N17 Creative Callings – 10 Top Tips To Help You Stay Positive During COVID-19

Eric Gilston’s free online Zoom seminar ’10 Top Tips to Help You Stay Positive During COVID-19′ was one in a series under the business support programme N17 Creative Callings. If you have just started or are looking to grow a business in the Tottenham CEZ area, then please get in touch and we will advise on how N17 Creative Callings, supported by the Mayor of London and the European Social Fund, can help you and your business. Contact Esme: esme@fashion-enter.com

 

Held on Friday 1st May 2020 the experienced life & business coach shared his top tips for staying positive during this uncertain and unprecedented time. Positive mental health is just as important as all the other elements that combine to create a successful business. If mental health is poor then this will no doubt affect your business and those that you work with.

Fashion-Enter CEO Jenny Holloway introduced Eric and explained how they met back in 2004, and how they have continued to work together ever since. Eric then talked about his experience as a Life & Business Coach, his book ‘The Life Coach’s Toolbox’ and provided examples of clients that he has worked with over the years.

Eric made an excellent job of making all the participants feel included in the seminar without pressurising them to share or speak up if they preferred not to. He began by explaining ‘If it’s to be, it’s up to me,’ that it is our choice whether we are negative or positive, that we mustn’t look to blame others and that we need to choose to be positive every single day. He then explained his top tips and throughout the seminar gave the participants tasks from writing down a list of all the things that they are grateful for to being specific on goals – writing them down with realistic strategies to achieve them.

Utilising this time of lockdown to learn something new was another top tip the Eric has embraced himself. He has been learning how to run webinar’s and has felt ‘wonderful’ learning this new skill that he had put off for some time. He also discussed the importance or writing goals down and prioritising them, setting time aside to spend on these goals each day or week. Other subjects Eric talked about included; music, reading, writing a journal and affirmations. Eric made the two-hour session interactive, informal and fun and highlighted some really clear pointers that everyone could utilise.

For the third and final hour of the session CEO Jenny Holloway discussed the realities of COVID-19 and business. What will be ‘the new normal?’ How retail, fashion and therefore brand business planning will need to change to adapt to these new times.

Jenny comments: “When you speak to businesses regarding COVID-19 and ‘The New Normal’ you realise how much turmoil there is for the micro and SME businesses today. I am so glad that we added quality time to listen, discuss, offer funding support and advice to the participants on Friday. There is support out there for creatives but it takes time and analysis to find out what is right for creatives and when we get down to basics it’s about having cash in the bank and survival of the fittest.

“We had a great proactive session following Eric’s upbeat session – we are talking slow slow slow fashion whereby every pound is going to count. We can support in many ways of course with extended payment terms, free fabric, free threads and a constant shoulder to lean on. N17 Creative Callings is going to not only build businesses but save them too!”

Feedback on what the participants found most useful from the session included:

“Affirmations, setting goals and developing strategies to achieve my goals.”

“A refresher on things I can easily do to change my own state.”

“I found GSA – goals, strategy, action. Affirmations – “if it’s to be, it’s up to me” – useful.”

“To always be positive and take action with your goals and strategies because it’s down to you to create the life you want to create for yourself.”

“I learnt that breaking down goals into micro-chunks makes them much more attainable.”

“The seminars / webinars have been a great success not just from being in COVID-19 but interacting on a business and social level with like minded individuals no matter where you are in your fashion journey. I hope this will continue after COVID-19.”

To find out more about the N17 Creative Callings programme visit: http://www.n17creativecallings.com/

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