Last week when I posted this article, one of my readers emailed me and said “Sounds like you’ve had a recent very bad experience or maybe a series of sorta bad. . .” and I responded that I can count on one hand how many ‘bad’ experiences I have had with clients in my business and that was mostly in the beginning when I was green. I wrote that post because I think the more [we] design professionals communicate with our clients to manage their expectations, the happier they are in the end. We are selling the intangible with design, in addition to custom made items and our clients are trusting that it will look great when they are finally installed! There’s a lot of blind faith involved!
Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions. Albert Einstein
One of the conversations I have often during consultations, especially when we are starting from scratch creating a new palette of colours, is “Just so you know, because we are simply picking colours and are not pulling it from a piece of art or your existing upholstery, it’s way harder to really get excited about an itsy bitsy colour chip”. That’s when you’ll second guess your designer/colourist the most, prior to you or she/he pulling together fabrics, finishes or artwork.
Whether you Think you Can or you Can’t—you’re Right. Henry Ford
I truly believe that I attract every single person that comes into my life, including my clients. The most rewarding part of blogging is that the people that read my blog resonate with something about me and most of my clients feel like friends whether I talk to them on the phone during our on-line consultations or see them in person.
I have defined the clients that hire me into 3 types. And each personality is me as well (I’m a Gemini after all and have many of them :)
1. Clients that have read my blog from top to bottom (All 450 posts—whew) already feel like they are my friend (If you have actually read my entire blog, you KNOW me ;) occasionally I even get a hug as soon as I walk into their house (or when I leave). It’s so fun I can hardly stand it! They trust my advice and know that I am not there to judge.
You are a living magnet. What you attract into your life is in harmony with your dominant thoughts. Brian Tracy
2. Some clients are worried. They know they might be trying too hard to work with an heirloom, purchases made in their travels or gifts from family or friends and they really need an honest opinion on whether they can really make it work and still get the look they want.
I am a big worrier, tortured even. Before I did many years of personal growth and development, I would tell anyone that would listen my problems because I had to know THE answer. I didn’t care how it made me look (not good that’s for sure) I just needed some relief from my analyzing brain. I am a big communicator, I like to talk about everything, all the time, the bad, the good, the pretty and the ugly. I will probably never get a disease from holding anything inside. Anyone that knows me, pretty much knows where they stand from moment to moment.
It took many years of Landmark courses for me to pause before I react and I’m so much better than I used to be (really). I still occasionally have trouble not instantly reacting with my family—hence the reason my sister is not speaking to me at the moment—but I do apologize right away (which I didn’t do in the past because I was so right). Sis (hopefully she still reads my blog) I’m thinking you should consider an IKEA kitchen. Not as expensive and they have come a long way with their kitchens—is that enough of a bribe to get you to call me back? I love you!
You create your own universe as you go along. Winston Churchill
3. Then there are the maximizers. Clients that need to weigh every possibility before they can decide. The ones that have a tastefully decorated home already, are usually well-travelled and/or have worked with designers in the past. They know what is trendy and have a pretty good idea of what works and doesn’t about their house. They are usually not happy with only having 2-3 choices (it’s our job as designers to narrow down 3 from 40,000 fabrics, after all). They need to come with me to the showrooms so they can see every other possible fabric themselves before they can be satisfied that they have made the right choice.
If I did not decorate for a living, I would certainly fall into this category. This is why decorating my current house from scratch is killing me because there are too many options and I like so many of them. At the same time that I cannot live with an empty dining room, I worry a lot that the fabric for my chairs (that has just arrived) is still going to make me happy 5 years from now.
Follow your bliss, and doors will open for you that you never knew existed. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls. Wayne Dyer
Whenever something goes wrong with any of my clients (I am human after all and mistakes will happen), I immediately look to see where I am responsible, where was communication missing in the beginning, where can I be generous. And I’m good at visualizing the end result. If I was someone that had to buy my third sofa in a row from a client because they didn’t like it (one story I heard a while ago) I think I would go do something else before I looked to blame someone else for the mistake.
I feel truly blessed for the bloggers who consistently post comments (thanks so much) even though I don’t have the same time I had in the past, to reciprocate. And for you, my readers and clients who read my blog and send me emails that truly move me and make me feel so lucky that I get to do what I love every day! Thank you to you all!
Do you believe in the Law of Attraction?
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.
Related posts:
Do you make this mistake in your Business/Blog?
Happiness is. . . Having the Career that you Love
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