What ever happened to good old fashioned caring and quality customer service? Why is it so flipping hard to find good help for your business you can TRUST?

As a business owner one of the first things you will learn as you grow is that you can no longer do it all yourself, and need help.

So you make that leap and you ready yourself to finally get the support you need so you can not only grow and expand, but stop feeling burnt-out, and overwhelmed and get back to running your business with the values you hold dear, and that inspired you to start this whole gig in the first place.

But then you hire someone…  be it a designer, or developer, an assistant, production help, a marketing person, social ads, service staff, whatever it may be. And at first—hopes are high, you’re excited, they are too—everything appears to be off to a great start and you’re sure it’s gonna be awesome! But then…

it isn’t. 

It isn’t awesome. Not at all. The person who seemed so excited at the start is now not returning your emails or phone calls.

They don’t get back to you, they don’t deliver when they promised. They don’t deliver WHAT they promised. They make excuses—which you understand because you’re kind and understanding like that—but then they keep making excuses. They chronically miss or re-schedule meetings, they’re too busy for you.

You don’t feel cared for.

You feel last on their list. You can feel it in your gut that they are not looking out for you or your business anymore. And now, you aren’t sure they ever did. They no longer care about the quality of their service, the service they seemed to care so much about at the beginning of all this.

You get this. Because you are a compassionate and empathetic human being, you totally get what it is to be overwhelmed. But this is not what you need. 

What you need is to be able to serve YOUR OWN clients and customers with the genuine care and attention they deserve. What you need is to be able to adhere to those values and give the best of yourself to them, not because it will make you successful, but because it is just plain IMPORTANT TO YOU to do so… what you need is someone who does the same for YOU, so that you continue to do that for your clients.

Nothing. Less. Will. Do. 

Yes, things happen. Deadlines get extended. Meetings get re-scheduled. Targets are not met. This is the reality of life and business, and a measure of it is normal and fine. But you will know it when you are just plain being disregarded. And that hurts.

It hurts when you’ve invested so much. And when so much is on the line. When you’ve invested not just money, but time and energy.  Waiting, and hoping for a different result. Giving the benefit of the doubt. Hanging in.

But eventually you make the tough decision, you cut the ties, you find someone else, hoping and praying the whole cycle doesn’t repeat itself. But it’s a crapshoot it seems, because when you are hiring for roles which are out of your area of expertise, you don’t KNOW what is the best thing and the best way, you don’t KNOW exactly what you should be looking for (or looking OUT for), so you can’t make sure they’re doing it right.

You don’t know the territory, you’re flying blind, so it requires an insane amount of TRUST.  

Trust that that person has simply not earned yet. But you have no other alternative but to try. So you do. You do your due diligence, and you do.

I have been dealing with this particular bushel of poop myself, this past year, in trying to find the right marketing person, and other team members that are vital, and what I have learned more than anything else on this often craptastic voyage is that: holy-freakin-moly, am I a rare commodity indeed.

I hate to toot my own horn here, but its helping me realize something about myself and the way that I run my business. Without having gone through this experience I simply would not have the understanding or level of appreciation that I do now for what a rare thing it is indeed to find people out there who you can actually rely on.

»  Someone who gets back to you when you write or call.
»  Who listens and takes the time to get to know you before trying to serve you.
»  Who delivers what they promised to deliver.
»  Who consistently communicates and makes things clear.
»  Who genuinely cares and is committed to your needs and satisfaction.
»  Who makes you a priority and treats you like you matter. 

These are rare qualities indeed. And these are the very principals I founded my business on. There was a time when I wondered if that was a mistake… when my fear and doubt said “people don’t really care about that, they only care about your talent/style, and how that measures up”.

What I know now, is that’s not true.

What I know now is that even if that WERE the case, just give them a year trying out new people (like I have been doing), and then they’ll see how much those things actually matter. I used to think it was a fluke when clients would come to me telling me their nightmare stories about the people they tried to work with before me… I know now, that it is not.  I know now, that that is not the exception, but more the rule.

That I am the exception.
This makes me proud.

It makes me proud of the business I have built, and the person that I am in that business. This makes me have a whole new appreciation for how very important consistent, quality care and follow through really is.

You and I both deserve to feel that we are more than just a number on the docket. Nobody is perfect, and nobody is expected to be, but we need those people in our lives and businesses who show up for us. The way we have learned to show up for ourselves, and for our people. 

So how do you find that person?
(if there’s a shortcut, let me know!!) 

But the one place I know for sure to start, is to make a list of what you’re looking for, of what’s really important to you, and then check all possible hires off against that list.

Then, read testimonials/reviews and ask for real references, people who have or are currently working with that person and can tell you if they match those things you’re looking for, or not.

And finally… last but definitely not least… trust YOURSELF.  Trust your instincts about people and situations, learn to listen to your gut. Because when you trust yourself—to know and to act on that knowing—you’ll be able to handle whomever you bring into your fold.

I know I am not alone in just wanting to be treated with genuine care and kindness and respect from the people I work with.

I know I am not alone in feeling that the world is moving so fast, and so hurriedly, and with so much false urgency and manipulation and bigger, better, faster, NOW!

I know I am not alone in wanting to get back to simple. 

To cut the unnecessary complexity and craziness and just do the work I love and get the support I need — in all ways.  To focus on what works and is right for ME, not what everyone else or the internet super highway says is right for me.

So, that’s what I’ll be doing. More of what I’ve always done… but with new resolve and appreciation for it. I’ll also be continuing to cultivate a butt load of gratitude for the team members I have found that DO share and honor that vision.

I hope you’ll be doing the same, except in your very own style!

Speaking of which, what is one thing you really appreciate about your business today BECAUSE of the super frustrating crap you’ve dealt with as a business owner??

Whatever it is… there’s your shine. 😉
Use it. 

Cause the people who are looking for that very thing — really need to hear and see that from you. They really need to find you.

Clarity brings us together.
Confusion… not so much.

Let’s be clear about who we are, so we can find those that fit us best. And get the support we really need.

xo
Sunni