Liz Jenkins

I go to the dog park 3 or 4 times a week keep our 2 year old lab busy and occupied so I can actually get some work done in my home office. She usually perks up around 3:45 because she knows our daughter gets home on the bus and there's a really good chance we'll be heading over there.

I've been going there for over a year, since we got LuLu, and have met some great people. You know - you stand around watching the dogs play - or in my case - continually throw a tennis ball with the Chucker (if you don't have one of these - get one NOW!). I never really knew the true meaning of the breed of "retriever" til LuLu showed up in our house. But I digress.

I had met a lovely woman at the dog park with a delightful and well mannered golden retriever named Molly. We'd see each other often and chat about what's going on in Franklin and how's life. She even hosted a dog park Christmas party at her house this year. A huge house too - 5000 square feet plus a 3500 square foot finished basement in a pretty exclusive neighborhood. We had a great time - and she was a delightful host. Bunch of dogs came - imagine 25 people and lots of food with 2 enormous yellow labs and 2 enormous golden retrievers, plus one frisky kitten, running around checking out the munchies.

Anyway, I'm reading the paper a few weeks later, and who do I see but Molly's mom under a heading of "Franklin woman sought in embezzlement case". Apparently she is accused of defrauding a bunch of people and something about mortgage fraud as well. I saw her picture and thought, I know this woman! At least I thought I did.

I brought her up (not by name) in my recent seminar about time management and setting priorities. I used her as an example of being true to yourself because no one really knows who you are - only you do. Too many people worry about what others might think or imagine others as being better at everything than they are - and use it as an excuse not to achieve a goal or make a change in their lives. Well, you just don't know what others do in their private life, do you? Everyone puts on a show and a facade. I have made it a goal of mine to have my outer persona match my inner self. This is really tough to do. This woman did a great job concealing who she really is. I guess my point is - don't try to live up to what you THINK others are - be yourself, and be the best self you can.

This experience of meeting her, thinking she was a lovely person, then finding out what was behind the image she portrayed really hit me and a lot of others at the dog park. It's been a hot topic of conversation as you can imagine but no one knows where she is or all the details. I could be completely wrong about her - I never like to assume the worst. Most of us are primarily worried about her 2 kids, Molly and the kitten to tell the truth. I hope it all gets sorted out.

I have been teaching seminars lately - partly as a marketing endeavor but also as a way to clarify my thoughts on organizing and life in general. My seminars this week are on time management but I've made the focus goal setting and prioritizing. This went over well in my session yesterday (had about 30 people attend!), and I had some great handouts which people really seemed to like focusing on specific tips. I've been giving a lot of thought over the last year about my own goals and priorities, and made the decision a while back to go with my gut on what I want to do with my career and my company. And I realized that I really didn't like staging vacant homes. I'm good at it and can make some money doing it. But there are a couple of things about it that really contradict who I am.

Such as:

1. I don't like having a lot of "stuff". When you stage vacant houses you have to have a lot of furniture and accessories. This entails gathering the stuff, storing the stuff, and then moving the stuff around. I have an 1100 square foot house that is very tidy and organized. I like my little house - we moved here on purpose for the lifestyle of downtown Franklin living. I don't have space for a lot of stuff. Which means I have to have a storage unit which is not super convenient and is an added expense.

2. I don't really like moving the stuff around. I'm not extremely physically strong, and especially after cancer treatment 2 years ago, my stamina isn't exactly always at top performance. So I always end up dragging my husband into moving furniture which he doesn't get paid for (and he complains about that - let me tell you!). Granted, it's great "quality" time together but not all that romantic. And my muscles always ache afterwards.

3. I hate de-staging. All that packing up, moving everything back to the storage unit, slogging around in the rain (because it will inevitably rain on de-staging days), etc.

4. I don't like having to rent furniture from others. Renting from a rental company involves contracts and time commitments plus dealing with delivery dates and other annoying things. Renting from other stagers involves a constant worry of damaging something.

I've decided to refer out my vacant home staging jobs to those who love it. I referred out two jobs last week. I know two great stagers who love vacants so I sent one job to each of them. They each got the job which is fabulous for them, and good for me. I know they'll do a good job so I look like the hero for referring them. They make some money doing what they love - and they'll each give me a small referral fee which is nice but not totally necessary. So it's a win-win all the way around. I've decided that my own priorities need to take precedence over what I think I "should" do as a business owner, and really focus on what I love to do. This was the main point of my talk - to set your goals and look at what is really important. I firmly believe that if you keep those goals in mind and do what you love, the business will come. The caveat is that you need to be clear about what you do so that others can understand it. Otherwise, how will they hire you if they don't know exactly what you do! But that's a whole 'nother topic.

PS For more information on my seminars, visit my website at www.afreshspace.com to see my upcoming events. I'm teaching them at the Williamson County Public Library in downtown Franklin, TN.

I am really excited - I've teamed up with 3 other area stagers to teach some classes on staging. Our market is, of course, realtors, but also home owners and sellers. We're hoping this will not only be really educational but some great networking as well. We're inviting a lot of the professionals we work with on our projects to join in the fun.

I found a great location - a small boutique flooring/cabinet/tile shop in downtown Franklin called Church Street Flooring & Design. The great part is it is 4 blocks from my house - but the better part is that the owners are totally on board and excited about this project.

So far we have 3 seminars set up. Our topics are:

• Staging Your House :: Getting Ready & What To Expect (1/29/09)

This is the preparation part that we all know is so important - plus, how to get the most out of working with a stager. Most people don't have a clue about what we do and why so here's the opportunity to learn.

• The Nuts & Bolts of Staging (3/26/09)

This is where we talk about paint, lighting, fixtures, flooring, hardware, etc. We'll throw in some DIY tips and answer questions. I'm working on getting a local cupcake maker to make cupcakes with nuts & bolts on them.

• Staging For Your Life :: ReDesigning Spaces (5/28/09)

Now I don't love re-design, in fact, I refer out those jobs because they want to make me poke my eye with a sharp stick, but two of the stagers I invited to join me absolutely love it - and are really good at it. So they are taking the lead on this one.

The stagers working with me are: Anthea Click, "B" Lucas Thrower, and Karen Jones. Anthea & "B" are both Active Rain members as well!

If you live in the Nashville area, please feel free to come and learn. We'll have 4 fabulous stagers there, plus great contacts, networking and refreshments. All of the details are on my website (www.afreshspace.com). Hope to see you there!!