Relevant Articles
Women to Connect With
Making it Happen
Marketing on a Shoestring for the Small Business
Passion, Presents and Persistence
Perfect Portable Careers
Why I love Networking
Setting your mission sails
Going Global - Work Italy
Connect to Success
Creating a Portable Career
Time to plan is time well spent
Joanna Parfitt
When I run sessions in networking I always start off by telling people that if they go away remembering just one name, then it has to be Donna Messer's. For if there is one woman at the root of all networking, one person who knows more other people than any other, it has to be Donna. I suppose I could stop this article there. You already know Donna, after all. But then I thought that if I know Donna and you know Donna too, then we all have the power to be incredible networkers too. When you know me, you have the chance to know my circle of contacts and as you get to know my contacts, you will get to know their contacts too, and so on.
But networking isn't quite as simple as that. Before I blithely hand out my own personal address book, I need to know I trust you, and maybe more importantly, that I like you. I need to know that you are not just a mailing list compilation company in disguise and that you will sell all the information I give you in good faith to a third party.
Women instinctively find themselves wanting to nurture good contacts and to share information with each other. So networking between women is particularly successful. Interesting isn't it, how my local Chamber of Trade thinks it needs to hold a series of seminars on networking skills? But it is not surprising that 95 per cent of their members are men. Women network naturally, in the playground, in the checkout queue, waiting for a bus. Find a woman who has a great network and the chances are she will be happy to share it with you. But I have found a breed of woman who is even better at sharing and at networking. This woman has lived or worked abroad. Build a relationship with a woman who can connect you with women whose experiences extend beyond your local city or even your country, and those networks will have the power to launch you on the international scene.
This month there is a terrific conference in Milan. It calls itself the Working Internationally Now Women's International Networking conference. It is known, fittingly, as WIN 2000. But notice how its full acronymn should read WIN-WIN. For networking should be reciprocal if it is to be effective. I give you a contact from my network, and you give me one from yours and both our businesses grow. But networking isn't just about sharing who we know, it is also about sharing what we know. I can tell you about the cheapest car wash in town and you can tell me about the best place to buy organic bacon.
The WIN conference in Milan is all about relationship building across borders. Last year the 300 or so delegates came from more than 35 different countries and all went home with new friends from another continent. Many delegates, including me, and Donna, are now doing business with people in more countries than ever before.
If you have a business that you want to grow internationally then you should go to a conference like WIN (28-30 September in Lausanne), to an International Businesswomen's Conference, or to a branch meeting of an international women's network, such as TIA (The International Alliance).
But if you can't make it to one of these conferences there is nothing to stop you connecting with women who can help your business grow from your own front room. Read business magazines and make a point of getting in touch with anyone who looks like they could be a useful contact for you. Don't ring them up or email them asking what they can do for you, though. No, start off the conversation by finding out what you could do for them. Offer to give them publicity in your area, perhaps, or to connect them with a magazine or radio programme that would be interested in their story.
Once you have scoured the magazines and papers for interesting contacts you can start on the Internet. There are several websites that really want to help you get connected with other women entrepreneurs. Even if the site is British, while you are Canadian, the chances are that you will find a common link.
Don't just head for the sites that have names that look as if they will be for women in business, think laterally. If you have an interest in bee-keeping, you may find some great contacts from bee-keeping sites.
This month a new magazine is launched, called Woman Abroad and I am the editor in chief. For me this is the culmination of all my work over the last 15 years. Now I can bring together the international communities and build bridges across borders. Woman Abroad has networking at its epicentre. We want to put women entrepreneurs all over the world in touch with each other. We want to tell the world about the marvellous networks and networking opportunities that are out there. If you subscribe to the Woman Abroad Network, and take the magazine, you will receive free publicity for your business to at least 20,000 international women all over the world. Now that's a WIN-WIN situation if ever I knew one. We'll even give you your first copy free. Simply go to the website and see for yourself.
The Internet has revolutionised relationship building. I am now going to share with you some of the websites that have helped me to build my business. Maybe they can help you too?
www.womanabroad.com
www.winconference.net
www.iwbc.org
www.businesstree.com
www.ewomensweb.com
www.flametree.co.uk
www.smarterwork.co.uk
www.newcomersclub.com
www.expatexchange.com
www.womenswire.com
www.women.com
| Making it Happen |
by Joanna Parfitt
What does 'making it happen' mean exactly? Good Housekeeping magazine in England runs an annual competition for Women Who Make Things Happen and I was shortlisted. So, I suppose, in a way, that qualifies me to guess at the answer. Apparently, I made it to the regional final because I had 'made things happen' for myself despite ten years on the move as an expatriate wife. I had started a publishing company and maintained a writing career, while starting and maintaining a young family. But I had also, and continue to, make things happen for other people. People just like me and you. People who wanted more out of life on the move than a stream of packing cases to fill and empty. People who had already thrown away their street plan and wanted to get out there and DO something.
Life as a mobile wife is not easy. Constant upheaval, culture shock and children to deal with are hard enough, but what of the person you were before you stepped (or were pushed) onto this expatriate conveyor belt? If you dig deep enough into the packing case that makes up your own mind and identity, you can rediscover and unwrap that positive, active, exciting person you used to be. For beneath the layers of problems to solve, homesickness, a lost career and a new language to learn there is hope and opportunity. It's just that it takes a lot of time and effort to reach them.
Katherine (Kit) Prendergast is an American licensed clinical social worker who has spent many years counselling families and other people in crisis. She had even moved several times within the United States before her husband's job took them to Norway.
'I thought it would be easy,' Kit says. ' I had the tools and the knowledge to be able to cope with transition, but I found myself in a top floor apartment in Oslo, with two small children, and I went to pieces.'
But Kit is a positive thinker who likes to see problems as opportunities. She also believes in fate. So when she had a chance meeting in a freezing cold carpark with another American with a similar background, they decided to set up a networking support group for English speaking women who did, or hoped to, work in a professional capacity.
Since then she has moved to Stavanger, set up another branch of the same network, now called WIN, and used this as a springboard for her own training workshops and counselling services. Kit has made things happen, and by her example, she has made things happen for others too.
Maybe you desperately wanted to continue working, but life abroad made it impossible? If so, then, make positive steps towards putting your professional self back into your life. Perhaps you could take a correspondence course, learn a complementary skill or do some voluntary work in your favoured area?
I mentioned earlier that I have tried to make things happen for other people and have to admit that most of this has been related to writing. Just as Kit chose to set up a professional network in each location, I set up an informal writers circle. Through these I was privileged to be able to spot and encourage new talent and, ultimately, publish their work through my publishing company, Summertime Publishing. Through my publishing, writing, speaking and websites I am able to promote the work and services of other expatriates like myself.
In March 1998 Summertime published a book entitled A Career in Your Suitcase, you will find many ideas that will help you discover what portable career you would enjoy. Contributors put forward their ideas on setting up and marketing your business, assessing your skills and networking as well as real life examples of successful spouses who share their secrets.
But if career is not important to you and you would simply like to make the most of life on the move then try Forced to Fly, released the following September. This book has contributors from all over the world and contains amusing anecdotes as well as practical help.
Some would argue that if you want to make things happen then you will. It is all a question of your mindset. 'Leap and the net will appear', as Julia Cameron says in her book The Artist's Way.
Kit once said to me 'Proactive people take their weather with them,' when she arrived on my snow laden Norwegian doorstep. Her face lit by a smile set to warm the coldest day and a big fat bundle of photocopied posters and publicity for her workshops in her hand.
| Marketing on a Shoestring for the Small Business |
Joanna Parfitt
In a recent small business survey by Barclay's Bank in England, it was discovered that the owners of 60 per cent of new businesses have no prior experience of marketing. It is no surprise, therefore, to learn that half a million new businesses fail each year.
The same survey revealed that a massive 70 per cent of entrepreneurs fail to undertake any market research before starting up.
While the same number maintain a database of existing customers, only ten per cent use this database to secure future business.
Despite spending about £1,500 a year on their marketing needs, only four out of every ten small business owners bother to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing.
Frightening figures. Maybe you too fall into one of the categories? Marketing, is, of course, a crucial part of your business. I do not need to tell you that it makes no difference how good or effective your product is - without effective marketing you have no sales.
John Gunn, Director of Regions for The Chartered Institute of Marketing says that 'Responsibility for marketing within small organisations inevitably falls to the owner or manager as they have the best overall understanding of what needs to be achieved.'
I have maintained a portfolio of careers myself for about 15 years in several parts of the world and have much experience of marketing.
In Dubai I wanted to teach computers and run a curriculum vitae production service. Without a start up budget, I chose the most traditional route known to business men and women - word of mouth - as my marketing method. This led to a growing client base. The growing client base led to a solid reputation. In a small community I succeeded. Then, once my earnings were just about matching my husband's, we were posted to Muscat.
Suddenly I was unknown again. My Dubai reputation was worth nothing a four hour drive down the highway away. With no local knowledge and no contacts it proved almost impossible to continue with that line of business. Never is it more important to research your market than when you are a stranger in your location. Never is it harder to get established that when you have no network of old friends to call on.
When you start a new business it is all too easy to plump for the wrong market or even the wrong product. Pre-launch research is vital.
Properly targeted marketing can be highly effective. Advertising can be costly and unproductive. I know, I've been there. I have experimented with all kinds of advertising in the same publication and discovered that, oddly, classified lineage is far more productive than a quarter page advertisement. When I have managed to place a piece of advertorial about my products and services I have been far more successful than when I have paid lots of money for an advert.
People respond better to an article about a product, than they do to an advertisement. When you think that the advertisement can incur costs from designers and copywriters as well as the space it takes up in the publication, it somehow just doesn't seem fair. The most effective marketing I do is that which costs me nothing.
Free editorial costs nothing at all but hard work. And, let us not forget, I am a writer above all, so the writing bit is easy. First I have to interest the editor in my product, persuading them to let me provide a short piece for the magazine or newspaper. This can take a number of phone calls and letters. All this takes time, planning and effort.
Then, when I do manage to persuade an editor that my product or service is just what his readers will want to know about, I have to write the article. This has to be written to a precise word count - often as little as 300 words. It also has to appear not to be advertorial, when thiat is exactly what it is. More time. More effort. Sometimes it can be much easier to pay lots of money for a really good advert and then place it many times over. Easier maybe but, in my experience, never as effective. Unless I have a limitless advertising budget.
Have you ever succumbed to one of those 'How to write a book and sell a million copies?' advertisements. Have you noticed how the advert is generally placed on the inside front or back cover and takes up a whole page? It is for exactly this reason that the author sells a million copies of his book of the same name. It pays to advertise expensively. When you can't afford to spend thousands on prime placements, you have to think again. Free editorial may be your answer.
Sometimes it helps to sell your editorial if you can offer discounts or special prices to the first, say, five people to respond.
If writing is not your fortŽ, then you will be back to paying out money again. But you could always give a good amateur a chance to embellish their portfolio or ask a local college if they have any marketing students who would like to use you as a project.
Word of mouth is effective, but in order to start the grapevine you have to get known. Make sure you join your local small business or networking group. Try to join any professional associations in your field too, especially those with an international reach. Networking can kick start your business like nothing else.
If you can give a free presentation on your service or product to a meeting of a network in your target area(s) then even better. Nothing promotes sales as effectively as that personal touch.
In my publication entitled A Career in Your Suitcase I have listed what I consider to be the Ten Commandments for a Career in Your Suitcase. And while this book is specifically targeting those with portable and portfolio careers, many of its messages stand good for any business.
Do Something for Free First is one commandment which can be very useful for naissant enterprises. If it isn't viable to offer your product for free then why not offer a discount at first or a two for the price of one offer? Once you have established a client base, albeit cut price, you will have a budding reputation and can then afford to be more ruthless.
Have Something to Hand Out is another commandment which goes without saying. No business person is without a business card. But have you thought of producing postcards, mousemats or other relatively cheap items too? A local reprographics company to me is able to produce postcards at £2.00 for 10. I have a photographer friend whose 1,000 mousemats cost him just £1.00 each.
I have been working as a writer and workshop presenter for quite some time now, but it was only when I was able to show people a real book that the bookings and commissions started to flow rather than dribble. Now I have a brochure people are really starting to believe in me.
Producing a brochure can be an expensive business. I needed one to promote my own publications and services. So, instead of making a huge personal investment I decided to identify nine other freelancers who were in a similar line of business. Together we shared the cost of the design and printing. I then produced a website advertising our services too. Joint marketing can be of benefit to many, and providing no two associates is in direct competition, it can be highly effective.
The majority of small businesses spend less than five hours a week on promotion and marketing. Only one in five entrepreneurs pass that responsibility to someone else, and just three percent have a sales or marketing director.
Marketing is time consuming but important. Small business owners can be so preoccupied with day to day administration that marketing efforts can diminish almost without them noticing. All of a sudden the phone stops ringing. Did you know that more than half of all new businesses actually reduce their marketing budget as the years go by?
If you are unable to commit to putting in a certain number of hours a week in developing new business then why not consider using a marketing company to do it for you?
While a thorough product and market knowledge is imperative for marketing to be successful, there are marketing companies who are able to provide an effective service. I looked for a year until I found the perfect freelancer to undertake my marketing. For a small monthly retainer fee of devotes six hours a week to my business alone. She will do the research, make the phone calls, write and send the letters (with my brochure, of course) and produce a monthly Tracker report. For peace of mind I think it's worth it. Don't you?
| Passion, Presents and Persistence |
Joanna Parfitt
Networking For many the idea of networking sends a shiver down the spine. The term sounds aggressive. It conjures up a picture of a self-important person entering a room and immediately handing business cards to complete strangers. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Think of the old boy network. It's all about getting on in life and doing business because of the friends you knew at school. Think of the golf club. This is a place where men, traditionally, meet to relax, get a spot of fresh air and firm up friendships in the hope that these friends become clients. Football and cricket matches, at the pub, at Rotary meetings and over business breakfasts, men have it easy. Sadly, unisex forums, like the Peterborough Chamber, suffer a dearth of women.
But for women it is not so easy. Football, cricket, pubs and golf tend to be a male networking domain. Business breakfasts happen before the school run is over and, while Rotary now accepts women, some members still get sniffy about the ladies.
Thank goodness for the growing number of women's networking groups that can be found in the area. Women Connecting Women, based in Stamford, England, (www.stamfordonline.co.uk/wcw) provides an informal setting for meeting like-minded women, learning something new and building the friendships upon which good business is formed.
Men have known it all along. It is not what you know, but who you know, that makes your business grow. Women have not been quite so sure. In fact if there is a culprit, who barges into a room brandishing business cards, it is more likely to be a woman.
Good, effective, networking is all about passion, presents and persistence.
Passion
If you want the business then you need to create
the friendship
first.
To make a friend you need to share a passion. For men that passion
is
can be football, golf or beer, so it's easy for them. A common interest
cements a
friendship. Those who attend a group such as WCW share a passion
for people
and personal development.
Presents
If you want to build on that
friendship you need to give presents. Men offer to pay for a round of golf
or
drinks. With women it's more subtle. They give each other useful contacts,
inspiration
and support.
Persistence
If you only go along to a meeting
once, you are not giving yourself a chance. People need time to get to know
you
and to trust you. So keep on attending meetings or going to the club
and before long
new
faces become friends who in turn become clients.
| Perfect Portable Careers |
Joanna Parfitt
Any expatriate wife, or trailing spouse as she is so often called these days, can tell you how hard it is to maintain a career during life on the move.
Kit Prendergast is a licensed clinical social worker from the United States. Several years ago she followed her husband to Norway and left full time employment for the first time.
'I had been counseling other people for twenty years or more and suddenly realised that I was cracking up myself,' she explains. 'The expatriate wife has a far tougher role than the husband. He just goes to an office every day and comes home again, much as he always has done. The wife has to do the settling in, find the supermarkets, schools, doctors, gas stations as well as organise a social life for everyone. Only then can she consider looking for a career for herself.'
Careers are often forced onto the back burner while women have to deal with real crises concerned with culture shock and loss of a familiar identity.
In his book entitled Guerrilla Tactics in the Job Market, Tom Jackson informs us that stress kills as many people as war. Work you don't like is close to the top of the list of stress generators. Not having a job when you want one produces even more stress than having a job you don't like.
Thousands of expatriate wives the world over will echo these sentiments. In fact it is said that up to 80 per cent of the postings that fail, do so because the wife is unhappy about sacrificing her own career.
But before you vow never to be persuaded to move to another country, take heart. There is life after the packing cases are emptied. In fact there is tremendous opportunity.
Expatriate breadwinners are usually educated and interesting people. It follows then, that expatriate breadwinners have educated and interesting spouses too. Many wives want more than a constant circuit of coffee mornings and ladies luncheon clubs. They have skills and they would like to use them, share them even. In many countries they will be fortunate enough to have help in the house. They will also not be desperate for a steady second income. These facts give women the chance to take a risk, to do something they really love or to change direction completely.
In A Career in Your Suitcase the subject of successful portable careers is studied in depth. Moving around the world throws up a host of opportunities and challenges, and while some people choose to retrain, others chose to define success in terms of satisfaction, say, rather than in hard cash. Many find themselves changing career direction completely or tilting their hats, so to speak, rather than changing them.
Anne Love, originally a horticulturalist, found herself writing a monthly gardening column in Oman Today, when in the Sultanate of Oman. This led to her taking the risk of writing a book Gardening in the Gulf. For this Anne needed to learn to take professional photographs. One expatriate wife taught her how for free. Next Anne needed to learn to word process. Another wife passed on her own skills here too. Someone else proofread at very low cost and another undertook the desktop publishing. Finally, with the copy on a diskette Apex Publishing agreed to a joint publishing venture. Anne could then be seen selling her book in all the school playgrounds and Christmas bazaars. She even had tee shirts printed with a copy of the cover and became a walking advertisement. Now in The Hague, Anne's hat has swiveled still further for she is working in desktop publishing. Anne is a fine example of the synergy and co-operation that is possible between women in a foreign environment.
Let's stay with Anne a little longer, for her marketing and publicity are typical of the tactics that can work in a small community. When you are a large fish in a small pond, so to speak, and your product is accurately targeted at that audience, you have a high chance of success. Anne saw a need in the community and turned that need into an opportunity.
As Ian Fairservice, Managing Director of Motivate Publishing in Dubai, has said so succinctly 'It's easy to be famous on al Fahidi Street'. Ian is proof of the theory. For while working in an hotel he identified the need for a What's On magazine in the Emirate, took a risk and turned this monthly paper into a publishing empire that has offices worldwide.
Synergy and clever targeting are not the only things that make for a perfect portable career. Skills are important, but, as we have seen, they can be acquired or borrowed. It is determination and self motivation that are the key.
When I arrived in Stavanger, Norway in 1996, I felt invisible. I was a lonesome, anonymous pine tree in a forest of four million. I didn't know the hideouts of the people who were going to barter skills with me. So, I did something that I did in Oman before me, and in Dubai before that. I started a Writers Circle. Not something that immediately conjures up a picture of a professional business woman, is it? Yet, for me such a group is the key to retaining my sanity. Writing is my hobby and part of my career, so I needed to form a support group of soul mates before I could begin to grow in a new environment.
'Having a support group is vitally important,' agrees Kit Prendergast. 'Away from family and friends we need to find people we can relate to, building your own support team is imperative.'
Kit did just that when she went to Oslo, for she set up an organisation which called itself the International Association of Professional Businesswomen. This is an offshoot of a similar group she had belonged to back in the States. This place quickly became an English speaking forum for women of all nationalities. With monthly meetings, speakers, skill building workshops and networking the organisation became her lifeline. When in Stavanger she set up a local chapter of IAPBW, which now calls itself the Women's International Network (WIN).
'WIN saved my life,' says Karen Powell, a multi-mover who found expatriate life sapped her of both confidence and energy once children had been added to the equation. After just a few months she became involved in a network marketing venture that fits round her family commitments.
Elizabeth Douet was co-chairperson of WIN before her own move to Hamburg three years ago.
'Expatriate wives have learned to be resourceful and strong through constant transition. Women are no longer prepared to tag along in silence and the employers are at last taking note. We have the tools to make things happen and I like to make the most of sharing this optimism,' she says.
| Why I love Networking |
Networking I love it. For years it has been my battlecry as I have taken the first steps towards establishing myself and my business in another new location. I would hate to make out that my husband has dragged little old subservient me round the world as he chases his own career in the international oil industry, but I guess that is sort of what happened. Only no-one could ever call me subservient. In our household we have one trouser-leg each.
But back to networking. As I have had to restart my career in four different countries in the last decade I have faced more than my fair share of challenges. But challenges are, as they say, just opportunities in disguise. After a few weeks living out of packing cases I have embarked on making new contacts turn into clients and along the way have discovered many things.
For one. Women's coffee or lunch groups are useless in the long term, but worthwhile at the start. I could advertise in their magazine or noticeboard, usually for free, and often write articles too. While I may have no interest in their quilting or tapestry groups, I did have an interest in their adolescent daughters who could babysit while I sat at my computer and wrote those articles and adverts.
Another thing I learned is that I never got away without a bout of butterflies at the first meeting of a professional or social group. I always stood there like a wallflower to start with and vowed I had wasted my time. Then, like magic someone braver than I, usually wearing a 'hello my name is' sticker, would come up and get me started on the introductions. After an hour I would be buzzing with adrenalin and completing a membership form.
Finally, I realised that if there was no special interest group around that served my own interests then I would start my own. Soon the new members became my clients and my friends.
Networking is vital for business. One woman I know has started carrying a networking book around with her in which she stores cards from other networkers with the express purpose of passing them on and widening more nets than her own. At a recent press conference I got chatting to a man and we soon found ourselves swapping business cards.
'This is for networking,' he said. On his card he had printed his photograph. 'Otherwise you would never remember who I was, would you?' he continued. I turned over the card and read several quotations and thoughts that were important to him such as 'Thinking is the process of asking questions.' I certainly will not forget him in a hurry.
Networking is about more than exchanging business cards and making friends or clients, it is about the free exchange of information, skill sharing and brainstorming that self-employed homeworkers like myself cannot hope to find elsewhere.
Sadly, things can get out of hand as I am now finding to my cost. Caught up in the euphoria of the unsurpassable synchronicity that I feel on establishing new relationships and feeling that new liaisons are filled with promise, I am wont to let my tongue run away with me. On a sea of enthusiasm and inspiration I make too many promises and share more information than I would like. Now and again I realise that I have run before I should have walked and have given away my best secrets only to find them taken up by someone else.
Card swapping is fine, but don't write your best ideas on the back of them.
| Setting your mission sails |
Helen Eriksen explains how creating a mission statement can help you to sail through life without relying on the wind.
I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I did not know my core values and my mission. How different everything would be. It is highly underestimated how much more you can get out of your life by being consciously aware of the things that really matter to you. I have seen evidence of this repeatedly through my work with corporations, at international conferences and with individuals of all nationalities. When we know where we are going we approach everything differently. We tend to act reactively when we don't know what we want and end up simply going wherever the wind blows. Often we find ourselves landed on a shore where we do not belong at all. Conversely, proactive people are conscious of where they want to go and why and then set their sails accordingly.
A vision about a mission
When I was nine years old I had a
vision. I saw myself talking to audiences of all sizes in a language I did
not know. I could see
myself being passionate about my work and it was clear that I had empathy with
the audience. Today I am living that vision and am lucky enough to be able
to live my mission through my values. I was fortunate. Once I knew my mission
I could set about learning languages and obtaining the tools I needed to become
that international speaker and motivator. Following my instincts I pursued
a career in the areas that most fulfilled me, allowing my energy to flow freely.
I soon learned that following my mission was leading me to inspire others to
do the same. But not everyone can see their mission as clearly as I. Sometimes
we need help making choices.
Opening doors to human potential
If you can identify
which things in life make you feel right, and give you energy then you are
already on the path to identifying your mission. I believe that deep inside
we all know what we are going to be.
Sadly, many people learn that they have
been living from mission statements that are actually the products of other
people's expectations, particularly those of their parents. Frequently we convince
ourselves that we have certain values, such as economy or tidiness for example,
that are in fact the values that belong to our parents. If, as Jung says, we
are living according to the unfulfilled needs of our parents, then it is easy
for us to do something because it was our parents' wish rather than our own.
The mission seed in us all
Just as the beech seed knows that
it is going to be a beech and not an oak, we too know, deep down, who we should
be. In western
culture we are not comfortable with trusting our instincts. In other cultures
they have been doing just that for generations.
Each of us needs to be given
the key to unlock our natural potential. Identifying our core values can help.
Mission statements and success
The people with the highest
academic achievements, most financial privileges or the most intelligence do
not make the greatest
successes of their lives. On the contrary, we now know that it is those who
have a sense of vocation who are most successful.
Carl Jung, Albert Einstein
and Sigmund Freud believe that we only use only five per cent of our inner
potential. If we do not find out who we really are then we may suffer from
stress and poor health.
Finding your core values
Identify core values
Consider
your successes, both personal as professional and write them down in a column.
Now work out which values led you to each of those successes, and write them
down alongside the list in the first column. Values such as honesty, humour,
organisation, overview, creativity, spontaneity, innovation, respect and so
on might be the ones you would choose.
Unwanted values
Can you see any values
there that no longer work for you? If they don't correspond with the person
you have become, cross them out.
New values
Can you think of any additional
values you would like to have in the future? Write them down too.
Choose three
values
Now select your three favourite values from the list you have created.
Now promise yourself that you will allow these three values to influence everything
you do, say, are and choose. These are your core values. Try writing a sentence
that includes all three values, such as 'To live authentically using my creative
talents to inspire others' and use it to set your mission sails.
Bio Helen Eriksen is an author, TV-debater, international speaker and coach as well as the mother of two teenage children. Currently situated in Denmark, she writes articles and columns for various magazines on effective ressource development, health and life quality. Contact her at www.going-beyond.dk
| Going Global - Work Italy |
Admittedly, Italy is one of the most beautiful countries in the Europe and the hot summers, gastronomic delights and the relaxed way of living makes it an ideal choice if you are searching for a way out of the rat race in America or elsewhere.
Since falling in love with Italy as a 19-year-old aupair working for a Mafia family in Naples, I have lived and worked in Bologna, Aquilla, Rome, Milan and am now happily settled in Sardinia, the second largest island in Italy and the Mediterranean.
I am a qualified newspaper journalist, but in the time that I have been here I have done everything from aupairing and washing dishes in a restaurant to setting up and running a magazine office in Milan, being the Italian correspondent for a series of high-profile textile and fashion magazines, and teaching English to babies and top business executives.
Finding work is hard in Italy because so unemployment is high – 8,7pc as of January 2003 but the figure is much higher in many of the country’s regions. In Sardinia for example, the unemployment rate is 19pc.
But don’t let this put you off from turning your dream into reality and moving to Italy. While you will face competition from the natives, remember that you have a major advantage. You speak English and you speak it fluently. This already sets you apart from most Italians whose knowledge of the language rarely goes beyond the English picked up at school and taught by a teacher who never went to an Anglophone country.
Secondly, you probably have far more work experience than your Italian counterparts. Although the Italian university system is one of the most demanding in Europe for the sheer amount of information students learn for each exam, there are no time constraints. Thus, it is not uncommon to find people still studying at university into their 30s having first enrolled at the age of 18 or 19.
This means that while they are still burning the midnight oil studying for exams, you have got the experience that most companies need and, with American and English companies often at the forefront of new business trends, this can be a huge advantage.
Media and communication, tourism, finance and international business are the main job sectors. If you are after a top executive job, then searching through Italy’s national papers could be a good place to start. The Corriere della Sera publishes Corriere Lavoro every Friday (www.corriere.it/lavoro ) . This features the latest employment trends in Italy, profiles various companies, and also lists job vacancies around the country. In the main section of the paper, the Corriere della Sera also publishes an average of five pages of job adverts every Friday, usually for management positions. The financial paper Il Sole24Ore is also a good bet. www.carriera24.ilsole24ore.com
Temping agencies are also another valuable hunting ground. Short-term placements may not be your aim but they give you an insight into the Italian work culture, let you see what kind of company you’d like to work for and also prove that someone in Italy thinks you are worth hiring. Kelly (www.kellyservices.it) Manpower (www.manpower.it) Adecco (www.adecco.it) Randstad (www.randstad.it) Sinterim (www.sinterim.it) Vedior (www.vedior.it) and EuroInterim (www.eurointerim.it) all recruit on a temporary basis but you can often find yourself being taken on for a longer period. The big cities, such as Milan, often have several branches of each agency, although these are usually franchises so one hint is to visit each agency in turn in order to maximise your chances of finding a job.
One of the stumbling blocks you will encounter, however, is that Italians like their potential employees to be superqualified with degrees and master degrees in the relevant subjects. If you want to land a job in marketing you will be expected to have a business and marketing degree, even if you have years of practical experience in the field.
This extends to all jobs. Even if you feel you are qualified to work in tourism or a travel agents you will often be asked to prove that you have undertaken courses. If you are young and don’t have experience in the sector, you may also be expected to work for little or no money whilst you complete what Italians call a tironcino or training period.
In most cases you will also be required to speak good – if not fluent - Italian, so consider taking a language course, both in your own country before the move to cover the basics, and then another one once you have unpacked your belongings. It is never to early to begin getting to grips with Italian.And with a wide range of courses, from sitting in a traditional classroom, to learning on location, you are sure to find one matching your requirements.
Another aspect to consider is location: if you have a choice, then think carefully where you want to be. Milan, Rome, Florence and Bologna all have large expat populations and offer unlimited opportunities for work, study and leisure. This means that if you have vocational qualifications you can directly target this community. After all, there is always a need for doctors, dentists, health practitioners who would prefer to deal with a native English-speaker. But here you need to weigh up the cons of living in a big city. I cut it in Milan for 18 months before I realised I would rather give up my high-profile job than continue to live in a city where smog is much higher than EU regulations and where standing groin-to-groin with a sconosciuto, or stranger, on my ride into work every morning on the metro was too much to bear.
If you decide to live in the countryside, job opportunities are going to be much harder to find. So if this is the case you need to reinvent yourself and use your initiative to land yourself the job you really want.
Instead of viewing the move as the end of one career and the start of another, why not look at the Big Picture and see it as a continuous line? Remember that truly successful people are passionate about their work so try to find a way to combine those marketing skills with your love of Chianti, or your writing skills with a company looking to expand abroad. If you can afford to do so financially, also consider working for little or no cost initially. It could be the price to pay for meeting new people who undoubtedly will open new doors for you.
Of course, this is what Italians do best. Cold letters to potential employers rarely work in Italy because networking is the Italians’ preferred method of finding a job. Here, it is firmly who you know rather than what you know that will secure you the contract you’ve been hankering after. And as much as nepotism may not be your thing, it’s a very real fact of life that even if you are the most suitable candidate, you may be pipped to the post at the last minute by the Managing Director’s cousin’s son who has just graduated from university and needs a job. Unfortunately this does still happen, particularly in the South and on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
There are lots of professional networking organisations in Italy. A few include www.ecademy.com , an international social networking organisations that has offline groups in Bari, Cagliari, Como, Florence, Milan, Rome and Salerno. The Professional Women’s Association in Milan, the Benvenuto Club of Milan, and the American Women’s Association of Rome are other valuable associations that double up as welcoming committees when you first arrive. My organisation www.weaveaweb.it connects professional women in Sardinia, with an e-newsletter which has subscribers throughout Italy (and beyond). Studies prove that turning up at networking events religiously gets your face known. And once your face becomes familiar, people start to trust you and want to do business with you. I am a member of www.ecademy.com, www.linkedin.com, www.talentedwomen.com and, of course, www.weaveaweb.it , and all four have brought me winning business opportunities.
One of the most portable careers is English teaching since nearly every Italian would love to be able to speak English well. However, don’t assume that just because you are a native speaker you are qualified to teach the language. Although there are some schools that will take you on without any qualifications, the pay and conditions are often extremely poor. Investing money and a month of your time in gaining either a CELTA or Trinity certificate in TEFL will pay dividends later and will give you credibility with the serious language schools.
Had anyone told me five years ago that I would end up sidlining my journalism to become an English teacher I would have have been totally disbelieving. Yet now, when I’m not bashing out articles on deadline, networking or simply enjoying the quality of life on offer in Sardinia, I can be found prancing around the classroom, playing preposition basketball or judging karaoke contests. And what was meant to be a short-term bridge-the-gap job has turned into the long-term it-gets-me-out-of-bed-with-a-smile-on-my-face job. What more can you ask than that?
Emma Bird is an English teacher and journalist and the founder of www.weaveaweb.it the social network for professional women in Sardinia. She also runs Iweaveaweb2,
a mentoring service that works with Sardinian schools.
Contact her at emma@weaveaweb.it
How to write a winning CV
Always write in the 1st person.
You must grant permission for the use of your personal data in accordance with
the Italian law 675/96.
Keep the CV (‘curriculum’ in Italian) to a maximum of two pages.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a photo.
Sign and date your CV on the last page. This gives a personal touch.
Write your telephone number and email address in the top lefthand-corner of
the CV so it is readily accessible.
Networking
Networking has a double function: you will find English speakers willing to
help you settle in your new town, plus you can find out about new job opportunities.
The Benvenuto Club of Milan http://www.benvenutomilano.net
The Professional Women’s Association http://ww.pwa-milan.org
The American Chamber of Commerce in Italy: http://www.amcham.it
The American Women's Association of Rome (Italy) http://www.awar.org/
Ecademy Italia. http://www.ecademy.it
Weaveaweb, social networking for professional women in Sardinia. Launching
end of 2004 in Italy. http://www.weaveaweb.it
The most popular job sites in Italy. They include vacancies for a wide range
of sectors and feature career articles.
www.assioma.org
www.bancaprofessionisti.it
www.bestjob.it
www.cambiolavoro.com
www.career-plus.com
www.cliccalavoro.it
www.easyjob.it
www.europa.eu.int/eures/index.jsp
www.intoitaly.it
www.jobpilot.it
www.kangaroo.it
www.lavoroinrete.it
www.stepstone.it
Sidebar:
Different contracts available
There are several contracts available for workers in Italy. Check carefully
which one your employer offers you:
Contratto a tempo indeterminato (permanent contract) These contracts are like
gold dust. You are fully protected under Italian law.
Contratto a tempo determinato (fixed term contract) You run the risk that this
contract is not renewed. But you retain your benefits.
Contratto a progetto (Working for a project) – the contract can be renewed.
Your employer is not entitled to provide sick, maternity or holiday pay.
Job Sharing – Your contract is shared with another person. You have more
flexibility.
Job on Call - You are paid a retainer fee during the period in which you don’t
work. When you are called to work, you are paid the full wages.
Staff Leasing – other companies that do not need their staff in a given
moment can hire them out to other companies. If this happens to you, you become
a dependent on the new company.
| Connect to Success |
Networking to find opportunities in a new country
One of the most difficult things about being an expatriate is not having any
kind of established network when you arrive in your new country. We take for
granted our friends, work colleagues, old school pals, people we knew from
the gym, parents of our children’s friends and family that made up our
network base at home. Suddenly you are in a new place and don’t know
anyone.
This is particularly difficult if you are looking for a job too. It is estimated
that up to 70% of jobs come from the unadvertised market while only about 30%
of jobs are filled through he more visible market of advertisements and recruitment
firms. The way to tap into that unadvertised market is by networking of course.
But if you don’t have a network how do you begin? If you are like most people, the idea of going out to events and having to approach total strangers in hopes of finding a job opportunity is daunting. So I’d like to challenge you to change your mind set. Instead of seeing networking as pumping fists and shoving your business card at people, think of it like connecting the dots. If you approach networking thinking, ‘how can I connect others to valuable people or resources and make them aware of what I’m looking for’, you will find that eventually the lines will come back to you to complete the picture and actually give you what you need. Doesn’t that sound more enjoyable?
According to British networking guru, Gwen Rhys, networking is “the process of developing and nurturing a network of contacts in order to maximise opportunities for oneself and others.” The key words in her definition are developing and nurturing. It is a two-way people focused activity where you connect with people. Once you build a relationship, networking is following up and maintaining that contact over a long period of time.
Where should you network? Network everywhere and with everyone. Start with your neighbours, partner’s work colleagues, parents at your child’s new school, and the person standing next to you in a queue. Start conversations with others who are alone. Ask questions and become an active listener. Greet everyone with smile and a friendly hello followed by a positive comment or open-ended question to get a conversation going. At a party or other gathering approach people standing alone and draw them into conversation. Most people hesitate to approach a group of friends already talking. The individual standing alone will welcome your approach and you will find it easy to make your first networking contact.
Each week set a networking goal by planning who you would like in your network and ways that you could meet them. Volunteering is an excellent way to meet new people, especially if you are involved with the planning of an event or greeting people when they arrive. Seek out professional and alumni associations where you could get started.
When meeting all these new people, it’s important to be able to clearly express who you are. In twenty-five words or less be prepared to say who you are and what you do in a way that will make the other person want to know more about you. Then, immediately ask questions to learn more about your new contact. Your ‘elevator speech’ might use the following format suggested by author Joanna Parfitt, “I work with x to y with a result of z.”
During the course of your conversation, it is important to make people aware what you are looking for as well as how you could help them. Remember, networking is a two way street. They can’t help you unless they know what you need. You’ll have greater success approaching networking as market research on your own behalf instead of asking “Do you have a job for me?” Focus on ways you can set up informational meetings. These meetings will allow you to find out more information about your career field and your options while gaining valuable insight from a professional on how to market yourself. Business Coach & Seminar Presenter, Lynne R Christen, suggests you “be prepared with a mental Get and Give List. Networking is a reciprocal process. It is about getting and giving information, resources, advice and referrals. Maintain a mental "Give List"...a tip, idea, resource, or recent discovery you can share. Your "Get List" will be information you are seeking, people you want to meet, and referrals you would like to have.”
Make sure you have business cards with your details that you can pass on after getting to know someone and a name badge that is easily readable if you are at a networking function. It is very important to follow up with people you have meet and that means having some kind of organization system in place so that you remember what you spoke about ( I usually jot down a few notes on the back of business cards right after meeting people.) ideally you should follow up with in 48 hours. As time goes one, use every opportunity to send a follow-up personal note or e-mail, a thank you, congratulations, or a relevant article of information.
Building up a new network is not easy. You may be able to spring board off of your “home” network for their contacts in your new country but often you have to start at square one. If you can think of networking not as a pressure ‘hard sell’ situation but as a chance to learn more about the field you are hoping to pursue and build relationships with some new people, you will eventually make the right connections and find a job.
| Creating a Portable Career |
As one half of a dual career couple, it can be a difficult task trying to maintain your own professional identity when you suddenly find yourself in a new country. One of the most challenging elements can be your lack of contacts here– no previous employer, work colleagues, school friends, social network – you have to start from the beginning. Depending on your partner’s job, you may have to relocate more than once. So what options are there for creating a career that travels with you? This was the topic of a recent Global Networker meeting –developing career options that are flexible and travel with you. Global Networker is a networking group for international partners looking for work here in London. The presenter, Kate Daubney, the Training and Employment Advisor for the DSFA, shared with us four questions to better assess our own personal options:
Does my existing career travel?
How easy will it be for you to get exactly the same job in your new country?
Some careers such as nursing, child care, teaching or IT will probably be quite
portable, and you may be able to work abroad in these areas without too much
difficulty. You may have to take a local exam to confirm your qualifications/experience
and you should expect to produce copies of your existing certificates, perhaps
with translations into the host language. Are there any differences in qualification
or certification requirements? If so, what kind of additional training would
be available to bring you up to speed and how long would that take to complete?
Does your current or past employer have an office in the country you are going
to? Or do they work with clients in that country who could have potential employment
or pass on contact information to you? You should also explore whether your
employer runs a sabbatical or unpaid leave scheme, which would allow you to
take time off from work with the prospect of a job to go back to when you return
to your home country.
Can I convert my existing career into a variation that will travel?
Even if you can’t get a job in your existing career path, you may be
able to convert some aspect of your work into a more portable version. For
example, if you are already a teacher, you might consider training to teach
English as a Foreign Language. If you are an IT manager, you might consider
taking up website design or IT training.
You can look into what alternatives might be available abroad for your particular
career track by contacting any professional association to which you belong.
They may have knowledge of the local market which will help you make the right
choice about how to specialize. There may also be potential employment with
international organizations or NGOs in fields related to your existing experience.
Another option could then be looking for a way of conducting the same work
you currently do long distance. This won’t be possible for some types
of work, but many jobs today can be done with the aid of technology – e-mail,
fax, tele and video conferencing –from any location. Have you explored
this possibility with the company you work for, others in the same field or
other companies who might value your abilities along with the benefit of you
being located in a different part of the world with access to local information?
Do I need more training in my existing career?
For some partners the opportunity to take a sabbatical or career break coincides
with a stage in their career where they want to take up developmental training,
to build on or progress their existing job. This might mean taking appropriate
professional qualifications, taking a masters or other academic diploma in
your specialist area or updating IT or other practical qualifications. If
you are at a developmental stage in your career, then it is also sensible
to explore potential for diversifying your current employment focus into
something broader.
The goal is not just to think of a solution that will help you find work while
you are in your new country, but also to consider what you will do when you
return to your home country. Consider choosing a training course or qualification
which can help keep you up to date with developments in your field, extend
your specialist knowledge, or help you broaden out into a related field, giving
you a wider range of options on your return. Fiona Murchie of Profile Locations
suggests, “. . . Whatever you do on this move can be the step to something
greater. Think in context of where you’d like to see your career develop
in five years. The key is to take time and think through issues and plan.”
Are there other things I would like to do instead that would be more portable?
For others, the opportunity to take a break allows them to explore other career
options that they have had to overlook in the past. It is a natural time
for self reflection.
A number of partners have taken the opportunity to change direction radically,
taking training in alternative therapies, language teaching (particularly English),
childcare, interpreting or special needs teaching, web design and desktop publishing,
which are fairly portable careers.
Often a partner will end up with two career tracks: a home track of their existing
job, and an overseas track of a portable, flexible career. For some people,
these two tracks end up merging in the future, or they find that their overseas
career is so flexible that they can continue with it at home also.
Self Employment
Another option is to become self-employed. This can be an excellent way of
maintaining flexibility in a mobile lifestyle if you choose a service or product
that you can pack up and take with you. The advantages include: the challenge
of setting up and running your own business, independence and flexibility,
the potential of making lots of money and your own personal satisfaction. Self
employment provides the opportunity to further develop your skill base in many
areas.
Self employment sounds great, but what can I do? The Shell Spouse Employment
web site gives this advice for ideas on self employment, “The possibilities
for self-employment are as varied as your skills and interests. You can make,
buy or sell, import or export, something - specialty foods, arts & crafts,
specialist clothes or costumes, or other items that are difficult to obtain
locally. You can write and sell a book, or sell your drawings and photographs.
You can offer a service - catering, child minding, massage, translating, consulting,
freelance writing, editing, organising tours and relocation services. You can
teach your skills to others, everything from aerobic classes to investment
or doing your taxes.” If you can identify something for which there is
a local need and you have the expertise required you have the foundation for
your portable business.
Once you’ve considered all the options, it is a good idea to give yourself
at least three to pursue. These may include looking for a position in your
same career field, a variation on what you did using some of your skills, something
totally different such as a volunteer opportunity which allows you to develop
relevant skills, further education to broaden your skill set or starting your
own business. Approaching an international assignment with a specific plan
focused on a variety of employment options allows the partner a greater chance
of success.
www.shellspouseemployment.com Excellent site for further resources on portable
careers for ex-pats or self employment links
www.profilelocations.com Keeping
Your Career on Track workshops. 01892 891334 for further information
www.keenerinpiration.comCareer coaching for ex-pats 020 8868 6074
| Time to plan is time well spent |
Planning your job search can help you be more productive
More and more expatriates are dual career couples. So it is no wonder that the
accompanying partner is just as keen as the employee to continue their career
once they arrive in their new host country.
It can be stressful adapting to a new culture, settling your family and unpacking
your personal belongings. You may start randomly looking for a job and run out
of steam when you never hear back from any of the job boards you’ve posted
your CV on or any the recruitment agencies you contacted. What can you do to
keep yourself motivated and target your search?
Over the past two years I’ve been working with international people looking for work in London. Some of the most successful I have worked with have been the most organised. They have several things in common. They created an “office” space to assist them in the job of finding a job; they developed an action plan and system for tracking their progress; and they utilised their existing network to start growing a new one
James Manktelow, editor of Mind Tools and an experienced recruiter says, “Finding
a good job is usually a 'numbers game’ - the more effort you put into
it and the more people you contact, the more good quality opportunities you
will uncover. The more opportunities you uncover, the more you have the power
to choose the best of them. Like any major effort, planning is essential for
a good job hunt. If you are organized and use your time efficiently, then you
will contact more people and find more opportunities.”
He goes on to say, “Think about it this way - a job in your chosen sector
might take you, for example, 50 applications to find. If you make 5 applications
a month, it will take you 10 months to find a good job. If you make 20 applications
a week, it will take you less than a month. Hard work pays off quickly.”
I suggest getting yourself organised in five main areas.
Once you arrive in your new country you’ll need to create your “office.” It doesn’t need to be a dedicated room, but certainly a dedicated area where you can keep the practical tools you’ll need to make a good application. Do you have a space to work in and access to a computer hooked up to internet and a printer? This will enable you to do quick research on the firm/company to which you are applying and tailor your CV and cover letter. Do you have supplies, including the appropriate size and quality paper, envelopes, personal “calling” cards, and stamps? If appropriate, do you have a professional-looking portfolio, which you can either copy and send, or bring to an interview?
Here is a checklist:
THINKING
Next consider the question - Do you know what you want?
1. List Goals
Before you can begin you job search, you will need to formulate short and
long term professional objectives. How likely is it that you will stay permanently
in the U.|K. Is your chosen profession the type that can survive multiple relocations?
If not do you need to transfer your skills to another industry? What type of
work best suits your personality and objectives?
Does my existing career travel?
Can I convert my existing career into a variation that will travel?
Do I need more training in my existing career?
Are there other things I would like to train to do instead that would be portable?
2. Take inventory
Self assessments. Identify skills and talents. Understand the stage you are at now. Know what you want from a job.
Assessment tools from Portable Careers
3. Assess your Personality
4. Evaluate the Job Market
Identify your skills and talents and then consider this particular stage in
your life (i.e. your UK-assignment/trailing spouse phase.) What do you want
to take away from this experience overall? It is important to know what you
want from a job – experience, credibility, financial gain. It is important
to develop a clear picture of your career and life goals. No two persons’ needs
are the same and only you can decide how you define success. Once you are clear
on your goals, you can then explore your options, taking into consideration
both your skills and experience and the opportunities and constraints in your
host country. For example, the options in London consist of full time employment,
part time employment, self-employment, temporary employment, voluntary work,
or tele-commuting. It may be an opportunity to also consider the options of
further study or even ‘time out’ for family or oneself. Consider
both the short and long term and how your plans fit with your partner’s
career and your own personal goals.
It is also important during this time to have realistic expectations. For example,
in the current climate you should realistically expect it to take about six
months to find a job in London. That is not to say the process cannot move
more quickly but generally with the preparation involved and climate of the
economy that would be a realistic estimate. In the meantime you may consider
other options such as free-lance work, temporary work or volunteer opportunities
to gain experience and avoid a gap on your CV.
SOURCES
NETWORKING
When should you start? The earlier the better! Arriving in your new host country
with an up to date CV/resume, a list of current references and any certificates
or diplomas you might need to verify your qualifications will put you a step
ahead. But also ideally you will have had a chance to contact everyone in your
network before you leave your home country to ask them if they have any connections
in your new country that they can pass onto you. From that information you
can create an initial informational interview list.
Additionally plan to alternate your focus between several different resources
such as;
? On-line job boards and postings
? Newspaper advertisements
? Network groups
? Contacts in the industry (friends of friends, acquaintances, etc.)
? Recruitment/placement agencies, including temporary and interim management
firms
? Professional trade journals and associations
Remember the amount of hours you dedicate to a job search each week will directly
impact your success, so motivation is an essential part of getting you going.
You will also need support – especially when things don’t go as
you planned. Consider groups that can help you feel less isolated and give
you opportunities to network, such as www.global-networker.com Creating goals
and objectives will help, but be patient and understanding with yourself. Taking
time out to develop a plan, rather than leaping straight into a job search,
can not only increase your likely hood of success but keep you focused and
moving forward in the process.
“The man that has no where to go usually gets there.” With your
needs and goals identified, it’s time to create the marketing plan of
your Action Plan The marketing plan is a road map of how you will proceed.
It is an opportunity to target industries, identify challenges and work on
a better understanding of the local market.
Create it to suit your style. Decide what format would work best for you – for
example, a word document, excel spreadsheet, or calendar. It should include
a way to track your job search hours, the amount of time you dedicate to your
job search each week, the actions you take to find vacancies or openings, the
Web sites you visit:, a goal of the number of companies or organizations you
research per week, the companies and organization you have researched, as well
as companies and organizations you have identified as interesting to work for,
CVs you have sent, responses you have received, and follow up/thank you notes
you need to do, your current network and a network development plan.
TOOLS
Do you have everything you need ready if an opportunity arises?
PRESENTATION
If someone asks you what you do you have a response?
Presenting yourself at Networking Events
It is a good idea to have an elevator speech in your back pocket so when you are at a cocktail party or business function you can say what you do (or what kind of work you would like to do) in one line.
For example:
I'm a lifecoach, I work with entrepreneurs and professionals to take their businesses to the next level while at the same time improving the quality of their personal lives.
I’m a graphic designer, I’ve worked with museums promoting their exhibitions and increasing attendance and I am looking for similar opportunities here in London.
I’m a writer who writes about women and families experiencing cultural transitions and I offer practical advice on how to work through them.
The formula is:
I work with X by mean of Y in order to Z. Just fill in the blanks and there
you have it.