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UMBRELLA SPACES: What’s an Umbrella Space? It’s a shelter.

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Do you ever feel like you just need shelter from the storm – of work & life – and of the expectation to ‘succeed’ at both?

When I realised that’s how I was feeling, I started my search for the shelter. 

I researched online, I contacted government agencies, council departments, local businesses in my suburb. And nothing felt like it was for me. Everything available felt like it was all about ‘more’ – 

  • earning more money, 
  • having more clients, 
  • offering more services
  • working more hours 
  • owning more stuff

Just thinking about all the energy it would take to get there was exhausting. I felt like I already had so much to do every day, and apparently I needed to give more… 

I felt like I wasn’t enough..

As a small business owner, I wanted to find ways to create a business community, a coworking space, a safe shelter for me and others like me. A place we could meet, share our problems, find solutions, collaborate on projects together, learn from each other, and grow – together.

And when I spoke to others about it, they started wanting to join this community. More people like me! We were all looking

  • for connection with like-minded people, 
  • for a safe place to ask questions, 
  • for a sounding board to talk about the benefits of our work, so we could go out and network confidently and promote our services to potential clients, and
  • to feel part of something bigger than ourselves.

But there wasn’t a place for us. 

So I realised that maybe that needed to be my first goal – to create that space for all of us to go to. To shelter us from the storms of 

  • Family life – trying to hold it all together AND build a business to earn a living.
  • Comparison-itis – that feeling that everyone else is doing things better than you are, and that you should probably just give up.
  • Schooldays – the lack of available hours in the day to be able to work, if you have children and no external support system. And the holidays, oh my – the school holiday juggle…
  • Excessive peopling – if you are an introvert like me (see my other blog), trying to start up and promote a small business can be extra hard. And drains your energy faster than an Energiser bunny (or Duracell, depending where you’re from) 

As much as we wanted to run our own independent businesses, we needed a place to get together, to work alongside each other, and support each other. 

We desperately needed collaboration, connection, and community.

And so began my journey to build that shelter, and provide that support – for me, and others like me. 

I call them my Umbrella Spaces. I started with a networking group that was the First Space. Read more here on Blogger

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BLOGGING: The Crossover Post – Management Consultant, Woman, Parent, Writer. And Imposter?

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Imposter Syndrome rears it’s head – again.

This is like the episode where they bring in the new person playing Dr Who so you get used to them. That’s how I feel right now – not that I’m putting myself in a category with Dr Who! But I do feel like an imposter, a cuckoo trying to sneak into the nest while no-one’s looking. Except I’m introducing myself, and we’re both staying, and we’re the same person…

Right, that analogy failed. Let’s try again.

There are many sides to me. I’m a consultant, a parent, a woman, and I even used to be a singer, but that’s a story for another day.

I’m also a writer, in many forms. I’ve been writing, in different styles and places, my whole life. In more recent years, I’ve been taking it a bit more seriously and realising other people are thankfully taking me seriously too. I don’t profess to be great, and I didn’t study it anywhere. I just love it, a lot. It truly sparks joy – isn’t that worth following?

And, as you will know if you’ve been around for any length of time on this site, or in my life, I like to blend my life and work as much as I can. So I’ve been trying to make a point of doing this more and more. This is another extension of that. I’ve been working (extremely slowly) on some serious writing, for a couple of books (one fiction, one non-fiction) and also on a bit of a fun blog, and I wanted to at least associate them in some way, so people will be able to connect the dots if they want to. (I personally love connecting dots!)

The Blog

Growing up, and moving through my corporate years, I was almost permanently exhausted.

I wondered how everyone else seemed to cope with everyday life, and I was often this crumpled heap in the bathroom, trying to take a quick power-nap before rejoining for round two of ‘Get over it, this is your normal workweek’!

It wasn’t until I hit my early 40’s (I’m not that quick at figuring things out – I like to be sure before I make big life decisions!), that a series of ‘aha’ moments while reading some insightful articles, had me realise that

  • I’m an Introvert (Myers Briggs INFP for anyone interested, but I won’t judge you if you’re not..).
  • I’m Highly Sensitive (not in a ‘oh poor me, pity me’ sense, in an actual scientific, can’t help it, I can assure you! sort of way).
  • I don’t like keeping my creative and business lives separate. It makes me feel like I’m being inauthentic, which is frankly exhausting. Which takes me back to the beginning of my point!  

The Resolution

So – to try to put Imposter Syndrome back in the naughty corner, I decided it was time for a merge…. The blog and it’s socials have been quietly (and like I said, slooooowly) running in the background, since 2016. They will still retain their own site, but stay connected in some ways, so I can stop feeling like I have more than one identity. Plus how else would you know to come and ask me to do any writing for you – if you happen to like my style? All joking aside, that’s not why I’m here. I’ll leave a link between them now, and make sure I say hello now and again in each, as each – if that makes sense… You are welcome to join me on either journey!

Signing off, quietly…

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SERVICES: Small Business Surgery – are you seeking a specialist?

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Our Community Manager, Celia Newlands, brings a wide variety of skills to the business.

“I’m always looking for new ways to help small businesses and sole traders in my community. As a Community Manager and now Co-operative Director, I’m able to connect people who could collaborate to resolve multiple problems. And as a result, grow both businesses. Over time, people have often joked about me being a ‘business dating service’ (I wasn’t so sure about that one!) and a ‘small business surgery‘. The second nickname has kind of stuck and is now an integral part of our service offering.”

Different stages, different needs

Celia meets people at all different stages of running a business. From developing a great idea, through struggling to grow beyond a plateau. Or trying to find ways to work less hours, or more flexibly.
“In the midst of working ‘inside’ the business every day, business owners often can’t see the ‘wood for the trees’. Having worked in change management, I am always looking in from the outside. This often makes it easier to see how simple tweaks could really improve things. I don’t shy away from the hard questions. If I need you to see that your business will only grow if you stop micro-managing and give people some responsibility, I will (gently) tell you!”

Finding the right support

Some people might need to find Marketing support (where there are are so many different areas of speciality – social media, SEO, advertising and PR. Others might need a great Graphic Designer to build or create brand consistency.
Maybe the business isn’t growing because the business owner is undervaluing his or herself and not charging enough. Maybe they lost their passion in amongst the business development. Or the numbers don’t make sense, or they feel the staff are letting them down….

The list goes on, but Celia’s enthusiasm to find a solution doesn’t wane. It’s what drives her. Gets her jumping out of bed every morning, excited to go to work. Those who work with Celia will testify to this – even on Mondays!

Two people in a meeting room, talking and smiling.

How does it work?

The Small Business Surgery service is a general information offering, tailored as much as possible to you and your businesses needs, based on the information you provide. We try to find a local, trusted service provider to help if we can, as we are really passionate about growing the local economy.
We ask questions to help clarify the areas a business may be struggling with. Or determine where they need a service provider, before making suggestions of who may be able to assist. It will often consist of more than one option, so you can compare and see which provider fits your needs best.

Celia says “I try to help clients by letting them know what is available in their own community. Often people want to make a human connection with a service provider. We can all search online for answers these days. However, sitting down for a face-to-face chat with someone you may be deciding to hand your hard-earned dollars to, or entrust with your clients, is sometimes the best option to gain a real sense of trust. I am a real believer in authentic recommendation. If I’ve not used the services personally, but have worked with them and feel they could be the right match, I will say that.
I know a little bit about a lot of business subjects. Accordingly, in these situations, I am really a provider of information as opposed to a specialist – hence ‘small business surgery’! Finding the ‘specialist’ can be time-consuming. I’ve spent most of my career striving to provide excellent Customer Service. Finding the right product or service to meet the client’s needs is something I’m proudly confident about. I’ve built up a large network of local connections, and researched what is available in our business community. Allowing me to save people a lot of time if they need assistance and aren’t sure where to look.”

Contact Celia if you are interested in an appointment with the ‘small business surgery’. Or click here to find out more.

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COLLABORATION: Accelerated Serendipity…. What does it even mean?

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The video below came up in my newsfeed today, showing the benefits of coworking, and I just loved the phrase ‘Accelerated Serendipity’! Plus it described my day today so accurately, that I felt compelled to share it with everyone…
I held a free coworking morning today – I’ve been holding one every couple of months, just to try to bring those people in who have either not heard of coworking, or don’t think it is something that would work for them. I tend to find that once people have tried it out, they understand how it can work for them, and can see (and feel) the benefits.

The benefits are different for everyone – for some it’s not having the distractions of home – the family pets, the dishwasher needing emptied, the washing piling up in the corner, etc etc…
For others it might be just feeling part of a social community – having other people to run ideas past, or to talk about ‘that’ TV show that was on last night, or even discuss your thoughts on the economic development of the area we live in….!

But ultimately, it needs to be of financial benefit to be coworking, or sharing an office space – otherwise why wouldn’t you just stay at home?

Well today showed me all the reasons why it works.

I had about 4 conversations with different people, which resulted in no less than 6 collaborative situations, which may result in more income for all 6 people! Not bad for a couple of hours work…
Then I did some client work, as the office was so busy I felt I had to contribute/type faster (that’s the competitive side of me!) than the other people I could hear around me.

So I did some paid work, got details of some fantastic prospective clients/collaborations, networked, and had a bit of a laugh too!

So next time you’re wondering what the fuss is all about, bring a chunk of work, your laptop, some business cards, and see if you can have some Accelerated Serendipity too! Watch the video that started the conversation, below…….

Coworking – How coworking is changing how and where we work

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