I started this company because I really enjoy our line of work and want to be actively working in it. I LOVE connecting with people; when I’m not active in that side of things, I tend to feel very disconnected from our clients. Because I’m wired this way, a typical day for me might look something like this:
Wake up (did I even sleep…?).
Check my email & calendar.
Get kids out the door.
Zoom calls.
Eat a spoonful of peanut butter.
More Zoom calls.
Put on socially acceptable work attire.
Head out to meet with a client.
More Zoom calls (on location!).
Phone calls in the car.
Eat.
Sleep.
Repeat.
If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, your schedule probably mirrors mine in many ways. And having operated this way since the great reset of 2020, I’ve realized that I am WAY more susceptible to burnout than I have ever been. Because work is now totally mobile, it’s all too easy to say yes to everything. Just one more call. Just one more meeting. Just one more…
All the best time management principles, intention setting, and business coaching won’t help you avoid said burnout if you can’t answer these two questions:
What’s your WHY, and HOW do you do it?
Our WHY at CI is pretty simple- we want to be helpful and add value to your business. We care about conducting ourselves ethically yet personally, being in arms reach of our clients, crafting quality work, and setting our clients up for lasting success.
It’s our HOW that helps keep me grounded when I’m running on peanut butter and 4 hours of sleep. How do we accomplish this kind of broad mission statement, especially with our team spanning from Colorado to Florida and in between? We run every single thing we do through the filter of our core values:
QUALITY: Social media content creators, web developers, writers, and graphic designers are a dime a dozen. Fiverr, Upwork, and even Craigslist, are chock full of people shouting I’ll do it for cheaper! While there are some talented professionals on sites like this, it can be challenging to ensure consistent, high-quality work every time. Our team comprises years of experience and some of the highest-caliber people you’ll ever meet. They all care about the work they put out and the people and businesses on the receiving end. We all work collaboratively to review each other’s work and offer critique when needed. Nothing gets sent out without this system of checks and balances, which is why we are able to offer quality work every. single. time.
DIVERSITY: It’s important to me that we reflect our community in many different ways. We love diversity, from race and ethnicity to unique gifts and traits. Diversity on our team means linking arms with team members from different backgrounds who hold different worldviews and can offer varying perspectives. Diversity in our client base means connecting with various industries and serving a wealth of needs based on the type of work each one does. p.s. Huge shout out to our clients who are women and minority-owned businesses!
EMPATHY: If I haven’t been able to say it enough, we CARE about our clients! Behind great businesses are great PEOPLE, and we want to be available for both. How does this play out? Sending a client the meeting minutes via email while sending a text to follow up on his dog’s vet visit! We want our clients and the CI team members to enjoy working with each other, and coming from a place of empathy is one of the best ways we’ve seen this accomplished.
FAIRNESS: When submitting a proposal to a client, it’s important that both their needs are met, and our team’s expertise is valued. We’re constantly evaluating dollars spent to ensure both of these things are happening, and we’re always going to be upfront about allotted vs. actual hours used and adjust accordingly. I’m always in awe of the many talents our team members hold, but if there’s something that we feel would be best accomplished elsewhere, we’ll be the first to say it! We’ll never put out sub-par work just to pad our bottom line.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE: This is truly what connects the HOW to the WHY and keeps our business moving forward. It’s our privilege to work with the incredible clients that we do. If they need something that may be above and beyond the normal scope of work, it’s not who we are to operate under the premise of “not my problem.” We passionately pour ourselves into our work, so the momentum to go the extra mile is never in short supply.
The best part of our core values comes from never having to sell ourselves to clients. When tenets like these drive you, they will always shine through your work. Our clients know immediately if their values align with ours and if working together will be mutually beneficial.
I don’t think clients work with us because we have articulated our core values and they agree with them intellectually. I do believe that clients work with us because they experience our core values, and those values intersect to form deep client relationships that enrich and positively impact their businesses.
