Women in Business: What You Want Is What You Get

I cannot tell you how many times I have worked with spectacularly brilliant, savvy business women who have compromised their vision in the interest of being nice. Have you ever paid for a service that you don't feel meets the standard or vision you have set for yourself? Have you ever paid for or bowed out of a project even though it didn't work for you, and then go elsewhere to see if you could receive what you are looking for from another service provider?

Herein lies the snag: you won't get what you are envisioning if you don't ask for it in a way THAT WORKS FOR YOU. We, as women, are trained to be nice to others. Don't be angry. Don't say how you really feel. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.

On the other end of the spectrum, we might feel that we have to force our way in a man's world, thus presenting ourselves as aggressive, career lusty, hard-edged business woman. We alienate other business women, and might feel that we are standing alone in our success, and lack connectedness in the business arena.

The ideology that if a business woman asks for what she wants, she is a bitch. Conversely, if a businessman states what he wants, he is a go-getter. I am here to tell you, sister: Times, they are a'changin'!

You are paying for a service.
You deserve to get what you are paying for.

Many of my design projects require multiple drafts for review and modification. It is the nature of graphic design. Often, when requesting revisions, many, many of my female clients start their statements with, "I am sorry to be a bug..." or "I am sorry, I don't want to be difficult, but..." or "Am I your most difficult client?"

Don't apologize when asking for what you want! 

Try this on for size. When facing a conversation with an employee or a service provider, write down what you want, and HOW IT IS GOING TO WORK FOR YOU.

For example, your designer is creating concepts for you that have nothing to do with what you are hoping for. The work is quick and unpolished, the emails brief and rushed, and you are not receiving timely responses. Challenging. Avoid the tendency to be passive aggressive. Be clear about what you WANT, and avoid stating what you DON'T want.

Call your designer. "You know, I am not sure if the work you sent me this morning hit the mark, and I think I need you to take some time to explore my requests further and come up with something a bit more polished, AND I would like you to send me your new concepts by the end of the week." Then, pause. Don't say a word. Let your statement sink in.

You are clear in your request. You have told your designer what works for you, and how you want to receive what you are asking for. I know the tendency is to go to a place of doubt and question ourselves as business women or worry about receiving a negative response to our requests. I tell you right now that the opposite will happen. 

You will open up a HOST of possibility to your own vision and business goals by following this simple advice. Go get 'em, Tigress!

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Try it out this week!