Level 1: Valerie scheduled lunch because she NEEDED more business. She NEEDED more referrals. Her obvious need was costing her referrals, because she was focusing on selling to the person she was talking to at Team meetings and at individual coffee appointments.

• It's clear to me that if I want more referrals I'm the only person who can make that happen, but it wasn't clear to Valerie.
• She thought her Team Members should be doing more business with her, and sending her more business ready to close.
• Her intense personal need was costing her the alliances that would generate referrals.

Level 2:  She'd been in business for more than five years, so I asked what was different now, and learned that her daughter had been accepted at a prestigious college.  Congratulations, right?

Level 3:  Valerie deeply wants to give her daughter a platform for success that doesn't include school debt. She wants to give her daughter the legacy of education that her parents gave her.  It's their family culture. 

37 year old David came in with a bad low back. Multiple herniated and degenerative discs in lumbar spine. He had previously been a very active individual. He was still in very good muscular shape, but in constant low back pain keeping him from exercising and playing the sports he wanted to play. At first, he just wanted his back to feel better so he could play with his young childen. It took a couple months of adjusting and rehab but his back started feeling so good that he decided he wanted to run marathon with only 4 months to train. He did. He ended up with some some foot ankle and knee issues bc of the lack of training time that we worked throught. Then he started playing pickleball and tennis. It was important for him to be able to pick up and wrestle his kids, but more importantly he realized he could have his entire life back. This is what truly mattered to him. 

This story is very similar for several of my clients, but we will talk about Nicole and her business partner today. Nicole had started her business in the past 3-4 years and was hoping to be able to purchase a building and move her business into that space as well as to have some room to rent out to other businesses. Commercial Real Estate can be a great  piece of an investment portfolio, when its the right property at the right price. That combination can be tough to find, especially in today's market. Many commercial properties are not priced to sell quickly, they are putting a high price and hoping that someone shows interest and gives an offer close to that. A lot of these buildings will have deferred maintenance or major repair work needed to be usable, and a lot of owners are not factoring those costs into the sale price. 

Nicole wanted a space to have some office space, some storage space and a showroom or workroom type area. Some of this would require a build out to convert any space into what her dream space looks like. The first step was to find out what she could afford, so I referred her to some of the great commercial lenders that I work with. After finding out their pre-approval amount we went to check the market to see what options were out there. Most of the properties were well outside of the range for now, but there were a couple that could have fit. After looking at the two options, the properties needed too much work and didn't quite have the ideal visibility that she was hoping for.

They wanted to be able to buy a space to start to grow their business and to earn more money instead of paying a landlord or someone else. It was important to them to set up roots and find a space to grow within their community, but to also be able to share their space with other compatible business or like-minded business owners. The sense of community and collaborating with other business owners was very important to them and they wanted to create something that could be like an incubator for new or growing businesses. Their mind and goals are in the right place, but the timing just wasn't right for them. We looked at all of the options and they  decided it made more sense to rent for now and build up their business, and then to be able to purchase their space in the next few years when they and their business are ready for that giant leap away from leasing and into owning a property. 

Level 1: What did they say they needed?
James said he wanted to form an LLC and get appropriate contracts in place so he could provide consulting services to businesses after taking early retirement from a Fortune 500 company.

Level 2: Why did you think that was important to them?
After a long and successful corporate marketing career, James was stepping into unfamiliar territory with business ownership. He understood in theory that he needed an LLC and contracts both to protect his personal assets and to be taken seriously as a consultant, but the process felt overwhelming and uncertain. That led him to procrastinate — not because he lacked the skills or the discipline, but because he didn’t want to get it wrong.

Level 3: At the core, what did you discover truly mattered to them?
At the core, James wanted confidence. He was the first in his family to walk away from the predictability of a paycheck and define himself as a business owner. It wasn’t just legal protection that he needed — he wanted to feel prepared, legitimate, and ready to trust himself in his new venture.

Level 1: They wanted lower homeowners insurance rates

Level 2: They were recently married, in grad school, and purchased their first home the prior year. They were looking to lower expenses to finish the last semester of grad school.  

Level 3: After  confirming the home secifications and running a reconstruction calculator, their home was underinsured by over $100,000 and there was no increased cost endorcement on the policy which would have provided additional coverage at the time of loss. What truly mattered to them was avoiding a possible $100,000+ deficiency in coverage while saving less than $50 a month. 

My clients, the Kohls, were ready to remodel their kitchen and knew from the start that they needed design expertise. The husband, an engineer and quite handy around the house, was comfortable with the technical aspects, but as a couple they recognized the value of having a kitchen designer guide the process. What mattered most to them was a turnkey experience—someone who could bring the options to them, simplify decision-making, and deliver a thoughtful design that stayed within their budget.

I worked with Deirdre.  She wanted a house near to the airport for a shorter commute.  She hesitated on several properties closer to the airport, as she was worried about her safety coming home as a single woman, late at night off of long flights.  When we dug deeper on her motivation and what was important to her, it turns out being near to family who could keep an eye on her house when she was gone on multi day trips and also being near to family on her 15 days off a month out weighed the need for a short commute.  Proximity to family and a single family home in a safe neighborhood were more important than a short commute. 

With what I do, in health insurance, things can be complicated and confusing. My intent is to bring clarity for all of my clients and even those that I am just able to advise. Sandra came to me seeking to make changes to her public market (Obamacare) plan. So I asked questions, listened to her to assess her situation, and reviewed ALL of her available options. We were able to find her something on a different market that fit her needs better, and she walked away with more clarity about how health insurance works. She was now confident in her decision and was grateful that I took the time and explained things. Instead of just being an order taker like so many others in the industry.

my client, Mike, needed catering for his sons Graduation. He wanted to celebrate his sons graduation. yet what I found is that he didnt want to have to worry about the cooking or setting up he wanted to spend his time celebrating with his son.

Becca said she needed a flexible venue for an after-wedding celebration. Somewhere casual, not a ballroom, with good food and room for people to move around.

She didn’t want her wedding to feel scripted or formal. Flexibility meant she could skip rigid timelines, let guests mingle naturally, and design something that actually felt like her, not a template she was supposed to follow.

What Becca really cared about was authenticity. She wanted her people to feel relaxed, connected, and genuinely happy, like they were all hanging out together, celebrating love, not attending an “event.” Her real goal wasn’t a venue; it was creating a memory that felt honest, personal, and shared.

At Roswell Junction, we didn’t start by selling her a room; we listened. We asked how she wanted the night to feel, not what the schedule needed to look like. We built the layout around movement and mingling, leaned into the food hall experience so guests could choose what they loved, and removed unnecessary rules that would’ve made it feel stiff or formal.

We permitted her to break the mold and then supported its operation. No pressure to follow a script. No pushing upgrades that didn’t fit her vision. Just a space that worked with her idea instead of against it.

Becca wasn’t looking for a venue. She was looking for a partner who would protect the vibe she imagined and make sure her people felt at home. Our job was to create the container, and then get out of the way so the moment could happen naturally.