I’m supposed to set an example and blog weekly. I tell my clients how important it is, so I’m supposed to be doing it too. But it’s been a rough couple of weeks and I haven’t had much to say besides just telling myself and my team to get through this one day at a time.
With Thanksgiving arriving this week, I believe in saying thank you and I believe in truly showing and feeling gratitude for the things in our lives. So I’m going to start by saying how grateful I am for this company. I’m so lucky to get to do something I love for companies I believe in and with people I adore. I’m fortunate that my husband is 100% supportive of what we do here and supports my ideas (or sets me back on the right road when I’ve made a detour). I’m beyond lucky to have an advisor in one of my closest friends who helps me write difficult emails or helps with talking points for challenging conversations. I thank my children for being patient with me when I’m late getting them from school because I’m meeting with a client. Specifically, I thank my daughter for teaching me how to do things faster and more efficiently on platforms that aren’t second-nature to me. And, of course, I thank my parents for setting a great example on entrepreneurialism and support.
Our clients are really the backbone of who we are and what we do. I thank them for trusting us with their online voice and for being brave enough to consider a team of outsiders an extension of their internal team. I thank our colleagues in the industry from web designers to bloggers with whom we’ve had the opportunity to work.
Mostly, I want to thank my team. Without them we’d not be able to scale and grow our company:
I thank Chuck for his level-headedness and true understanding of how these platforms work. I also thank him for bringing new ideas to the table on an older client, consistently trying to move the needle on success;
I thank Brenda for her uncanny ability to find topics on which to blog and to come through week after week with valuable content to post on client websites;
I thank Candace for her creativity, her never-ending list of “here’s an idea” texts and her ability to understand the nuances of the clients on which she works in great detail;
I thank Leslie for her ability to bring light to almost any situation and help us all laugh our way out of what might otherwise be a very unfunny circumstance. I also thank her for consistently coming through in the clutch and jumping in on writing assignments with her quick wit and organized free-form pieces;
I thank Meredith for being the rock of this organization. She makes sure we are all on task and moving forward, from her weekly “don’t forget to write that blogpost” text to her critical thinking and mathematical abilities, and her genuine support when I just need to scream about how much stress we’re under from time to time;
I thank Lindsay for being ready for anything and able to jump in. I thank her for wanting to stay focused on work during the toughest of times. I thank her for allowing my daughter to be her biggest fan. I thank her for her candor, her honesty, and her quest for learning.
Lastly, I want to thank Jason. I want to thank him for coming into my life and making an impact on my business. From that first coffee meeting at Vint Coffee on Frankfort Avenue (May 15, 2013) when we were introduced by our friend, Patrick, he brought a smile to all of us. I hired him right after that meeting and before I knew it he was being completely candid with me about what we were doing right and where we needed to improve. He introduced me to half of our team.
I have memories of Jason on a Google hangout with two of our former team members (both women). Before we realized he was there, we were in the midst of conversation about things he probably didn’t want to hear about. He finally cleared his throat so we’d stop. Oops. He directed our strategy, he reorganized proposals, he helped me focus on the actual needs and goals of clients and potential clients. And that laugh. That chuckle you could always count on. That’s what I miss most. I thank him for introducing us to Andrea and for sharing his love of her with the rest of us. He wasn’t jaded. He wasn’t cynical. He was an optimist with his head on straight, who knew the difference between right and wrong, who truly was the humor of Louisville. Last night I cried myself to sleep over the tragedy of losing Jason. Today, I am grateful for having known him and his family. And for that, I can smile today.
Jason told me to get off my a** and start blogging again. “How can you ask clients to do it if you’re not doing it?” So here you go, man. This is this week’s post and I’m grateful for the opportunity to write it. Each time I sit down to write, I’ll remember that he told me to get moving.
I encourage you to sit down and write this week about something for which you are grateful. Even in the most unfortunate days, when the future seems bleak, there has to be something for which you give thanks. Whatever that may be, I hope you find the time, energy and peace this week to find it.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.
…Shane
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