Ah it’s been a whirlwind year hasn’t it? I had grand plans for a regular blog full of PR hacks and insights but I’ll confess, focusing on clients’ content, planning for next year and keeping the business afloat have dominated my days these past  few months. 

I thought it’d be nice to introduce the team, so each week we’ll publish a blog from one of us. They’ll all be very different, but they’ll help you to get to know us a bit more.

I shared a bit about me in this blog so today I’ll give you a bit of insight into what this past month has looked like for me.

 Well to start with, I’m hosting a training course today and it’s in PERSON. I know, the concept of meeting others in a professional capacity is something I’d almost forgotten about but I’m so glad it’s happening today. Thankfully we’re in Tier 1 so this is possible. I’m excited about this because aside from it being able to go ahead, I really enjoy empowering professionals and business owners to make their voice heard. I’ve spent a lot of time preparing for today’s course and off the back of this we’re likely to host smaller online workshops throughout 2021.

We’re also releasing a Dales PR and Marketing PR and Content Calendar! Cara has been the design whizz behind it and it’s THE companion you need to help you plan your content and PR activity for 2021. I’m always banging on about planning in advance to maximise opportunities for media coverage, so this is my way of making this as easy as possible for you. We’re also chucking in some digital planners with every calendar purchased. I’m glad this is happening as I’ve been wanting create some sort of product for the past two years!

“I’ve been working far smarter than I ever have done, focusing on what’s important while respecting the boundaries between work and my personal life. I’ve consistently  had more evenings and weekends off… there are certainly many positives.“

I’m also in the process of joining the North East Chamber of Commerce and Forward Ladies. I love the Dales Business Women network which I run and now it’s time for me to ramp up my networking activity and branch out. If you’re a part of either network, drop me a line and let me know how you find it.

We also have our Dales Christmas Market coming up and this is shaping up nicely. We’ve been talking to the press this week about some potential coverage and continuing to work behind the scenes on each ‘stall’ on the website to ensure visitors have a great shopping experience. 

This is of course alongside the usual client work, PR Hours and the day-and-a-half I have off when I’m looking after my two year-old daughter (she thinks she’s six though, she seems to like that number). 

I imagine it’s head down for most of us right now, these uncertain times are trying, I’m finding the ambiguous and ongoing nature of these restrictions harder than earlier in the year. (Remember  when lockdown was novel and everyone thought virtual interaction would replace nearly all of our physical events and activity? Then we realised we’re human and still need each other). 

Having said all that, I’ve been working far smarter than I ever have done, focusing on what’s important while respecting the boundaries between work and my personal life. I’ve consistently  had more evenings and weekends off I did in the two years prior to lockdown. So yes, it’s been  busy and to be honest, it’s often felt like a slog, but there are certainly many positives. 

What have the past few months looked like for you? I’d really love to hear from you.

Sharon is the company director and PR guru. She likes herbal tea but often forgets to drink them and ends up drinking them cold.