Hi there, a bright day with a sunny update for you.

As most of you may know by now, “Sparkle” workshop is our seasonal gathering in Barbados, for a small group of likeminded ladies who are ready to take a stride forward in their creative career in a light atmosphere, while sipping a hot drink and enjoying some Caribbean home cooking.

When women gather to grow in business with wellness in mind, it’s something special to celebrate.

In today’s post, I’m sharing some pics of gift bag prep for our lovely guests and some from the afternoon session itself, plus encouragement for any of you who know you’ve been blessed with a gift (make that plural, actually) but could do with a reminder of just how precious, needed and useful those granted gifts are.

They can also be springboards to enjoyable and thriving careers.

We started with light introductions and refreshing breathing exercises (based on my vocal coaching experience) to the serene sounds of acoustic guitar music softly playing in the background.

Most people breathe from a shallow place for the majority of the day and seldom engage the diaphragm, which strengthens the core and helps with clear thinking.

The cool thing is, you already breathe from your diaphragm when in your most relaxed state (usually when napping or sleeping.) You can train yourself to consciously breathe from the diaphragm; no worries at all.

Ever realized that you instinctively take a full breath when setting your eyes on a magnificent sunset, or en route to a holiday you’ve been looking forward to…maybe even when you get home from a long action-packed day.

Here’s a recent blog post with 3 breathing exercises to refresh and calm the mind.

I find that starting a creative business session at a gentle tempo helps guests to

• first, relax the mind and reset their posture to be more present and so their immediate needs are met
• slow down any busy, distracting thoughts
• have a moment to address any hidden fatigue before tending to business
• approach the rest of the session more focused and refreshed

Considering the popular pace of life today and the rise of things like anxiety, stress, depression and restlessness, creating an environment of serenity, clarity, growth and spunk where guests are served with a smile, is at the core of “Sparkle.”

Onto our conversation about finding, freeing and expressing your voice on *gulp* social media to market your business as an ‘introvert’ in a loud world.

Oooh-wee, the discussion was so interesting and everyone had an opportunity to share their challenges, highlights and learn about tapping into the free tech resources and platforms available to all of us, without compromising your values – understanding that we can use social media as an extension of our real life voices.

It’s not about performing for people and trying to meet the expectations and trends of the day, but more so about identifying your true essence, expressing your business offer/intention/opportunity, and taking strategic steps to create community and share your services, products and calls-to-action in a way that connects with your ideal audience, customers, clients and network.

After a light writing prompt springing from questions like:

1. What time do you (usually) wake up?
2. What are your first thoughts/feelings when you open your eyes?
3. What would you like to find the time to do?
4. How can you start making room for that? (Whether it’s writing a book, nurturing a gift, sharpening a skill or launching a blog)

We had a walk-through my “Business Clarity Map” designed for creatively-enterprising ladies, and each guest now has her digital .PDF print, fill out and redesign her business to.

 

Coordinating the workshop itself, with the invitational e-mails, graphic design, fb messages, a couple 1-liner WhatsApp reminders – cleaning and cooking would probably be overwhelming without daily reminders to breathe, plan, schedule (biggup Trello & Canva), pre-promotion and most of all – grace.

But anytime a hint of something even smelling like or resembling stress, frustration or disappointment floated into the atmosphere, I was instantly reminded to be still, be thankful, get a fresh perspective, evaluate my approach, and remember the essence of “Sparkle” which is ‘serenity over stress’ and a thriving business with wellness in mind!’ (techie tips included.)

I mean, what good would it do to be frazzled while prepping for a session that uses words like refreshment and clarity?

Whatever we make or put our hand or mind to, with a restless vibration will overflow into that very thing. I’m so thankful God set it on my heart and planted it in my mind to invite women to gather, share, encourage, grow and shine – in a space where they can relax and breathe while also challenging themselves to sound their voice, fine-tune their tech skills and express themselves in life and online.

If you’re a bit hesitant about sounding your voice and sharing your products, services or business online, first of all, know you’re not alone. It feels awkward for many of us, but don’t let feelings of fear get in the way of process and growth, ok?’

 

No more sitting on those hands and stifling that unique voice of yours – those are made to work, share and create.

It makes no sense to have a gift and message yet do nothing with it. Don’t let fear win when it’s already destined to be a loser. Take a step forward and introduce your business, not out of vanity or pomp but with purpose.

The sisters you meet along the way (whether in person or online) may be very well looking for the service, product or message that your business offers.

So, yeah – take 15 minutes to update that profile to refresh your bio and articulate how you serve, delete that dormant account that no longer aligns with you, de-clutter that contact or online ‘friends’ list, take a deep breath and a step towards pressing publish on that post or video you’ve been meaning to share.

Let your light shine…these ladies sure do

To be first on the list in finding out the date for our next ‘Sparkle‘ workshop a few months away or to a request a copy of the ‘Business Clarity Map‘ for creative ladies, sound your voice through this form