"Hello, Dee speaking, How can I help you?"

I've been thinking a lot about communication recently.

If we go back through the years, it all started with the grunt of a caveman. Then on to real words, cave markings, paintings, writing, courier pigeon, telephone, fax, internet chat rooms, pagers, text messages, and now social media. *and breathe*

We're a species that have developed our communication skills so much that we're no longer using the basics. Hands up, how many of you have actually picked up the phone this week, dialled a number and SPOKEN to someone? Scary thought isn't it. Especially when it is so much easier to drop a text, or write a DM or email.

We spend hours talking on various social media sites but when we meet face to face the conversation can sometimes be awkward. I found this happens much more with the younger generation. They're so used to interacting through a screen that sometimes they just cannot cope with the face to face interaction. It's quite sad really.

One of the things I love about my other half is the fact he talks. He'd rather pick up the phone and talk to me rather than sending a quick text. He's also a big advocate for penmanship. I love his passion for using pen and paper. I love pen and paper too.

eBooks make me a little sad. You do not need 500 books on a tablet. It's not like you can read them all at once anyway and there is nothing quite like the feel and smell of an actual paper book, in my opinion.

In regards to communication within your business, aren't we lucky? We're part of the instant generation where we no longer have to wait to get news about a contract or to get a project off the ground. It can all be done in a click of a button. The problem with having the ability to do it all, is that we can easily become overwhelmed. So, you have your job, then you have all the back office stuff that needs doing, all the social media accounts that need to be constantly looked after plus any bits and pieces that the day decides to throw at you... you're juggling all your plates perfectly... until the phone rings. Is it just me or does the phone ALWAYS ring at the most inconvenient time?

I've recently come across a fabulous solution. It's not a new idea, it's just perfect for any business that needs to buy a little time. That solution is Apples & Oranges. No, not the fruit, but a super duper call answering service based right here in the UK! PLUS you're not fixed in to a contract so you could just use the service in your busy periods / certain times of the day / When you're on holiday.

I've been in contact with the owners and what they offer and how they can customise their service is amazing! Here is what Dawn Davis had to say....

"Communication is what we're about - 21st century style!

One of the biggest problems when you're in business is ensuring that you NEVER miss a call, therefore never missing an opportunity, so that's where we come in.

Before we started this part of our business we kept being asked "do you have a telephone answering service", after a number of requests we started to think, why don't we have a telephone answering service? We decided to first investigate and then invest!

Every client we have has slightly different requirements, our policy is, the answer is 'YES' now tell us what you want and we'll make it happen for you."

You can get in contact with Dawn and the team via their WEBSITE.

I'd be interested to see how many of you actually look into this for you business so quote 'DAMMIH' when you get in touch. I'll be keeping my eye on you ;). If you'd like to hear what happened When Dawn and I got together for a MMIH Show you can find the Podcast HERE


Until next time.

Much Love

Miss Make It Happen

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Podcast - YouTube - Tumblr

Opportunity knocks.

Knock Knock!

We all know that opportunity usually comes with change. If what you have been offered isn't new then what's the point in trying it? You might as well stick at what you're already doing if you're not going to change something with the new opportunity.

Recently I've made some choices that led to changes in my life. At the time they felt risky and I wasn't sure I wanted to disrupt the status quo but so far it's turned ok.

As I've mentioned before, I attended BradCamp Be A Better Speaker, earlier this year on the hope of improving my speaking skills and one day headlining at The Business Show. Truth is, I realised that when I attended BradCamp that I didn't actually want to be a speaker after all. But I did want people to know what I had to say. One of the ideas that I got from BradCamp was to start a podcast. I wasn't sure where to start or what I was doing but I knew I'd figure it out. I always do.

3 months on, I have a podcast that I am proud of, am honoured to interview some of the great minds of the SME world and I love what i'm doing. I'm also in talks with several companies to produce their podcasts. A small idea at a development day has given me the opportunity to not only get my voice out there but to also increase my client base. I'm glad I took that opportunity.

Believe me when I say I know how scary opportunities are and how change is a tough cookie to digest but sometimes the only reason we don't take up an opportunity is because of self doubt.  We think  don't deserve what we're being offered or we're not talented enough. Truth is, if you're being offered the opportunity it's because someone else has seen your potential. Someone else has seen how hard you've worked. Some one else thinks that you're the right person for the job.

Weigh up the pros and cons and give it a go. You cannot grow if you refuse to change. Look at the caterpillar and the butterfly. If the caterpillar didn't make the change, he'd never have grown wings and been able to fly .

Release your inner butterfly. The door of opportunity looks exactly like the door to failure. You need to open them to find out which is which. or you could just stay locked in the same room.

Until next time.
Much Love
Miss Make It Happen
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Podcast - YouTube - Tumblr

Creative Constipation

Brain Freeze, Writers Block, Creative Constipation - we all get times when we just can't get the ideas from brain to paper.

It's all perfectly normal.

But how do we get passed these situations without becoming demotivated and getting caught in a circle of never ending negativity and being unproductive?

Well, first, you have to give yourself a break. You're not some massive failure, you probably just have too much on your mind and need to relax and get that in to order first. If you're in the UK, the weather is finally getting warm enough to go out side and have a walk. Go grab some fresh air and clear out the cobwebs. It'll do you the world of good. Trust me.

Another way to stop all of the above is stop leaving things to the last minute. Unless you're one of these lucky people who thrives under pressure then leaving your tasks to the last minute will not make it any easier for you. It needs to be done so get it out of the way now.

My final piece of advice, especially when it comes to writing content is write down all the ideas you have throughout the day. If you have a lightbulb moment then WRITE IT DOWN! You will not remember it, however good the idea and you'll be kicking yourself later when you need ideas and you need them quick!

Well that's it for this week.

Hope you all have a fabulous week and remember ... It's going to be ok.

Much Love
Miss Make It Happen
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Podcast - YouTube

Haven't done one of these blog things for a while

This will be my first blog of 2015. It's June.

I've not been lazy or anything like that, In fact, quite the opposite. I'm writing a book, to be released later in 2015 and every time I have a good idea for a blog i realise that it would make a great part of the book. Dilemma! So, I decided to focus on the book. Truth is, It was a massive mistake. 

By not blogging, I started to reduce my reach and audience. The same reach and audience who will, hopefully,  buy the book later in the year. This got me thinking a little further. What other compromises have cost me my goal or taken me in the wrong direction??

Choosing outfits, choosing friends, what to eat, to take on that new client or not? Every choice we make we not only gain something, we sacrifice something too. 

Now what??

I decided to go back to basics. Discover what my goals and values are. Now i have those clear in my head I can make the right decisions, not what I THINK are the right decisions. I'm not a simple person, I have actually been known to have more than one 'clever cookie' moment and i've now realised that sometimes you don't need to make a choice, you can have the best of both words. 

Great news for you lot. You get me blogging AND you get a book at the end of the year. 

*Cue screams of terror and people burning their laptops all over the world*

The moral of this rather oddly written blog is that

1) You need to know who you are and where you're going to make the best decisions

2) Sometimes you don't have to choose - you can have it all

3) Cookies are yummy. 

Until next time...

Much Love

Miss Make It Happen

Twitter ~ FaceBook ~ Website

Forever Learning

I'm all for learning something new. I love learning about new topics, I watch the news to see whats happening and I love to tinker with things, to find out how they work. I would love to learn a new language but I just don't seem to have the cognitive ability. But I can re-wire the house and build a wall, thanks to an electrical engineering apprenticeship at Fords and my Grandad. 

I had a trip to Wales planned so imagine my excitement when my friend emailed me to say that we have tickets to The Hay Festival! Hay Festival is a festival of Literature and the Arts. It welcomes all ages and learning abilities and is a a wonderful place to be and learn new things. My friend, as a surprise, had booked us in to see a number of talks including;

Nina Stibbe & Gary Kemp

In 1982 Nina Stibbe, a 20-year-old from Leicester, moved to London to work as a nanny for a very particular family. It was a perfect match: Nina had no idea how to cook, look after children, or who the weirdos who called round were. And the family, busy discussing such arcane subjects as how to swear in German or the merits (or otherwise) of turkey mince, were delighted by her lack of skills. Love, Nina is the collection of letters she wrote home gloriously describing her ‘domestic’ life, the unpredictable house-guests and the cat everyone loved to hate. Nina talks to the Spandau Ballet star and actor Gary Kemp, author of I Know This Much.

Steve Jones

The author of The Serpent’s Promise, Almost Like A Whale, The Language of the Genes and In the Blood conducts an evolutionist’s exploration.

Emma Bridgewater

An interview with the iconic designer and manufacturer whose cheerfully distinctive kitchen pottery – manufactured and traditionally hand-decorated in the Staffordshire Potteries, just as it would have been 200 years ago – has found its way onto the dresser shelves and kitchen tables of homes all over Britain and beyond.

Sir John Gurdon - Nobel Prize Winner

Cloning Stem Cells: A modern medicine revolution

The Nobel Prize-winning developmental biologist was among the first to challenge the idea that a cell’s fate was irreversibly determined. His demonstration that the nuclei of differentiated cells could be ‘reprogrammed’ has ultimately led to successful cloning of mammals, and has provided the basis for much of modern stem cell research.

Paul Dolan

Most of us would like to be happier. Dolan defines this as experiencing more pleasure and/or purpose for longer. He describes how being happier means allocating attention more efficiently; towards those things that bring us pleasure and purpose and away from those that generate pain and pointlessness. Easier said than done, of course, and certainly easier said than thought about. But behavioural science tells us that most of what we do is not so much thought about; rather, it simply comes about. So by clever use of priming, defaults, commitments and social norms, you can become a whole lot happier without actually having to think very hard about it. You will be happier by design.

Steven Moffat talks to Alan Yentob

The screenwriter discusses his work. He is the co-creator with Mark Gatiss of Sherlock and the lead writer on Doctor Who. He’s been Executive Producer in the David Tennant and Matt Smith eras and wrote the fiftieth birthday episode The Day of the Doctor.

I left the festival with an aching body and a mind full of new information, questions and ideas. If you are available from now until Sunday I suggest attending the event. If you cant, I suggest putting it  in your diary for next year. 

I challenge you to learn something new this week.

Until next time,

Keep smiling

Dee

Miss Make It Happen

www.MissMakeItHappen.co.uk

*descriptions of the talks are from the hayfesival.com website.