Jess to Impress

I used to have an excuse.  My excuse was time, that slippery little devil.

You probably have the same excuse.  You dream of having more time so you can do something meaningful.  If you had more time, you could give your freelance career wings, quit your day job, earn more money, write a novel, achieve all your hopes and dreams and shoot rainbows out your ass.

Where Does the Time Go?

Like you, the older I get, the faster time ticks away.  Now that I have responsibilities, the things I used to wait for in anticipation sneak up on me as I prepare for them.  I have to get a birthday gift, anniversary card, plan the bachelorette party, and then BAM, Grandma is 75, my parents are celebrating their 30th anniversary and all of my best friends are married.  These days life propels me forward at a pace that is hard to match.  So I do my best to keep up.

In addition,  I find myself surrounded by technological time suckers – google, my iphone, facebook, twitter, the TV – dangerous little attention-grabbers that slowly suck away time until it’s 2 pm and I find myself still sitting on my couch in my pjs, holding a stale cup of coffee.  Time suckers constantly compete with productivity.

I’ve Been Given the Gift, and Squandered It

When I got laid off from my job, the one silver lining was the gift of time.  Time to write, time to market, time to send my freelance writing career into a flourish.

Oh, how wrong I was.

More time does not beget more productivity.

My vision: waking up at 7:30, sending my hubby out the door to his job, sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup o’ joe, and a complete and balanced breakfast.  Whipping out my laptop and relentlessly pounding away all hours of the day.  Meeting with new and potential clients.  Grabbing lunch with friends at the local organic cafe.  Having dinner on the table, a clean house, and a pile of money.

Reality: I roll out of bed from a dead sleep around 8:15.  Throw on a grubby sweatshirt.  Let the dog out.  Brew some coffee.  Turn on the TV so I can enjoy the company of my friends on the Today Show.  Finally get in the shower around 10.  Browse my favorite blogs.  Apply to a job or two.  Before I know it, my husband is home, and I’m frantically throwing one of our go-to meals together.  Have accomplished nothing substantial.  House is in dissaray.  There’s no pile of money anywhere (I looked!).  But it’s okay, because there’s always tomorrow.

The Truth

The truth is that I got much more done when I was working.  I knew I only had a few precious hours per day to write, market myself, read, invest in my business, and still be able to relax at the end of the day.  I had structure, and deadlines.  I had goals and determination.

More time has given me time to think, and to recharge my battery.  But I need to get back to work.  To get up at a decent hour.  To get in the shower right away instead of lollygagging the morning away.  Turn off the TV.  Work hard again, so that I have a reason to relax.

In the end, time is irrelevent.  Action.  Doing.  Moving forward instead of being paralyzed by excuses.  Motion fosters results.

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.
~ Leonardo da Vinci

And I’d like to add: Time is not enough.  We must act.

On March 31st, I woke up and put on my St. Louis Cardinals baseball tee circa 1982 World Series.

I don’t really care that much about baseball, but it was opening day, and even though I wasn’t going to the game, I wanted to fit in.

Flashback. March 17th, 2011.

In a cranky, “I’m not Irish anyway” type of mood, I walk out of my house in a purple tee shirt. I spent the rest of the afternoon, wistfully gazing upon a sea of green. Feeling left out, sticking out like a sore, non-complying thumb.

Turns Out…

Deep down, even though I wasn’t Irish, I really did want to belong.  I wanted to fit in with the people around me.   I wanted to feel part of the celebration that was St. Patrick’s day, even if it just meant walking down the street for a kiddie-sized green tea ice cream.

Back to Opening Day and Cardinal Red.

I didn’t have tickets for the Opening Day game.  I didn’t have plans to meet up with friends at the Opening Day Rally.  But I did know that I had errands to run.  I knew I’d be meeting my cousins for lunch.  I proudly sported by World Series tee shirt all day, and felt the camaraderie with my fellow St. Louisans.

Your Customers Want to Belong

Just like me, your customers want to belong.  Help them see how buying your product will help them fit in, and see where it takes you.

The writing's on the wall - let your customers see how you resolve issues. (Don't really kiss them, though. Especially if it's cold season.)

So you’re down with social media. You have a blog or a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Everything is rosy. You’re getting “liked” and “retweeted.” Your posts get comments. You have fans and they like your stuff.

But then, one day, someone pops into your online world and leaves a stain of negativity on the reputation you’ve built.

“You never answered my email!” or “You shipped the wrong color!”  Completely resolvable issues, but you can’t help but take offense, because it’s kind of like your customer whipped open the door to your back office.  You know, that place behind the scenes, where it’s not always pretty, and you don’t need the whole world to see.

What are your options?

1. Delete! Delete!

Deny the existence of the offending comments and their commenter.

If the negativity is clearly spammy, it’s fine to ignore it or delete it.  Your fans/followers should be able to recognize these types of comments as such.

But if it’s a legit issue, deleting it can backfire.  If you are a good business owner, operating in the best manner you know how (which you are!), you have nothing to fear.  Deleting a negative comment can make it seem that perhaps you do have something to hide, or you’re not equipped to handle the problem.

But we know that’s not true.

So forget about who’s right and who’s wrong.  Maybe the customer filled out the order form incorrectly.  Maybe you overlooked something in your inbox.  Either way, it’s not right and it’s up to you to correct the situation.

Which leads us to our second option…

2.  Allow & Resolve.

Allow the negative comment, but then be sure to resolve the issue in the forum where it came to light.

Diffuse the situation.  Apologize.  Allow the online community to see how the situation will be resolved.  Dig deep.  Find the sweetest, most patient, most genuine you to reply to negative comments in the online arena.

When you resolve issues openly, you become a hero to your customers.

The most fun city in the world doesn’t want me to be there.

Come to Fabulous Las Vegas, Unless You're Jess.

Case 1
Planned a trip to Vegas for September 2010 with the Girlfriends. Have Vegas planning party. Do everything but book a flight.

Girlfriends have party behind my back, and we end up going to Nashville in September instead (not a bad city, just not the Most Fun City in the World).

Case 2
Husband feels for me, and promises Vegas action in March 2011 for his friends’ bachelor parties.

I feel better.

But not for long.

Bachelors do not want me at their party (understandable, but my husband PROMISED ME I COULD GO). Try to rally Girlfriends for March Vegas trip, in order to form a barrier from group of bachelors, i.e. they’ll never even know we’re in the same city.

Girlfriends are still not biting (well, actually in this case, they bite).

Husband freaks out because his friends will berate him forever if he brings his wife to Vegas bachelor party.

Promises to stay out of sight, explore on my own, stick to shopping, poolside, and blackjack tables fall on deaf ears.

Vegas rejects me again.

Case 3

Bloggers in Sin City.  Sexy hot blogger meet up at the end of May in Vegas.  Chance to go to Vegas by myself without it being weird.  Chance to make best friends who will go to Vegas with me in a fun and spontaneous manner.

$350 price tag plus airfair is not very fun or spontaneous.  Trying to raise 350 bones by hawking mittens, with limited success so far. 

Is this rejection #3???