Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve

Sometimes you meet a client who just ticks every box. Passionate about their craft, kind beyond belief, and trying to figure out how to share their gift with a world that moves faster than most of us can keep up with. Let me tell you about one of those.

I Love New Zealand

Not for the landscape, though it is genuinely spectacular for an old Adelaide boy. Not for the adventure sports. Not even for the Marlborough wines, though those are a very good example of what smart marketing can do for a regional product.

It's the people. When I first visited Tauranga and the Mount, I was left with an impression I still can't shake. If I had to describe the culture in one word it would be: musical. There's a quality to the people here that I can't explain any other way. So when Jayden said "you need to come and meet a local artist who is doing great things and I think we can help him," I dropped everything and got on the plane.

First Impressions and Second Chances

First impressions matter. It's one of those clichés that has survived because it keeps being true. But sometimes, just sometimes, you meet someone who needs a second look. Someone whose online footprint doesn't capture who they actually are. Someone who exists slightly outside the metrics we've all been conditioned to use as proxies for professionalism.

Jay and I met Ben at the local Pap Tav. Coffee, a bite to eat, pink marshmallows on the side (that's a story for another day). We waited.

Punctuality was not Ben's strong suit that afternoon. Communication had not been his strong suit historically, if Google was to be believed. A quick search would tell you about a young man with a rare talent who had bitten off more than he could chew. About a track record that wasn't spotless.

In walked Ben. And there is something about this young man that is genuinely hard to put into words. Here is someone who simply wants to make people smile. In a world that is consumed by ROI and public liability and "what's in it for me," here is a person who lives in the moment, has developed an extraordinary skill, and is passionate about using it to enrich the lives of other people.

I lost count of how many times during that conversation I turned to Jay and nodded.

The Go-Giver Test

One of the luxuries of running PlainBlack the way we run it is that we can choose who we work with. If we don't get the go-giver energy from someone, there's a fair chance we're not going to be a good fit. It's not snobbery. It's just that enthusiasm is contagious and so is its absence, and we want to be excited about the work we do.

Listening to Ben's story, which we'll share properly very soon, was one of those moments that reminds you why you do this. It reignited something. It's the kind of story that makes you smile and wince at the same time, because there are mistakes in it that are genuinely costly and entirely human.

Ben is one of those people.

Benjamin Lloyd the person is someone you need to know.

Benjamin Lloyd the brand is something you won't believe. Something that hints at what this world could be. Something that offers a little hope for anyone who has looked at the grim face of things and wished for something better.

Wear your heart on your sleeve and come along for the journey. If Ben has anything to say about it, you'll be smiling. I can guarantee that much.