Dear Client: My Dog Ate Your Project... and My Kids Are Sick and...
by Barb Niehaus
If there's one thing I have learned in 12 years of being a WAHM (work-at-home mom) , it's to count on the unexpected. When you run a business of any type or size while raising a family, there's bound to be "those days". And PLENTY of them!
So what do you when in the midst of a super important phone call with one of your best clients, one of the kids SCREAM, "Mom, I'm going to throw up!" or, "Mom, I have diarrhea!" You'll notice absolute dead silence on the other end of the phone. Although you're wishing someone had just hit a phone pole and knocked out all power, not the case. Your client is waiting and wondering how you're going to handle this one. Or...
The priority project you promised your number one client is missing! It could have been substituted for drawing paper or turned in with Susie's book report or any number of unexplained disappearances that occur on a frequent basis when you have kids in the same building (your home) as your business.
Like the Scouts, be HONEST! Yes, you're a professional working woman striving to forge a reputation and career for yourself; but lest we forget, we are first and foremost, MOMS. Honesty really is the best policy when you're having "one of those business days." 'Fess up and tell the truth concerning the background episode or the lost project. Offer to knock off a percentage of the fee for turning it in a day late or perhaps another free service you'll throw in to make amends. Chances are your #1 client is a parent and will certainly identify with your predicament . This isn't the first and surely won't be the last time you land in this situation when you're a... WAHM.
©2000 Barb Niehaus
About the author: Barb Niehaus publishes Moms@ Home Working Daily E-Zine for moms searching for WAH jobs. To Subscribe to her Free Daily E-Zine mailto: momsworkingathome-subscribe@onelist.com or visit her website: http://www.MOMS-HOME-WORK.COM to search Hundreds of Work-At-Home Jobs!
E-mail: doon8457@aol.com
