Two weeks ago, I scheduled an appointment with an exterminator to get rid of a crop of big black ants. I’ve been using a natural, organic bait and it just doesn’t seem to be doing the trick for this particular type of ant.

I didn’t want to call an exterminator because I don’t like the thought of the harsh chemicals they use, but I figured that I just couldn’t share my house with these insects anymore, so I picked a name out of the yellow pages, checked them out online and made contact.

They responded via email, gave me a price and told me what day they would be coming…Thursday March 25.

On Tuesday they let me know that they had double booked and would be here Friday morning instead.

No big deal, I work from home, I told them.

So this morning (Friday) I’m checking my email and I have a message from the exterminator telling me they’d be here around 10 am and that me, my kids and my pets would have to be gone for a few hours during the treatment and a few hours afterwards.

That email was sent at 9:30pm last night.

My husband and I are sharing a car today, I work from home, I have two children under the age of 4 and an indoor cat.

Now, keep in mind that one of the email exchanges we had was about my concern about the chemicals that would be used as I have young children and an indoor cat and all I was told was the name of the chemical and that when applied by a professional it is very safe.

So why didn’t he tell me at that time that we would need to be gone during this process? Holy bad customer service, Batman!

I’ll tell you, this company has lost a customer. First the double-booking thing and then the no-notice thing. Maybe I didn’t ask the right questions, but I think someone in a business like this, while they likely assumed that I would know we’d have to leave the house for the day, should have a list of guidelines and information sent to their customers before they treat for whatever pest they’re going to be eliminating.

This man is clearly a solopreneur and he’s probably a very busy one. He should have a virtual assistant fielding his calls and emails. This person could systematically send an email with information to each customer to avoid this problem, which must have led to some loss of business. I can’t be the only one who can’t pick up and leave at the drop of a hat!

I’m sure we all make assumptions in our businesses, but it’s a dangerous thing to do.

This guy obviously assumes that everyone knows they have to be gone while he’s treating, but he’s wrong. I didn’t know and I’m really smart.

Could you be doing something like this in your line of work?

I know I’ve done it. I’ve assumed before that when I start writing optimized content for someone that they will know what keywords they want me to optimize for. Not always the case.

Part of my job as a writer and part of Buddy’s job as an exterminator, is to educate our clients. Whether we like it or not, it’s important that we explain our process before we start.

I suggest you sit down with a piece of paper and a pen then write down your process from start to finish. Write down everything no matter how obvious it should be.

I mean, if you’re a painter, don’t assume that someone will know they need to take down the old wallpaper before you show up to paint.

Identify the gaps, the items that you should be discussing with your clients before you start work, and document them. Put together an information sheet…something that you can send to people before they work with you.

If the exterminator had done that, I’d be packing up my things now and headed to Nanny’s house for the weekend. But he didn’t, so instead I’m sitting here angry, writing this blog post, preparing to wipe down all of the old ant bait and put down some fresh.

I’m going to take my chances with the ants because I think I might end up better off than with all those chemicals anyway. At least for now. And if I do decide to call an exterminator it will be somebody different. Call me crazy, but when I’m leaving my house with a stranger in it for hours with harsh chemicals I want someone I can trust. And sorry, but two strikes is more than enough to be out in a game like this.

Moral of the story…never make assumptions about what your customers know or don’t know because you will be proven wrong at some point! Bet on it.

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I barbecued hamburgers for lunch today and as my two-year-old and I sat and enjoyed our meal, her cheerful chatter filled the air. Usually she makes up little songs or talks about her outfit, but today she picked up the mustard bottle and said something quite profound.

She said, “Mommy, what shape is this?”

I told her it was an hourglass shape.

She thought about that for a second and said, “I think it should be shaped like a hamburger.”

I looked at her in awe. My two-year-old seems to be a young branding and marketing expert.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If all of us could look at the world with the same sense of creativity, wonder and openness to new ideas as a small child, business would be very different.

Brainstorming is a favorite activity of mine. I love to exercise my creativity and I think that is a pretty solid benefit to my copywriting clients.

I sit down sometimes with a pad of paper and a pen and just write down ideas. I make lists of words that will resonate with my target market and try to think up possible package ideas or new services I could offer.

My little girls are very creative and my youngest suggesting that a bottle of mustard should be in the shape of a hamburger is one example how they like thinking up new ideas.

Is there a hamburger-shaped mustard bottle in your business?

I don’t think my daughter is ready to launch her own business yet, so you can’t call on her to help you. But you can do the same thing for yourself!

All you need is an open mind and a clean piece of paper. Write down some ideas and expand on them. Don’t worry about being perfect. Don’t worry if they don’t make sense. A two-year-old doesn’t care about that. They just say things that their little minds create. Try it. You might be surprised at what youcome up with!

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I put a lot of brain power into creativity. I live, breathe, eat and sleep creative ideas. So much of my heart and soul is poured into developing intelligent, snappy, fresh and creative ideas that it truly enrages me when I see someone ripping off someone else’s creative idea and passing it off as their own.

Plagiarism is low, people. I know for a fact that nobody would stand up and argue that fact and I bet I’d have a hard time finding someone who would admit to being a plagiarizer. That’s because they would not be popular.

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as:

“the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.”

You caught that, right? Plagiarism does not just apply to content, but taking someone else’s idea and passing it off as yours also counts. And do you know what plagiarism is?

Blatant theft.

When someone takes someone else’s idea and claims to have been the one who thought it up, well…that person doesn’t realize how small this world really is. That person is also not flattering the original concept creator. I can assure you that the person who had the idea in the first place is pissed off.

People. Stop taking other people’s ideas. It isn’t cool and you will be caught and your reputation will be in the toilet. Trust me. Karma is real and what goes around comes around.

If you can’t come up with a creative idea, nobody is going to fault you for that. Seek help. Call me! I help entrepreneurs with their creative brainstorming and I have enough creativity for both of us and some to spare.

It’s way more satisfying to come up with something on your own than it is to steal someone else’s intellectual property. Plus it’s way more legal.

If you contract me as your creative consultant and you pay me to come up with your ideas, I won’t tell anyone. We can pretend those ideas are yours. Part of your payment goes towards keeping my mouth shut.

So there you have it. You know how I (and anyone else who invests time and energy into creative thought) feel about plagiarism. People who do it suck. Don’t go there. Any money you invest in hiring someone to help with your creative needs will cost less than the damage done to your reputation in the long run when you’re caught.

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(If you’re reading this post from your inbox, you’ll get more out of it by clicking here to view photos!)

My 4 year old daughter came home from preschool last week with a picture of a penguin that she had drawn.

I still can’t see a penguin in that picture no matter how many different ways I look at it.

The thing is, my daughter is very talented when it comes to drawing. At the age of four, she’s actually better to draw than I am, so I knew there was something going on when I saw that picture.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re not crazy parents putting pressure on the child to be the best artist in her class, but this was obviously not my daughter’s style.

I was looking at it and going, “Look, Daddy, Casey drew this beautiful penguin at school today.”

Then Casey said, “I copied off of Jane.” (I’ve changed the name to protect the innocent.)

Aaaaaahhhh. That made sense.

I told Casey I would rather see a penguin that she drew by herself without copying off of anyone.

She quickly churned out this photo:

See the difference?

I had to try to explain to my daughter that she could do a better job if she did her drawings on her own, without copying off of anyone else. As I was explaining this to her, I realized that lots of adults still don’t get this.

If you’re marketing your business in the way that everyone else in your industry markets their businesses, just because you think that’s how you should be promoting yourself, did you ever stop and think you’re basically being a copycat?

There’s an excellent chance that if you’re trying to be someone you’re not, you’re stifling something great inside by doing so. Like my daughter’s own penguin drawing.

Market with your own personality. Be authentic. Be yourself. Make your own unique, individual mark on the world and be proud of it.

You’ll attract better clients, you’ll do better work and you’ll have a happier existence.

It’s true what they say, you know, you learned everything you needed to know about life before you finished kindergarten. Think about it. Would your teacher let you get away with copying off your neighbor?

Didn’t think so.

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I got a new blender yesterday. A totally excellent blender with a special dispensing spout for a less messy smoothie experience in the morning.

This morning I was really looking forward to treating my family to some yummy fruit & yogurt smoothies, but I was having technical difficulties.

I had washed the glass jug and the blade and had it all together, but I was getting nowhere trying to attach the spout. I was turning clockwise just like the instructions told me to but it would not lock in to place. I tried pushing harder cause that always works, right? I even thought the problem must have been the person who assembled it screwed the piece on wrong so I was rooting around to find a screwdriver to try it a different way. Believe it or not, didn’t work. (Sorry for doubting you, assembly person.)

I was getting hungry and frustrated so I decided to just put the optional little attachment thingy on and forgo the cool spout pouring option this time. I was pretty sure I’d have to call the Black and Decker people later and take it up with someone there.

When husband came into the kitchen and saw the spout sitting beside the blender, of course, he had to try to fix it for me. And, annoyingly enough, he did.

He told me that our first instinct, to turn it harder, was wrong. He said you have to barely touch it and it locks into place.

I was happy, even though smoothies had already been poured. We’ll have more tomorrow afterall. But I was thinking about how much energy I exerted over that stupid spout this morning and how if I just went against my instinct to push it harder that I would have been able to enjoy the full spout-poured smoothie experience.

Are you pushing harder in your business and still not getting anywhere? Have you taken it apart and tried to put it back together to no avail? If you were to talk to my husband today, he might suggest you just ease off and try something else. No matter how little you think it would actually help.

We tend to underestimate the power of good content as a sales vehicle.

What good is a fantabulous promotion if it leads your customers back to the same non-compelling, ineffective web content every time?

Instead of pushing harder, what if you tried calling a copywriter to review your existing content and propose if and how they might make it better?

I’ll tell you, the harder you push, the more frustrated you’re going to get when you don’t see results. Plus there’s always the chance that the whole thing will go to pieces under the strain.

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