In late June 2016, Martha Schilling, a Philadelphia area financial advisor, reponded to one of my email soliciations for help in preparing and producing marketing materials. I do such materials for any number of entrepreneurs, and generally help them in their efforts to "brand" or "rebrand" themselves. Some months earlier Martha had expressed interest in hiring me to "ghost" a book for her; after I gave her pricing she said she had changed her mind but would likely get back to me about other materials. Which is what happened in June.
I told her truthfully that I had gotten an unexpected response to my latest solicitation, and because I will not take on multiple clients who compete for the same consumers, I wanted to know if she was serious and ready to commit. She replied that she was eager to begin.
I took Martha at her word and in good faith began a comprehensive survey of her web site in order to find uniquely salable aspects of her business. That was a time-consuming process that involved a great deal of note-talking and concept planning. At around the same time she promised to put together some thoughts of her own and send them to me. I continued working on her project and sending her emails with requests for added details, which mostly went unanswered. I also sent her a sample of similar work I'd done for a financial client, for which she thanked me.
Finally, a full 3 weeks after our first contact, her "thoughts" arrived. I began integrating her ideas into my own notes and planning. I told her via email that we needed to speak some more because there were multiple options for handling her project. I gave her a broad range of prices, depending on options.
This is where things got weird. A few days later, July 10, I sent Martha the first of a half-dozen emails that got no response. To be more clear, I DID receive return emails from her--showing "RE" my own email in the subject line--but they contained no content. Empty emails.
After the third time this happened I began asking and eventually pleading with Martha to phone me. She did not comply. I phoned her and left messages. No response. I sent an email in which I expressed the opinion that she was acting in an unstable manner. Finally on July 22 she sent a very terse email in which she blamed the whole thing on an "Outlook problem." That was it. She did not bother addressing the time and labor I'd already invested, my complaints about her failure to keep in touch by phone--or the fact that I had turned down paying work for other clients in order to do the project for her. Nor did she give me any feedback on the topics I'd raised in earlier emails. It was clear that we were "done."
I sent another email that got no reponse.
I then told her via email I would have to send a nominal invoice for my prep work, which I did, finally, on July 25. For the paltry sum of $300. (The project itself, or a similar project for one of the other possible clients, shoudl've generated between an absolute low of $750 and upward of $2500.) She ignored my invoice as well.
I'm no psychologist but this woman leaves me wondering. Certainly she is lacking in the most basic levels of consideration for people who work for her in good faith.
Schilling Group Advisors, LLC Reviews
In late June 2016, Martha Schilling, a Philadelphia area financial advisor, reponded to one of my email soliciations for help in preparing and producing marketing materials. I do such materials for any number of entrepreneurs, and generally help them in their efforts to "brand" or "rebrand" themselves. Some months earlier Martha had expressed interest in hiring me to "ghost" a book for her; after I gave her pricing she said she had changed her mind but would likely get back to me about other materials. Which is what happened in June.
I told her truthfully that I had gotten an unexpected response to my latest solicitation, and because I will not take on multiple clients who compete for the same consumers, I wanted to know if she was serious and ready to commit. She replied that she was eager to begin.
I took Martha at her word and in good faith began a comprehensive survey of her web site in order to find uniquely salable aspects of her business. That was a time-consuming process that involved a great deal of note-talking and concept planning. At around the same time she promised to put together some thoughts of her own and send them to me. I continued working on her project and sending her emails with requests for added details, which mostly went unanswered. I also sent her a sample of similar work I'd done for a financial client, for which she thanked me.
Finally, a full 3 weeks after our first contact, her "thoughts" arrived. I began integrating her ideas into my own notes and planning. I told her via email that we needed to speak some more because there were multiple options for handling her project. I gave her a broad range of prices, depending on options.
This is where things got weird. A few days later, July 10, I sent Martha the first of a half-dozen emails that got no response. To be more clear, I DID receive return emails from her--showing "RE" my own email in the subject line--but they contained no content. Empty emails.
After the third time this happened I began asking and eventually pleading with Martha to phone me. She did not comply. I phoned her and left messages. No response. I sent an email in which I expressed the opinion that she was acting in an unstable manner. Finally on July 22 she sent a very terse email in which she blamed the whole thing on an "Outlook problem." That was it. She did not bother addressing the time and labor I'd already invested, my complaints about her failure to keep in touch by phone--or the fact that I had turned down paying work for other clients in order to do the project for her. Nor did she give me any feedback on the topics I'd raised in earlier emails. It was clear that we were "done."
I sent another email that got no reponse.
I then told her via email I would have to send a nominal invoice for my prep work, which I did, finally, on July 25. For the paltry sum of $300. (The project itself, or a similar project for one of the other possible clients, shoudl've generated between an absolute low of $750 and upward of $2500.) She ignored my invoice as well.
I'm no psychologist but this woman leaves me wondering. Certainly she is lacking in the most basic levels of consideration for people who work for her in good faith.