Page 12 of The Funnel to You

Ashley: Should I bring a portfolio?

Ashley: Crap. I don’t have a portfolio.

And that was all in about thirty seconds. Yeah, she is freaking out a bit.

I call her to try to mitigate some of the meltdown that is coming on.

“Hey Ash. First, breathe.” I give her a second to do just that and then I continue, “Second, your meeting isn’t until like 1:00 today. Why are you freaking out so much about this? It’s coffee.” I try to measure my tone so she can feel the sureness of my voice and not focus on her own anxiety.

I can hear her pacing and breathing heavily on the other end of the phone. And yep, there’s the creamer cap closing…she’s working on getting fully caffeinated for the day. She isn’t fully Ashley until she has at least one cup of coffee.

“Because I’m about to meet with Sasha! She is my version of a mini celebrity and she wants to meet with me. Granted, it’s because you worked your persuasive magic, but still. I’m allowed to freak out a bit,” she huffs back at me and then pauses to sip her coffee.

“Do you want me to come over for a bit? I can work on my end of things a bit more while you get your things together so you can ask me questions as they come up and then I can drop you off at the coffee shop.”

“You are the best!! Yes, please! I’ll go take a quick shower and see you in twenty minutes.” She hangs up without even saying goodbye or waiting for a response.

I chuckle and start packing my bag before heading to my parent’s house. It’s only a five-minute drive but I don’t want to rush over there. I fill up my travel coffee mug that says “The best days start with coffee” and head out the door. I may not be as addicted to coffee as the women in my life, but I do enjoy a cup or two to start my day.

It’s early summer in Colorado, but because we live so close to the mountains, it’s not really humid outside. But it’s already warming up. August tends to be our hottest month of the year and June has been weirdly rainy this year. I wish I was able to take advantage of the weather to go for a run this morning. I’ll have to find a day next week to make up for it.

Ten minutes later, I am inside my parents’ house logging into the Wi-Fi and getting all my notebooks, pens, and things out and ready to go. The kitchen table has become a great work space for me and my sister. My parents really created a space where we enjoy being home and know that we can have our own space to work, but they are close by if we want to talk or jump in on a project. This table has been in their home since I was little. And the dings and random marker on the table bear evidence of a happy childhood.

It takes me a few minutes to get everything out of my messenger bag and arrange it on the table so I can see pertinent things. This is my first real work session for Sasha, so I need to get her items color coded – folders, files, notebooks, notepads, highlighters, everything. These will all work together to create my workflow and then her growth plan.

I have a system that I’ve been using for other clients so I already have my base work figured out. I just need to fine tune some things and adjust my task list for Sasha’s brand. And then I’ll be able to “plug and play” into Ashley’s brand when she is ready.

I’m just getting out the last few pages of analytics that I printed out last night when Ashley comes down the stairs and into the main living space. She briefly acknowledges me with a wave before she heads to the coffee pot on the kitchen counter. She has her mug in hand and the pot is full, so she’s already on a second pot of the day. I hope mom has helped her with that or she is going to be a nervous wreck from caffeine overload before we even get to the coffee shop.

“Are mom and dad out for the morning?” I ask her as she prepares her cup and heads to sit next to me.

“Yeah. I think they are heading to the farmers market and then not sure after that. There are some new artisan vendors they’ve been following on Instagram that are showcasing things today and they aren’t done with Christmas shopping yet. And it’s June so they are behind schedule,” Ashley mentions. She rolls her eyes and then pulls out her phone.

Our parents are year-round Christmas shoppers. They keep master lists for everyone and have a room just full of gifts and wrapping paper and cards. It’s obnoxious. But they always have the perfect gift and don’t have to even enter stores during December. It’s brilliant!

“Have you been with them to the farmers market recently?” I ask her.

“Not for a while…why?” She asks with a look of apprehension. She knows I am already scheming in my head.

“Just thinking.” I zone out and begin making more notes. After twenty minutes of typing and searching and following, I sit back and look over my work smugly. “There it is.”

“What did you do?” Ashley asks and tries to peek over my shoulder.

“I’m not showing you anything. I’m working my magic.” Ashley levels her eyes at me like she is hoping I will crack under the pressure and tell her what I did. I’m a vault. That’s not going to work on me.

When she finally realizes that I’m not going to tell her what I was working on, Ashley makes her way back up the stairs to her room. I start putting away everything, back in order, and in the right pouches and pockets, until she comes back downstairs. She stands in the entryway of the main space and does a little spin, arms out so I can see her outfit.

“How’s this?”

“What am I looking at here?” I ask, already knowing she wants me to check her outfit.

She just gives me a look that conveys her annoyance, “try again.”

“You look fine. It’s just a coffee meeting.” She is in denim shorts and a pink sleeveless top. Put together but casual.

She gives herself another once over and grabs her things – a backpack with her laptop and notebooks and then a simple wristlet purse for her wallet, phone, and lipstick. I’ve known my sister’s habits long enough to know that she always has at least two lip color options on her at all times. I wonder how many Sasha keeps in her purse.

“Ready to head out?” I look down and realize it’s 12:20. Time really does fly when you are having fun, or being a bit of an algorithm mastermind.

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