Today could have been one of those days. I slept through my alarm, woke up to a headache, remembered I was out of cereal… fantastic. However, I had a roof over my head, other food in my kitchen, and one ridiculously happy Puppytron that was pleased she had woken me up. The reason for my alarm going off this morning was a meeting with one of my client’s partners. They had decided to partner up for a print piece and chose me to design it for them. She wanted to meet up with me to discuss her company’s portion of the print piece.
I’d spoken with the owner of this other business a few times and thought she was a pretty cool person. She spoke with knowledge and passion about her business and was just as keen to listen about mine. This morning however, from the moment I saw her at the coffee shop where we met I could sense her energy levels were uncharacteristically low. A few sips of coffee later, I chose not to discuss her company’s half of the brochure, and instead asked what was going on with her. She opened up to me and explained that there were a few challenges in her business, not uncommon for any business, but they were definitely affecting her. She told me of a few of the different things going on and what she had tried to do to deal with them. What really struck me was how invested she was in her business, but at the same time how she had set roadblocks for herself. She had set some very attainable goals, yet she felt as if she was not ready to achieve them yet. We began to discuss the various challenges to her business individually, and she listened carefully to my suggestions. Soon, she was writing down notes and asking questions to further our discussion. The change in her body language and energy was impossible to ignore. Suddenly, doors were opening in her mind and clear ways forward were visible. We’d come up with several great ideas for her that would cost her nothing more than her time.
Now, she was excited to be talking about her company and seeing how her goals were attainable and within reach. We returned to our original reason for meeting, the brochure. We shared a few ideas and for a moment, her energy fell low again. Her logo, she explained, wasn’t a true reflection of her company and its vision. While she was excited to be getting this new brochure, she felt her company’s logo wasn’t what she wanted, but she wasn’t at a place financially to be paying for a rebrand of her logo and existing print collateral. I asked her a few questions about what she envisioned her logo as, and how she wanted it to be seen. I drafted a few ideas out in the air and she liked the direction it was going down, writing more notes. Finally, she broached something that she’d hinted at a few times – she would like me to redesign her logo, but she was concerned she could not afford me. At once I was of course flattered and a little taken aback. I’ve certainly never thought of my services as expensive, yet at the same time I know I charge more than a junior or student would. However, her energy and passion for her company had now caught me up and I wanted to keep her energies moving forward and higher. I made her an offer, that she could make a small deposit to start, and then pay off the outstanding amount within a reasonable time as her budget allowed. She was thrilled with this suggestion and we shook hands in agreement right there. While I hadn’t gone to this meeting seeking additional business, I was grateful that she thought highly enough of my work to choose me to redesign her logo.
We spoke for a few minutes longer and then went our separate ways. I returned home feeling the usual high from getting a new client but also from being caught up in her rejuvenation of energy and passion. She was excited to implement the ideas we’d come up with for her company and move forward towards her goals. She’s since sent me a few more emails, asking questions and to say thank you again.
Today had every opportunity to be terrible, given how it started. I could have chosen to embrace my craptastic start to my day, I could have ignored how the other person I met with was feeling and simply did what was necessary to move forward on the project I was getting paid for. Instead, I listened to her and gave her a couple of hours of my time, and chose to try and help reconnect her to her passion for her business. In the end, yes, I was rewarded with another client choosing my creativity to represent their company, but it wouldn’t have happened if I had only chosen to do the bare minimum. This is why I love what I do – positivity and creativity are rewarded and returned in kind. It’s intangible, it can be elusive, and sometimes it can keep you awake for days… but there’s nothing else like it in the world.
This is why I do this.