Written by Karen D. Swim
I emerged from the underground studio to a crowd of people. I had only been there a short time, where did all these people come from? As I tried to make my way through, holding tightly to my zip files, hands grabbed at me as whispers rose from the crowd.
She worked with the Pen Men, they did her redesign. How did she get them? I heard they were booked for years. Well, I heard that it’s really four of them, that’s how James manages to be everywhere at one time.
I blinked from the blare of bulbs flashing, secretly hoping they caught my good side. As I pressed on toward home, people shouted, “What are they like? Does James do all the talking? Are they really that good?” I stopped in my tracks, looking toward the crowd, flashing a huge grin and replied, “You’ll just have to see for yourself.”
Yes, I am the proud recipient of a legendary Men With Pens design. I floated in their orbit as I got up close and personal with the magic of the Pen Men. And because I love you all so much, you don’t have to wait for the Behind the Music VH1 special because I’m willing to dish on the delightful duo.
“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” –Peter Drucker
Unlike a VH1 Special, I have no dark tales. Harry and James are really good at what they do. However, their true genius is in how they make you feel as a client. I had to keep checking my head to make sure I was not wearing a tiara. They ask questions and then they listen…really listen. They listen with their ears, eyes and hearts. Somehow they catch what is articulated and what is only dreamed. They take it all in with patience and gentleness, offering guidance when needed. They then quietly retreat to their super secret laboratory and somehow make sense of your random thoughts, ideas and snippets of sentences.
The process is fast. They walk behind the curtain and “poof” a finished vision appears with the wave of a wand. However, the true magic is their ability to help you to see your business not only as it is today but what it can be tomorrow.
Do they live up to the hype? Oh yea, it’s even better than what you’ve heard. I got rid of ugly blog syndrome forever but most importantly, I caught the vision of who I could be. For that I am eternally grateful to Harry and James and their magic pens.
How do you deliver magic to your clients?
The Pen Men rock! I love your new design. They did a banner for me and provided some great advice as well.
Wasn’t that fun working with them? Your new place looks so nice! I almost want to take my shoes off and plop on a couch somewhere. 🙂
Karen,
I just got home from vacation and I am SO excited to come home to see your wonderful new design!! I can also attest to the wonder of working with the Pen Men as I am hoping to get my site launched this week, boxes still packed and all. It is amazing to see how they match our personalities so well. And I have to say…Harry’s patience in working with my lack of technical knowledge is remarkable. I’m sure my ignorance went down in the black hole hall of fame and yet he never missed a beat. ( Now if he later went away laughing his head off I can’t say…but he was very gracious with me and made me feel very special and wonderful!)
Yay to the Pen Men! And Yay to Karen! You expressed everything I feel about working with the Pen Men and did it with such grace and elegance.
@Harry
You have me totally intrigued now. I know that clients represent a wide variety of topics and styles, so I can’t wait to see how different you’re going to go with Steph’s blog.
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I am green with envy, which totally matches my rocking new theme. 🙂 Considering Steph’s talent and niche, I cannot wait to see what you do with her site. I will be there with bells on, gushing and tweeting about it. 😉
Karen Swims last blog post..Praise for Men With Pens
Well, not exactly *tomorrow*, but let me tell you this, Steph’s theme will be unlike anything you have ever seen us do before.
Hi Karl, coming from the Work Happy Master, I am not at all surprised that you immediately spotted the lessons I learned. 🙂 Harry and James are also incredible writers, so it is not the first lesson I’ve learned from them this year. They have a knack for inspiring you to be be better in every area of your life.
E!!! Yes, yes, it’s Ginger! Join me under the bamboo tree as we talk about the environment and synchronicity. 🙂 Thank you so much for the compliments on the decor. Harry and James are masterful. From where I came to here, it’s darn impressive! I love it so much, I’m telling people on the street about it – “hey you, yea you, got a new blog design, what’s that, oh a blog well its… “LOL!
James, the praise is totally deserved. 🙂 I am so glad to have hosted the love fest today. Tomorrow, we’ll meet at Stephs! 🙂
Karen Swims last blog post..Praise for Men With Pens
Alright. It’s rare that I blush. Or get all “aw shucks”. But this post did just that, so score one for Karen and everyone who chimed in. Man. You guys make my job feel so great.
It is wonderful Karen!
It really refects you. Simple, yet elegant. Straightforward, with a bold artistic sense. Very nice.
Harry does great work.
I think you will feel fresh and wonderful in your knew blog home.
Hey, you know? I think I can smell a faint whiff of ginger or something. C’mon let’s go out on the deck and check out the bamboo forest. I’m sure there’s a panda out there!
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..Don’t Cut the Horizon in Two
There are many transactions that we can learn from. It’s nice to see that you saw many levels to the experience. You got a great new blog, but also saw how your future clients would like to be treated. That’s the sign of a great business person, when they learn from every situation that they encounter.
Karl Staib – Your Work Happiness Matterss last blog post..Why Every Company Should Appoint a Work Happy Manager
Harry, you make it seem easy! 🙂 In my book, you are the Magic Man!
Steph, thank you for the compliment. I don’t have to tell you that your decision was wise. Harry and James will create a site worthy of your enormous talent, and in the process you will feel like a Queen. 🙂
Karen: Your site is very lovely. The Men are indeed very good. I’ve hired them, too.
It’s hard to pick what I find best about them: they’re extremely generous with their time, and though I know it’s tight and they’re in high demand, they have never once made me feel that way. Most of all, however, above their gratefulness for their clients’ business, their lovely designs, their ability to listen and send off many emails in answer to questions, to pinpoint what you want, their collective knowledge and experience just blows my mind. For the first time, I feel wholly confident that I’m getting exactly what it is I want and most especially need.
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Karen: You make it sound so easy! I *wish* I had a magic wand! Thank you so much for the review, this was great to wake up to.
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Ha! Yes, they are honest but with heart! James was the first to tell me that my blog was ugly but he did it sweetly and it inspired me to make a change. He is honest because he is passionate and cares, that is a quality I admire.
Yeah, the guys are good.
I agree that make you feel special.. I spent all of yesterday tweaking my new template and layout, and when I asked James for a 30 second review he actually spent about 5 minutes dissing the whole thing. “Banner is too dark and gloomy” he says. “Move tabs below the banner and rename this and this and THIS..” he says.
After it was all done and the smoke cleared, I was so grateful I bought him a cheeseburger. He has that way about him.
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