WeetBix and God – a story made in heaven

There was a moment at the breakfast table recently, when my daughter randomly said: “So, who actually IS God?”

“Well…..” I responded, taking a sip of coffee, buying time to find an appropriate and easily digestible answer before her WeetBix got soggy.

“You see…he’s not a HE but she’s not a SHE. God is a feeling, a spirit, a moment in time, an expression, a sensation, a comfort, a joy, a leader, a teacher. God is the creator of all living things… if that’s what you want to believe.”

She mulled it over between mouthfuls and then said: “So does God still exist? Like, wander around and stuff. Didn’t Jesus actually wander around and eat breaky and live on the earth? And isn’t God supposed to be his dad?”

Hmm. Tough one.

Continue reading →

A timely reality check

Keeping a reality check on what is actually achievable at any given time is SO important. Whether it’s life, work or parenting it’s important for everyone… but it’s absolutely vital for business owners if you’re going to survive beyond the initial adrenalin of the start-up phase and not burn out when you start to level-up.

I am very tough on myself when it comes to getting stuff done and making the absolute most of every single waking and working moment I have. It started out this way when I began working in recruitment. It was the late 90s and everyone I knew was working hard so they could play hard. Being seen at the right bar, drinking the right drink, wearing the right gear was high on the list of ‘success markers’. No-one wanted to leave the office first for fear of being seen as a ‘slacker’ and everyone aimed to arrive in the morning before the boss, hangover or not, so they could already be on the phone getting deals done. There were targets to meet and leaderboards to climb so everyone made the absolute most of every moment. It was a culture that self-perpetuated and I was right on board.

When I started running my own business, I felt a pressure of a different sort.

Continue reading →

Making assumptions about your audience is foolish

You probably know by now that I’m overseas on a big long-awaited family holiday. It’s been equally wonderful and exhausting – and we’re only half way through. Travelling with young children is not easy and tempers have been frayed at times, but we’re all still speaking and noone has been sent home alone…yet… So whilst I have a spare moment, I want to share some thoughts about the assumptions we make of our people.

We’ve been in the US, camping and meeting bears, renewing our wedding vows in Vegas, chatting with heroes in Disneyland and all along it’s struck me how often we make up stories about places and people before we’ve even met them or experienced them. Aussies definitely have preconceived ideas about Americans, and the reverse is also true. As travellers we make assumptions about how we should be treated and as adults we make assumptions about how our children should behave in certain situations.

Continue reading →

Magic happens when you keep believing

Sorry it’s been some time between messages but I’ve been kinda busy getting ready for a rather large trip. Today, however, I felt it necessary to share a story about magic.

You see, a year ago today I sat my husband down, gave him a glass of champagne and then wheeled in some brand new suitcases. On one of the suitcases was a message from Mickey Mouse. It was inviting him to celebrate his 40th birthday at the Happiest Place on Earth. And now, 365 days later, I am writing to you from a hotel in Anaheim, and Disneyland is a mere 7 minute walk away.

It’s kind of surreal that it’s all actually happened. We’ve had the busiest of years with my business and my book, with the kids, with my dad’s illness, and with Simon’s work, but we stuck to our guns, made a plan and made it happen.

Continue reading →

The awesome power of immersion

Wow. I have seriously only just come down off the high from hosting my third Writer’s Retreat this last weekend. What a rush! It was so relaxing, so joyful, so engaging, so mentally stimulating and challenging – SO rewarding. The ladies who attended did everything planned for and asked of them, plus much, much more. They were gracious and willing and committed.

We worked hard, worked smart, brainstormed, set our intentions, made decisions and created plans. They are now much clearer on what they stand for and where their value is. They know who they can help and how. They also know how to chunk up their knowledge and create marketable products out of it.

And the biggest take away?

That immersion is absolutely the key to getting ahead swiftly in your business.

When I was 4 I knew just what I wanted.

Continue reading →

Get your butt into gear. No more excuses.

You’ve heard this before, I know you have, but I was reminded of it again this morning when speaking with a client. (She’s amazing, but she needed a gentle kick in the tush.)

YOU ARE ENOUGH.

YOU KNOW ENOUGH.

Already.

Don’t go watching another video, attending another random webinar, or reading another book. You don’t need to right now. NOT that those mediums aren’t useful ways of disseminating content, but they are also AWESOME TIME WASTERS when you are in the throws of generating your own content.

Continue reading →

How to write like a somebody when you feel like a nobody

Are you sick to death of everyone telling you how to stand out in this online world? Do you ever wonder whether anyone is actually going to bother to listen to your advice anyway? I used to feel the same way.

I have never been an introvert but, after many years of successful corporate life, somehow I lost my nerve when it came to promoting myself and my own business. I knew what I was offering was valuable and I had the credibility and know-how to back it up, but I didn’t understand why people would read my writing and marketing tips when the web was completely flooded with information from people I deemed more authoritative than me.

Why would anyone listen to me?

Continue reading →

The entrepreneurial school holiday blues

Four days in and I’ve given up the fight.

The tussle and juggle of solo-business owner versus school holidays was over today. It just had to be. Because I was driving myself mad and the kids too, and that’s just not cool anymore.

This working from home (albeit in an awesome custom-built studio!) combined with kids at home scenario just does not work for me, or them. And I knew that. I know that. It happens every term, every year. I head into school holidays with a sense of trepidation and angst – the complete opposite of my non-business-owning or working friends – as well as a huge bag of mother guilt for feeling that way. The “can’t you just take some time off? You’re the boss aren’t you?” comments don’t help either….

Continue reading →

Don’t undervalue yourself: how to remove the stress of pricing your services

Pricing is one of the trickiest P’s of marketing. It’s especially tricky when you are pricing your OWN services because a) you’re too personally involved and b) it’s hard to measure exactly like-for-like value. Putting a price on a can of soft drink is a whole lot easier than pricing a health transformation service for instance. It doesn’t seem to make it any less complicated when you know that you deliver amazing value and transformation for your clients – many of us still get stuck.

I struggled with this when I first started my copywriting business. I went from a large 6 figure salary in corporate world, believing every day that I was absolutely worth every penny of that to the company, to charging myself out at less than half of my hourly rate as a copywriter when I first opened my doors. In hindsight it was ridiculous! I had SO much experience, so much to offer, but somehow I just found it vomit-worthy charging more. When I first tried to settle on an hourly rate I looked at competitors for ideas and I looked at complementary services to try and find where I fit. Whilst I could gauge an industry ‘norm’, I really struggled to know what would be an acceptable amount for me to charge. The thing was that I wasn’t a kid just starting out in this profession, nor did anyone have exactly the same experience as me.

I felt I deserved to earn roughly what I had been earning prior but somehow it didn’t seem to work out that way…

Continue reading →

Key things to consider before attending a writer’s retreat

Whether you’re a business-owning 40 something (ahem) like me, a fresh university graduate, a middle-aged career-changer, or a retired widow, a writing retreat could be just what you need to start that book, finish your online course content, or finally get those blogging ideas out of your head and onto the page. It isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but it certainly is mine….and it’s also exceptionally useful, productive and necessary when you lead a busy life and need dedicated time to get things done.

There are people I know who are mystified as to why I would want to run away and ‘just write’ for the weekend. They can’t fathom why I’d have to ‘go away’ to do that when I have a perfectly great work space at home. They also don’t really understand when I say that I actually just want to write ALL day, like 8 hours per day, almost non-stop, only breaking for coffee and chocolate.

Continue reading →