Week 28 & 29: G6 #biz + #life
Isabelle and Ben head back to Maryland as fiancés. They leave us until winter…I'll be sure to see her in the fall when I head back to DC.
Our team headed to Portland to follow some solid leads from our new Operations Coordinator, Nalani. She lived there for a bit and had some leads on businesses that could use our services and support. The Marketing Team headed for some good eats and to meet up with our favorite small businesses. We stayed at an Airbnb; it gave us a chance to connect. We watched Parent's Day on Love Island together. Jason, who doesn't watch Love Island, enjoyed watching us experience Parent's Day! Ha! It was too fun.
We returned on a Friday and dove straight into a meeting for a client who is about to open an amazing craft beverage bar in Pioneer Square. I left Portland feeling invigorated to continue the quest of getting to know more small businesses in Seattle. I headed to Pike Place Market to see our friends, Dame Tasty. Dame Tasty had a week-long pop-up near DeLaurenti. It gave me a reason to visit some new businesses I've been meaning to see and visit some old friends. Frank's Quality Produce is always a must, Pike Place Bakery, and Pike Street Nuts.
I was also inspired to do a little cookbook cleaning. I went in with a plan of attack to get rid of some old cookbooks. That didn't happen; I found myself attached to the idea that these books nourished my family. I spent the majority of my life feeding 4 children and my husband. The inspiration and memories associated with meals waved over me. I couldn't part with a single book…
This week we received news that a client was not able to retain us as her support any longer. We anticipated that this would come as business hasn't been as busy, and despite all of our efforts to increase sales, we knew the challenges have outweighed us continuing as their consultant. Your question: what do we do? Well, we stick to the mission. The mission to support small businesses and set them up for success. What does that look like? When a business decides they have to make cuts based on their revenue and business needs - we 100% already know and likely have recommended this. Of course, we always want to hang on in hopes we can continue to show value for the work we do.
But, as much as value is important, so is viability, and that can be a tricky balance. When we transition out, we set them up for success. Anything we create has a standard operating procedure to go along with it. We like to end at the end of the month so we can make sure they have everything buttoned up before we "log out". Financial reporting is set. All human resource documentation and files are up to date. And then we send our long-winded goodbye - or rather, see you later. Our hope is they think of us any time they need a one-off task or need; we are there for them. I built this business with the "à la carte" in mind. Whether it is one task or three or ten tasks, we are here. We are here for any or all of it.
