...For Creative People: Looking forward to seeing you
Edition 45: Showing up for yourself
Hi pals,
I recently ran an in-person journaling session for Proud Wellness, which was a really beautiful experience and it led me to thinking about showing up for ourselves and making connections. Meeting other like-minded people, potential clients and collaborators can look however you want it to really, it doesn’t have to be formal or ‘business-y’. But when we work for ourselves I do think we do have to pick something, a way of showing up. And also, keep remembering to top up our own batteries too.
I’m not going to suggest everyone needs to stand on a huge stage or go networking in a suit if that’s not your thing, but I will invite and encourage you to find your chosen way of connecting – one that works for your business – and I’ll support you to find consistency within that. It’s one reason why I send out this newsletter month after month. It’s a consistent way to tell you that I’m still here… a bit like rolling up the shutters on the shop and putting the A-board that says ‘open’ outside.
There’s a saying (I think it’s Spanish originally) ‘The cobbler’s children go barefoot’, which often comes to mind – because I know so many of us will neglect to use our expertise and skills for our own benefit at home or in our businesses. We’re too busy helping others achieve their dreams.
With this in mind, I’ve been consciously doing a lot of the things that light me up recently: ecstatic dance, hiking, visiting friends and making creative work. It’s easy to forget if I’m super busy or feeling low on resources, but I do keep puppy-training myself to return to healthy mindset and wellbeing habits, with plenty of ice-cream as my chosen reward.
What does showing up look like for you? Or topping up your batteries? I’d love to hear. And how do you make it a habit for yourself?
I’ve found Happy Freelancers, Being Freelance and Proud Wellness really great communities for me, in addition to the local Women In Business group here in Worthing. Feel free to ask me about any of these and I’ll happily chat to you about the benefits.
Hope you’re having a super week so far. Let me know what’s happening in your work and life! I’d love to hear.
Big love,
Helen
helen@coachingbyhelen.com
Coaching By Helen
- Coaching For Creative People -
Photo: by Eddie Mitchell at Worthing Pride
Get Featured In Festive Gift Guides
Fri 2nd Aug
12.30-13.45, online
Did you know, if you want to get your products featured in festive gift guides, you need to be pitching now, in the middle of summer? Join this live online Q & A with me and my guest – experienced glossy magazine journalist & editor Andréa Childs – to find out how.
Andréa's been a journalist, content writer and editor for 30 years, working across national magazines and newspapers, including Red, Marie Claire, Psychologies, The Telegraph and The Times. She has been editor of Country Homes & Interiors for the past five years. To grab your ticket, just click on the button below…
Guided Journaling & Vision Board Workshop: 4 tickets left!
- Coaching By Helen x Bird & Blend -
Tues 24th July
18.15-20.15, Worthing, UK
Join me in person at ‘The Nest’ – Bird & Blend’s Worthing HQ – for this very special summer journaling and vision-boarding workshop. Enjoy a cuppa brewed for you by an expert tea mixologist, while I guide you in journaling and vision-boarding techniques.
I’m particularly delighted to be holding this workshop at Bird & Blend, an inspiring owner-managed business and B Corp who put their ethical values at the forefront of how they run their thriving company.
This event is particularly suitable for people who run their own creative businesses. Everyone is welcome (18+).
£30 per person
Vision-boarding materials, journal & herbal tea included
Limited places left, booking essential
Also currently booking… On Weds 31st July we have our free Write The Book taster event for authors-to-be. Everyone is welcome. Meet literary agent Anna Pallai and find out how you can join the next Write The Book coaching programme yourself, starting this September. You’ll meet expert authors, publishers, agents and other authors-to-be on this informal, inspiring year-long programme.
Course dates: The next Write The Book programme will happen on the first Thursday of each month*, at 18.30, starting on Thursday 5th Sept, running right up to July 2025.
*please note Jan’s session is on 9th for obvious reasons.
Email me with any questions: helen@coachingbyhelen.com
Case Study: Gina Hollands
Hollands Associates
What's the story of your business?
I've worked in PR and communications my whole career (over 20 years), mainly in agency environments. I loved my employed job but felt I needed to spread my wings, learn more, meet different people and take things in the direction I wanted to go, so in December 2022, when the country was on the verge of economic meltdown, I decided to go self-employed! I was terrified at first. It was just before Christmas, there was a cost-of-living crisis and I went from a standing start. I really went for it and things took off. I now work with a lovely and varied bunch of people, helping them build their personal or company profiles, securing media coverage for them, ghostwriting articles, preparing and co-ordinating internal comms for their team, entering them into awards, training them in how to handle media interviews and supporting them with their communications if they're encountering a crisis. The life of a PR consultant is fast-paced, and there's never a dull moment!
Why do you do what you do?
I'm fascinated by communications and all it can achieve. A single word choice or tone of voice shift can totally change the way an audience reacts or behaves. With the profile-building side of my work, I've seen the impact my work has and I love that. I can propel someone from relative obscurity into a leader in their field by creating a PR programme that results in them speaking at events (if they want to), judging industry awards, and being seen in the types of media they want to be seen in. I need my work to have purpose and being instrumental in changing someone's future or fortune is a great purpose to have!
Has there been a big turning point for you in your career so far?
Someone asked to me a few months ago: do you ever PR yourself? It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but up until then, I never had! I started trying to rectify that by putting myself up for the kinds of opportunities I secure on behalf of my clients and it made a huge difference to my own profile. This is very much a work in progress. I work long and hard for my clients and using my skills for my own gain seems somehow extravagant! It's also sometimes uncomfortable to talk yourself up. I'm brilliant at showcasing my clients, but there's something uncomfortable about turning the spotlight onto myself. I'm now trying to give myself the same advice I give to my clients which is – get out there, because if you don't your competitors will!
How has coaching helped you?
I came to Helen because I'm a firm believer in being master of your own destiny. But to get to your desired destination, you've got to know which way you're heading and that's where I wasn't entirely clear. I wasn't sure which areas of PR I should specialise in, or whether I should specialise at all. In 20 years, you amass an awful lot of experience and there are many directions I could go in. I just needed the right one for me. I also needed to reframe my thinking about the kind of clients I should be working with and how they might view me, putting aside any of my own preconceived ideas. I opted for an intense afternoon session with Helen. It was an amazing, enjoyable experience which left me buzzing. I particularly enjoyed an exercise where Helen got me to imagine different situations and possible emotions I may feel. This made me realise that I have a choice in how I go about things and that a lot of the emotions we experience are actually false. Helen also nailed down that one of my core values was 'fairness'. I'd never vocalised that before but she was absolutely right. It now makes a lot more sense why I think the way I do and make the choices I make. I'd always been curious about coaching but had put it off, thinking it might be a bit too much like therapy for what I was after. Helen isn't like this at all - she's positive, pro-active and immensely generous with her ideas, which is just what I needed.
What really motivates you in your work?
I like to see top class results for my clients, be it media coverage, increased profits, a wider audience or better awareness. PR hasn't got the best reputation because there are varying standards out there among practitioners and a lot of myths about what it really is, with some media outlets claiming paid advertising is a form of PR (it isn't). A lot of people I work with have had bad experiences with what they perceive to be PR in the past. It can take some heavy lifting to build their trust, but when I'm able to show them the power of great PR, I feel that I'm not just doing them a service, but also I'm helping to improve the reputation of the industry as a whole, and helping to raise awareness of what PR really is and how it can impact individuals and businesses for the better.
Contact Gina and find out more about her work at: www.hollandsassociates.com
What I’m reading:
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
Oh my goodness, I finished this book two days ago and I am seriously grieving not having it in my life any more. Is there a word for that emotion? Book grief perhaps? Needless to say, I can’t wait for the film with Saoirse Ronan. The Outrun is both beautiful and poetic as much as it’s visceral, honest, raw, heartbreaking and, at times, fairly grim. It’s not a new memoir, it was published in 2016, but this copy had been on my shelf for years and I suddenly picked it up, unaware of how brilliant it is.
What would you recommend reading next, to soothe me!?
What I’m listening to:
God Gave Me Feet For Dancing by Ezra Collective & Yasmin Lacey
I saw Ezra Collective live a few years ago, at the 6 Music Festival in Cardiff, when the UK first started coming out of lockdown. It was an incredible show and very emotional as we’d all been isolated for so long. This new single is a beaut and, as the name suggests, is likely to get you up and moving.
Well Substack is telling me I’m ‘near email length limit’. So that’s July’s newsletter ready to send. Hope you’re all doing well and feeling summery. I’m aware times are tough for creative freelancers and founders right now, so do reach out if you need support. I’m here for you.
And if you’d like to be included in a future newsletter, with your news and creations, do let me know.
Big love!
Helen x
helen@coachingbyhelen.com
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photo by Billie Charity of Layla Robinson reading my book: Founders, Freelancers & Rebels. You can buy it online or order it at your local bookshop.