Emma, a member of one of my online forums reached out to me recently. She’s a leadership expert who focuses on wellbeing and was stuck trying to find out some information to support one of her core premises.

In order to connect with your audience, you must express empathy and understanding. If you simply offer solutions without connection, your audience will be left feeling judged.

I was speaking to a client, Natalie last week who was struggling to convert leads into clients at her sales meetings. Natalie is an incredible thought leader and excellent at content creation. In fact, she’s written five books on leadership. So, she couldn’t figure out where she was going wrong with her sales meetings.

On Friday I was speaking with an executive team of around 40 people. I was due to deliver a workshop for them a few weeks ago and it has now shifted to online. I asked her what challenges they were having around productivity, team connection and communication. Her response was interesting.

My mum worked in aged care for 15 years, so growing up, we weren’t allowed to have Milo, but we were allowed to have Sustagen. Sustagen is aimed at seniors. It gives sustained energy over time, rather than a quick burst of energy like sugar gives you.

At the time of writing this, I’m back in Brisbane after being in Adelaide for the last few days. I’ve spent Friday meeting with a few contacts, but instead of shaking hands, we were bumping elbows.

With the bushfires, the drought and now the impact of the Coronavirus, it is essential to find ways to crisis proof your practice or business. In fact, one in four businesses that are forced to shut down due to a disaster never reopens.

2012 was a disaster. I started my business in 2009 but in 2011 we had the Brisbane floods and business went quiet. Then in 2012, 17,000 jobs and all training was cut from the public service for almost two years. 80% of my contracts were with government departments.

If you’ve ever seen an Angostura Bitters bottle with its oversized white label, you’ll know it’s pretty distinctive. But many people don’t know the story behind the bottle’s appearance. And it’s a story worth telling, one that highlights the importance of embracing your uniqueness.

I have an amazing friend, Kali Gray. She’s a ‘non-diet’ dietician. She helps her clients feel good and have more energy through better nutrition, self-care and wellbeing. As you can imagine, eating healthily is a big part of Kali’s brand.

Sarah came to me because she had a problem. She had a successful business that was past its infancy and ready for a strong growth phase. She had a small, but dedicated team behind her.

It might sound a bit odd, but I cut back on anything that would generate too many new enquiries, such as videos, speaking events, travel and client load. I started to assess some bigger questions so I could create a life by design.