Hello There!
I used to love visiting my grandmother’s house as a kid. Not just for the food, but because her place was a goldmine for loose change.
I’d find coins in the couch, under the rug, in a teacup she kept on her nightstand, and wherever else a coin might have fallen. I would ask her if I could take it and she would always smile and say, “Go get yourself some chips.” She lived right near a Chinese corner store. Sometimes I came up short, and she would give me the extra quarter or so I needed, or maybe even more for a soda.
Looking back, I realize it wasn’t just about the snacks.
I loved the way she noticed me.
My little treasure-hunting skills.
Her proud smile.
It was the joy of being seen.
Loose Change
She’s not here anymore, but I frequently think about her and all the snacks I was able to purchase whenever I come across some loose change in my house. As a kid, all those coins added up, and it made me feel rich.
But it was the attention that she gave. It was the care and the consistency of “Look at you go!” when I showed her the coins that were slipping through my fingers.
That was part of the reason why I started thinking about my business relationships in a different way, because we don’t lose people over big things. We lose them over “loose change”.
Things that could’ve been taken care of in little time.
We feel like those scraps of time don’t feel like they matter, so they get left behind like pennies on pavement.
The small “I’ll respond later.” Or “they know I appreciate them.”
We always assume it’s too small to matter.
But eventually all those neglected moments add up like the coins in my grandmother’s couch. The only difference is that you’re not creating those rich, deep connections. You’re creating distance between you and the clients.
It’s the smallest, quietest acts of attention that compound the fastest, but we tend to push these to the side or dismiss them far too often.
Loose change is never just loose change.
It’s a relationship signal.
We need to pay attention to how we’re handling our loose change. Are we gathering it with intention? Are we investing it? Or are we dropping it without noticing?
The Bottom Line
In the end, it’s the quick check-ins and the thoughtful gestures that matters. Those are the things that will build our business.
So, before you close this email, send that “thinking of you” or “checking in” email that you’ve been wanting to send.
Make the small deposit. It might just be the moment that changes everything.
Chuckle of the day! 😂
Loose change is like glitter — it shows up everywhere except where I actually need it.
Shamayne Brown is a virtual assistant and the founder of Camp Virtual Assistance.
She works with solo professionals and small business owners who are ready to invest in their business and need the support that she offers.
She specializes in creating email newsletters as well as other admin and creative design tasks.
Click here to connect on LinkedIn.
Click here to set up a discovery call.
