By Emily Soccorsy

Inward 

Taking excellent care of your clients, of the people you serve, begins always with one critical step: ensuring you are taking care of yourself. 

This may seem counterintuitive and run against a lot of what our capitalistic teaching has preached for centuries. 

In fact, when we human beings take time to tend to what we need, to “let the soft animal of your body love what it loves” as Mary Oliver writes, we come to everything with clearer, purer hearts and minds. We are energized, we are ready to give from a place of plenty. 

And the work is better. 

I learned this lesson the painful way, of course, which is how we learn everything.

As a young professional, who was also a young wife and mother, I unknowingly took to heart these lessons of my culture, my family, my role models, and pushed and pushed and pushed myself. 

I went to the ends of the earth to prove my worth, to excel at my job, to put in late nights and early mornings, volunteer for extra assignments and push myself up in the ranks. 

I did this again and again. Throughout my 20s and into my early 30s, I pushed myself so hard, I burned myself down and would end up, spent, depressed and in nervous breakdown territory. I would require an intervention, and sometimes, therapy to rebuild.

I wasn’t blind to this behavior.

It was such a common pattern, I recognized it. I thought to myself, “this is just how I am.” Unfortunately, I didn’t see it as something I could choose not to do. Oddly, I just began to expect it. 

Eventually, I realized what I was doing was a choice. I think this realization came in part from a therapist who taught me that I could choose to take time for myself. She gently suggested I could start work an hour later, or leave an hour earlier and just breathe, or exercise or rest. Then, she made me practice it. 

It sounds silly, but before that, I was so busy trying to be excellent at everything and for everyone else, I didn’t think I could do that.

I remember what it felt like those first few times to come into work at 9 or 10 instead of 7:30 or 8. It was strange for a few minutes, and then it felt indulgent. Just an hour to myself, felt like I was opening up the window of a stuffy old house and letting the fresh air in. I was shocked by how revived I felt. And how my performance seemed to actually improve those days I gave myself a little room, a little time, a little grace. 

Yes, our clients are the heart of what we do, how we create and co-create, guide and encourage. 

But without feeling whole, full and inspired, what we can do for them is limited. 

Outward

Once you’ve got down the way you pace, meter, and care for yourself, you can truly begin to pour into your clients. 

I see this as a sacred responsibility, part of the unarticulated contract we make with our clients. I also see it as an extension of our beliefs in love and wholeheartedness at Root + River. To love is not just to feel a thing, it is to invest, to take action, and to lean in with your whole heart. 

One of my favorite quotes is from Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Life’s most persistent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’” 

This focus on client care begins with asking, “what have we done for each client?” We ask this question weekly, and reflect and meditate on it as we meet as a team. Far beyond just fulfilling an agreement for services, we’re looking for ways to support the whole human. 

This question is critical and is meant to be asked and answered on a practical, human, and spiritual level.

In addition, our responsibility to our clients also requires us to:

• Stay creatively inspired, and approach each client and each project with a beginner’s mind as much as possible. This means actively seeking inspiration, being aware that ideas are everywhere, and sharing them with one another. 
• Read up on trends in our market/industry. It is our job to know what is happening in other brand and marketing spaces and to stay current. This has become challenging in our rapidly evolving world, but it’s critical to do, even if it means admitting we don’t know something. 
• Be a person of the world. To be excellent and reality-based brand strategists, we need to know what’s happening in the broader economy, in our region, in the country, and beyond. 
• Build meaningful relationships with people who support my team and me, no matter what, and who can offer insight into our work. As a business owner, it’s my job to surround myself with a community of other colleagues in the same industry or related sectors who will support my work. This is critical to my ability to sustain my business and my motivation. It also provides a rich and valuable sounding board when a client needs something beyond my scope of knowledge. It helps me see around corners, and identify ways I might need to evolve as a person and an entrepreneur. 

Lastly, our responsibility to our clients dictates we:

• Prepare well for every client interaction
• Commit not to have the “right” answer but to ask the right question
• Consistently deliver value
• Lean into what makes our clients different and/or what they are best at 
• Be curious about them as humans

The word “responsible” roots can be found circa 1300 French, meaning a reply, a pledge. 

That resonates for me. To me, being responsible means pledging to act in another’s best interest and to care and tend to them as you would for yourself. 

While we are by no means perfect in how we care for ourselves, our clients, or one another (and we try to be honest, gentle, and self-forgiving when we fall short), we are committed to reflecting, responding, and acting. 

Let’s Talk!