Ordering your wedding cake is definitely one of the fun parts of organising a wedding but it can feel like a minefield. There is more to think about than just “cake”.
As bizarre as it may sound, choosing your wedding cake is just as integral part of organising your wedding day as invites and venue hire. All your guests will want to take photos of you both during the day, but the cutting of the cake photo is the one everyone wants to capture. It’s the one your mum is likely to put in a photo frame and it will definitely make the wedding album.
Where to start?
When the time comes to plan your wedding cake, the obvious place to start looking for ideas are apps like Pinterest or Instagram. These sites are great and offer a fabulous range of styles and ideas, but sometimes too much choice can feel overwhelming. A great place to start is by choosing your colour scheme. This will help narrow your search and start steering you in the right direction. You may come across a lot of styles and finishes that you do not like and that’s ok. Not every wedding is the same nor should it be. Your wedding and your wedding cake should reflect who you are as a couple. Create a mood board if that helps. You’ll soon discover your favourite style.
Choosing the right cake maker is just as important as choosing your cake style. Shop around, do some research and read reviews. Find “your person”. There will always be someone who fits within your budget but do remember that you get what you pay for! Visit wedding fayres, meet suppliers and choose someone you feel comfortable with.
Talking to your cake maker
Remember your cake maker is the expert so ask lots of questions, such as:-
How much cake will I need for the number of guests at my wedding?
Do you offer a design and consultation service?
What about a cake tasting?
Ask about deposits, final payment and refunds
Does the price quoted include delivery to your venue or is that extra?
Discuss personalised cake toppers and cake stands
Can they accommodate special diets, i.e. gluten free
What flavours do they offer?
How much will your wedding cake cost?
So how much does a wedding cake cost? Each supplier has their own rates and will charge you accordingly so expect to pay in the region of £350 upwards for a 3 tier cake. Obviously the bigger and more elaborate the cake, the more expensive it will be. Remember you are not just paying for a cake, you are paying for the personal touch. You are paying for their time from your initial consultation to delivery. You are paying for the freshly baked-to-order yumminess and love that goes into each tier, the quality ingredients and the attention to the details that make your cake unique to you. Be honest with your chosen your cake maker and tell them your budget up front. This will help them create a design that you can afford and save any disappointment on your part with not being able to have what you really want due to the cost.
And most of all, just have fun. It is your wedding day after all!
Kirsty’s note
Toni is an utterly brilliant wedding cake maker (and generally ace human) making wedding and celebration cakes in Derbyshire.
You can find out more about the Red Velvet Bakery by visiting their website: www.redvelvetbakery.co.uk
“the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”
The past 18 months have given most people more than their fair share of difficulties.
Those lacking resilience can become easily overwhelmed.
These feelings can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Self-comfort rather than self-care.
Resilience gives us the strength to protect ourselves.
It protects us from mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression and helps us maintain a healthy balance.
How to build Resilience
We build resilience by becoming self-aware and prioritising self-care.
Self-care doesn’t have to involve a bubble bath and candles. It’s about being mindful of your needs, checking in with your feelings and making your needs a high priority.
This can be easier said than done. The good news is that resilience is a characteristic you can build.
Some ideas:
Make connections – Accept help and support from those who care about you.
Learn to relax
Practice thought awareness
Maintain perspective – accept that change is part of living
Take decisive action – face a situation rather than avoiding it.
What are your goals? – Do one little thing towards them every day, if possible, get this done first as it will add to your feeling of accomplishment.
Develop a positive outlook – use positive daily affirmations that resonate with you.
Here’s an example:
You’ve had a shit day where nothing seemed to go right. You meet a friend for a chat and you moan and laugh. When you leave you feel recharged. You’ve seen things from another perspective or made a plan of action to make tomorrow easier…
Your connection to someone you care about has built resilience to overcome your bad day.
Building good, positive relationships is an important part of our resilience.
Nutrition for resilience
Good nutrition is part of self-care.
It is within our control and can have a positive effect quickly.
Good nutrition will make your body resilient to disease. A healthy body is less stressed, anxious and depressed. It can also help reduce the effects of:
Sleep issues
Inflammation
Excess weight
Fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains supply our body with essential vitamins and minerals which improve our body’s function and reduce cellular damage, which contributes to disease and the ageing process.
What if you are struggling with stress, anxiety or depression and the thought of spending hours in the kitchen preparing healthy meals just adds to the overwhelm?
You don’t have to be a kitchen goddess.
If you don’t want to cook grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket along with a bag of veg to steam and a packet of rice or a jacket potato. This will give you a balanced meal that will nourish you more than something fried or overly processed.
This is not a time to go on a diet. Learn to listen to your body and honour its needs. This is how I start teaching intuitive eating.
What next?
Start small.
Make small changes to your habits that can set you on the right path.
Once you start taking care of yourself consistently you will soon gain momentum and see the effects.
If you would like to chat further about this subject or anything else to do with creating a healthy balanced lifestyle book a virtual cuppa and a chat and we can discuss your individual needs further.
I am a nutritional therapist, helping women to stop dieting, learn to trust themselves around food and treat the cause of symptoms such as hormonal imbalance, weight gain and lack of energy.
I do this through my 1-1 coaching and online courses, teaching intuitive eating and living and learning how to tune into the ebb and flow of your own natural cycles and build habits that support your individual lifestyle.
If you’d like to know more about Sue and the services she offers, you can find her online here:
Hello August! How can we be in August already? It only seems five minutes ago we were in our duvet coats sitting in each other’s garden under a blanket to try and keep warm. What a memory that was, desperate for some normality. And now things are slowly getting back to normal. I have mixed feelings about this, about going back into the ‘real’ world. How about you – are you ready for it and excited to have your life back or are you nervous and don’t feel ready? There’s not a right answer to this. I guess we just need to prepare ourselves when we do feel 100% comfortable.
So it got me thinking – Is my wardrobe ready ?
So much has changed over the last year that I am using this time to CLEANSE my wardrobe. I know work has changed as many of us are now working from home, therefore many of our wardrobe pieces no longer serves us. Long gone are the suits we needed, instead we are opting for more comfy attire. Not only is this comfortable to wear all day, but also helps with the extra pounds or three we have gained during lockdown. Or is it just me?!
There is nothing more satisfying than cleansing your wardrobe and having a good declutter. August is a great month for this as we start to transition our wardrobe back to Autumn.
Not only is it good for your mental wellbeing (tidy house, tidy mind) but when you open it you won’t have that dreaded feeling of, ‘I’ve got nothing to wear!’
So my top tips are ….
Remove everything out from your wardrobe and look at each item.
Ask yourself, Does it spark joy ? Does it still fit? When will I wear it?
Organise your clothes based on these 3 questions in to 3 separate piles
a KEEP pile, a DONATE (to friends or charity) pile AND a SELL pile.
Be ruthless, as a tidy wardrobe with items you love, is better than a crammed wardrobe you struggle to find anything in.
Think about your change of lifestyle and how this may have changed. If you no longer require wearing suits consider selling them or donating them to a charity close to your heart.
When you put everything back in your wardrobe, anything hanging up place the hanger the opposite way. When you wear a particular piece hang it back the correct way. In 3-6 months you can see the clothes you wear lots as they will be hung correctly and the ones still hanging the other way you don’t wear often…maybe it’s time for a another cleanse in 6 months?
Now your wardrobe is looking less decluttered (and hopefully not too empty), it’s time to start dressing to make YOU happy.
Here are my top tips to help make you look fabulous:
Wear a pop of colour to lift your mood – wear a bright scarf, colourful Tee or a splash of a bright lipstick
Update an older outfit with a statement necklace or a pair of statement earrings – remember jewellery always fits!
Wear blazers for a smart yet casual look (don’t just save them for best!) Team them with jeans or your favourite comfy trousers for an updated look. Have a look at my collection of magic pants on my website – once you own a pair you will never look back!
If you’d like your legs to appear longer and slimmer, wear heels! I’m not sure I am ready for this challenge yet! I am living in trainers at the moment!
Clothing should always make you look great, make you feel fabulous and give you confidence no matter the occasion, and I love helping woman achieve just that!
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and if I can help with any styling queries, style tips or help you find the perfect pieces for your wardrobe I’d love to hear from you. I own a ladies online fashion boutique offering stylish and affordable clothing and accessories for the real woman. I’d love you to be part of my facebook style community for the latest style drops, collections and offers – https://www.facebook.com/groups/lisalovesstylecommunity/
Many of us set up our own businesses so we can have more freedom and autonomy. So we can dictate when and how we work, who we work for, how much money we earn and where we sped our time. All this extra time we will have when there’s no boss dictating to us.
Fast forward to being in the thick of running your own business and you wonder how you could have been so naïve! Instead of just having your main role to do, you are now wearing ALL of the hats for your business – Accountant, Social Media Manager, Admin, Content Creator, Salesperson, Marketer to name just a few – leaving you with little very little of the headspace or freedom that you once imagined was part and parcel of being self employed.
So how do you change that?
One of the main ways is to get some clear boundaries in place. Women tend to be people pleasers. Most of my clients don’t want to let people down so take on too much and do everything for everyone else and actually let themselves down in the process.
There’s lots of talk about setting healthy boundaries but what actually is a boundary? A boundary is an imaginary line that separates you from others and vice versa. When you think of a physical boundary, it’s the image of a fence around a property to keep you safe inside and others from coming in. But there is always a gate that swings both ways to allow ease and flow.
These physical boundaries are clear for all to see but when we talk about emotional boundaries, they are much more difficult to recognise and enforce.
But how do you go about recognising and setting boundaries when everything feels like it has a competing priority?
Here are my top tips to identifying and enforcing strong and healthy boundaries
First of all, you need to identify what your boundaries are. Boundaries are very unique to you as an individual so yours might be very different to your best friends’. Spend some time (ideally a month so you can track it against your hormone cycle) noticing when someone has crossed your boundaries. Blaming yourself, feelings of shame and guilt, justifying your behaviour, sensing that something is “off, using words like “should” are all signs that your boundaries are being crossed. Make a note of when these situations occur, who you are with, time of day etc… It’s important not to judge these observations. You are just collecting data to analyse.
When you have tracked these observations, take a look at what you have captured and look for any patterns. Is there a certain day of the week or a particular activity you are carrying out or a certain person you are with etc… that triggers these uncomfortable feelings?
Name the emotion that you feel – angry, sad, frustrated. When you do this, it detaches you from that emotion so that the feeling isn’t part of your identity, it is a feeling that will pass.
When you have identified any patterns and feelings that arise, explore what this means for you. If it always happens with a certain client, is this someone you want to continue working with? If it always happens at a certain time of the month, do you need to block time out of your calendar at that time in hour cycle for more self-nourishment?
When it comes to emotional boundaries, you need to make sure you communicate them. This can be as simple as stating in your email signature or sending an automatic out of office that stipulates your working hours. Make sure you stick to those hours. If you have said you only respond between 9am – 5pm, be consistent with that message. If you are catching up on work late at night, make sure you delay the delivery of your emails to the following morning at 9am so that people don’t expect you to be working late into the night.
For boundary setting on a more personal note, this can feel really vulnerable and scary so my advice is to start small. Begin by communicating your boundarires to someone you know really well and feel comfortable with so it’s a safe space. Eg this could be to your partner. Let him or her know that they may see a change in your behaviour because you have realised that you need to set boundaries to protect your time / energy and health. You don’t have to elaborate or explain further than that. Just be clear that they will notice a change in you and invite them to help you stick to your new boundaries so it’s collaborative.
Invite and respect other people’s boundaries. When collaborating, ask the other party what their boundaries are such as their working hours, what method of communication they prefer, what their non-negotiables are and share yours too from the outset. This role models healthy boundaries for others too.
This will take practice so continually be on the look out for when boundaries are crossed as in point one above. Be consistent and tweak your boundaries as they evolve. They will change in new situations and different times in your life so make sure you make it a regular practice to notice and enforce healthy boundaries. You will notice a positive change in your mental and physical wellbeing as a result and although tricky at first, will result in healthier relationships with less resentment and guilt.
About Ellie
I’m a strengths & leadership coach based in South Manchester. I’m a mum of 3 little hurricanes, wife, recovering perfectionist and introvert.
I was a coach before I even realised it. People used to say how natural I was at developing others but didn’t really understand what that meant. It turns out I have made a career out of it in various guises throughout my 15 years of leadership within large organisations.
I have combined my coaching skills with my passion for helping people thrive in their working life by setting up Elevate with Ellie in January 2021 where I specialise in helping small business owners get the best out of their people.
Hi, I’m Jo Round, Mindfulness Teacher and guest blogger. It’s taken me ages to decide on the subject area for this blog. That’s not because I’m indecisive (at least I don’t think I am 😀) but because mindfulness is so far reaching, I could have gone down any one of many different paths.
In the end I chose stress because it’s something we can all relate to so I hope this blog will be helpful. Also, if I look back to what I believe was the very start of my mindfulness journey, it would be an appointment with my GP when he told me I was stressed and his advice was to take my foot off the gas for a little while! Hmmm! Ironically, that sent me into an even greater tailspin. But here I am writing a blog about it as a fully qualified Mindfulness Teacher, so I guess it all worked out in the end.
Let’s talk about stress!
Feeling stress is normal. It’s the body’s way of preparing us to deal with threatening situations (whether real or perceived). You may have heard of the fight, flight or freeze response. This is where the body detects a threat and releases hormones so we can either stand up and fight, run away or be still until the threat has gone, at which time the body stops pumping the hormones and returns to its resting state.
Our stress can come from many sources – the workplace, family issues, financial difficulties. A little stress can be beneficial to get us through a challenging situation – a job interview, that presentation you’ve been working so hard on, even trying to buy your dream home. It’s when the stress becomes so great, persistent and left unchecked, where our body doesn’t adequately return to its resting state, that stress becomes a problem.
Spotting the dangers
Most of us recognise the types of stress highlighted in the examples above. But in the modern world, perhaps the greatest stressor is psychological – coming from our own thoughts and beliefs but so subtle that we don’t realise the negative impact on our wellbeing. Maybe we wish things were different to the way they are or the way we think they should be. Our thoughts and projections about a situation can often cause us more stress than the actual situation itself. We start to believe the negative thoughts in our head “I’m not good enough”, “what will people think”, “I don’t like this”, “why does this always happen to me?” – trust me, these thoughts are not you and they are not reality. Yet this type of stress can be constant, like being on a hamster wheel going round and round and preventing our body from returning to the resting state. The stress continues to build until we start to feel it physically as well as mentally and simple tasks become too much to deal with.
How mindfulness can help
Like I said, stress is normal and we can’t make it go away – life just isn’t like that. But practicing mindfulness helps us to learn how to deal with stress so that it doesn’t have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing. Imagine stress as a fire and every time we have a negative thought or wish things were different or get too caught up in our thinking, we’re adding fuel to the fire and it grows, burns and consumes until we’re quite literally burnt out. In mindfulness we learn to spot the signs, we learn to step back and we learn to watch the fire, as though we were watching it on a TV. We don’t get involved or pass any judgement or think too much about it, and in doing this, the fire dies down on its own and eventually it goes out. Mindfulness isn’t about changing things; it’s about accepting things as they are. When we can do this, things no longer take a hold and we can live our lives with much more calm, clarity and contentment.
If you’d like to find out more about mindfulness, courses or working with me, do pop along to my website www.likeacircle.co.uk or drop me a message through the contact form on the website.
And finally, thank you so much to Kirsty for allowing me to be a featured blog.
You love what you do, and you are happiest at work doing all those things you love, but how much time is all the admin that comes with it taking? Is it leaving you drained and robbing you of your weekends and evenings that you’d really like to spend with family or friends and have a break from the job? Worse still, is it keeping you awake at night?
Apart from the fact that most of us have to earn a living to keep a roof over our heads, everyone is driven with different goals and dreams, to earn a certain amount, to have that dream house, to move to a certain area, buy that nice car, or to be able to travel are just a few. How lucky you are to be able to do that doing what you love to do.
Why I got started
After a health scare and a wakeup call, I am driven by time. I know just how precious time is and no amount of money can buy it.
This is where I get the passion to do the role I do. Taking away all the time-consuming admin jobs from my clients gives them back time to use more productively and frees up time so they can enjoy the weekend and evening as they wish. By achieving work life balance, they will feel more in control and less stressed and enjoy life and enjoy the success they have worked so hard to achieve.
Why you might need a VA
Outsourcing to a VA is not easy to do, your business is your baby, and no one else can do it as well as you can, damn right they can’t – but is your business doing the admin?
Cash flow is the most important thing in your business, when you can see clearly where you stand, what monies are coming in and what monies are going out, then business/cash flow improves.
Sending invoices out in time and chasing up late payments is the first thing that improves your cash flow, yet the longer you put this off the more overwhelming it gets = bad for cash flow.
If you are too busy to check your emails and you miss all important orders and enquiries, then again this will affect your cash flow as you will not have invoices to send, so no cash flow.
A good VA can be your accountability buddy, someone that wants to see you succeed, and will do everything they can to help you achieve your goals. She is not a competitor. She is someone who you can bounce ideas off and someone who will make suggestions, she is totally on your side.
It may take a little while to find that “right VA” for you, just as every business is different and has different needs, so is every VA.
Why I love my work
I love working with my clients. Once we have done a bit of brainstorming, have systems in place that work for them and have everything organised, they feel that they’re back in control. Having gained their trust they know that all the admin behind the scenes is in safe hands, that is when I see their business thriving. The client is less stressed, so much happier and enjoying their business. When they have their evening and weekends free to do as they wish then I know that I am doing my role well and that I have achieved what I want from my job.
How nice to be able to kick off your shoes, sit back and relax knowing that all those boring admin chores are being sorted. One happy you and one happy VA.
Kirsty’s note
Ann is a brilliant VA (I can personally recommend her). If you think you might need some support, you can get in touch with Ann here:
When I started my business in 2015 I thought all I needed was a logo and some business cards and my branding would be sorted. I had a huge list of “To Dos” and branding was something that I could put a big tick next to.
I was good at this business lark!
Then, when I started to read more about marketing the words Ideal Client kept coming up…
Who is your ideal client? Which product would your ideal client choose? Where can you find your ideal client?
The answers were easy. Everybody was my ideal client, so they’d like all of the products and they were everywhere. Move on.
But it continued to come up time and time again so I decided to do some research into this whole branding thing.
Turns out, a business is way more successful when they have a clear message and how do they create a clear message? Through having an ideal client and a strong brand. Not only are businesses more successful, decision-making becomes much easier too.
So when we use the term branding what are we talking about exactly? We are talking about the overall message that a business conveys. Some key elements (but not all) are the logo, the colours used, the fonts, the language and importantly; the imagery.
I will touch on each area below:-
Message
Who do you want to attract? Who is going to buy your product or service? A 20 year old man is likely to be attracted to a very different brand to a 75 year old woman.
Logo
Should it be clean and simple? Bold and colourful? Monochrome? Do you include a motif? Any words? Do you have more than 1 logo?
Colours
Did you know that colours carry very strong messages with them? Red can suggest passion, excitement and importance, whereas Green can signify new beginnings, growth and nature. A couple of well-known brands that use colour well are Virgin and BP. For me, the red of Virgin says adventure, fun and excitement, whereas the green in BP says light, nature and energy. Both very different messages, but equally powerful for the companies concerned.
Fonts
When you start to search for fonts you will find that there is a choice of hundreds! From gothic to script to comic sans and everything in between. What message does your choice of font say about your brand? Is it sophisticated and high quality? or do you want to be seen as fun, high energy and lively? It really can make a huge difference to what people will expect from your company.
Language
The language that you use is extremely important. Spelling mistakes and poor grammar may go unnoticed by many, but to some it will indicate poor attention to detail and could even be a deal breaker. Some people prefer you to get to the point by being bold and direct, whilst others will enjoy more elaborate language, overflowing with metaphors and similes. There is a well-known company in the beauty industry that always addresses it’s clients as Darling. I can’t stand it!! I don’t know why, but it makes my skin crawl… The company in question has a huge following so this approach clearly works for them. I guess I’m just not their ideal client, and that’s absolutely fine.
Imagery
Which is, of course, the most important part (don’t worry all you graphic designers, I’m only joking, it’s all important! but great photographs are high up the priorities). The photography that you use is an essential part of your company’s message. Make it too generic and people will just scroll past. Incorporate all of the above elements and your ideal clients will instinctively know your style and you will have their attention. Add to this the notion that a picture can say a thousand words and suddenly you have the ability to deliver a very clear message. Many companies use lifestyle images to suggest that the purchase of their product or service will improve your life – and it works exceptionally well! Who doesn’t want to have more money? do lots of fun stuff? or spend more time with their family?
People buy from people that they know, like and trust. By getting your branding right (I have lots of tools and resources to help with this) you will be able to become more visible, save yourself hours of time and attract your dream clients.
Julie is a specialist Personal Brand Photographer, who helps local businesses to become more visible, stand out from their competitors and to attract more of their dream clients by providing them with a bank of beautiful on-brand images.
“I didn’t realise how much my business needed this! Since having my photographs taken professionally, I feel so much more confident posting to social media and I am now attracting more new clients than ever. Thank you” Emily.
I listened to Money Box on Radio 4 last week and they were talking about lasting power of attorney documents. Professionally I draft these documents (along with wills) so I know how invaluable these can be. What struck me the most was the lack of publicity power of attorney documents get compared to a will. They are just as important and for many people even more so than a will! So, this year I am making it my mission to spread the word.
Why should lasting power of attorney documents matter to me?
One family had to raise money through crowdfunding to a pay their mum’s day to day household bills as they couldn’t access her bank account. Their mum wasn’t old, she was in her 50’s. I am in my early 40’s now and 50 doesn’t seem so old as is once did. It was utterly heart-breaking listening to the lady speak about her situation. It also got me thinking back to one of my former colleagues, who in their mid-twenties seriously injured himself from diving into a shallow swimming pool whilst on holiday. He was in hospital and rehab for a long time. It took his family over 10 months to be able to manage his finances. Is this what you would want for your family?
You are never too young for a lasting power of attorney!
I don’t think any of us feel we would need a power of attorney in our 20’s, 30’s or 40’s. But people do, accident and illness happen. Rent, mortgages and household bills must be paid whether you live in on your own or you’re in a shared household with friends or family.
It will be ok, my family can help me.
No, if you become ill or unable to manage your own affairs the banks and building societies first duty is to protect the vulnerable person. Joint and single name accounts can and will be frozen.
Just because you live with someone, or are related to someone, or have a joint account with someone does not give you the legal right to manage their finances. The journalist and GMB presenter Kate Garroway has spoken about the difficulties she has had with her family finances in the last year. Her husband is still seriously ill in hospital with the after effects of COVID-19. She had no power of attorney in place. I am not sure she will have had her deputy order through yet either!
It’s ok they can just apply for a Deputy Order if they need to.
Yes, families can apply to the courts for a deputy order to manage a loved one’s finances but it is more expensive (more than double and have on going costs), time consuming (9 to 12 months +) and stressful (4 forms not 1).
Deputy orders are not as flexible as a power of attorney and often a deputy will have to re-apply to the court to carry out a particular course of action (e.g. house sale) where as an attorney can just get on with managing the finances and assets without having the extra cost and hassle. A deputy must pay recurring fees for ongoing supervision, where as an attorney doesn’t. The cost of all these fees come from the finances of the person they are supporting.
It’s easy to put off because you think it might be hard or you just don’t know where to start. There are a lot of good resources available on the internet and the government website www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney is a great starting point. You can draft the documents yourself or if you don’t have the time, energy or inclination there are people like myself who do it on a professional basis.
If you have a question no matter how small on this then give me a call 07920 061946. Let’s make sure it’s not your family having to crowdfund to keep the roof over their heads.
Kirsty’s note
Rosie O’Hanlon-Hills is the owner of Westcotes Wills, helping to make life easier for you and your family by drafting wills and lasting power of attorney documents you can all understand.
It’s that time of year again, the time of year where the guilt of what you eat and drink seems to hit twice as hard. Where the first day you swop to eating fresh fruits and vegetables and start to exercise – you feel like you are already onto a winning streak.
You set a new years resolution, a goal for 2021 – to make a change – get fit and healthy, drop a stone and exercise regularly.
Yet every year most people (not all) last until around the end of January, maybe the beginning of February, before it all falls by the wayside. Why? Read on and find out….
1: Why do people fail?
Two simple things – motivation and expectation! When people start exercising they talk about motivation “I’ve set a goal, I want to make a change, I feel so motivated”. The problem with motivation, it has a life span. Sometimes you can be motivated for a long time, other times it’s a short burst. People try to keep up their motivation but with the constraints and pressures of everyday life it isn’t always possible. Combine this with setting unrealistic expectations (aka expecting immediate results) and you have a recipe for “giving up”.
What’s the first thing you should do this January? Be realistic with your goals and change the word motivation to discipline.
2: We change our lifestyle for the wrong reasons.
Everyone talks about exercise and fitness being a lifestyle change and it is, however we need to ensure we are doing this for the right reasons. Reasons not to – guilt, social expectation/ social media, others comments, because it’s that time of year? The reason you exercise has to come from within, it has to be because you see all of the benefits of it. It can’t be focused on weight loss and numbers on the scales (big mistake…I’ll explain why shortly). It has to be because you want to feel great, positive and energised FOR YOU. You have to want to build this discipline into your life in a way that works for you and makes you feel great.
3: Numbers on scales and good/bad food.
We are raised in a culture that puts TOO much focus on the numbers on the scales. These numbers can be the most demoralising thing you focus upon. Our weight can fluctuate every day – losing a lb can mean LITERALLY NOTHING. (Sorry to burst your bubble there). Picture the scene, you’re training everyday, feeling positive, energised – dare I say – motivated and then you step on the scales. You haven’t lost a 1lb in the last week. How do you feel? Rubbish. In one swoop you have mentally undone all of the hard work you have put in. Little do you know that on that particular week you hadn’t managed to drink enough water that week, or it’s that time of the month in your cycle…
So stop fixating on the scales instead start taking pictures, focusing on the changes you can see in your body, the strength and positivity you are feeling.
Get rid of good/bad food. FOOD IS FOOD. Every bite, mouthful you consume contains calories – our body’s fuel. Change your mind-set and start to understand that fuel is what your body needs. So alleviate that Christmas guilt, you didn’t indulge in bad foods – you may have eaten more calories than you required but I bet you had a great time! To lose weight you just need to eat fewer calories than you are burning. Simple. Don’t starve yourself, don’t deny yourself – just become mindful of what volume of food you require – your optimum calorie intake.
4: The first steps to making sustainable change.
If you try to take on too much at once you will ultimately overwhelm yourself. Make one small change at a time and ensure it fits into your lifestyle in a sustainable way. My recommendation is find an exercise regime that is bite sized to begin with. Something you get a quick win from and that makes you feel good. I run At Home HIIT, it live streams workouts to you everyday that last just twenty minutes but are extremely effective and challenging – get that win in early!
5: Set realistic goals and remember every workout is a win!
Whatever change you are making set your goal and be disciplined enough to complete it. That is your goal. Don’t focus on weight and numbers focus on how amazing your body is that it can support you everyday through exercise AND LIFE. Focus on how positive it makes you feel, the benefits to you mental health and well-being. This is how you will succeed.
Don’t forget to make it fun, reflect of how brilliant you are everyday and use this to maintain that, ever important, discipline.
Have a great 2021.
Laura
Kirsty’s note
If you need support with your health and fitness goals you can find Laura online here or on Facebook where she runs an awesome community with workouts you can access online and do anywhere. (OK maybe not anywhere – you do have to get out of bed!)
PR (Public Relations) is a long-term promotional strategy aimed at building authority and influence over time. It’s a form of marketing that can be used to generate positive awareness of a company or brand and its products or services.
“Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.”
– Chartered Institute of Public Relations
I like to think of public relation as a form of ‘attraction’ marketing. You can attract people to you, and your brand through PR.
Rather than pushing out a promotional message saying how great you are, in the form of an advert for example, PR is focused on helping others come to that conclusion themselves through what they have seen and heard from others.
Those ‘others’ might be the media, it might be celebrities/influencers/industry leaders, or it might be through other people – friends and family etc.
I particularly like this quote because I feel it states the difference between advertising and PR really well:
“Advertising is saying you’re good. PR is getting someone else to say you’re good.” – Jean Louis Gasse
While advertising messages are biased to highlight the positives of a particular product or service, in contrast, people speaking highly of you or perceiving you as an expert based on something they’ve read, heard or seen, is more persuasive and therefore more powerful.
What PR is not
PR is NOT…
…advertising
You earn it, rather than pay for it. PR is about reputation and this has to be earnt and is developed over a period of time.
…a quick fix
My suggestion would be that if you need to sell a certain amount of product or service quickly, advertise rather than rely on PR. Positive goodwill and media publicity shouldn’t be relied upon to generate sales, especially not within a short time frame.
…a guarantee of business success
You can generate a ton of positive press coverage about you and your business, and be highly regarded by potential customers, peers and other third parties, but still not have a successful, profitable business.
Rather than rely solely on PR, I believe businesses should use it alongside other forms of marketing. PR should be part of an integrated marketing strategy, where all aspects of marketing work simultaneously alongside each other.
Why should businesses use PR?
PR can be used by business owners to promote who they are and what they do, to establish and protect their image and reputation, and to build credibility and influence. In my mind, the potential benefits far outweigh the costs!
For example, being featured in the media is attractive to business owners, and rightly so! There is a vast number of newspapers, magazines, radio and TV programmes, websites, online publications, blogs, podcasts and video channels out there, all hungry for fresh and relevant content. The opportunities are there for the taking!
By using PR tactics such as press releases, networking with journalists, and pitching story ideas to the media, you can put yourself on the radar of journalists who are seeking content and potentially gain valuable exposure for your brand and your products and services.
Leveraging the power of the media, which has large, established audiences, is a great way to increase your visibility, build your reputation, grow your audience, attract new email subscribers, and sell more of your products and services.
Of course, this can be great for your business!
What are some of the benefits of PR?
There are loads! These are just some further ways that you could benefit:
1. PR is more credible than advertising.
If a newspaper, magazine or online publisher has chosen to include you within a piece of content they produce, then they are effectively endorsing you and your brand.
Although you don’t have complete control over how your company is presented in the media, a positive editorial mention, for sure, packs a far greater punch than an advert in the credibility stakes.
2. Potential reach
My local paper has a circulation of around 19,000 and is read by over 50,000 people every day. National and online publications reach hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. So, being featured in the media helps you and your business to get exposure to a potentially huge audience.
3. PR exposure is free but worth a lot of money
Advertising is expensive. Ads in magazines and newspapers costing anything from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds to take out. The Daily Mail charges between £20k-£60k for a full-page advert!
In contrast, publicity in the media is free. Yes, there is the cost of your time and effort to secure the publicity (or the cost of a PR expert if you choose to outsource), but this can pale in comparison to the equivalent cost of an advert within that same publication.
4. Boosts your SEO
Getting a mention and having your website linked to from a high domain authority site, such as that of a newspaper or media outlet, can help you rank on Google.
Not only that, but the fact that online press coverage remains published forever (unless it’s taken down at some point) is working for you all year round and helping you and your brand name to get discovered in organic search.
Is PR suitable for every business?
Yes, in my opinion, PR can and should be used by businesses of all sizes.
If you have a service-based business or have expertise in a particular area, journalists writing on that topic could be interested in hearing what you know. If you have a product-based business, it could potentially be the perfect fit for a product round-up type feature or gift guide.
There is likely to be a journalist out there right now looking for exactly the kind of content that you can provide!
Isn’t PR expensive though?
An independent PR consultant or freelancer, like myself, would be the most flexible and more affordable option for most small businesses. PR agencies, working on retainers, can cost multiple thousands if not tens of thousands of pounds per month, and you’ll typically need to commit to a six-month retainer at a minimum.
To minimise the cost of PR, many small business owners do their own, as they might also do their own email marketing, social media marketing or accounting. But if PR isn’t something that you understand how to do or don’t enjoy, then outsourcing can often be the more cost-effective option and help you can achieve results more quickly.
What are your three top PR tips for small business owners?
1. Recognise that you are an expert
Many business owners doubt their own expertise and don’t consider themselves worthy of being featured in the media. I would say, aim to fight the inner critic that is telling you that you aren’t an expert in your niche. Adopt a positive mindset and recognise the value that you can offer journalists.
2. Prep before you pitch
Before pitching yourself to the media, read the publications that you are trying to target and become familiar with their regular features and which journalists work on which sections of the publication. Develop a deep understanding of the publication, its target audience and the kind of content that they typically run so that you can align your PR pitch accordingly.
3. Recognise that PR is about serving journalists
The media doesn’t exist to promote your business. They don’t give away their valuable media space lightly. Journalists want genuine news, credible experts and, usually, timely responses. Aim to serve journalists and that effort could reward you with a positive piece of money-can’t-buy coverage for your small business!
PR takes time and effort to implement. It is a long-term, rather than a short-term, promotional strategy. Yet, it can potentially reap great rewards. I hope I’ve excited you about the possibilities!
Any professional photographers reading are welcome to join Zoe’s free Facebook community, ‘PR-Savvy Photographers’ for PR and content marketing tips, support and accountability.
Zoe Hiljemark is a PR and content consultant with 16 years of marketing communications experience. She works exclusively with professional photographers, helping them to attract, connect with and convert dream clients via impactful publicity and content.
