June 2022

June Topic: Share a moment when your business met the need of a client.

By Cheryl Clark with Clark Strategies

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Thankfully I feel like I live in a world filled with gratitude and more importantly, I EXPRESSED gratitude.

I hear ‘thank you’ often enough that the words are not foreign to me.  I hope I express it often enough that others feel the same – that it is common for them to hear it.

The Challenge for this month was to share a moment where your business met the need of a client.

My mind went to two different places immediately, so much so, that I knew these were what I needed to share in this blog. 

Both instances that came to my mind have one thing in common, and that one thing is something I want to make sure to give some serious attention to!  Both occurrences involve a ‘need of the client’ that was an UNEXPRESSED need.  I was not asked or approached about whether I could do what I did.  They did not even remotely know they ‘needed’ what was coming. 

No, I am not a mind reader; and yes, they would have survived very well without the small things I was able to provide, but my point is often we don’t know what we need, so we don’t know to ask for it.  Talk about another serious attribute we as business owners can develop!  Seeing what we can do with what we have and seeing if there is someone we can impact with it… wow!

Here are the two stories that came to my mind:

#1 – Our weekly networking meeting is three years running and going strong.  It’s what I have spent my time doing every Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. for all three years.  We managed to pivot during the pandemic and stay consistent using Zoom. 

I can recall at one meeting a ‘regular’ in the networking world logged in, a camera on, and attentive.  But when I called on her for a commercial, she waved me off with a look filled with emotion.  I bypassed her respectfully – not understanding what was going on but respecting her wishes.  Later, in private, she shared that she needed to attend the networking meeting because it felt like a positive space to be seen, to be allowed to sit and process her emotions of the day.  I was thanked for the safe space my business provided.  #powerful

#2 – In putting together a calendar full of various business advertisements, I found I had space to fill.  I could have pushed for more ad sales, or I could have called outside the network to many businesses who would gladly pay for the ad space.  I could have filled it with an ad for my own endeavors, but I chose to create something for a small home-based crafter, instead.  Please know I am no hero and not wording this to fill my ego up – but merely showing we all have choices and sometimes there are alternatives to what may be considered traditional thoughts.  I sent her an email with her ad and explained that I had extra space, how I would love for her to be part of it, how this ad was “on me,” and here was the ad.  Her response was an instant text message saying: “SHUT UP!”  Yes, she was “in” for the ad made for her, and while she was grateful, it filled my heart with joy.  Never has “SHUT UP!” meant so much to me! 

I love what I do.