Nessa's Notes

I recently realized I was doing a ridiculous thing by not publicizing my blog. It's quite silly, but I've been waiting until I got it right. But it'll never be "right" so I may as well quit erasing entries and let someone have a look. Otherwise, what's the point? In my imagination I'm witty and clever. I can always come up with lots of useful and interesting things to write about. And I'm not shy about letting the world read my every word. But in reality, I haven't been writing regularly because I fear no one will read it. Or maybe because I fear someone will read it. There is no place for fear. I already know that my writing is fabulous because my clients tell me so. So, this is my public declaration. I will post. And I will leave the posts posted.

So I joined twitter a couple of months ago. It took a while to get the hang of it, but now it's rather fun. And it's all anyone can see to talk about - online or off. There really are interesting things happening in the twittersphere. In the past couple of weeks I have witnessed two marriage proposals and laughed at countless witty blog posts. I've also gotten plenty of article ideas, learned a time-saving tip for my business operations and found a new client. All in spare moments when I pop in to check on the tweethearts. All very pleasant, entertaining or useful, right? Not quite. The endless debates about the possibilities of twitter and the character of those who use it are becoming a bit dull. Some swear it's the best thing that ever happened to their businesses. Others claim you have to be a complete narcissist with severe ADD to participate in it. As with any public forum, you find a complete range of personalities, cultures, assumptions and behaviors. I've...

Good customer service is not a difficult art to master. A few simple basics should be the starting philosophy of every business. 1. If you want my business, you have to make it worth my while. Show me the value and don't try to fool me with worthless junk or expensive "upgrades". 2. You are not doing me a favor by taking my money, just as I don't shop to do you a favor. So keep your bad mood and nasty attitude to yourself. And tell your employees to do the same. 3. I am not invisible. In fact, it's very easy to see me standing right here, waiting for you to finish your private conversation and serve your customer - who just happens to be me. Didn't your boss (or your mother) ever tell you how rude that is? 4. If you have a store, make sure it's clean and pleasant. If you provide a service, make sure you're clean and pleasant. If you sell a product, package it in a way that's clean and pleasant. 5. Don't argue with me. You cannot win because I...

Why is it so difficult to take our own advice, to do for ourselves what we do so often and so easily for others? I have spent much of the past twenty years helping people start and grow their small businesses, yet my own seems to have suffered through an endless cycle of surges and stalls. Both of my sons had moderate physical limitations as they were growing up so taking care of them was often challenging: I spent so much time at the hospital that many of the employees thought I worked there too! In addition to being a therapeutic foster parent for several disabled children, I was also a neighborhood mom, often sheltering and feeding a half dozen or more kids every weekend. Meanwhile, now that the kids are all grown and gone, it seems harder and harder everyday to take good care of myself with proper eating habits, rest and exercise. So, even though I don't do "resolutions" I have made a decision and a commitment to do unto myself more of what I do for others. For 2009 I...