October was all about the lull. Academic clients were few and far between, which meant having time finally to indulge in The Crown on Netflix while nursing a nasty virus and also celebrating a milestone birthday somewhere in the middle.
So, on to November, which has been an interesting month so far. This week I have been working with a new client, which has taken me in a new and exciting direction. Although I have been using a variety of skills in the creation and running of my animal charity (thesanctuaryangels.com), including fundraising, marketing, creating promotional videos, writing social media posts and building a website from scratch, I have never really considered incorporating any of these into my business offering.
This week I got the chance to do just that. I find that people judge themselves harshly for not being able to do everything. And we also compare ourselves to others, often unfavourably. We see the outside picture and not the inner workings. This new client is offering an amazing and niche service, but they just want a little help and encouragement putting together some copy, with the creation of a website and coordinating social media profiles. In short, they recognise that they need to understand the value of their offering and how to convey that to potential customers. While I can't do what they do (a very skilled manual job), I can listen to them, understand what it is they want to achieve and help them with that journey, using my skill set, which is different to theirs.
So, I have learnt that PERFECT WORDS is not just about proofreading and copy-editing; it is also about listening to and understanding people, my clients, and also understanding myself, and the skills that we all bring to the table. Small businesses can, and should, help and encourage one another. We all face uncertain times, but it is often when things feel most difficult that we discover our inner power and new skills. I have every confidence that my new client will be walking tall again very soon.