I was chatting to a friend this morning about the issues we faced, when setting up our businesses. One of the ever recurring problems is finding time to do everything, and prioritising work. My main work is writing and editing – the magazine for kids, this one for parents, and of course the books for Jump! Books.
We are currently working on the third and fourth #12Women books, the next InstaExplorer, a book on Grammar (for parents to help their kids with homework), and my Social Media for Parents book. I really need a clone, or failing that, someone to help with bits and pieces that need to be done, but I’m not very good at.
I do all the work on the website myself, and while I do enjoy it, I’m far from being an expert. If I want to change something, it takes me quite some time. I muddle through, and find a way eventually, but sometimes it would be good to hand it over to someone who has real talent in this field.
We talked about how great it would be, if we could hand over the (for us) tedious chores to someone who is good at this. To women who, like us, were starting up their own business, and trying to get too much word done in too short a day! We do this informally with other friends, organising guest blog posts, or helping with website issues, but what if we were to do it on a larger scale?
And so we came up with the idea of starting a Facebook Group, to facilitate support and skill swap for women in business. Women supporting women.
This isn’t yet another networking group, or a place to promote your business. Our aim is to provide a space for women to exchange services, in order to grow their business.
Here’s an example of how this group works – Sarah is setting up her business as a copywriter. She asks if anyone would exchange a month’s social media expertise for four blog posts on the topic of their choice. Lisa is a social media whizz who never gets around to blogging (even though she knows she should because it brings visitors to her site). They agree on terms, and exchange skills.
Sarah is delighted that her Social Media is planned and scheduled for the entire month, which gives her time to scout out new clients. Lisa has a month of blog posts, and the time she spared not having to write them, meant that she had time to sign up a new paying client. Both benefit, and go on to recommend the services of their skill swap partner to others.
We are putting together a directory, so that members can search for someone who has the skills that they are seeking, or they can simply put out a shout out in the group. Join us here –
