Founder’s Thoughts: Saying Hello to New Beginnings and Goodbye to Things that Must End.

SEPTEMBER 2018

Lifestyle Design

August 2018 was an incredible month. I got to spend a full 3 weeks in beautiful Cyprus, enjoying lazy mornings with an iced coffee in the garden and sun-filled afternoons swimming in the sea… I absolutely love the flexibility of the laptop lifestyle that I’ve designed – especially in the summer months when I get to take my work to the beach with me! Last month I managed to squeeze the absolute most out of this new work-style trend that is fast becoming the ultimate lifestyle choice among entrepreneurs and professionals alike. Although I waved goodbye to traditional employment and have been living the laptop lifestyle for quite some time now (since 2015 to be precise), it’s only been this summer that I got my hands on Tim Ferris’s bestselling book ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’.

For those who are not familiar with it, the book was first published in 2007 by a guy called Tim, who was frustrated with his 9–5 job so he decided to re-invent it. He was the first one to introduce and popularise the lifestyle design and laptop lifestyle trend. His book is a step-by-step guide to living the life of your dreams that can be achieved through extreme productivity, time management and workload elimination, that will, in return multiply your income, reduce work time, and allow you to enjoy frequent mini-retirements a few times each year.

I am halfway through the book and my biggest takeaways so far are:

Only check email 2 times a day so that you can focus on big important goals without distractions.
Parkinson’s Law – shorten work times to limit tasks to the important ones and achieve your goal in less time.
Information slim diet – avoid absorbing unnecessary information that you don’t need.
Elimination – stop doing and avoid getting involved in anything that doesn’t contribute to your goals and life vision.
Dream-lining – putting your goals and milestones onto a timeline and breaking them down into small, manageable steps that lead towards your ultimate vision.

You can get your own copy of ‘The 4-Hour Work Week"‘ here.

Goodbyes are pathways to new beginnings

Summer is definitely over by now and I am super grateful that it has been a long, full and sunny one for me this year! The end of this summer also marks the end of an era for me in many ways. September suddenly feels like January all over again. This September, I will be getting a special kind of fresh start across many areas of my personal and work life and I have several sad goodbyes to say, as well as a number of exciting new beginnings to look forward to.

Things That Must End

Summertime. I am back from a 3 weeks remote work trip to Cyprus and I am temporarily putting my laptop lifestyle on hold and getting booked up with Bristol based work again. Am I sad about it? No, absolutely not! I love my job, no matter where I get to work from, so I am excited to reconnect with everyone in Bristol in person again! I am a little sad that the hot, sunny weather is not staying here for much longer. But I am looking forward to getting some new AW outfits into my wardrobe – always look on the bright side! I am even thinking about engaging a stylist this year – because, why not!?

natwest-entrepreneur-accelerator-bristol

NatWest Accelerator – after an amazing 18 months at a business accelerator I’ve officially graduated and cannot progress through to the next intake. I have tried my absolute best to convince my mentor to keep me for another 6-months, but he’ve decided that I am ready to fly the nest. Am I sad about it? Yes I am! Even though I should be happy that I’ve developed myself and my business so much that I am ready to fly on my own, I am feeling sad to be leaving the entrepreneurial community at the Hub as I’ve made some great friends there. I will also be leaving my top-floor penthouse office in Temple Meads, where I was based for so long, and I will no longer have my bi-weekly catch ups with my mentor, who pushed and stretched my mindset to become a better entrepreneur. It has been an incredible experience and one that has been transformative for my personal development and my business success. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for this programme.

My First Employee. Exactly 16 months ago, I got my first employee – a Digital Marketing Coordinator. Becky was my intern in a previous job, so when it came to hiring someone amazing, I knew it needed to be her. After nearly 2 years of working at Visuable whilst studying for a marketing degree, Becky has now graduated and decided to move to Australia to start fresh in a new country, and therefore left Visuable. Am I sad about it? I am super sad! But at the same time, I am super happy for her, as she’s managed to secure an amazing job in AU. I wish her all the success in the world, and I am excited to hear how she gets on!

Before she left, she’s written me this note on LinkedIn…

“Lidia has been the most exceptional mentor and manager to me over the past four years. Her ability to inspire others with her creativity is not only remarkable but is what I’ve loved the most about working for Lidia.

I first began working for Lidia when I started university in 2014 for a 3-month internship. Since then I have gone back to work for Lidia as her Digital Marketing Coordinator when she decided to set up her own company. Where most employers would shun students away for their lack of experience, Lidia looks for potential and promising traits in people when deciding to give them a chance, which in return has built an extremely dedicated and driven team.

Lidia’s commitment and passion to her employees are evident through her continued investment in training opportunities and sourcing the latest online courses from key industry thought leaders, for both her and her team. Lidia is an open-minded leader that embraces the best industry and workplace trends that contribute to the wellbeing of her team including initiatives such as flexible and remote working.

Lidia always takes her teams’ interests, strengths and weaknesses into account when assigning projects and tasks, which has been key to the happiness and well-being of her employees. Her strong creative thinking capabilities and constant innovation to push her company further have driven Visuable from strength to strength since the start.

I honestly cannot recommend Lidia enough as an employer and mentor. Her ability to articulate and relentlessly drive her exciting vision forward is what makes Lidia such a fantastic leader. Lidia has the courage to take risks to achieve her vision and goals and constantly pushes others to do the same for themselves (especially her clients).

I will truly miss working for someone who is so strong and passionate yet always humble, but I’m even more excited to see what else she will achieve. Thank you for everything, Lidia, I wouldn’t be where I am without you”.

Too Much Wine. I’ve decided to quit the habit of drinking wine to wind down after work. I therefore have been practicing self-control with a support of a health coach for the last couple of months. The result has been amazing — I turned my mindset around and went from always heading for a glass of wine 🍷 to wind down (at least 3 nights a week, with multiple glasses consumed), to not even feeling like drinking at all. I still enjoy an occasional glass from time to time but I don’t feel that I need it (which results in saying no to it most of the time). The side effect of this are lost kilograms, more energy and no time wasted on feeling hangover! Instead, I enjoy spa, gym and Harborside walks as a means to relax! I honestly cannot recommend it any more! If you’re feeling like swapping a glass of wino for a morning workout, you should get in touch with my health coach Anna from Health Means Happiness to help you get started a new, healthier way of life! Just read her post below and it will get you running for the gym👇

The New Beginnings

New Degree – I’ve enrolled onto an MBA degree at UWE. My BA degree is in Creative Arts and Cultural Studies and I’ve followed the creative career path for the last 7 years with much success and enjoyment. Over the years, I’ve grown as an artist and a creator as well as an entrepreneur and business owner. I’ve always been both creative and strategic and doing an MBA degree has been my dream and an aspirational goal. This year, I’ve decided to delve deeper into the entrepreneurial side of me and make my dream come true. Am I excited!? I am super excited to be back at UWE, starting this new phase on my educational path! I love learning and growing.

New Office – we’ll be moving to a new office from 1st of October. I am still in a research stage and unsure which one to pick, but I have a few Bristol hot desking spaces in mind and I am weighting my options. I am between Desk Lodge, Raw Space, Origin Space and Square Members Club. Am I excited about the new office? Yes and No. I would prefer to stay where I am but since this is not an option, I’ll be choosing the next best home for the team.

New Build-a-Package Approach – I revamped the way our services work. The ever expanding customers needs, wants and desires called for a more diverse choice of packages so I came up with new pick ’n’ mix service menu. Our website is currently being updated and we’ll be rolling out our new, more flexible approach very soon! The new range has 3-tier options so there is something for everyone!

New Business Automation Range. This is super exciting! Over the last year or so I’ve been on a mission to systemise my processes, automate tasks and create the simplest, most value packed and highly enjoyable customer experience out there. To make this happen, I’ve tested countless CRM’s, scheduling and project management tools and platforms and found a perfect mix that allowed me to create my simple, fun and effective client on-boarding and project delivery process. We started getting many compliments about it and our clients kept asking if we can help them achieve that level of systemisation and efficiency in their business. So I thought – why not? In the next few weeks, I’ll be rolling out a whole new Business Automation Range to help our existing and new clients streamline their processes, eliminate unnecessary repetitive tasks and win back their time so they can enjoy a better quality life!