Personal vs Business…

I admit it…I often blur the line between business and personal. Always have, and by design, considering the tagline on my business card that I came up with when I started the company: Professional without being impersonal. Personal without being unprofessional.

It may not always be the best strategy, but I believe work is more enjoyable when you genuinely like your clients. But sometimes…sometimes…business requires moving on from the professional relationship.

Got an email from a client Monday doing just that. Surprised? A bit, but it wasn’t totally unexpected. While I was a little disappointed in how it was done, it was more disappointing in the timing, since I’d received a very nice, very personal email just four days prior about our pregnancy issues. Was quite the contrast.

But in the end, severing of the business ties wasn’t a bad thing because of the circumstances (a change a year and a half ago that I did not initially propose that didn’t go as expected by either side [and for which I did not push hard enough on the changes vs the proposed implementation at the onset], and the last 6+ months implementing a change that I was not involved in, but whose issues were also then lumped onto “my” issues.)

C’est la vie.  C’est l’enterprise.

Here’s the amazing part. Initially, I was a little worried. That client was a mid-tier one, revenue-wise, but knew with a little belt-tightening, it’d be ok, and I’d start prepping some introductory emails and letters to prospective clients.

But…yesterday I get a call from a Comcast contact wanting to refer me to an organization moving to Fife. After getting the rest of the director’s contact info, emailed this morning to introduce myself and send some info about IT Service Works. The reply was amazing, and will be talking with her later this morning…

I admit it…I often blur the line between business and personal. Always have, and by design, considering the tagline on my business card that I came up with when I started the company: Professional without being impersonal. Personal without being unprofessional. It may not always be the best strategy, but I believe work is more enjoyable…