“I don’t think you can ever work in an office again,” she laughed.
Just an hour earlier, as I was walking to her house, I thought about how lucky we both were. We scheduled a meeting on her front porch, in the middle of a beautiful, cool summer day, and gone were the dress clothes and high heels and strict deadlines. Instead, we sat comfortably in yoga pants, T-shirts, and tennis shoes.
Jess and I worked in an office together years ago. We’d take our breaks dreaming of what we really wanted to do with our lives. But the money and benefits were too good to give up. Everyone would think we were crazy, and would people really pay for us?
It’s hard to believe, but that was 7 years ago. We felt stuck at the time, as if there were no way out.
But we continued dreaming. Jess worked on the details of her concierge service. She did the research, created her website, came up with a marketing plan … she had it all figured out. She was ready, but the time just wasn’t right.
As for me, I longed to spend more time with my family and to write. But I also had a desire to help people who wanted to do something different or make a change but weren’t sure where to start. People stuck, like Jess and me.
I slowly started shedding things from my schedule to make time for things I valued most. Over the past 7 years, I’ve learned to enjoy every single day and try to sprinkle in helping others feel heard with Natalie’s Inviting Balance, which I created in 2018.
Jess opened up Unconventional Concierge in 2020. She started with a few faithful clients, and today she sometimes has to turn people away.
This summer, I started helping Jess with some of her clients. I love the variety and not knowing what I will be doing each week.
Jess and I have different strengths. She likes to help clients who have busy lives and need an extra hand so they can focus on what is important to them. I like working alongside people to help them figure out where to start or what to do next.
We complement each other nicely.
This is a picture of her front porch. I painted it for her earlier this year to tell her how proud I was of her for going after her dream. It’s not perfect. In fact, my sister tells me she loves my paintings because they are so bad. Lol. I know what she means. It feels good to see others’ imperfections, so we know we aren’t alone.
We want you to know that it’s okay wherever you are in life … to ask for help. We’ve been there. We see you.
Working full-time with small children is something we are familiar with. We both did it. We see you.
Wanting to make a change, but not sure how to even put it into words. We both know how you feel. We see you.
Wanting to stop doing everything on your own without asking for help. We both have been there. We see you.
Now … how can we help you start to create your new normal?
Natalie's Inviting Balance 