I value all experience I acquired from my previous full-time administrative office position. Servicing clients over the phone and via email was an everyday thing. It's one thing to have your boss tapping your telephone conversations with clients and monitoring your email to ensure "quality assurance." It's quite another to have gone freelance, when quality assurance for your clients becomes optional (hehe) yet highly important to retain their business.

Being able to "mute" emails at any given time is tempting, especially when your less-than-tech-savvy clientele are emailing with every whimsical idea they get for their website and wants your input. However, no client wants to feel ignored, and they will pick up on the fact that you are putting their tasks on the backburner.

When I picked up on the fact that a client was on the verge of frustration, and especially because fees had just been raised for my business, I began to fall back on the idea of quality assurance. So, I went through each and every email they had sent in the past week, responded to each one, and delivered on their requests and more. Going above and beyond sometimes is all it takes. And now, said client is delighted with progress made on their website this week, and all invoicing is up-to-date and paid with no complaints.

A happy client is a returning client and one less headache (...and one less past-due invoice, in some cases).

In other events, a client of mine shot me an email of a picture of her new storefront sign. Guess what? I designed it! *geeksqueal* Sure, it's not the most extravagant design ever, but just knowing that one of my Photoshop creations has been materialized on the other side of the country, proudly displayed as a startup boutique's storefront sign, makes me feel all bubbly inside.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!