In a mess, but definitely on time

Today I took the afternoon off to take my kids to Hirtle's Beach near Lunenburg. Oh yes, I felt guilty. Shouldn't I be working, don't I have people to call, proposals to write etc? But how often do I have a chance to spend time with my kids the week before school starts again. So I went. This would have be a simple task normally, but my mother was coming. When my mother is ready to go, she is READY TO GO. I had to be ready on time to leave when my mother arrived, so I prepared hurriedly in advance. Peanut butter and fluff sandwiches, granola bars with chocolate chips, yogurt tubes, cheese sticks and juice....and blueberries to prevent scurvy from setting in. I'm always worried about scurvy, in addition to being on time to avoid keeping my mother waiting.

Sandwiches were ready and my mother arrived. She refused to enter our house, but instead waited in the shade on our porch, indicating her need to leave immediately. Running out of time before she even arrived. I threw the health food into the cooler, along with a bag of Party Mix (my new crack cocaine in the chip category) and at the last minute decided to bring water. Dehydration is a fate almost as bad as scurvy in my books.

We scrambled into the car and everything seemed rosy. My children, knowing there was a picnic available, immediately started whining about their hunger. I evaluated the option with the least crumbs (we were rising in my mother's car) and came up with cheese sticks.

I opened the cooler only to find two inches of water at the bottom and the food floating around inside. No big deal, I thought as I reached in to fish things out (literally) and realized plastic wrap is not waterproof. Far from it. I pulled out the chicken leg (that was for me) and the peanut butter sandwiches and proceeded to literally wring out the sandwich bread, which had soaked up the water like a sponge....no...better than a sponge! Not good. I squeezed the sandwiches out and placed them on the sopping wet paper towel on the dashboard in an attempt to dry them in the sun. There they sat for the duration of the drive, baking in the sun.

Once at the beach, I salvaged the dryer halves of the sandwiches and fed the kids. Then placed the rest on the top of the cooler to dry further. I tried a bite and the bread tasted like....well.....mushy, watery bread. The kids ate what they could and the sandwiches were nearly dry by quitting time.

The moral of the story? The best I can do is to say while it's great to be prompt, it's almost as important to take care in what you do. A few extra minutes spent, could save a lunch. I learn this lesson over and over and totally disregard it, but thought I'd share in case there are readers who are more responsible and methodical. Maybe I could learn a thing or two.

Stop selling, start helping.

I heard this expression last night and it makes sense in literally everything I do. As a PR consultant with my own business, I feel that everyone I meet has a target on their forehead....or at least they may feel like they do.

In recent years I've learned that, particularly in Halifax, it's about getting to know people and trusting them. It's lots of coffees and glasses of wine, and even dinners with kids, before you're "in" among the business community members. If you just relax and get to know people, without selling your services, the opportunities to work together come naturally. No ulterior motives, no pressure, just hanging out with fellow business people and learning what they do.

Seems easy right? Not so fast.

Staying in touch takes dedication and maintenance. And when you do go for that coffee, you need to focus on some objectives. How can you work together, do they have contacts you could "borrow" and is there any follow up you should do. Then....follow up. Stay in touch. Ensure this isn't a one off meeting. Show them you mean it.

The same appears to be true in the jewelry sales business, but things are far more immediate. As a stylist with Stella & Dot www.stelladot.com/hollydunn I'm immediately in a position of literally selling jewelry to people. But it's still not that simple.

It's easiest to connect with people who really love the jewelry. You can spot 'em in a crowd. Wide eyes, glinting with the shimmering visions of gems and gold, excited attitude, rushing from piece to piece. Can't settle on just one purchase. It's these people who become my longer term connections. They want to hear more about the company, the jewels. When there is a new line, they want to know about it, and will usually buy a piece. No selling, just staying in touch and helping them connect with beautiful accessories that we can't easily find in Nova Scotia.

As I focus more on this mantra, it's easier to get through work. Work is social and more fun. I'm learning about people and forming deeper relationships. It's a great way to become more connected, and to build your network, so when you need a partner, a service, or just to share how truly gorgeous and hip a necklace is, you have a list of people to call.

The last pay cheque

The day my last pay cheque came from my corporate job was a landmark. I'd been warned by others who had left their paycheques to become entrepreneurs, but it arrived and its significance was....well...significant. I was leaving my job in a PR agency to join my husband and build our own PR boutique agency, Dunn & Associates Communications and Public Affairs. This was not my name choice. I probably would have come up with something like Slice or Paradox PR to sound hip and happenin'. But I do admire the simplicity and established feel of the name and I hope it conveys a conservative sensibility that makes clients feel safe.

Anyway, the last pay cheque came and quickly went, and so did my final day of office work. I crammed in as much as I could that last day - writing white papers that had been promised for months, completing expense reports and itemizing work I'd done in my final few weeks. People came to say goodbye and I was too busy to really notice. Very much like every other day of my office life. I hugged them and said goodbye, but didn't have time to really notice.  I lugged my dusty rubber plant and my framed diplomas and awards to the car and scrambled home. My new life had begun.

The following weeks were very different. Week one started and I kept a schedule, working on credentials and web copy, writing myself into my husband's existing business and expanding our capabilities. I saw a lot of my kids and a LOT of my husband. It was tempting to have staff meetings at breakfast, and to discuss corporate profile wording at dinner, but so far, we've avoided it.

After week one, the reality set in that my time was somewhat flexible. I could keep normal hours, but I could also nip out to the store and have lunch with the kids on occasion. I wrote some proposals and just submitted them. My husband and I reviewed them. That's it! No elaborate review process, no track changes. The experience was liberating. I'm the boss now baby.

I'm now in week three and I'm learning new lessons. I need a to do list. I need to have enough work to keep me from thinking about food 24 hours a day, and I need to get out and see people. Not having an office to go to is liberating, but you need a structure and you need to get out of the house. I've arranged that now, and I look forward to the potential of the coffee meetings I've booked.

As for working with one's husband? So far, it's best to find your own clients and have your own tasks to pursue. It's also best to ditch the marital argument techniques immediately. I find myself responding in ways I never would in an office, but I force myself to be a better person. Must be polite, must not mention his mother, must be productive and move things forward. I'm actually realizing my husband is a bright cookie, he has interesting thoughts to offer and he is quite incredible at his job. Who knew? My take away is that we're going to do well as business partners and maybe even learn a thing or two as spouses. The beginning of a new adventure.