This could be the most boring blog post I’ve ever written…

Changing this site from a blog into something more business-like and functional is something I should have done ages ago. I just haven’t been blogging. Two reasons. To be honest, I don’t super enjoy it. But the big thing is I’ve found better ways to grow my brand. Or should I say, ways that work better for me.

So after some re-jigging, lots of rewriting and a photo-shoot, this is now somewhere that explains what I do (help you to communicate the brilliance of you, on Instagram). Why I do it (I love this marketing stuff, truly, I get a buzz out of a clear, well-delivered story). And what you get if you work with me (the benefit of not having to repeat my mistakes, mainly 😉).

When I started this thing, Not About The Kids (my comeback), I thought I was going to be a blogger.

But I didn’t really know what a blogger was or how they make money. And I don’t have much of a talent for longer-form writing. I have the attention span of an Instagram caption.

So the Not About The Kids blog never really flew. Some of the content is ok, but it never achieved the sense of identity and community I’ve managed to create on Insta. That’s ok, it was part of unravelling the puzzle of exactly what Ido want to do. What I can be good at.

And that’s one of the big things I’ve learned.

Don’t expect to always know the destination. You can’t even see the destination at the start of the journey, it’s less than a tiny dot in the distance.

After I had the kids I lost myself for years. And spent so many hours trying to find ‘the answer’. But you don’t need it. Let go of the answer. It really doesn’t matter at all, actually. Just start something. Book onto a course, or launch a new product or go and see a coach. It will lead to the next thing and then the next. There is so much to be gained on the journey.

For every success and two steps forward I have taken, there has absolutely been one step back. I’ve spent too much time on tasks only to realise that they are not the thing (hello trying to become and Insta-famous photographer, reviewing rugs for my blog and promoting events that struggled to break even). But to beat yourself up about those missteps is to misunderstand them.

I’m in love with all of the lessons I’ve learnt. They bring clarity, give me something to talk about, laugh about and something to teach!

Which is why I have to put myself at the centre of the site now, because that’s what you’re buying into.

Doing what I do involves putting myself out there, all the time. Something I would have previously found unbearable. Perhaps you still do? Know that it can be learned. You can develop immunity to the extreme awkwardness of it all.

I was asked recently whether I think that I am a confident person. Depends on what day it is. I know that I’m bright enough, but worry that I am flawed. And I my inner critic just loves to wang on about my lack of business experience.

But here is something that I do think, confidently.

I think that people doing the jobs or things that you want to do, are just other people. They’re not better or more talented or cleverer than you. They’ve just put their hand up and stepped into the role. They’ve taken it for themselves rather than asking to be picked. That’s the difference, mostly. They’re just people.

So I hope you like my new website. It’s a statement of intent. I must thank Katie Spicer for the photos, you are brilliant, Katie. Thanks to Gup and Luke at Feelgood Creative for the design, you are some patient people. And thanks Hilary Salzman for helping me with my words, Hilary, this is a better place for your notes. And finally, thank you for reading.

Love, Hx