Hi there! I am Mary Nash of Nash Insights, based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. As the country celebrates Independence Day, we at the Independent Consulting TIG are reflecting upon breakthrough moments in our careers. Mine occurred in January while I was in Costa Rica on a Live the Life of Your Dreams Yoga Retreat. After several days of yoga, meditation, journaling, walking on the beach, and discussing how to live the life of my dreams, a thought occurred to me that I had never considered in 20+ years of consulting. It was time to relocate from my home office.
My home office worked really well for me over the years. I am disciplined enough to separate home from work and had a lot of productive years there. It is well equipped and has a view of the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. I don’t have to pay rent for it and it gave me the flexibility I needed when my children were younger. But I realized that I was getting restless working from home and starting to feel secluded. I needed a change and the time was right to make a move.
When I returned from Costa Rica, I acted on my epiphany right away. I found office space in a restored industrial building, got to work ordering furniture, sent out 50 postcards announcing the move and reminding people of the services I provide, and within six weeks Nash Insights was in its new home. Being a diligent evaluator, I tallied the results of my intervention and they look pretty good.
Rad Results:
- I leave the house every day, even if I don’t have meetings I need to attend.
- I go out to lunch and for coffee more often with colleagues.
- I attend more community events.
- I get more done in less time.
- I have three new clients.
- I can invite clients to meet in my office rather than always going to them.
- Friends and family don’t call me during the day as much “just wanting to chat.”
Rad Resources:
- Yliving was a great source for furnishing my industrial office with a mid-century look.
- Moo makes really nice oversized luxe postcards out of thick cardboard stock, perfect for announcing that you’ve moved.
- In search of the perfect office plant, I discovered Plantz.com. They sent me a beautiful Lisa Cane plant, and even featured me on their blog!
Lessons Learned:
- Just because you have been doing something for 20+ years doesn’t mean you have to do it forever.
- Moving into a new office has paid off with higher productivity and an increase in business. And if I still want to work at home occasionally, my home office is still there.
The American Evaluation Association is celebrating IC TIG Week with our colleagues in the Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our IC TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.
Mary,
Thank you for sharing your story! Inspirational!
Marian