I had this food photography idea pre-pandemic and had just ordered ‘the’ dining table (to photograph on) when lockdown hit; so, I don’t even have that as an excuse! Looking back, it seems quite a strange thing to do. I wasn’t a food photographer, food writer or a chef; I just loved food. I do recall I was very open to finding something creative that was for myself. Being a wedding, event and commercial photographer, I found very enjoyable, however where did I really fit into it? I was always aware my creative soul needed more, and I needed to find myself somewhere in my creative practice.
A significant part of my photography workflow was sharing my client images on social media. I love my own work and quite simply wanted to show it off. I would share funny stories about working with clients and took the writing of this very seriously. Over years and years, I was writing more and more as it was also a valuable part of my marketing. I approached a lot of work with good humour to make my posts a little more personal, engaging and fun to read. I always felt social media needed livening up a little.
The cookbook
When I started taking and sharing snaps of my food with my phone, I utilised my writing skills that I hadn’t really acknowledged I had. I saw it as a fun thing that I did, but the idea that I could be considered a ‘writer’ was a totally alien concept. I literally just grabbed by book and sat it next to me now to remind myself that I did actually write a book. My name is Matt, I wrote a cookbook, and I am a food writer. I spent a good while in the 4.5 years it took me to publish the book to own ‘food writer’, and annoyingly; I am still a little detached from it. Please don’t shoot the messenger, I am just conveying the tedious facts!
Over the course of this project, my approach became:
Obsess over the recipe. This could be hours, days, months or years.
Make a mental plan of action to ensure that the outcome was pleasing (I’d say I had a 90-95% success rate. The 5-10% miss days were not very pleasing).
Cook the food.
Set the scene to photograph usually on my dining table but could be anywhere. This mainly involved ceramics, boards, and vintage cutlery.
Style the food.
Obsessively photograph the food.
Eat the food (which was always secondary, so often it blew my mind how incredible a cook I had become).
Sit down comfortably and reflect on the whole mad and sweaty but joyous experience and tell the story with delicious words.
Getting the cookbook out there
The bringing together of the project to publish came with challenge after challenge. The design element I found utterly excruciating, but now is not the time to delve any further into that subject. If I am totally honest, I didn’t think I could pull it off. I genuinely wanted to see how deep in myself I was willing to dig. I sold the idea to myself (and subsequently the Kickstarter campaign) in the form of ‘is it worth following your dreams?’. Being a romantic at heart, I knew that I would NEVER say no to that question. If the answer is no, what is the point in being? I basically tricked myself into pulling the impossible out of a hat.
In the months before I launched my Kickstarter campaign, I was at the doctors with severe anxiety and as if by magic, ADHD landed hard on my lap. It totally blew my mind and explained a lot, but certainly didn’t put me off. I needed to get this book over the finish line no matter the cost. In my new neurodiverse world, this project had become a wild, yet nourishing hyperfocus.
In hindsight, would I do this project again? One hundred percent I would! Would I recommend others doing such a thing? I’m not sure I would like that on my conscience to be honest.
Finally, I dare you to ask yourself: ‘Is it worth following your dreams?’
As someone who found out he had ADHD aged 41, I’ve spent my life trying to live as a neurotypical and wondering why the advice given by society has never worked for me.
Because of this, people with ADHD often feel like they are failing. I guarantee that if you find it frustrating working with a person with ADHD, they are finding it three times more frustrating!
With that in mind, here are five things I wish were more understood about people with ADHD. One note: every person with ADHD is different. These may not apply to everyone with ADHD. As with any individual, make sure you talk to them about their personal needs and never make assumptions.
We need to know why
If you ask us to do something, you’ll need to explain why. We’re not being obstructive; it helps us understand the bigger picture. We have an insatiable need for understanding, and by giving us this information, you will also allow us to work out alternative routes to the goal – which may well help you improve your processes.
Our working methods are not the same as yours
We don’t work in a linear fashion. A motivated neurotypical person, given a task and a deadline, will work steadily on the task until the deadline approaches.
People with ADHD can often seem to be procrastinating. Truth be told, sometimes we are. But more likely is that we’re using this time to work out a path to the goal in our heads.
This can manifest in the form of the person seemingly “not working”—spending time away from our desks, browsing on our phones, and making infinite cups of tea. As crazy as it may seem to a neurotypical person, this is part of our process. Most of us don’t understand why (oh, the irony!), but as long as this process isn’t interrupted, I promise you that we will get it done!
We may also need very specific working conditions. Some will need silence and space, others will prefer to have background noise and people around them. Providing the correct working environment will optimise our ability to work productively.
We need a deadline
In part because of our working methods, we always need a deadline. I finished writing one of my stand-up shows literally 20 minutes before I took to the stage to perform. This is standard for me.
A task without a hard deadline will never be completed. A soft deadline (“just get it to me when you’re ready”) isn’t a deadline. It’s optional.
This isn’t a conscious thought for us; it just happens. We find it as frustrating as you. Give us a deadline and some accountability, and you’ll get a finished product.
We’re not being lazy
People with ADHD are motivated by four factors: interest, challenge, novelty and urgency. If the task you’ve given us isn’t interesting or novel to us, then even if it’s challenging, the only motivating factor is urgency – hence the need for a deadline.
We’re generally not motivated by money or targets. I’m someone with a strong sense of responsibility towards others, and this can be either a motivating factor (if I’m interested in what I’m doing and/or the end goal) or a cause of stress and anxiety if I’m not.
Either way, we’re not being lazy—we suffer from something called executive dysfunction, which means that our brains will not allow us to do something if we’re not motivated by at least one of the four factors.
We can solve problems before you’ve even noticed them
Our biggest strength is that we can see into the future. We have this seemingly psychic ability to foresee bumps in road maps and to predict problems well before they occur. Rather than dismissing our concerns as negativity, a better idea is to talk these concerns through with us to a) make sure that we have a full understanding of the project in hand and b) help us come up with workarounds for these issues.
Guy Walsh is a neurodivergent multipotentialite and an empathetic distributor and is available to speak at events. Find out more at https://aguynamedguy.co.uk/speaker/
The title is a little cheeky. My reaction to people telling me I could make so much more money if I worked more hours.
I nodded, then ignored them. If I can live a fabulous life and only work 16 hours a week, what more can money buy me?
I’m writing this sitting on the beach in Scarborough. The air is warm and calm and feels like spring. The sound of the waves crashing is gentle, and I can hear the birds singing contentedly.
Yesterday was an entirely different experience. There was wind, rain, and even hail. It was exhilarating and exhausting.
Life as a solepreneur
I have to be in the right head space to be creative. Calm, playful, relaxed. And being a solepreneur requires a huge amount of creativity. Partly because my speciality as the employment genie is to solve impossible work-based problems, which each require an entirely novel approach, but also because running a business requires us to design products and endless social media and networking.
But life, emotions and the journey of a solepreneur are more like the sea than a motorway. Endless opportunities but at times exhausting and scary.
Embracing creativity
In an attempt to fit into a man’s world, most women have tried to even everything out to be consistent and professional. To always be able to deliver the same thing and to control our environment rather than live in harmony with it.
But ignoring the seasons and the ebb and flow of our emotions has led to increasing levels of conflict at work, at home and in the world generally. Not to mention it’s created global warming.
Noticing the ebbs and flows
Few people who know me would doubt I can be strong and confident, do maths and law and lead – typically masculine attributes. And I’m glad I have these skills as part of my arsenal.
But my real breakthroughs in both business and my personal life are where I have begun to notice the ebbs and flows and more gently acknowledge them in myself and others.
When people ask me how I am, and I reply, “Fabulous,” they seem somewhat shocked – and of course, I have bad days. But it’s true I’m in a good place.
Mmm now I’ve written this blog, I might go and make myself a hot chocolate and read for a bit. Such a terrible life indeed 😊
About Aime
Aime Ayrehart is a bestselling author, founder of a trade union, and offers HR crisis management through Ninja HR. But her real passion is supporting female business owners to flourish. She started a female-run collaborative that has launched the Entrepreneurs Mindset Development Tool to help identify strengths and areas for development in a kind way, and through the Sasspreneur Club, we offer unique, cost-effective and accessible support to help you flourish – however that looks for you.
Winning in families can be defined in many different ways. For some, just getting through the day is a win, but many parents see winning as the recognition and glory that comes from the certificates, medals, trophies and accolades that result from being the best in class at something. This might be in an academic or sporting context, or in the arts or one of the many other recreational activities our children participate in.
A healthy dose of a winning mentality in families is good if it incentivises effort, focus and motivation. Sometimes pressure can be a catalyst for improvement, and a bit of natural adrenalin is a good thing; after all, that is how we are wired as humans. But what happens when this spins out of control and winning is too important?
As a parent who has experienced being in the highly competitive environment of elite sport, I have seen first-hand how families can fall on the wrong side of the winning mentality. Sport can bring out the best and the worst in parents, and many of the same issues translate into the much broader context of family life. Worryingly, some parents can see making packed lunches as competitive!
Why, as a culture, have we become so obsessed with winning?
Often, it’s becausewe are craving certaintyfor our children. We are anxious for them to succeed in a competitive world. How do we know they are going to ‘make it’? How do we know they are good enough to pass their exams or get selected for a team? What if they fail?
We want to know our children will have a happy, healthy and successful future, so we look for things to reassure us and give us confidence that they are on the right path. This generally involves benchmarking them academically, physically or emotionally against their peers. ‘Comparisonitis’ is a scourge of modern society, exacerbated by the nation’s obsession with social media, which permeates into our conscious and unconscious mind. We look at our own world through the filter of other people’s images and information about their seemingly amazing lives. It’s very easy to see our children’s success or failure as a reflection of who we are or what we are lacking in compared to others.
We have also developed an impatient culture where we are not prepared to wait for anything, and this also spills over into family life. We are impatient for results and unwilling to accept that along our child’s developmental journey sometimes making learnings and making gains takes time. Children should be celebrated when they begin something new. No one starts off being amazing at anything. It may sound counter-intuitive, but good things often develop from making it through tough times, and bad things can develop from too much pleasure too soon.
What happens to parents when winning is too important?
When the pressure of winning or the need to see our children succeed builds, we can start to lose our natural perspective about the things that really matter. We might start to get over-critical of our children or of ourselves, or maybe if we see small signs of progress, we begin to believe our children are going to be super-stars, irrespective of the reality of what they are really capable of.
The weight of expectation can weigh heavily on a young child, and they will pick up on this pressure not only via what we say but in terms of how we behave around them as they pick up on non-verbal cues, such as our body language. Before you know it, the thing they were doing for fun becomes a chore, you’re dealing with tears and tantrums, and they want to quit. Sometimes they will start to hide their true feelings as they don’t want to disappoint us or be told that how they feel is not acceptable. This is a dangerous path. Although setting the bar high can be good as it teaches children that they can do more than they think they are capable of, expecting too much and craving perfection is demoralising.
How does a parents’ need to win impact our children?
Sometimes the need for our children to succeed comes from issues from our own past. If we unintentionally use our children to heal our emotional wounds or issues about failure in our life, then it really is becoming all about us and not about them. It may show up as over-invested behaviour on the sideline at a sporting fixture when parents argue with the ref or make their small children feel ashamed or useless. This undoes all the good that sport has to offer. Children have an inner compass just like we do, and they know when they’ve messed up. They don’t need us to tell them.
Motivated by the need for our children to max out their opportunities to develop winning ways, ‘helicopter parenting’ may take over in the form of overprotecting and controlling behaviour. It’s an attempt to clear the path of anything that might challenge children or distract them from the ‘winning’ things we think they should focus on, and it prevents children from facing tough times or experiencing failure. It is hugely counter-productive as it deprives our children of resilience-building opportunities, which are a rich seam of character-building potential for the long term.
Alternative definitions of ‘winning’
Winning should also be about being rewarded for consistently making an effort, trying new things, learning how to lose, being kind, respecting others, showing humility, having fun, making new friends, overcoming setbacks, being teachable, being resilient, knowing when to say no. (There are many more.)
A more positive and more rounded parental perspective around winning and losing will develop our young children into happier, healthier, more confident individuals.It is down to us as parental role models to set the tone of what winning really means by establishing a culture at home that we demonstrate through our words and our actions. Remember, children do not do what we say, they do what we do. They have been mirroring our behaviour since the day they first smiled back at us as a baby.
10 Practical tips
Focus on the right stuff
Some of the most together children I know are raised in houses that are a mess, by parents who turn up late and wear mismatched socks. When parenting life becomes overwhelming, perhaps they knew what to let go and what to put first. Kindness matters. Socks…not so much.
Be patient
Lots of highly performing children were not always great as children develop physically and emotionally at different times. I have seen children who were timid and bottom of the class excel and achieve in their teens. (I have also seen superstar performers at 7 fade away to nothing.)
Do not assume they will want to follow in your footsteps
Children have different genes and different environmental influences. They are not you. Just because you were good at something does not mean they will be.
School doesn’t suit everyone
Accept that some children never fit into the sausage machine of school life, (my own daughter being one of them) and may excel in the real world beyond the confines of the classroom.
Take a break
Taking a holiday or just changing your environment is so important to reset your perspective when everything gets too much.
Establish boundaries
Everyone needs time to relax and just ‘be’, without the pressure of having to achieve anything.
Check in
If your children are obsessing about highly competitive activities are they doing this for the love of the activity, for you, or for themselves?
Focus on effort not on the end result
Always ensure children know you don’t think any less of them because they have failed at something. What matters is that they gave their best effort.
Build resilience
Never do anything for a child that the child can do for themselves; but don’t promote heroic individual strength of character either as they need to know you are there for them if times get tough. Expose them to as many varied opportunities to develop coping mechanisms as you can.
Use your intuition
As a parent you know your children better than anyone, and if something they are working towards doesn’t feel right and is making them unhappy then stop. Even if it works against the grain of securing their ‘winning future’ don’t worry, it will often be for the best. Be aware that our need to be certain of their future lowers our ability to put faith in our own resources and use our gut instinct.
Conclusion
No one can predict the outcome of a child’s future and whether they will succeed or fail at anything. However hard we try, however brilliant our advice and support is as parents, however good their teachers or coaches are, and whatever they say they will guarantee, the only thing we know for sure about ‘winning’, in whatever way you define it, is nothing is certain. So you might as well relax about it.
All we can do is create the optimum conditions and environment under which our children can flourish. Focus on getting the basics right – quality nutrition and regular hydration, love and support with a focus on fun, a good routine and a well organized environment at home. That is winning.
Following the Christmas festivities, the new year can feel a little daunting, not only as we prepare for the year ahead but also after a very busy and expensive time with presents, Christmas dinner and spending time with family and friends. For a lot of people, this is a time that they look forward to in the year, as it’s filled with a lot of joy. However, for others, it can be a difficult time either because they’re alone, struggling with their mental health, are grieving, or perhaps they don’t have a safe place to call home.
How we help
At YMCA Burton, we’re here to help anyone in our local community who needs our support in a time of crisis 24/7, 365 days of the year. Whether it be homelessness, needing an emergency food parcel, wanting to rebuild strained relationships in the home through mediation, needing affordable, good quality second-hand furniture or just having a safe place to have a cuppa, a chat and a hot meal, we are available at YMCA Burton to support in any way that we possibly can.
The heart of our services, Reconnect, which houses 31 units of accommodation, our Foodbank as well as our Family Mediation service and Counselling service. Opposite Asda on James Street in Burton on Trent.
There’s more demand than ever
With a strong reputation in the town of Burton-on-Trent for over 135 years, YMCA Burton has faced its highest demand to date across all of its services in 2023. Waiting lists have formed for the first time ever within our Family Mediation Service, the foodbank service has experienced its highest distribution figures in its 23-year history, and our accommodation has constantly been full. It reflects the incredible need for this type of support across the local community as well as the challenges that a lot of individuals and families are facing in their daily lives. This is the harsh reality at the moment, and without us, thousands of individuals and families in and around Burton would be in desperate need of support.
How you can support us
At YMCA Burton, we change lives. However, we can’t do what we do without the help and support of others, as donations are needed more than ever. There are multiple ways that you can support us, depending on the best way for you. This can look like a one-off monetary donation, you could become a monthly donor, giving whatever you can each month to continuously support our work and services. There are also options to donate items of food to our foodbank, leave a gift in your will or perhaps choose to become a volunteer. Whatever way you choose to support us will make a massive difference to our charity and ensure that we can continue to remain a central charity in our local community and help to change lives.
To find out more about our charity and our impact on our local community, head to our website: https://burtonymca.org/. Furthermore, if you’d like to help make a difference to someone’s life today, please contact our Fundraising & Comms team via fundraising@burtonymca.org / 07754045869
On behalf of all of us at YMCA Burton, thank you very much!
As we head quickly into Christmas, it’s easy to become swept up in the need to provide a perfect Christmas for those around us. We are bombarded with images of elaborate elf antics, picture-perfect Santa visits, magazine-worthy Christmas trees, matching pjs, the best presents and a list of Christmas traditions to enact.
While there is nothing wrong with finding joy in any of these activities and moments, they can easily add to our stress levels and impact our well-being in the run-up to Christmas. Here’s 5 ways to help maintain some calm and find the joy again.
1. Recognise when you are in comparison mode.
Naturally, we are interested in what’s going on around us and what others are doing. It’s in our nature to feel the need to fit in so we can feel more drawn to following what others are doing. However, we are often looking at ‘the best bits’ snippets of people’s lives and trying to recreate them, then when we bump into the normal struggles of life, we can be left feeling like we don’t quite match up. So take a moment to recognise when you are comparing your every day to someone’s best moment, then switch your focus to the best moment for you that day.
2. Take time out.
It can feel counter-intuitive to take time out when we are busy, but we need breaks. Our brains need downtime; however, the brain isn’t actually resting in downtime. When we allow our brain time to wander its actually really busy organising, sorting and often connecting the dots, it needs time to do this without us consciously giving it more tasks. So go for a walk, take a shower, have a cuppa, read a few pages of a book, find the things you can do even if it’s just for a few minutes to give your brain a break.
3. Write a list.
Every time something pops into your head that needs to be done write it down on a list. When it’s wrote down it’s easier to organise and prioritise it. When we are trying to hold everything in our brains, we struggle to prioritise and decide on its importance – everything starts to feel ‘most important’. So, write it down and then pick the thing that needs to be done first.
4. Move your body.
We are designed to move, but modern living often takes away natural opportunities to move our bodies (online shopping, electrical appliances, cars). So we have to be intentional in making sure we are moving and exercising our bodies everyday. Find the ways that work for you and try to build them in everyday, until it becomes a habit like brushing our teeth.
5. Sleep.
It’s easy for our sleep to be impacted in the run up to Christmas, but try to keep the boundaries around it. Build in good sleep habits like winding down for bed (devices off, warm baths, cool rooms etc). Its particularly important in the winter to try to get out in the daylight as soon as you can in a morning. It helps set our natural rhythms and sleep patterns.
Remember to bring it back to what you and those around you need. We are all so different and it’s ok to focus on what works best for us, I hope these tips allow you to find some calm in this period and if you’d like an extra boost head over to: https://www.vickyhaig.co.uk/try-relaxation/ where you can listen to my relaxation track for free, just make sure you are in a quiet calm place where you’re not having to do anything else, but relax.
When I tell people that I’m a financial adviser or a financial planner, I hear all the time, “I don’t need financial advice because I don’t have any spare money”. It is a common misconception that you need to have lots of money to need advice. I help my clients feel more confident about their finances, make informed decisions, and have a financial plan for their future that is appropriate for them.
Often, very small changes made early enough can make a huge impact on your financial future. One of the first things we do is assess the income coming in against the essential expenditure. Essential expenditure is everything that has to be paid every month. For example, mortgage/rent, utilities, phone/internet, etc. Then we look at the discretionary expenditure, which might be things like gym membership, children’s activities or eating out, etc. These expenditures are still important because they are things that will give you the lifestyle you want. It is always amazing, though, after we’ve done this exercise, how much surplus income there still is ‘on paper’. Most of my clients will say things like, “But there’s nothing left at the end of the month”. This is not unusual as most of us live to our means and spend what comes in each month. This simple exercise usually helps point out the amount of money that is ‘frittered’ away each month. This is not me pointing the finger, as we all do this, me included. What it does do, though is it allows us to see where we could be making better choices that could really change our futures.
Where does your money go?
A simple example could be as follows:
‘The average takeaway coffee costs around £3.40 per cup’ (at 23rd July 2023)
Let’s say you had 3 takeaway coffees a week (156 cups per year), that would cost around £10.20 per week, £44.20 per month and £530.40 per year.
The most popular takeaway coffee is a Latte, you could buy a pack of 8 Latte sachets from around £2.50 (source: Poundland). So, the equivalent would be that 20 packs of 8 sachets would be needed, costing a total of £50 per year. This could save you £480.40 per year.
If we then utilised the saved money and put it aside for our future. Saving £480.40 per year over a period of 15 years, assuming an interest rate of 5%, you could have a savings pot of £10,366.
That’s saving just over £10 per week!
This is obviously just a very simple example of an exchange that could be made without compromising your lifestyle but rather just making a simple swap that could free up some available cash to put away for your future.
Financial planning can help you save for the future
I am a huge advocate for saving in a pension plan as they are an extremely tax efficient savings vehicle. If we take the same example as above, but now take the £480.40 available capital and put it in a pension plan the additional tax relief could help this money grow even more.
For example:
£480.40 grossed up to include 20% tax relief equals £600.50.
£600.50 invested in a pension every year for 15 years, assuming a 5% interest, could give you a savings pot of £12,958. That’s an additional £2,592 without paying any more money in yourself.
This is a very basic example of what some simple financial planning could do to help you save for your future and create the lifestyle that you want.
For more information you can find me using the following links
It’s nearly Hallowe’en, so my thoughts turn to the spooky side of life. The thing is, what if your business is the scary thing? You might know that you and your business are lovely and not terrifying, but your customers could still hesitate. Here are the top five reasons your customers are scared to contact you and what you can do about them.
They don’t know what to expect
Contacting a new business can be like the first day of school; exciting but also terrifying if you don’t know what to expect. That’s why schools send out loads of information to parents and have settling-in days for the kids.
Use your marketing to share what happens when people get in touch, book an appointment or come to a class. Tell them what they need to bring or what to wear. They’re more likely to get in touch when they can see the path ahead.
They think they won’t understand you
This probably applies to you if you work in law, accountancy or anything technical, particularly with lay clients. When I was a solicitor, legal speak created a shorthand to use with other lawyers, but I never used it with my clients. Your customers might be putting off something important because they think you speak gobbledegook.
If your customer doesn’t speak the same technical language as you, don’t use it in your marketing. Show them you’re a normal human being who’ll explain things in a straightforward way.
They’re worried about pressure sales
I hate pressure selling. When I got married, we immediately rejected the photographer who offered us a 50% discount, “but only if you sign now.” Does that ever work?
If you use sales calls in your business, there’s no single way to reassure people that you won’t do this. You can share case studies and testimonials and talk about your process on your website, blog, and emails. Knowing they’ll have time to think things over will reassure people and encourage them to book a call.
They’re scared of asking a stupid question
No one wants to look stupid or feel like they’re being a nuisance. Your future customers might have a question whose answer is the difference between them booking and walking away, but they’re afraid to ask it.
The best way to deal with this is to use FAQs. You can use these as a list or a single post on any marketing platform. Answer questions that people have asked you, but make some up, too. Talk to people in your networking groups to see what they’d ask. I love coming up with questions for clients. I’ve lost count of the number of blog topics that came out of me asking a client how something works.
They don’t know you
What’s the biggest first-day-of-school fear you can think of? Yep, will the other kids be nice? Will I make friends? When you put yourself in your marketing, you help your customers get to know, like and trust you so they aren’t scared to get in touch.
Your marketing can show people who you are before they ever meet you (if they’ll ever meet you). When you write your marketing, be yourself, and you’ll ease your customers’ minds.
If you want to write content that puts your customers’ fears to rest and lets them get to know you, I can help. I’ll write blogs, posts, emails and whatever else you need to engage your audience and encourage them to buy. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here. Alternatively, sign up using the form below for helpful hints and tips straight to your inbox every month.
So with the schools breaking up for the summer holidays, how will you make time for yourself and protect your well-being so you don’t get burnout? You don’t want to be harassed and stressed when the children return to school.
Many of us will be trying to plan the summer holidays down to a T to ensure that they run smoothly and without arguments or the usual “I’m bored, Mommy!” Well, this is definitely what happens in our house, and those of us with children have to keep the children entertained. This sometimes, for many, is their main priority, and they forget to think about themselves.
Well, there are several ways that you can incorporate well-being into your daily routine and for it not to interfere with the summer holidays themselves.
Balance family time with solo activities
Why not connect with nature and go on a family walk where all of you are getting exercise, and the endorphins are increased to allow you to feel mentally and physically better?
Set your alarm slightly earlier and make time to meditate to set you up for the day. Go into your day with clear intentions, and this will allow you to be more focused and refreshed.
Once a day, why not do a mindfulness practice with your family, and get them to focus on the here and now? Get them to look at a picture and really reflect on what is happening just in that moment.
Be prepared
Remember, when planning for the summer, make sure to schedule you time in for yourself and don’t forget your own well-being. Make time for yourself by doing something solely for you, go with for a coffee, a walk, or even booking a treatment as a treat.
Preparing healthy meals over the summer and sometimes meal prepping can be a godsend to stopping any of those emergency visits to the supermarkets when everyone is hangry.
If you’re not feeling 100% in yourself, you will struggle to look after the ones you need to, and subsequently, you will end up exhausted.
So the time is now for you to plan and prep to keep your sanity in check.
If you would like to learn more, then please follow my links below.
If you, like me, have a service-based business or even if you sell physical products, you might wonder whether digital products are worth the effort. After all, you offer your service because you want to do the work rather than because you want to create an online shop. I used to feel the same until the pandemic when my business was hit by homeschooling and customers who wanted to conserve their funds for essentials like keeping the lights on.
Here’s what I learned from giving digital products a try.
Digital products are cheap to create
Depending on how you go about things, digital products are incredibly cheap to create. The main cost is your time in creating the content. If you already write a blog, you can repurpose it and turn it into an eBook.
You can use free graphic design apps like Canva to make everything look good, although if you’re going to use video, you might want to invest in some kit.
You don’t have to deal with handling or delivery
When you’re first getting started with digital products, you’ll need to work out how to create an online shop. I use a WooCommerce plugin and Stripe to take payments for mine. Once you’ve sorted that, your shop can send your products by email without you being involved. No packaging costs or trips to the Post Office.
Best of all, people can buy your products and start using them when you’re asleep.
You can share your expertise
If you already offer brochures or eBooks as lead magnets, digital products can be the next step up. They help you to share your expertise and earn you some money at the same time. You can offer helpful information that goes further than the stuff you give away for free and help your customers get results.
Your products can be a marketing tool as well as an income stream.
Digital products are great for beginners
Sometimes, people will sign up for your email list or follow you on social media because they know they’ll need you eventually, but they’re not ready yet. They might need to make money first or to learn what works for them. You can create digital products to help them get started with ideas and techniques, like my eBook ’50 blog post ideas for your business’.
It can also help you in the long run by giving you customers who know what they want when they come to you.
Your earnings aren’t limited by time
When you work with clients one to one, your work is limited by the number of hours available. When my kids were small, I could only work when I had childcare, or they were asleep. (Not ideal when you’re exhausted and still begging your tiny humans to go to bed.)
You can create digital products when you’re ready and send them automatically. You can also create courses that you deliver to a group at a time to suit you. That means your work stops being one-to-one.
Myth: you won’t have to work
I have one caveat: creating and selling digital products is still work. It’s just a different structure that can work around your life if you need it to. You’ll still need to work at creating products, building an audience and understanding what they need so you can make the right things.
If you want to share your knowledge in eBooks, checklists and guides, I’m here to help. I’ll help you to repurpose your existing content or write the words to create brand-new products to help your customers.
If you want to add digital products to your business, I can help. I’ll write new eBooks and repurpose your existing content to turn it into digital products that your customers will love. If you’d like a chat to find out how it works, you can book a call here.
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