Asking is free

I’ve wanted to run workshops for City Business Library for ages, but didn’t know how to go about it. Now I’ve found out: all you have to do is ask politely, meet the chief librarian and hey presto, the workshop is a done deal! If you know anyone who wants to improve their confidence, please tell them about my FREE 90-minute workshop at City Business Library on November 24th 12noon-1.30pm. You can book here. I hope this will be the first of many — and all I had to do was ask.

Maximising my business

I’ve put together a great new workshop called Maximise Your Business which uses classic coaching concepts to put your business on the right road: simple stuff and no rocket science, but I believe it works.

I’m actually working through the process myself to prove how effective it is, so over the next few weeks watch Redbird Coaching take off!

Practising what I preach

I run a lovely time management workshop of which I’m really proud because unlike the usual “make a list” courses, mine encourages you to work with what you’ve got. That, of course, involves doing a bit of personal development: you need to understand your own particular style of working to be able to work with it.
My style is non-linear so there’s not much point in making a list, since it’s highly unlikely that I’ll use it — at least, not in the accepted way. My non-linear style is borne out of 30-odd years as a journalist, where it was impractical to work on one thing, finish it and move on to the next. I had to have half a dozen, sometimes two dozen stories on the go at any given moment; any of them could fall down by deadline, so I always had to be sure I had a decent back up, something else to work on. It meant juggling lots of plates and developing a style of working that drives linear folk up the wall.
It does, however, work for me. My desk may not be the neatest you’ve seen; my office may only ever be tidy once or twice a week, but I get stuff done. Doesn’t matter how you dress up ”time management”: it’s only worth bothering with if it means you get stuff done.  And I do.
Which is just as well, because I’m shortly going to be hitting my own deadline for edit completion of my first book, I’ve already got a brill idea for the next, I’m developing a new business coaching package, I signed up two new clients this week, my accountant is waiting for my usual tatty carrier bag of receipts and invoices, and I have to walk my dog.
But not necessarily in that order.

The marketing conundrum

So what IS the best way to publicise my book? My daughter tells me I should post info about it on YouTube. Good advice, I’m sure, except that I feel I look like a mad old woman on the web cam and wonder whether looking like a mad old woman is actually a good way to attract people to my book? hmm. The other question: if I look like a mad old woman on the web cam, do I look like that in real life? Is a web cam just a more frightening version of the shop window, where you see yourself by chance and think “who on earth is that?”.

Multi-tasking

For my second book, I’ll sign up with a publisher for a six-figure fee and then I’ll have an editor, a publisher, a printer, and a secretary.

Meanwhile for my first book I am writer, editor, publisher and secretary, and my everloving other half is the printer. So I suffer a bit of multiple-personality complex. “I’ve got to cut this” says the editor; “Over my dead body,” says the writer; “Can you just get it finished?” yells the printer, and “The deadline’s looming,” says the publisher. The secretary files her nails and says “You know you’ve got 45 unread emails?”

Itchy and scratchy

So prickly heat, claustrophobia AND insect bites. They didn’t mention any of this in the brochure.

ladies who lunch

Well, we drank coffee actually, but it was lovely to see the girls, have a bit of a catch up, and who knows, develop some more business ideas. So many coaches attend network groups, especially the sector-specific ones, so I can’t visit or join, but a brainwave means I can go along as director of Andy’s print company — there are millions of coaches, but NO printers at the women-only groups. Networking, here I come!

Hello world!

I could be the next Susan Boyle. Without the eyebrows, of course.