Confidence building, angel funding and where there be dragons

Dropping off my son at Cambridge University last week was expected to be a major turning point in my life.  But what counts as a turning point?  Being asked to provide social media training was the key turning point in my business – an opportunity arose, I grabbed it and suddenly everything changed.  When I was studying for the first year of my degree I took an introductory course in humanities, and one of the assignments was to identify turning points in literature.  I don’t suppose I’d considered it as a defined term before that: it’s a life changing event after which nothing is ever the same.  There have been six in my life.  This wasn’t one.

The day made me smile.  To watch your child walk away with confidence to start a new life as an independent person is really quite amazing. Within hours he had a new home, new bunch of friends, new interests. New new new!  I felt so proud of what he has achieved, and quite pleased with myself too.  I believe that confidence is one of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone, so I think I’ve done my job reasonably well!


Actually, nothing much has changed.  The house is quieter, the cat looks confused, I cook a little less than I did before, but that’s about it. I’m still busy in the office creating social media plans and writing blogs for my clients.  This week I also built a website for a new Thai Restaurant – and I did it without the background noise of Xbox, three TVs, eight guitars, an electric drum kit and a piano.  So yeah, something’s changed.

The extra time I thought I’d have to indulge in a new hobby hasn’t emerged – well, if that hobby is scuba diving there’s not much point doing it at home anyway; the bath is big but not that deep and I don’t usually wear a bikini in it.  (By the way, thank you to the few people who have offered to take me on diving holidays to Egypt!!)  I’m still thinking about joining an art class though.  Working with Martyn makes me want to paint naked people floating around the moon.  Or perhaps that should be underwater.

Did I tell you that our collaborative artwork is going on display in north London in a couple of weeks?  His paintings including my poetry. I’ll be emailing about that this week so please don’t junk me!!  I have been reliably informed that there will be wine and nibbles at the opening so surely that makes it worth adding me to your email safe list. It will be fantastic if you can call in.

Angel Investor, fairy godmother… pretty much the same thing

I’ll be avoiding the wine that day – even the pink sparkly stuff that makes me giggle at networking events.  I had a bit too much this week at a launch party for a new investment venture organised by Dragons’ Den dragon Rachel Elnaugh.  The venture’s known as angel funding – the opposite of fire-breathing dragon scariness, but I guess without the delicacy of angel dust; after all, the propositions requiring this type of crowd funding investment are hardcore business ventures.

I didn’t do much networking; I split most of the evening between just two men who may create my next turning point…  One has already approached me about social media work and the other is an investor in various businesses, some of which made me laugh – but I can’t say what they are as he told me about them in confidence.  Still, he’s buying me coffee soon, or maybe pink wine – and a cream cake – so I’ll know more about his antics after that.

In the meantime, ‘I sit and wait – does an angel contemplate my fate?  And do they know the places where we go?’   You know where I go – what are you waiting for?  Follow me there: @WeekendWitch.