No one is an island

This year, for most of us, has been like none other. Very few of us have in the West, have lived through such change to our life styles, since the 2ndworld war.

Sadly, in other parts of the world, many people have had great upheaval and lived through the most terrible wars, through famine and other disasters, and on top of all these tragedies, they now, like us, also have to live with this pandemic.

The development of the vaccines, which I for one, will be happy to take, hopefully means that we may see a brighter future, in terms of lowering the spread of the virus.

We don’t stand alone in this situation. Coming to the end of this year, I have been thinking about how I have got through this last year.

Getting through this year

Working from home isn’t something new for me, as I have rarely worked from the same office building in my whole 46 years of working. I worked in a school for five years, but for the remainder of my time, I was peripatetic, visiting different places, daily, and latterly, I have worked from home.

At home, I have had the company of my husband in the evenings, and weekends, but have maintained contact with several friends via What’s App, and Zoom.  When we were allowed to go and out and meet, during the summer, I took the opportunity to meet up with friends at outside cafes, or in gardens.

Working wise, what I have missed most, has been the ability to meet business friends face to face.

Zoom calls are great, but I’m a hugger, and I miss being able to hug people!  Human contact is so important to our mental health, and although I am a very optimistic person, and someone who luckily has not suffered from mental health issues, I have felt physically isolated from friends. I need to see people to keep my energy positive.

Working together

Being a SME, with no employees, there are things that I can’t do myself.  I therefore, I have other friends and business people who support both me and my business. 

I have a great web designer, Paul Eagles, of Midwinter Web Design, who supports me, and helps get things right when I make mistakes uploading blogs, and he regularly keeps my site updated for me.

Hannah Edwards, is my VA who creates my newsletter, when I send her the information each month, and sends it out to people.  She also helps out with any queries I have regarding the vagaries of Facebook!

My accountant, Sally Holland of PPS Chartered Accountants, sorts out the stuff that I hate having to do, and I’m always grateful for the support of her and her team.

My biggest supporter is my best friend, and amazing business woman, Fiona Scott, Media Consultancy. During lockdown, I changed career, and Fiona has been incredibly supportive, not only in her continued friendship, but also, in giving me monthly writing work.

I also have several people I’m mentoring to write their books, and they have been a great inspiration to me, during the last months. Sharing their stories is a great privilege. I have Zoom calls with them regularly too.

Some of my mentees have been passed on to me by a publishing company in Bristol, Silverwood Books, and I’m very grateful to Helen Hart, the CEO for trusting me with her writers.

Business Networking has always been part of my business marketing strategy, as I love meeting people, and it has always worked for me. During the last few months, my networking group moved online, which has meant I’ve been able to keep in touch with my friends from Business Wise.

I’ve also joined another online networking group, where I’ve met another group of people; Swindon and Cotswold Business Focus.

I also run a monthly online poetry group. In between times, I have contact with the poets when they send me poetry to read through and give feedback. We feed each other’s creativity.

I’m keeping myself busy, but with great support, I’m not doing this alone. Bring on 2021, when we are able to mix, and I’ll be able to see my lovely friends and business buddies, face to face!

Lastly, thank you for taking the time to read my articles!

I have no idea who originally said this, but it is so true, in both life and business.

“No man is an island and no man stands alone.”