A recent client came to me because his friend was living in his home after a traumatic brain injury. He wasn’t unsafe. He was completely independent with his daily activities. But he needed structure, routine, and a more sustainable living situation.

The first thing I noticed was that everyone was trying to solve the wrong problem. They were asking, “What kind of care does he need?” So I started asking different questions.

Can he bathe and dress himself? Can he prepare meals? Does he still drive? Is supervision the issue—or is it purpose, routine, and support?

Once those answers became clear, I considered several options, including assisted living and home care. But neither really fit. The real need wasn’t personal care—it was a community that provided meals, housekeeping, social opportunities, and daily structure while allowing him to remain independent.

That’s why we focused on Independent Living.

Sometimes my job isn’t finding the answer. It’s helping families ask the right question first. Once we define the real problem, the right solution usually becomes much clearer.

This is the client from last week's referral trigger:

1) Client got a letter from IRS requiring him to attend an in person interview about a past due tax debt. I noticed that since it got this far it means he has not responded to any of the previous letters sent by the IRS. I noticed he was anxious and not knowing what to do

2) I asked him questions about when he last filed tax returns, income, potential deductions/credits he might be eligible for to reduce any amounts due on unfiled returns. 

3) I considered two options, a) he attend in person b) I attend on his behalf

4) I attended on his behalf since I am a somewhat disinterested party so I can calmly discuss his situation with the IRS revenue officer and I know the tax laws while he does not. 

It started with my sister needing to reclaim some time and to find a better wood pellet. She started buy multiple bags from me and I delivered them to her in FL. That opened a bit of her time to raise her family and gave me another excuse to chat and show some love for everyone in the household. It definitely helped that she used the pellets to make and share tasty snacks.

Could you imagine great customer service again. Asking the right question to you your client bring out the actual problem. Rosanna a first time home buyer purchased a property that was sold by an investor. What does that mean no sellers disclosure. Hazardous wiring through the home dangerous in permitted panel upgrades. She was afraid of home it would cost to make it code compliant. I asked did you get a home inspection? Yes she replied. Well most home inspections come with a warranty. This violation wasn't in the inspection report. In this case is a good thing because her warranty did come with a warranty and she was about 5 days away from being out of the warranty period. She called showed them our $9600 quote to upgrade entire system. They were honest and wrote her a check after notifying them of her burned up electrical panel. 

I noticed it the first time I looked at their website: three years of executive headshots that looked like they came from three different companies. Different backgrounds, different lighting, a couple clearly years older than the rest. I asked their HR director how new executives were getting photographed, and the answer was: however someone had time that week, wherever the light happened to be good.

I considered just shooting one more one-off session and adding it to the pile. Instead I proposed something different: shoot the whole team fresh in a single half day, and build a documented lighting and crop standard so every session after this one would match it exactly. It took more setup up front, but it was the only option that fixed the actual problem instead of adding to it.

Now their HR director keeps a checklist with me on it, and flags every new executive’s photo before their first day, because she already knows what she's going to get. Their team page finally looks like one company, not three.

A client hired me to edit interviews he filmed at an audio convention for Audioholics, a website for audiophiles. I noticed he had less than 24 hours to turn each interview into content Audioholics could post. His day included filming, meeting people, and going to dinner after the convention. He would not have time or energy left to sort through footage or edit it himself.

Before I started, I asked what Audioholics needed from each interview. Did it need a short clip? Did it need a longer video? Did it need both? I also asked when he needed each version back and whether it needed captions. I considered those three formats. Because Audioholics needed content while the convention was happening, I prioritized the files he needed immediately. I asked him to label footage before sending it, kept him updated, and returned each captioned video in under four hours.