s the real deal:
I collaborate with likeminded people who want big things from this life, but are {wo}man enough to know when they don’t have all of the answers.
Because living a whole life, with good people by your side, is what makes this journey full of the good stuff.
See you on the flip-side.
In love,
Noelle
xoxox