Most, if not all, areas of expertise or professional interest come at a cost: the instinctive pain caused by non-experts getting it spectacularly wrong. I’m sure, for instance, it annoys doctors to hear popular medical fallacies, or accountants to come up against misinformation about tax obligations. I’m a writer, both by personal interest and profession. […]
Painful Apostrophes Read More »
It’s been far too long since I posted my last blog. That’s largely for the positive reason of being busy, but there is an irony that I’m overdue on my own blog because of making sure clients’ blogs get posted on time. “Do as I say, not as I do” certainly applies here. We all
Should Priorities Always Come First? Read More »
Everyone who writes makes typos. I certainly do. A while ago, I was writing a piece about insurance and discovered I’d invented an entirely new type of policy — against fire and food. Needless to say, I corrected it, and that’s really the point. You won’t avoid making typos, but the aim has to be
For some time now, I’ve been considering the idea of adding a training side to my business. Having now done a number of 4Sights for 4Networking meetings on “How to Write Right”, I’ve got to that awkward stage between considering and arranging which we call planning. And so I’m using this blog essentially to think
In recent months, I haven’t ventured far outside the excellent 4Networking and Business Buzz for networking and picking up tips. So it’s a little surprising that last week I went to two different events on consecutive evenings. Both were excellent, and both were very different. Digital Networking Evening — The Lodge, Ware Wednesday’s event was
Two Excellent Training/Networking Events Read More »
In a recent speech about Brexit, Theresa May claimed that the process wouldn’t be “plain sailing” and there would be “bumps in the road”. Politics and Brexit opinions apart, the comment did leave me wondering why anyone would attempt to sail on a road — with or without bumps. This isn’t May-bashing — she was
Plain Sailing on a Bumpy Road Read More »
On the 29th, it’ll be Michaelmas, not a day that features on most people’s calendars these days. At one time, though, it was the most important date in the financial year, when annual rents and many other payments were due. It might seem an odd date to pick, but the reason would be obvious to
Michaelmas and the Work Ethic Read More »
When you’re building up a business, especially when you’re doing it on your own, it’s tempting to throw yourself into working 24/7. After all, the work’s got to be done, or the clients might not come back. That’s not 100% wrong, of course. It’s hard work to build up a business, and you have to
A Question of Balance Read More »
A few days ago, I was asked what my speciality was in copywriting. It’s a question I’m often asked, and a fair enough question. It’s just not easy for me to answer. The reality is that I don’t specialise. If I were going to choose to concentrate on areas I love, I suppose it would
Specialist or Generalist? Read More »
My last experience of a business expo was the Business Show at ExCel. As I mentioned in my May newsletter, I found that interesting but rather over-large and overwhelming — I needed a map to find my way around, and the dozen or more seminars going on at the same time were often directly competing
The Hertfordshire Business Expo 2016 Read More »