Wry Vita

The Emperor's New Carrots

When the Emperor has finished parading naked through the streets listening to folk exclaiming about the outstanding elegance and style of his non-existent finery, and returns to the palace for dinner, might I respectfully suggest he gets Chef to include some Tesco Chantanay carrots on his plate?

I couldn't help noticing on today's supermarket trip that they are €5 per kilo, approximately three times the price of yer common or garden carrots, but worth every cent I'm sure because according to their packaging it's not just their "unique size" that is significant but their "traditional carrot flavour".

And there I was, worrying someone might mistake them for broccoli.

An Authentic Business

I was business coaching a client this week who said to me:  "I'm going to check out what the market leader's offering his clients, then I'm going to speak to one of them and find out what they like most about his service".

For a split second my finger hovered over the 'sink' button on my heart.  While I realise there is very little new under the sun, authenticity is absolutely vital to me and while I might forgive a pal buying the identical jacket to me, I would be mighty brassed off if she teamed it with the same trousers, boots and scarf.

Which reminds me of an early stalking experience I had at work...

Eat Your Heart Out, Arthur Daley!

I tried to buy a second-hand car one morning last week from my local car dealer.  He's only five minutes up the road and he does a great selection of quality used cars so I popped in one morning on the way back from school and walked up and down the rows of cars trying to find a nice colour.

Unfortunately, he and his salesman were too busy repairing a broken window on the portakabin to come over and make a sale that would have permitted him to pay a glazier and give him a lot of spare cash to put towards a real office.

My husband assumed I was probably being a bit over-sensitive or that the dealer hadn't seen me so he went in himself the next day and came out muttering about his bad attitude and how he could keep his rotten cars.

But I was determined to buy a car so I went to the car dealer in the next village, approx 8 miles away.  What a different experience that was...

Building a Business to Love

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE TO YOU?

• Making a full-time living from the work you're passionate about?
• A steady flow of clients to your door?
• A sustainable business with income streams making you money while you sleep?

Wouldn't it be great if you could afford to work with one of the UK's top business coaches to
transform your business into the success you've been longing for?

WELL NOW YOU CAN!

http://www.abusinesstolove.com/abc.php

"Quite simply the fast-talking, clear-thinking, results-orientated Judith is what I can only term a "super coach", and as those of you who have worked with coaches in the past may well know, there are coaches and then there are super coaches , and Judith is most definitely the latter..." 
Karen Knowler - www.theRawFoodCoach.com

If you love the work you do but don't yet know how to turn it into the viable business you dreamed of, Judith will help you make it as easy as ABC!

http://www.abusinesstolove.com/abc.php

"Judith is smart, fun, unshockable and unstoppable.  Inspired yet pragmatic, she sees beyond your self-imposed boundaries to help you not just create your vision but make it come true." 
Marion Ryan- www.marionryan.com

http://www.abusinesstolove.com/abc.php

Extreme Self Care for the Solopreneur Coach

Reboot Your Life!

Extreme Self Care for the Solopreneur Coach

We all remember how great it was going to be working for ourselves!

    *    No more sitting in traffic jams on the way to the J.O.B. (Just Over Broke)
    *    No more surviving on that pittance of a salary
    *    No more dancing to someone else's tune
    *    No more corporate stress, unreasonable deadlines and staying late in the office

Funny how things don't always turn out as we planned!

    *    We work from home, and boy, can that get lonely
    *    Our money runs out before our bills do
    *    Our clients are out of control but we need them more than they need us
    *    It's hard to switch off and put our own needs first

Marion Ryan, women's success coach and co-developer of the Three Wise Women well-being programme for women in their 40s and 50s joins The New Coaches Forum at

7pm on Thursday 22nd June

to talk about Extreme Self Care - for ourselves and for our clients and offer strategies to:

    *    Reduce the isolation of working from home
    *    Increase financial well being
    *    Strengthen time and client boundaries
    *    Become our own best friend

Are you a new coach or a coach in training?  Are you a coach struggling to build your business or transition from the day job?  Are you a member of Jan Scott's New Coaches Forum?

Do check out Coaching Kitbag to find out more about Jan's supportive and friendly network for new and not-so-new coaches.  And if you decide to join up, (remember your first month is free) you'll be very welcome to come join this teleclass and 'reboot your life'!

The Aer Lingus Five

You might remember I was singing Ryanair's praises a couple of weeks back for their great customer service, here's the link to that posting.

Today I heard a great story about Aer Lingus.  Well, great if you're Ryanair anyway!

Five law-abiding folk had a family funeral to attend in Manchester.  It would have cost them € 260 to fly Ryanair from Dublin but as two of their party were in their 70s and in poor health, they decided it was a safer bet to pay the €900+ Aer Lingus was looking for as they would be likely to get a superior service.

But there's no such thing as a safe bet, is there?

Are You Being Served?

You can say what you like about Ryanair (no relation) but since I re-defected back to them from Aer Lingus, I've been dead impressed by their operation.

The fact that I can generally travel from Ireland to the UK for less than twenty spots, inclusive of taxes, is the initial reason why I use them.  With family and business interests in London meaning frequent trips over,  it makes sense to do it as cheaply as possible (particularly when the more expensive airlines don't offer a significantly superior service).

But what I really like about Ryanair - and is what is turning me into a loyal fan - is something that doesn't even cost them the one cent they charge me for my flight.