I just couldn't give her a straight answer

My daughter was repeatedly asking me a tough question "Mom," she said. "What's your favorite color." "I dunno." "But seriously. Which is your favorite color if you had to pick one?" "I like all the colors," I insisted. "But if the world was turned into only one color and that was ALL you could look at forever, which color would it be?" "Black." "Close your eyes." I do it. "Is THAT the color you want to see for the rest of your life?" I'm having a very difficult time answering these questions. That's probably why I am a copywriter and not a graphic designer or some other visual artist. I can't pick a favorite color even though I know that this is serious business to my daughter. And it occurred to me that she might be trying to incorporate my favorite color into a gift that she is planning to give me. So, I tell her I like metallic colors like gold. "Gold???" she asks, as if I said the wrong color. "Fine. Blue. No pink." I finally tried to explain that I can't pick a favorite color because I like all the colors and I want to see a variety of colors because that is that makes me happy. I hear that telling other people what you want is the first step to getting it. If you're writing an ad, for example, you need to tell people exactly what you want them to do. If you want to be "easy to shop for" you have to have some things that are just obviously YOU. And that requires communicating with others about your tastes and preferences and the things that you are currently obsessed with. Anyway. I'm better at discerning and guessing what other people want than I am at telling people what I want. Maybe I should start using "wish lists" and registries and point people there. In my case, with the upcoming gift giving holiday, I just wanted my kids to take the time to pick out a gift. It didn't matter to me what is was, because I wanted a surprise. And I DID get a surprise! The girls' dad brought them to an art fair and they gave me some really fancy honey and also a painting from a local artist, Linda Casias. And all my second guessing about my favorite colors paid off because they stood at the booth deciding which one I would like the best, and decided on the MOST colorful one... the one with the most colors. But I still felt like there was some unease, especially with Ella (pictured to the right... showing off her 3D glasses). Just today I found out what the problem was. She was trying SOOO hard to make the perfect thing, that she was worried it wouldn't be perfect. I found the card she made for me in the car. It had a personal note that she wrote to me and there was a lot of pictures and mentions of a flower pot. And so I thanked her for the card and said that I loved the note and all the thought she put into her words and the picture and everything. But was there something that she was hiding still? There was. She made a flowerpot in school, and they decorated them with markers, but she wanted to re-decorate it with the paints at home. But when she accidentally dropped it and the flower seed fell out, she got worried and didn't give it to me. I was really touched by the thought that went into it and all the affection that they showed me through the gifts. What can I say? Gift giving/receiving is my love language. I suppose you're wondering how you can possibly apply my Mother's Day gift saga to your business ... 1) Know what you want. As a mom, I want variety, surprises and to have a display of love and affection with gifts. That may not work in a business setting. What exactly do you want your clients and customers to do? Do you want them to call you, visit your store, sign up for your class, subscribe to your newsletter, share your post, or write to their congress representative, tell their friends about your business or just like your page? Write down what you want. Make a business wish list. 2) Let your customers and prospects get to know you in all your quirky splendor. You can do this in your social media posts, your newsletters, and your videos. I'm not saying you have to go out of your way to be goofy. But there are some details about yourself and your life that you can share that people will find memorable and interesting. 3) Be a little over-the-top with your thank you's.