Dahlia and the Duck- 8 months

Rubber Duckie, you're the one...

You make bath time lots of fun!

Rubber Duckie I'm awfully fond of you.

Business Quotes

The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people. -Thomas J. Peters

No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.
-Andrew Carnegie

The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer's place. -Orison Swett Marden

Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. -Peter F. Drucker

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. -Thomas Paine

Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that brings friends with them. -W. Edwards Deming

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." -Sam Walton

"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." -Donald Porter

"Here is a simple but powerful rule - always give people more than what they expect to get." -Nelson Boswell

If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else. -David Campbell

"Making mistakes simply means you are learning faster." -Weston H. Agor

"If you find a good solution and become attached to it, the solution may become your next problem." -Robert Anthony

“Thank God for competition. When our competitors upset our plans or outdo our designs, they open infinite possibilities of our own work to us." -Gil Atkinson

"If you wish to prosper, let your customer prosper." Frederic Bastiat

"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work." -Arthur Brisbane

"You must think of failure and defeat as the springboards to new achievements or to the next level of accomplishment." -Les Brown

"Failure is the tuition you pay for success." -Walter Brunell

Password Protected?

Dear Readers,

I am considering adding a password to my blog so the general public doesn't find Wonderland when they Google The Conciergerie.

I don't want to lose readers, but I think it would be safer for me and better for the business.

Let me know what you think via email or comments.

Love,
Alyssa

The Conciergerie

Last Tuesday, I was totally wired after my soccer game at 8pm.

By some miracle, my mind finally came up with an obvious name and motto for my new business.

The Conciergerie, Hospitality at home

This week I'm finishing up my business plan, meeting with my site designer, sorting the packages and services offered, pricing and much more!

I still expect to launch in the next couple weeks, just in time for the Christmas rush!

Stay tuned!

Beauty be Damned

No one has ever accused me of being a fashionista, but over the last year or so, I've become a bit too nonchalant about my attire and I think I finally crossed the line.

We were walking through Nordstrom the other day, I have no recollection what I was wearing, and a make-up lady gave me "the look". As women, we know that there are many "looks" we give each other. Allow me to list them.

• She's prettier than me
• I'm prettier than her
• She's fatter than me
• I'm fatter than her
• Ooh! Cute shoes/ purse/ boyfriend

But the look I got was "girl, you're hopeless." Of course, the sales lady could have had a dry contact or have been remembering that she had no gas in her car or that she was one sale away from employee of the month.

But her look put just enough doubt in my head to make me think about thinking about possibly, maybe dressing a little better.

It's just that I would rather spend money on my baby and my house and I will usually sacrifice my own appearance for this. It's money well spent.

Let's Hear it for Ebay!

So there I was minding my own business... looking for faux zebra-striped rugs on Ebay when I randomly searched for a baby-sized "grand" piano.

By some musical miracle, there it was... the adorable, functional instrument, priced in Bellevue Square at $250 retail, had no bids, a $20 minimum and 12 minutes left on the clock!

So what did I do?

You bet your ass I was shaking while I scrambled to figure out what my log in and password were so I could buy! buy! buy!

With 4 minutes left, I hit "refresh" every few seconds waiting for some bastard to break my heart.

3-2-1 and now it's all mine.

The back story goes like this. My mom and I were browsing through JZ Rose at Bellevue Square in September. It's got a lot of square footage and since it was like a museum (on crack) we had to look at everything. I think we were in there for two hours; long enough for me to change D's diaper under the Christmas tree, but that's another story.

When we finally made it to the children's section, we came across the most adorable child-sized baby grand piano. Dahlia was just starting to stand, but I set her down in front of it and she stood there and started playing! After that, I couldn't get the piano out of my head. I put it on my list, but Santa Clause said that there's no way we're paying $250 for that thing and I let it go.

I looked all over the Internet for the piano and found only crappy plastic, tacky, multi-colored kiddie pianos. Then I gave up.

Fast-forward to today and sha-zam, it'll be here in 7-10 days!

I'm turning our unused living room into a "piano salon" and will be decorating the space accordingly. This should be fun, especially for Christmas!

Suggestions Keep Coming in...

Eight Days a Week: Creating more time for you with accurate, personalized service

Total Package: Domestic help for the time-starved

In the Running

These names are in the running. Cast your vote!

Time Solutions: Providing you with personalized service, piece of mind and an extra day in the week

Details! Details!

Five Diamond Planning: Your time is a luxury, rely on us to get you more

Time Solutions: Exceptional service, friendly faces and always accountable

A Family Friend: Trust your To Do list with us and enjoy your free time

Dependable Amendable: Managing your To Do list quickly, accurately and the way you want

To Do Stew: Take and bake your To Do list, we're working in the kitchen for you

Second Sunday: Creating more time for you with accurate, personalized service

Encompass Services: Concierge, Personal Assistant, Time Planner... Call us what you want, we do it all!

A-Okay: Always available, always accurate and dependable as heck!

More brain farts:
luxurious, reliable, spectacular
excellence, proficiency
accurate, available
swift, personable service
our time saves you time
over the top, under the radar (saucy)
giving you time, saving you time
redefining personalized service
timely,
preempt, predict
Accurate= discriminating, judicious, meticulous, scrupulous, veracious
Service= utility, value