Joyful giving & receiving: your guide to giving clients the perfect gift

As I write this I’m sitting at a friend’s house beside a sleeping 4 month old. Momma is taking some much needed time to herself, something that’s not too common these days for her.

And she is SO grateful.

Even said it felt weird. Almost like it was a bit hard for her to leave the house (can you mommas relate?).

And I don’t even view it as a burden, or something on the to do list, or a commitment I have to keep that I’m not excited about.

I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

1. I’m getting my baby fill
2. I’m beyond thrilled to give a friend some freedom

Beyond thrilled.

The idea that I’m able to help her out like this makes my heart soar with joy. My heart feels happy. That open, abundant, grateful feeling that manifests itself in my body through peaceful joints, a body that feels comfortable, and a heart that feels light.

It’s the perfect mutual arrangement.

She gives. I give. She receives. I receive.

And it got me thinking about how this looks in my business – this mutual receiving and giving.

And quite honestly, it hasn’t always felt this way. Sometimes the energy is off. Sometimes my own goals and fear associated with them led me down a path of looking at the wrong thing – the money, the targets to hit, the numbers on the list. Go, go, go.

Sometimes in my striving, I forgot the giving.

And sometimes in my giving, I forget the receiving. I forget that it’s about a mutual exchange. That the client is giving their money so that I may receive and be in equal exchange.

And almost shamefully I admit that the drive to make the sell, earn the money, fulfill my desires can overtake this beautiful part of being an entrepreneur.

Right here, right now, in this moment – I am bursting with joy for the opportunity to give a new mom some time. I’ve always loved to give the perfect gifts and this is one of my favorites.

The gift of time is the biggest thing we can give.

And I need to remember that in my own business. What I do for people is give them time. Precious, precious time from spending, wasting, and struggling.

When I feel into how this feels in my body and my heart, I make a pact to feel this in my business. Always.

Here’s how I’m doing that and how you can too:

1. Identify the how
How do you give time in your business?

For me, I give clients time by providing them with everything from clarity to copy to a website in my intensives. So while I’m writing copy, they can enjoy some self care. While I take care of creating their website, they can focus on their zone of genius and the joy of what they truly love to do. By taking care of these aspects of their business, I give them time to focus on what they’ll give to their clients.

So in what ways do you give clients back their precious time?

2. See the frustration
How does your gift of time save your clients hours(+) of frustration?

Using my example above, I create that website which saves clients countless hours of researching the technical aspects to building websites, hours from learning these systems on their own, and hours of struggling to determine the heart of their message. And I do mean countless hours… some of them have spent years trying to figure these things out.

We all collapse the timeframe that our clients would otherwise be struggling with their biggest frustration. What are the frustrations you help clients avoid?

3. Feel the energy
Are you tapped into the energy that’s involved with this exchange of giving and receiving?

This one is SO important. Because you’re going to hear negative things. You’re going to hear no. You’re going to hear messages counter to what you believe and what you’re doing. When I’m fully aware of the equal exchange that’s involved between the time I give clients and their payment to me, I’m fully in service. I’m tapped in and lit up. No matter what.

Are you bursting with joy over this exchange of giving and receiving?

4. Communicate
Are you communicating your gift of time in your business?

People ask me all the time what to write about for their business. If you’re stuck, write about the time you give through your services. Because no one can receive the benefit of time if they don’t know you exist or connect the dots for themselves. And we all want time.

Time is the biggest gift we can give and receive.

Give openly. Receive with gratitude.

So tell me, does this reframe anything for you? Do you have more clarity on how you are in service to others, so that you can receive with ease?

With love, service, and those tiny little baby toes,
Amy