Trust is the New Luxury

Have you noticed how hard it is to trust anyone online lately?

I came across a phrase recently – that we are in a “full-blown trust recession” – and it stopped me in my tracks.

Oh. My. God. Yes. That’s what’s going on.

In 2020 the world as we knew it shifted, and the online world erupted. Experts in everything from design and construction, business, wellness, mindset, web-design, SEO, and on and on and on, came out of the woodwork, all parroting the same pitch, making the same promises and blending into white noise.

It reminded me of the era of “green-washing”, when every product and process suddenly claimed to be sustainable.

I remember trusting no one. Doing my own research… and then questioning my own research.

People aren’t hesitating because they can’t afford to do or buy the thing or service, they are paralyzed by uncertainty.

And I FEEL it – on my end of the phone, and from the other side of the screen.

It just hasn’t had a label on it until now, but honestly? It’s strangely comforting to finally have a language for it.

And I get it – I’ve been burned, too. Big promises and results nowhere near as close to what was sold.

I wish trust was something I could deliver immediately - but I know it has to be earned.

So let me tell you what I believe my real job is.

It isn’t just to make things beautiful – it’s to protect the process so nothing falls apart as soon as the hammers start to swing. I’m not here to sell you a fantasy. I’m here to guide you through reality – beautifully.

To think ten steps ahead.

To quietly make contingency plans for every conceivable thing that could go wrong…

Back-ups for the back-ups.

To create the kind of clarity that prevents chaos before it ever begins.

 When I was feeling a little down on myself (as goes the entrepreneurial journey), a detail-oriented client mirrored back to me, exactly what it was I was struggling with, in the most eloquent way:

“Your [design package] highlights the entire renovation from start to finish. And because you’re so thorough, the problems that we’d otherwise encounter never happen. So how do you value that? How do you quantify all of the savings – in time, money and frustration – when it never happens, because of you?”

This is the invisible part of great design:

• The problems you don’t end up having.

• The stressful game-time decisions you don’t have to make.

• The costly mistakes you never make.

And it’s why the clients who sign on the quickest are often the ones who got burned - the ones who experienced the rigamarole of pushing forward without the right guidance and details in place...

They know better the next time around.

They hire the right team early, because they understand what it actually protects.

But how does one convey that to a first-time renovator / builder client? Honestly?

Renovating for the first time is like being a freshman in a brand-new school (as my second child is about to be in September this year). You don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s where things go sideways fast. The right guide changes everything.

Perfection, or a renovation without a single surprise isn’t the promise. Preparedness is. Clarity is. A steady hand through every decision and the knowing that you won’t navigate it alone is.

If you’re the kind of person who wants to do this once – and do it properly, let’s skip the initiation and stick with the people who’ve walked the walk and know the ropes 😉

And if you’ve been craving a steady hand, clear leadership and a design partner you can actually trust … My inbox is open. Book your Discovery Call here 

Trust is built slowly – and I’m here for that.

XO, 

Cynthia 

PS - As always, if this spoke to you in any way, please share it. And if you’d like more heart-and-home inspiration each month, join The Fizz community.