PierToPeerCoaching

Welcome!

Maybe a good place to start is to introduce myself...

I'm Kate Bacon: coach, mentor, VA...and budding entrepeneur! I moved to Brighton in October 2002 to escape the big smoke (London) via Seattle (a small detour that involved gaining part of a masters degree in acupuncture - the school went bankrupt - and a few other adventures besides!)

What are you worth? (or pricing your VA services!)

I make no apology for the contentious question - I think it's good to think about this carefully and adjust your ideas if they are not serving you well!

In the current economic climate with shops offering sales and discounts to draw customers in to buy, it may seem tempting to drop the price of your services.  My accountant firmly steered me away from such thoughts when I established my limited company in 2006 (after three years as a sole trader). 

He showed me a handy little chart that clearly showed whenever as business owners we cut our prices we then have to attract even more customers just to keep standing still!  A recipe for disaster if we already are busy...unless of course we want to work 7 days a week.

Creativity Workshop in Brighton with Julia Fry

My coaching colleague and good friend, Julia Fry, is running a Creativity Workshop in Brighton on Saturday, 6 June, 2009 from 14:00-17:00.

Julia is a brilliant coach, has tons of creativity and is great fun to work with. Don't miss out - see the flyer below for full details:

Do you need a dose of inspiration today?

Thank you to Rose-Marie Sorokin for sharing this...

Fears (or "Gremlins") and The Big Leap

The first time I came across the term "Gremlins" (not the film, mind you) was when I was training to be a coach back in 2004.  A "Gremlin" is the term used for those inner-voices or limiting beliefs that chatter away, most often arising out of fear.

One of Brian Johnson's Philosphers Notes that arrived in my inbox this morning talked about a great way to deal with them...

AcroYoga...the fun of flying!

Recently I took part in a three hour AcroYoga workshop in Brighton...something I'd been looking forward to since the beginning of the year when I saw the ad.

I haven't done a yoga class in a while (preferring my own "lazy" version of 20 minutes max practice at home in my pjs) so a succession of fast asanas was quite a stretch and I wondered if it was a bit beyond me after an hour!

As soon as we got to "inversions" (that's being upside down to you and me) I felt quite at home.  Having done gymnastics at school, acrobatics, contemporary dance and static trapeze at various points in time over the last 25 years and still maintaining flexibility, I loved it!

AcroYoga was developed in Northern California by Jenny Sauer-Klein and Jason Nemer, and is a mixture of Yoga, Acrobatics and Thai Massage.  It is now taught internationally and for me, this sums up why I like it so much:

"Through practicing AcroYoga, we experience a deepening trust in ourselves and others, and realize that by working in partnership, we manifest more than we ever could alone".

There's another workshop in Brighton in July (the teacher, Jacqui, is one of a group who teach classes almost every day in London).  Hmmm, shall I wait until then or make the trip up to the Reebok Club in Canary Wharf every Saturday?

Pictures from the AcroYoga website (thank you!)

Authentic Marketing (or why I abhor Squeeze Pages)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against marketing on the Internet (that would be plain daft, all my businesses are virtual) however I've come to a realisation that, for me, marketing is always best when it is an authentic expression of the business owner and their values.

That's why when I read this article b Psychotactics Ltd I was so excited...finally someone else who abhors the apparent "bullying" tactics favoured by many Internet marketeers!  Read on and see if you agree:

Why Squeeze Pages Are Stupid

Imagine you went for a date with a person you hadn't met before. And your date wore a paper bag on his/her head.

He/She refused to show you his/her face.

That date refused to tell you anything about his/her past.

Or let you into any information at all.

And yet you had to give them information. Like your first name, last name, blah, blah, blah.

How do you feel?

Well that's exactly how the customers feel. They feel irritated, frustrated and to choose a mild word: trapped. They know they want the information, but they can't seem to get the any information from you without filling in that stupid form.

We need more people like this in the world...

Recession, what recession...?

If you believed the media you would think all businesses were in imminent danger of demise...so perhaps it's because I studiously avoid any news about the economy and am just "getting on with it" that my business/es are flourishing?

Today I had a new client call (someone I connected with at a recent Money Gym Property Event) we were clearly on the same page and she's just become my newest VA client.  Last week the same thing happened (this time the connection was through Facebook - and a recommendation from Janet Swift - thank you!).  Again we "clicked" and as soon as she secures funding we are ready to go.

Meanwhile I got an email out of the blue from a VA who is looking to find her replacement prior to retirement - apparently I was one of a few carefully chosen potentials...

Has it got to do with clearly all my debt at the end of January?  Launching a new joint venture business last month? Taking a 3 1/2 hour lunch break to catch up with a good friend today? I'd guess all of the above...and doing what I love to do...making connections, effortlessly!

It seems that believing in yourself comes when you let go of trying so hard and just do what you love to do...it's then that everything starts to fall into place.

Life is for enjoying...and I'm convinced it's contagious...just try it!

From VA to Virtual Lettings Agency...or how to transfer your skills

When I set up www.katebacon.com in 2003 I didn't have any bigger ambition than to run my own VA service from my home office.

Six years later and I've turned into a serial entrepreneur with not one, but three businesses!  What happened...and could you do it too?

I'm a big fan of making meaningful connections (not just in business but in my whole life) and simply by enjoying meeting people new ventures have emerged when the time has been right.

What do you expect?

One of the Philosopher's Notes that popped into my inbox this week really made me think...

"Faith is expectancy. You do not receive what you want; you do not receive what you pray for, not even what you say you have faith in. You will always receive what you actually expect." ~ Eric Butterworth from Spiritual Economics

So, that begs the obvious question: What do you expect?