Soul Proprietor - Fan Mail

It’s no secret that I love getting the mail. Especially snail mail. My love for all things mailed started as a little kid when my mother subscribed me to Humpty Dumpty magazine – oh, how I looked forward to that arriving every month!

Every day, I still enjoy getting snail mail as well as email (yes, I love me some email). There is nothing nicer than receiving a kind note from a client or fan. To think that someone took the time to say hello and tell me how my work has impacted their lives is everything to me.

Each note is saved and treasured, a gentle reminder of why I do what I do. These fan letters keep me going and help to drown out those times when I’m being overly critical or feeling less-than (yes, I have down days too).

Not only do I adore getting these love notes, I like giving them as well.

I make a regular practice out of sending letters, cards, or emails to people who I admire or who’ve made my life better.

For example, we have a new grocery store in town and I’m an avid fan (it’s super fancy – my kinda food store). At the bottom of my receipt, there is a note asking for your feedback with the lure of a $50 gift card in a monthly draw. Now, I certainly like the idea of that cash incentive but I religiously fill out that survey for a different reason: to let the store know how much I appreciate them.

In that survey, there is a section where you can recognize an employee and that is my main intention: I take time to recognize someone every single day at that store. It might be the clerk who checked me out, the nice bag boy who did a terrific job loading my groceries, the manager who handled a refund, or the kind young man who showed me where to find that certain product I was having trouble locating.

I do this because I believe acknowledging people, even those who have done something seemingly small, lifts them up and inspires them to keep going, even when they are dealing with the hard stuff. It gives them a reason to keep on shining and doing a great job. I want them to know that there is someone who appreciates their effort.

I do this because it makes me feel good too. And that vibe is how I want to feel in my business – and how I want other people to feel in their work too. In a world full of nasty critics and people who like to tear others down, this is how I like to roll. I want to raise the vibration.

What about you?

If you have your own business, no doubt you like to be acknowledged too. So why not take some time out of your busy day to say thank you to someone who takes good care of you? A short email to a mentor, a little gift card to a service provider, a handwritten note to your colleague who’s killing it (or having a rough time), or a silly card to a client whom you loved serving. Take time to say thank you, or I’m a fan.

Because that note might be the one thing that keeps them going when they need it most.

Thank you for being in my world, dear reader.

Blessings,
Theresa