Picture this: The phone rings, you don’t answer it because you’re working. Then your mobile rings, again you don’t answer because you’re working. Whatsapp bleeps into life “Hey, can you just {insert completely non-urgent task here}…” Sound familiar? Y’know, when you work from home you have to set some pretty flippin serious boundaries. Family and friends who are not in the online world can sometimes find it hard to understand what it is you actually do. Yes, you may be in your yoga pants (despite not having seen the inside of a studio in *ahem* some time) but you are in fact still working. Managing interruptions becomes a top skill in your arsenal, PDQ (pretty damn quick). But there comes a time when to save your sanity, personal relationships and…
you ever get annoyed when you see pictures of other entrepreneurs on the beach, up a mountain, by a lake – laptop next to a green smoothie, book on one side, sunset view on the other? If it P’s you off, makes you resentful and you find yourself thinking “huh, it’s alright for her…I wish my business let me live like that.” Then I am here to tell you, you can have a business you love AND a life. But you gotta take control of it first! I’ve written a lot about this in the past, so I’ve gathered all my best resources together for you in one glorious claim your life back post! You’re very welcome. 😉 What do you WANT? I totally, absofuckinglutely, 100% believe that you don’t…
When you first dip your toes in the online business world, it seems HUGE, like a massive parallel universe. The idea of anyone finding, never mind being specifically interested in little old you seems absurd. But fast forward and I bet you’ve found your home online, and just like in real life Eastenders even met the neighbours. Hell, you’ve probably got online business besties (they’re the best, espesh when none of your ‘real friends’ get what you do all day). All this moving and shaking in the online world naturally leads to collaborations, interviews, podcasts and the like with other smart business minds, driven to succeed. And this leads to other people being interested in what you’re doing and *gasp* wanting to tell other people. Exciting stuff, hey? Whether you’re…
Do you remember the moment you started to fall a little bit out of love with your biz? The first time that you didn’t leap out of bed ready to take on the world? It was never supposed to be like that. And yet, and yet… Some days start with a sigh instead of a shout, the idea of a day off fills you with dread and you don’t remember the last time you switched completely off. Maybe it was that time at cousin Tim’s wedding circa 2012. There comes a point in your entrepreneurial journey when you realise that you just can’t do ALL OF THINGS ALL OF THE TIME. It’s not sustainable, profitable or fun. Apart from doing your “thing” you also have a business to run, and…
D’you remember being in work after hearing some MASSIVE news? The tsunami in 2004, 9/11, Barack Obama winning the Presidency? Or times when you were all up against a deadline and someone ordered pizza at 11pm? Birthday drinks, leaving drinks, Christmas drinks (any kind of drinks!)? These kinda moments are what can create bonds between colleagues in a workplace. Over here in the virtual world, we don’t have those kind of moments, physically. And, it can be hard to really feel like you’re working as team rather than just a collection of digital nomads floating past in different time zones. Getting it right with your virtual team Why does it even matter? We don’t need to make friends with our colleagues, right? Totally – of course not. BUT, to work…
Have you ever groaned in despair at the thought of having to find an email you kind of remember the subject of? You’re in the middle of something and you need that particular bit of information. You know the info is in THERE. With a heavy heart you head over to your inbox. You know it was from James, but which email address did he use? His work one, Gmail, or was it a sharing invitation? Whilst you’re in there you notice an email from your mum. It’s Aunty Mary’s 70th, better just send a quick yay or nay to that, and wait what’s this offer from {insert name of guru}? CLICK. Bleugh, what a total time suck. I posted recently about my #1 cardinal sin, if we’ve been together…
Picture this: You’re out and about, and fancy a coffee. Where do you go? The closest coffee shop? Or the one further down the highstreet that you really love? No brainer, right? You’ll go the little bit extra to hang out in the coffee shop that you love. They both sell coffee, in about a billion (approx) variations. So why trek to that particular one? Is it a boho, comfy sofa, books on shelves creativity den? Perhaps it’s all clean lines, tall tables and far removed from the clutter of working from your home. What is it that makes us pick one, over the many others? We choose because of the way these places make us FEEL. Cluttered and overwhelmed at home – head out to the sleek workspaces to…
Y’know as a culture we’ve been programmed to think that long hours = more work. Some entrepreneurs wear their 50, 60, 70(eeeek) hour weeks on their sleeve. Like a badge of pride. I say that’s the outdated way. The modern way of running your business does NOT include: Crazy hours or 52/7 working (even when your work is so addictive it’s ALL you want to Do) Not being able to go on holiday Missing your kids growing up Being on call more often than a Junior Doctor Not only is it not necessary, it’s not healthy! Believe me, I know. Now it turns out you don’t even get more done – what a waste of time! Of course I already knew all of this (because I learnt the hard way…
Remember when you were younger, BEGGING to be allowed “the” shoes/jeans/hairstyle that all your friends had? It felt so important to blend in. Anything different was social death and anyone who couldn’t understand this was clearly a monster. Or parent. Trouble is, for many that’s carried over into adulthood, and if you own a business, that too. Bad move, girlfriend. It’s no wonder really, we spend sooo long trying to fit in and wanting to be liked as individuals that we end up doing the same with our business. The fear of standing out We worry about being too different or controversial, nervous to show our personality because it may repel custom and divide opinion. Especially when starting out because in the beginning we’re just so darn grateful that SOMEONE…
OMG You’ve been asked to give a talk – on a STAGE! With real people watching you! What an amazing opportunity for you and your business, more exposure means helping more people PLUS getting more clients, sales and money – right? Yes, in an ideal world but in the real world… not if you don’t ask for it. Presenting or speaking is so much more than turning up on the day in your fave lippy and telling people about your service or product to gushing applause and a stampede of clients. For it to be really worth your while – and theirs (whether you’re getting a fee to speak or not), you need to pro-actively work it to your advantage while demonstrating how else you can help the audience members…
