Dear Melissa,

3 Cities in 4 Days! No, it isn't a whirlwind trip to Europe, but it feels about as exotic. This Thursday I head to Vegas to address the Surface Fabrication and Design Expo on Thursday/Friday, and then back to Atlanta late Friday night. Saturday, you can find me at the Cobb Galleria Home Expo with two speaking presentations on Change Your Interiors, Change Your Life. Then Saturday evening, I head out to Naples, Florida for back to back engagements on Sunday at The Fine Home Show. Catch me if you can!

Decorating tips book complete! Can you believe it? I just released Celebrate Your Life! in hardback and now I've created Change Your Interiors, Change Your Life with 209 tips for improving your home interior to improve your life. I'll have it available at the 3pm. and 6pm. speaking engagements at the Home Show. Come join me!

Valentine's Catch Up! Had one of my best Valentine's eves ever when a girl friend and I caught up over Indian food just around the corner. We haven't had a chance to really swap stories, news flashes, and anecdotes since before the holidays. It was a great evening and I found a new place for takeout within a mile! Are you making time for treasured friends?

Live Well and By Design,

MG

"The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes."
~ Frank Lloyd Wright
Architect and American Icon

Might vs. Will

What is “might?” Yes, I know it is akin to “maybe” and about as useful. All of us, whether consciously or not, only do, we don't might or maybe. Every time you use one of these words you are inserting hesitation and doubt into your life, your business, and your intention. Doubt and hesitation are what derail us the most. More often than not we know precisely what we are going to do but hedge our bet with a “might” or a “maybe.” These are time wasters, worthless expressions, and tricky tools we employ to avoid being direct, honest, and real.

Time is our greatest non-renewable resource. Stop wasting it with hesitation, and step into your intention and do.

Get Picky or Go Home

Now this may come as a surprise to many of you, but not everyone who enters your shop, calls you on the phone, or emails you as a prospect is actually someone you even want to consider doing business with. You are in charge of selecting your clients! And too often this responsibility is abdicated in favor of saying yes to everyone. That yes is to those that fit, and those that don't. That yes is to those that are pleasant and fun to work with and those that will rob you of your peace of mind at every transaction. You have a choice. Are you exercising your rights as a business owner?

Now the real question is: how do I know if a prospect is a good client fit? The answer is because you have done your homework. You have thought it through and created a profile of your most ideal client. Now you can create these in multiples if you are serving multiple markets. As a speaker, I have an ideal audience profile. As a designer, I have an ideal design client profile. I measure every lead and call against these profiles. Those that fit or come close I will evaluate and pursue or not. Those that don't, I pass on them.

No matter how hungry you get in business, the cost of taking on an ill suited client is typically far greater than the cost of waiting or targeting your best fit (who waits in business?). We've all experienced that gut reaction that is screaming at us not to go ahead, but we justify it with excuses about business being light, the economy being in recession (sound familiar), and needing the business. No one can afford my peace of mind, how about yours?

Know When to Say Next

Have you ever spent time with someone, romantic or just a friend, and simply felt disconnected after parting company? You didn't have a bad time, but you didn't really feel like they were paying attention, engaged, and connected. Instead it felt more like they had other priorities but felt the need to fit this kind of time in. You don't talk much in between times and when you do get together it feels superficial and lacks the warmth of a true relationship (again applies to friends as well as romances). The conversation stays topical only and never really scratches the surface.

On the business side of this is when someone invites you to join them for an event or a meal and then splits the tab after picking your brain for the time provided, fishing for leads and other tidbits. (The person who invites pays in dating and in business in my book! The exception is girl friends getting together to catch up.) In either case the result is the same, you come away empty. Don't feel compelled to keep these people around you. Learn the art of saying NEXT to allow them out and someone else of greater depth, interest, and quality in.

Office Depot vs. Kinko’s

I have been in and out of Kinko's entirely too much lately and most often with a great deal of frustration. The latest debacle involved 30 color copies each of 20 pages of documents. I had specifically requested that they be separated not collated. My request was ignored and I was handed two boxes with completely unrelated materials collated randomly. This meant that I would subsequently spend a couple of hours sorting the contents. To their credit when I expressed my dissatisfaction and dismay, and requested a discount, (always askl!) they simply gave me the order. Regardless I won't go back.

I had already spent at least an hour over two visits going over my requests very carefully with a single individual. And the order took 16 hours. Both times the store was quiet with a wealth of seemingly unoccupied personnel yet no one seemed particularly interested in assisting me or starting on the order.

I had additional color copies to make and knew that Office Depot was running the same 49 cent special so I went there. They were professional, accurate, and fast, able to complete the order while I waited. (I don't wait well!) The quality was better as they didn't scan them in first and start manipulating images unnecessarily. I recommend them whole heartedly.