Homework from last week's session

Last week, the assignment was to answer:

Where do I fear rejection? What's holding me back? What do I do to retain customers?

So, here are my thoughts:

I fear not being good enough. I fear being too expensive, or not expensive enough. I fear getting accounts and not living up to expectations. Even though I know that I'm competent, there's this little nagging insecure gremlin inside of me that takes over at just the wrong times. Rejection is never fun, and it's easier to live in denial than to go through a sales process and get rejected at the end. I know that it shouldn't matter-graphic design, more than most business even, is relationship driven. You have to "click" with people in order for them to hire you, no matter how good your work is. So I shouldn't fear the rejection, but it's difficult to overcome that. I need to somehow turn my thinking around and realize that without risking rejection, I'll never get any new clients. Nobody wins every project or every account-all I can do is my very best and learn from my mistakes. Easier to say than to do, but definitely a goal worth working towards.

What's holding me back? My own insecurity. How do I get over that? One step at a time I guess.

What do I do to retain customers? Probably not enough. Perhaps I need to start taking clients out for lunch once a year or something. I'll be sending out holiday gifts next week to the clients who have sent me work this year-a box of really good caramels (they're called "cows" even) and a card with "Happy Moo Year" on it. I know crap like that doesn't really keep clients, but it does make a difference in keeping you in their minds.