Sheila comes to work in my home based business.
It took me three months of daily struggle with time management before I realized my goal of succeeding in a start-up home based business was not going to work. That is, unless I hired someone to help me. I was young, over confident, probably arrogant, and thought I could do all things mightily. Five years of experience in the corporate world provided a great foundation of knowledge in the area of data visualization and graphic arts. I was sure I could do all of the analytical work, but I couldn't get it done in a reasonable time to secure enough customers needed in order to survive. I spent too much time working on the graphic side of the customer solutions and it always delayed my project completions. It was also complicated by the fact that I was not visually creative and the results showed as much. My strength was in the numbers and the spreadsheets. I simply underestimated the need for a skilled graphic artist. My proposals were very sound but the presentation itself needed a more creative tone. Therefore, the decision I made was to post a job offer on one of the internet's skilled worker job websites looking for a graphic artist proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, and other web graphic solutions.
The response was enormous. My email folder was instantly filled with over fifty applicants seeking more information about the position and many sending actual resumes and portfolios. Within a few hours I knew I would not keep up with the continued responses so I pulled the job offering off the website to gain traction on the submissions I had already received.
Many of the requests asked for more information on the position. Most of which was already included in the listing which led me to believe the candidates didn't read the posting thoroughly or were not qualified for the position. This allowed me to quickly remove them from the screening process. If they couldn't take the time to read it, I couldn't take the time to call them back. Concentrating on the responses that sent a correctly formatted reply along with a portfolio were moved to the top of my consideration since I had been specific in how I asked for the information. Three of the proposals stood out above the others. The example of the work the three candidates submitted was very good and definitely proved they had an advanced skillset that I just didn't have.
One issue that did come up was the location of the people who responded to my offer. Since this person would be coming to my home to work alongside of me I had to eliminate many of the applicants who were not located close enough to my home to have reasonable expectations for attendance or longevity of employment. However there was one that stuck out to me and it came from a young girl named Sheila. She certainly demonstrated the skills I wanted in her examples and she even happened to live the closest to me but asked to be allowed to work remotely as well. If I would consider this request she felt that she would be able to meet the needs of the position. This was not an unreasonable request for candidates in this field and many people now worked from home during the pandemic as I was trying to do.
After taking another look at her resume, I was feeling good about her and it became important that I worked through her request and understood more about her needs. Our first conversation on the phone was interesting. I liked the person on the other end and found her to be very intelligent and charming. Her personality and poise seemed to be just what I needed. However, her reasons to work virtually turned out to be not so good.
As a young child Sheila had gone into the kitchen were a pot was on the stove boiling. Temptation caused her to reach up and grab the handle of the pot spilling its scalding contents directly onto her upturned face burning the left side of her face and shoulder severely.
Her face had been damaged and the discolored pigmentation drew repeated stares and ridicule as she grew up. For the end of her elementary years and all through high school Sheila was homeschooled by her mother. Guilt on her mother's part for leaving her un-attended left her doing everything she could possibly do to protect her daughter. Keeping her home and safe from the cruelty of the world by deciding to homeschool Sheila was the decision she made at the time.
Sheila did not have any work experience but had mastered Photo Shop and other graphic arts software and judging from her portfolio could be considered a skilled professional. However the requirement of having customer contact prevented her from succeeding on her own in the free-lance environment. Our first conversation lasted over an hour and by the time I was finished questioning her I was left with an easy decision. If I could get her to consider working out of my home she was my first choice.
Sheila listened to my request and promises which included allowing her to leave or go to another area of my home on the rare occasion when a client was present. She voiced a reluctance for even me to see her and lost some of her spirit as I pushed to have her here with me. Sheila promised me that she would call me with an answer to my offer the next day after she thought more about it. Unfortunately I felt that in order for us to successfully work together it would be necessary to have her in the next room while we worked and hoped she would consider it.
There was an obvious distraction in my work the next morning. I had never hired anyone and thought I had an ideal candidate in Sheila. Disappointment grew however as the time passed and the hands on the clock neared noon. She hadn't called. Maybe she decided my demands to work in my home were too much for her or maybe she thought I would change my mind. Our conversation yesterday was that good, but I had to keep my priorities and have an in-house designer. The job just required too much interaction and I felt it was not something I wanted to do over the phone or via email. As a team we would succeed together, I was confident about it.
Just when I was resolved to pick up the stack and pick another candidate the phone rang.
"Good afternoon, thank you for calling Blade Business Services." I answered.
"Hello, this is Maggie Winston, Sheila's mother."
"Oh, hello Ms. Winston, it is nice to talk with you." This wasn't the call I was expecting.
"Dan, I am calling to talk to you about my daughter. I have some questions." She asked with a very demanding nature.
"Ok, ask away?" I asked her.
Ms. Winston reiterated the reason behind Sheila's request and went on about how she was to make sure she protected Sheila from all harm and ridicule and her longing explanation would have kept going if I didn't stop her.
"Ms. Winston, I submitted a posting for a graphic designer. I didn't post an ad looking for someone to torment. I had an incredible conversation with Sheila and felt she belonged with me working on the same projects. I have a vested interest in her success the minute she accepts my offer, and that is if she accepts my offer. I believe she is the perfect fit to what I need in my business right now."
"Does she really have to see you in person?" Ms. Winston asked.
"Yes, this would have to be in person but I assure you we will work it out. I am looking forward to the person I met on the phone yesterday." I said and then waited for a moment in silence.
"Ok, then yes." She said.
"Yes? What?"
"Yes, she will take the job."
I thought about pressing for Mrs. Winston to hand Sheila the phone but instead felt I needed to add more assurances to her and let the seriousness of the conversation mellow. I explained my reason for launching off on my own and how the lack of a qualified graphic artist was hurting me. Sheila would be kept busy and together we would work hard.
When my day started the following Monday I was wearing one of the nicest pairs of dress pants I owned along with a pressed white shirt. I didn't know why but for some reason I wanted to impress a girl I never met who had personal appearance issues. I wondered if I was messing up this protocol. Would she be intimidated by my appearance?
It didn't take long for me to relax when I saw a young lady exit her car and reach into her back seat for her bags. She was dressed impeccably in a short gray skirt and a light blue blouse with very high collars allowing for a pretty scarf around her neck. With satin stockings and heels she looked beautiful. From a distance as she approached my door she was very pretty.
We greeted each other awkwardly once inside my foyer and she removed her large sunglasses while looking at me for a reaction. Her skin was not as bad as she had led me to believe. There was no scarring or skin damage to her face, the color was just blotchy and spotted on her left cheek running down her neck. She actually had a very pretty smile and her bluish eyes were made up perfectly with her lashes and eyeliner in blue to match her eyes and blouse.
As we looked at each other briefly I decided for some reason to reach out and offer a hug which she tentatively accepted. Her reaction to this was kind of stiff, but then again, she didn't know me and probably had reservations about my intentions. This type of contact was most likely new to her.
"Come on in, I will show you what I have planned for our working arrangements." I offered.
Sheila followed me as I showed her my office first and then the dining room that had a large table directly across from me. She could have the whole table to lay out her things the way she wanted. We already had discussed scanners, MACs, and printers that she would require and they would arrive during the week. Up until today, I had been a PC guy which she had laughed at. In the meantime I showed her some of my completed projects and one that I was in the middle of.
"You don't plan on sending this to a client, do you Dan?" She asked as she held one of my projects. "This document needs a lot of work."
This was exactly why I needed her. I knew my creativity was lacking, she knew my creativity was lacking, but most importantly she knew she could fix it and wasn't afraid to say so. Yes, I was confident that this would work out.
Each day things improved to the point where Sheila was able to come to my desk and ask questions or show examples without either of us staring at each other. Over the first few days I also noticed that Sheila was in great shape and had an incredible figure. Each blouse seemed to fit her perfectly and showcase her chest while tightly wrapping her narrow waist. Her skirt length was always just approaching the line between business and unacceptable but stayed long enough to remain out of any conversation I had to have. But I have to admit, I began to have trouble concentrating with her around because of constantly seeing her legs and calf muscles being shaped daily by her three or four inch heels. I would have asked any other person to tone it down, but Sheila was trying to enhance whatever part of her appearance she could to pull one's attention away from her face.
During the third or fourth week we were together I was lost in thought when I looked up and across the hall to see her sitting behind her desk/table crossing and uncrossing her leg as she moved items back and forth in her workspace. This girl was unaware of how beautiful she actually was in spite of her skin blemishes.
We didn't cross any lines but started out each day with a hug during our greeting and gradually entered into a friendly comfort zone in our day. I caught up on my work and the completed projects with her amazing graphics continued to improve and soon afterwards we started accepting more work. I would ask for her input before accepting contracts and our relationship became more of a partnership.
