Katie was a coatmaker and she opened a stall in the market to sell her beautiful wares. Dressed in her favourite morning coat – portwine silk with brass buttons – Katie stood outside of her stall to attract new customers. She addressed the passing crowd about the history of the garment, from Persia to the…
Category Archives: What
Competence, confidence, and impostor syndrome
Tewodros was born and raised in Algeria, in the hard sands of the Sahara desert. So when he and his family moved to France when he was seven, at his first sight of the lush and verdant French countryside, Tewodros literally fell down. He was gobsmacked. And so a fascination was born. To the surprise…
The teleclass recording and thoughts on benefits.
Yesterday was my first ever teleclass, and it was awesomepants. Firstly, to keep my new commitment to myself, I won’t hint at the bottom but instead I’ll open with the announcement that I launched a new resource during the call. It’s here to transform struggling bloggers into business owners – from “I have a website”…
Ease and challenge
Sticking envelopes is boring work. But stamping envelopes is fun. When you’re sticking envelopes, it’s almost impossible to screw it up. Pull off the sticky tab, seal the envelope, make sure it’s fastened. Done. It gets painfully repetitive within thirty minutes, and coma-inducing within two hours. Stamping the envelopes, however, is a blast. Firstly, the…
No-one buys quality. No-one buys clarity.
I don’t give a tin shit about quality. I care about it lasting long enough to become an heirloom. I care about not having to buy a new pair in three months. I care about looking good in front of the other baby shower attendees. I care about saving money. I care about not looking…
When the truth doesn’t matter
Imagine that you’re sitting in a committee meeting and a parcel is delivered. Delighted and surprised, you open the wrapping… only to discover that the parcel is a bomb. A bomb with 00:02:14 on the counter. Yikes! Clearly, there’s no time to bring in anyone else. It’s you and the other committee members, who have…
Beauty in the barbed wire
This is Winter, performed live by Tori Amos. Listen, and read the lyrics. I am going somewhere important with this, I promise… you need to have her voice in your head before you read on. Snow can wait I forgot my mittens Wipe my nose Get my new boots on I get a little warm…
Why your secrets don’t matter
If you traveled to a certain town in the south of France, you would know that they had only one baker. Oh, there were plenty of people who made loaves of bread, but they were merely workmen. Standing far above them all was… Arnaud. Arnaud! So many tales told of Arnaud! Of his incredible perfectionism…
You and I talk about niches
Hey sweetie, we need to have a talk. (That came out sounding a bit ominous, didn’t it? Don’t worry, it’s cool.) A talk about what? you say. It’s about your niche… and how you don’t really have one. I do too! you say. Oh really? What is it? Well, my website is about penguins, and…
The difference between a website and a business
Henry built a house of wonders. Feeling exotic, he named it Le palais merveilleux, which translates to The Palace of Marvels. Then, realising that most people in his city couldn’t pronounce merveilleux, he called it both names. (It’s pronounced mer-vey-eugh, if you were wondering.) How marvellous was the Palace of Marvels? Well, once he invited…
