Author: Kirsty France

It goes without saying we’re all really busy. Whether we’re dealing with essential tasks or things we’ve chosen to take on, there’s always something to do. It often means that self-care gets pushed to the back of the queue. That’s if we think about it at all.

When we have a family, or our own business, or both, the idea of looking after ourselves suddenly becomes problematic. We might think of self-care as being selfish, or lazy. Business gurus tell us that we won’t build a six-figure business if we’re not working 15 hours a day. Or that there’s no such thing as a work/life balance.

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It can be hard enough answering customer’s questions when they’re standing in front of you, but what if they’re online? Words are misinterpreted and tempers flare much more easily. What you write as a humorous comment could be seen as offhand and rude.

Potential customers will always ask questions. They may be about your service, your product or when you can deliver. If you offer a service that needs a face to face meeting your customer must decide whether they want to spend any time with you.

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There are lots of things I love about my work, but ghost writing is enormous fun. Writing for individuals means that I sit at my desk trying to summon up their voice. Blogging for a business often means working with their brand identity to create the right tone.

The type of language I use depends on the audience we’re trying to reach. It’s not so different to having a conversation when you think about it. A chat with your friends is very different to a meeting with the bank manager.

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Do you need a better work life balance? It feels as if it should be easy but sometimes it isn’t. Even if you go out to work then come home to spend time with your family the edges can still become blurred.

When you have your own business keeping to office hours can be almost impossible. You spend your evenings finishing off the paperwork or doing background reading. Your best new ideas pop up at the weekend. It’s not confined to business owners either; even employed professionals take work home. It all eats into the time and energy you could be devoting to your family.

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We all know how horrendous bad service can be. I’ve yet to meet anyone who hasn’t been ignored by a shop assistant or kept waiting in a restaurant. Sometimes we can leave disappointed because we haven’t been listened to.

I’ll give you an example: one of my relatives can’t eat anything with dairy in it. Her favourite restaurants will not only explain which choices are dairy free but also which can be adapted for her. A lot of chains are now catching on and have alternative menus for common allergies. However, last year she went for a meal at a local pub. She explained the situation to the lovely waitress and then watched as she spoke to the surly looking manager. The manager grunted “just give her that” and thrust a menu towards her. It was the gluten free menu. The pub’s loss was the fish and chip shop’s gain.

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I know how it is; everyone (including me) tells you that you need to blog. It’s great for customer engagement and improving your search engine ranking. But it only works if you do it regularly. Twice a month, once a week or even more. I’ve seen it referred to as ‘the content monster’ and that’s pretty accurate. Even I feel like that sometimes.

So what can you do? How do you find blog topics that your customers will find interesting week after week without constantly repeating yourself?

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Are you tired?  Do you run a business?  In that case you’re not alone.  I’m constantly googling ‘ways to beat tiredness’ or ‘how to have more energy’.  Then I remember I have two small children and I’m self-employed.  Being tired goes with the territory.

Before anyone says it, yes, I know that combining children and employment is tiring too.  So is staying at home with the kids.  But running your own business brings its own unique challenges.

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At some point, we all feel as if we might be invisible.  Our Facebook posts sink without trace, blog posts are ignored and the phone never rings.  You probably just need to improve your marketing, but how?

That’s when the doubts start to creep in.  Maybe we’re just not cut out for self-employment.  Why would anyone choose to work with us when there are better people out there?

I get it.  Sometimes the ups and downs have nothing to do with the facts and everything to do with our own brains.  So what can you do?

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Everyone has tasks that they absolutely dread.  They could simply be deeply dull. When I do something I find difficult it seems like I’m wading through mud. If I delegated to someone with a different skill set they’d be racing ahead.

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Do you think of yourself as being part of a community?  Sometimes it feels as if modern life is increasingly isolated and we’re all living in our own little bubbles.  For me, that notion disappears as soon as I arrive at the school gates or my local toddler group.  I suppose that’s one of the benefits of living in a village, although sometimes the level of gossip gets a bit overwhelming.

For me, building community means seeking out people who share my life experiences.  I feel at home amongst other tired parents and busy business women.  There’s just a level of understanding that makes communication more straightforward.

Increasingly, I’m finding my communities online as well as in the real world.  That’s particularly crucial when it comes to business.  There are a fair few self-employed people in my village but there are loads of them online.

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