Creativity, Starting a business
Like the seasons, I expand and contract. During social seasons, I’m reaching out to others, keen to talk, pitching myself, and saying ‘yes’ a lot. I’m good fun during these times.And then the contraction: my calendar starts making me edgy, so I cull, reduce, edit and...
Entrepreneurship, Starting a business
As a business coach and trainer, I have an enviable job – I help people to get what they want. The first step to getting what you want is knowing what you want. Sounds pretty simple, yes? Yet the first step is also the first hurdle. Business owners tend to have...
Creativity, Starting a business
I pose a creative question to the group, set the timer, and go. What happens next is both revealing and heartbreaking. Some participants dive in and start writing. Others ask clarifying questions before they’re confident to get started. Others freeze, overcome by...
Case studies, Entrepreneurship, Starting a business
Charmaine Cowling had just opened a Yoga studio on the Sunshine Coast in November 2019 and things were going well. Then Covid came along. “Do you know you’re closed tomorrow from midday?” Charmaine’s husband asked her, after watching the news. “We didn’t sleep much...
Entrepreneurship, Starting a business
In my mid-twenties, I got seriously stuck. I’d returned to Sydney after working and travelling overseas for three years and although gainfully employed in Public Relations, I was stuck in a rut. I studied, as you tend to do when stuck, and gained a Masters of Arts...
Building your reputation, Entrepreneurship, Starting a business
In February 2008, I found myself gainfully unemployed. I had a vague hope of being self-employed “one day”. But at the ripe age of 28, I thought I’d need more years experience before I could contemplate making this a reality. I’d had a long and extended quarter...
