Choices Local issue 4 - Nov Dec 2019

Creating a 

HOME OFFICE 

on a BUDGET 

Issue 4 Nov/Dec 19 

MANAGING 

STRESS IN 

YOUR 

BUSINESS 

Write your 

first book 

NETWORKING 

EFFECTIVELY 

NEW HUB FOR 

BUSINESSES 

Mary Otumahana 

Tottenham's award winning entrepreneur on her music 

journey and business 

Helping you make the transition from employee to entrepreneur

Welcome... 

Welcome to our latest edition of Choices 

Local; it’s been a while, but we are still in 

the game bringing you another snapshot of 

amazing people from Haringey and beyond; 

all taking that brave step to start and grow a 

business. 

In this issue we catch up with the busy 

Mary Otumahana; read her story on page 

14 and see how she has turned her love for 

music into a thriving business. Mary’s 

business is situated in the beautiful listed 

building at 639 Tottenham High St, called 

the Trampery; find out more about their 

launch event and what facilities are available 

to you on page 6. 

Our business will soon grow out of the 

back bedroom that we have built it in; as we 

look forward to the exciting challenge of 

finding a good workspace, for those of you 

still at the beginning stage, or simply not 

planning to move your business out of your 

home, go to page 9 and let Lisa Charles tell 

you how to set up that home office on a 

budget that suits you. 

Thank you to everyone who read about our 

challenges in our last issue and offered help 

and encouragement; it was very much 

needed and appreciated; I will update you 

on our progress in the next issue. In the 

mean time; for those of you going through 

some major challenges, go to page 27 where 

Adam Shaw has some very good tips on 

handling time, pressure and stress in your 

business. 

Don’t forget to read our inspirational quote 

on page 37. You can cut it out, keep it or 

display it however you choose. Why not 

build up a beautiful inspirational wall, 

surrounding yourself with positive 

messages to keep you focused and 

motivated on this fantastic journey. 

Before I go I would like to sincerely thank 

Hemant Amin, the Principal Business 

Growth Officer at Haringey Council; he 

supports so many business initiatives in the 

Borough, including Global Entrepreneurs 

Week, Haringey Bursary Program, which 

(this year) is a collaboration with Coventry 

University and Haringey Council and he 

successfully brought the Business Library 

into Haringey Libraries via the SiLL (Start 

Up In London Libraries) Program. 

I would also like to thank Simon Beer, the 

Head of Service for Haringey Adult 

Learning Service (HALS), who heads up an 

amazing team, providing a host of courses 

for adult learners. 

Without the support of these two people 

and many others, we would not be able to 

bring you Choices Local today. 

We love what we do and you our readers 

make us what we are; we especially love it 

when you interact and connect with us. 

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, follow 

us on Twitter and Instagram and keep on 

being incredible. 

Speak soon, 

Anthony Charles 

Local Haringey 3

Inside this issue 

6 

New hub for entrepreneurs 

In a beautiful listed building, The 

Trampery and Launch It open a new 

business hub in Tottenham. 

6 

9 

Creating a home office on a 

budget 

Choices Local co founder shares 

her tips on setting up a workspace 

at home. 

14 20 

14 

20 

COVER STORY: Mary 

Otumahana 

Anthony Charles speaks 

to Mary about her award 

winning music business. 

Write your first book 

Author Andrea 

Campbell shares her tips 

to get you started. 

24 

PART 1: How To Network 

effectively 

Deer in the headlights at a 

networking event? Or suffering 

from verbal diarrhoea? Andrea 

Osborne helps you brush up on 

your networking etiquette. 

24 

4 Local Haringey

27 

Editors 


Lisa Charles 

Publishers 

Team Titanium 

Advertising & Distribution 


020 8889 5363 

ads@choicesmagazine.co.uk 

27 

31 

32 

37 

38 

Managing Stress 

The heart guy, Adam Shaw shares his tips 

on managing time, pressure and stress in 

your business. 

Titanium Thinking 

Could flicking a switch 

change everything for you? 

Haringey Events & Resources 

Upcomning events and available resources 

in the borough. 

Choices Inspiration 

Quotes to get you inspired and motivated. 

Perfect for framing and putting up on your 

wall... 

37 

Last word 

Anthony Charles sums up this issue. 

www.choiceslocal.co.uk 

www.twitter.com/choiceslocal 

www.facebook.com/choiceslocal 

www.instagram.com/choiceslocal 

While every care is taken to 

ensure accuracy, Choices Local, 

the publishers, authors and 

printers cannot accept liability for 

errors or omissions. No part of 

this publication may be 

reproduced in any form. 

Opinions expressed in this 

magazine are not necessarily 

those of Choices Local or the 

publisher. All material in this 

magazine is intended to be used 

for information purposes only. 

You agree to perform your own 

due diligence and that Choices 

Local or Team Titanium will not 

be held in anyway liable for any 

consequences without limitation, 

resulting from any action you or 

any other person takes or fails to 

take, whether or not based on 

information provided in this 

magazine or on any related 

websites, emails, newsletters, 

social media posts, texts or 

Whatsapp messages. 


New entrepreneur hub 

launched in Tottenham 

The Trampery (formally the 639 

Centre) was officially opened by the 

Duke of York on the 11th July 2019 

in partnership with Launch It 

London (formally the London Youth 

Support Trust) and the London 

Mayor. 

Young and early stage entrepreneurs 

aged 18-30 have access to the 

Launch It 2 year incubation 

programme where these 

entrepreneurs will receive business 

planning advice, mentoring, 

networking opportunities, access to 

funding and a discounted incubator 

studio at The Trampery. 

There are plans to upgrade the 

facilities to make the building more 

accessible to the local community. 

The Mayor of London has 

committed £350,000 towards the 

fundraising goal of £750,000. 

Proposed changes to the building 

include an Entrepreneurs’ Lounge, 

community kitchen and co-working 

desk space on the ground floor, as 

well as the refurbishment of all 

meeting rooms and common areas. 

. 


Trampery Launch July 2019 with the Duke of York, centre. 

Location: The Trampery Tottenham, 639 High Road, London N17 8AA 

Visit www.thetrampery.com/workspaces/tottenham 

For more information on the incubation programme contact Clifford Dobbs - 

cliff@launchit.org.uk 


Creating a home 

office on a budget 

According to the office of national statistics; of the staggering 4.2 million people who work 

from home (the highest rate since comparable records began in 1998), two-thirds of these 

home workers are self-employed. 

Creating a productive and organised home office is of paramount importance and although 

there are costs that you cannot avoid, there are plenty of cost saving ideas that will help you 

keep more money in the bank. For some inspiration, check out my top tips for creating a 

space that you’ll love for a budget you can afford. 

BARE ESSENTIALS ONLY 

Don’t get carried away and immediately go 

shopping; buying things you don’t need, 

blowing the budget that you don’t have! 

Make a list of the bare essentials you need 

to do your work. Once you have been 

working from home for at least a few weeks 

you’ll have a better idea of anything you 

additionally need that will add to your 

productivity. 

LOCATION, LOCATION, 

LOCATION 

If you are amongst the lucky ones and have 

a spare room, attic or basement that you are 

going to transform into your office, you 

won’t have to spend any time thinking of 

the best location in your home. If not, 

you’ll have to think about the best place for 

you to work where you can have some 

privacy, sufficient space for you to make 

your home office mark and preferably 

decent lighting – near to a window is ideal 

if feasible. 

If you think you have absolutely no where 

suitable, put your creative cap on. You’d be 

surprised at where people have set up shop 

in their homes, albeit unconventional in 

some cases but you can make it work. You 

may have to forgo the idea of privacy and 

an idyllic window view with some of these 

ideas, but remember the end game – 

flexibility, independence and control of 

your time and life! 

Large landings can make a great space, as 

well as utilising that cupboard filled with 

things you no longer need. 


See what you can get for free. Yes you read 

correctly, free! If you haven’t already, join 

one of the many recycling groups. I’d 

recommend either Freecycle or Freegle. 

Search for your area, join the group and see 

what people are giving away. Companies 

also use these networks to get rid of office 

furniture if they are refurbishing or closing 

down. You can also do a ‘WANTED’ post 

to ask specifically for what you are looking 

for. 

OPT FOR CHEAP AND/OR 

CREATIVE OFFICE FURNITURE 

The corner of a living room, kitchen or 

dining room are also useable spaces. If you 

are in a communal space, consider room 

dividers for some privacy and put together a 

timetable of your working hours so you can 

carve out some time where you are less 

likely to be disturbed, or distracted by other 

family / household members. If you don’t 

have enough natural light, make sure to 

brighten up your space with table lamps. 

If you do need to buy furniture and 

accessories stay clear of the specialist office 

retailers and opt for cheaper alternatives – 

check out places like Amazon, Argos, Ikea, 

Asda, Tesco and Homebase. 

At the lowest end of the market, you can 

get a very basic desk for under £30. 

DIG FOR THE FORGOTTEN 

I know there’s the temptation and want to 

go and buy new shiny things for your work 

space, but hold off and look around your 

home for items you can use. Check 

cupboards, attics and basements for things 

you may have forgotten about that could be 

put to use again. And if you think you have 

nothing of use, keep reading, you may well 

be inspired... 

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS 

ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE 

Argos £25 

If you want something more robust without 

the cost attached, secondhand furniture is a 

great option. Have a look in your local 

secondhand store, check Facebook for any 


local groups in your area selling unwanted 

items and of course, have a look on eBay. 

Alternatively, why not make your own desk? 

Either upcycle an old piece of furniture 

such as an old dressing table or use other 

unconventional items like an old door as 

your desk surface and purchase legs from 

Ikea. Have a look round your home with 

fresh creative eyes and search google images 

for DIY desk ideas – you’ll be amazed! 

Lastly, look for general household 

bookshelves and other shelving rather than 

looking for office specific items to keep 

costs down. 

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR 

STORAGE 

‘I haven’t got any storage space!’ - This is a 

complaint I hear all the time from people 

setting up an office space at home and of 

course, it’s not surprising. As a family of 

five we have storage challenges, let alone 

adding an office into the mix. 

Create a shoe box stationery caddy 

(shoebox and toilet rolls covered with 

contrasting paper). 

Use jars to 

utilize the 

space under 

your shelves 

(glue the jar 

lid under the 

shelf). 

The good news – a little creativity goes a 

long way! Where you can, use your walls 

with well thought out shelving and you can 

use things like wire or wicker baskets 

instead of traditional office storage items. 

Shoe boxes covered with some nice paper 

also look great. Don’t forget doors either, 

they’re great for storing stationery items in 

an over the door canvas shoe rack, wire rack 

or a specifically designed office door storage 

product. Check out these fabulous ideas for 

some inspiration... 

Use your door to hang office 

stationery or use for filing papers 

(the possibilities are endless!) 


EVALUATE YOUR IT 

REQUIREMENTS 

This is an area where low cost can often 

mean poor product, so you’ll have to do 

your research here. If you need to buy a 

laptop (for the small home office a laptop is 

usually more practical), seek some advice on 

the minimum spec you need for what you’ll 

be using the laptop for. If you’ll be using 

design programs, you will need a much 

higher spec than someone who just uses 

word processing software. 

Also, if you tend to work with many 

applications open at once along with a lot 

of internet tabs running, then you’ll need a 

laptop that can handle this level of 

multitasking well without freezing up or 

slowing down to snail pace. 

It's wise to invest in a backup drive or use an 

online cloud storage package (we use both). 

For an external drive, 1TB (terabyte) is a 

good size and will mean you won't be 

running out of space anytime soon. Make 

sure to backup at least weekly; a few years 

ago we lost half of our drive due to a virus. 

After a frantic search I found a program 

that managed to restore some files, but we 

lost years of work - make sure that doesn't 

happen to you. We use Backblaze, who are 

extremely reasonable, but there are many 

other great alternatives. 

And if you need a printer, invest in an all in 

one model that includes a scanner – this is 

very useful for emailing documentation and 

replaces the need to fax documents – who 

faxes nowadays anyway? Be sure to check 

the cost of refill ink, especially where the 

initial cost of the printer is very cheap, 

guaranteed the refills won’t be! 

With regards to the internet, bear in mind 

that you’ll be using the internet more than 

you have ever used before, now that you’re 

working from home, so make sure you get 

an unlimited data package so that you are 

not hit with additional costs on your bill. 

DON’T IGNORE ERGONOMIC 

RULES 

You’ll be sitting at your desk for long 

periods at times, so make sure you avoid any 

health problems by adhering to the 

guidelines on correct posture, chair height, 

screen distance and eye level. Search 

‘wikihow how to set up an ergonomically 

correct workstation’ for a step by step 

tutorial. 

Lastly, save and create where you can but 

invest in a good chair that you’ll be 

comfortable in; you’ll be more productive 

and your back will thank you! 

Bare Essentials Checklist 

Laptop / PC 

Desk 

Chair 

Good lighting 

Unlimited data internet 

Backup drive 

For more ideas, follow our home office 

Pinterest board for endless creative ideas 

https://www.pinterest.com/choicesmag/ 

home-office-ideas/ 


Mary Otumahana 


Mary Otumahana is a rap artist and entrepreneur. She's the founder of The Record Shop; a 

free recording studio program for young people and the independent record label Prodigies 

of Nature. She performs under the alias of 'wonder woman' and 'the girl next door that raps' 

and is an experienced business owner songwriter and performer. Her experience includes 

music consultancy, project management, filmmaking and youth work. 

The Tottenham based entrepreneur is the winner of the 2017 Basic Business Initiative UK 

award for New Entrepreneur Mind of the Year’, she was a nominee for the 2018 Precious 

Awards for ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’, she’s the winner of the Mayor of London's 

2018 Cultural Seeds Awards for ‘People Powered Culture’ and she's the winner of the 2019 

Anjool Malde Memorial Foundation 'Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award'. 

Anthony Charles caught up with Mary to have a chat about her journey so far... 

Where did it all start for you? 

I would say that my whole journey started 

from my early interest and passion for 

music. Growing up loving music gave me 

a way to express myself. I worked as a 

youth worker at the time, which I really 

enjoyed, so I just felt like the perfect thing 

to do was to set up a platform that 

combined the two things that I was very 

passionate about; so in 2015 I set up The 

Record Shop. 

At the time, there was an organization 

called Somewhereto who provided free 

spaces all over the UK and one of the free 

spaces they had was in Tottenham, and as 

I don't live too far away it was perfect for 

me. When I went to visit the space, I loved 

it; I would bring my equipment from 

home and set it up. It was a social action 

project giving upcoming artists the 

opportunity to perform for free. Through 

that I applied for further funding and then 

in 2017, I officially set up as a community 

interest company; and from there on, the 

business started to take off. I also 

participated in the Haringey Bursary 

Programme, which really helped me to 

refine my business model and gain the 

necessary experience I needed to develop 

as a social entrepreneur. 

Is that the free weekly course run 

by Dr Jane Chan and Ainurul 

Rosli? 

Yes 

How was the course? 

The course was great because no matter 

where you're at with your business, 

whether it's just an idea or you've been 


unning your business for a couple of 

years, it's a great space for you to learn 

about other businesses and get advice 

from the different coaches. You get a 

mentor as well. And just to have that 

support network is great. We met every 

single week and presented our ideas and 

got feedback straight away. You learn 

about how to pitch your project, about 

crowd funding, how to refine your 

business model and explore different 

income streams as well, so there is so 

much you can learn. We had a 

graduation at the end of it and 

visited Westminster University, 

which was really nice. 

Taking part in different 

programs like this has really 

helped with my own personal 

business journey because the 

information is so crucial and 

key for you setting up your 

own business. I would 

definitely advise any businesses in 

Haringey who just want that extra support 

and experience, to register and get 

involved. 

watching and enjoying my mum's favourite 

songs. I loved the melodies and 

harmonies because I felt as if the audience 

or the listener could connect with the way 

the artist expressed themselves through 

their music. 

Did you have instruments when 

you were young? 

I really wish I had instruments. I would 

say my connection was through song 

I think at the 

time I was quite 

shy and an 

introvert, so the 

way that I 

expressed music 

was mainly 

through writing. 

writing. I really loved 

poetry and creative 

writing when I was 

younger, so the way that 

I would translate that was 

either through song 

writing or poetry. I think 

at the time I was quite 

shy and an introvert, so 

the way that I expressed 

music was mainly 

through writing. 

That's great. Now, you called your 

business The Record Shop. Tell me 

about the name. 

What was your first experience with 

music? 

I would say when I was very young, maybe 

between five and eight years old, my mum 

would play music videos from a VHS tape 

and there were so many different music 

videos of different pop artists from the 

eighties and nineties, like Michael Jackson 

and Madonna; I was so intrigued by all this 

music and I'd just be watching and 

It says exactly what it does, but in some 

ways it doesn't, because a lot of people 

always assume that we sell vinyl’s, records 

and things like that; which is cool because 

eventually that's something that I would 

like to do. But The Record Shop is based 

on my vision. I always pictured the shop 

being somewhere accessible for young 

people; for example, like a shop front on 

the high road where school kids after 

school would be walking by and if they 


wanted to record a track they could pop 

in, record something very quickly and then 

leave with an MP3 or something to 

demonstrate what they had created. So it 

was based on the whole concept of having 

a recording studio in a shop on the high 

road, that would be accessible to young 

people. 

of it. I've always wanted to set up my 

own record label, be an independent artist 

and release my own music; even when I 

had my home studio, I was learning about 

sound engineering and production. I 

pretty much did everything independently; 

so when I set up my own label I decided 

to use Prodigies of Nature as the name. 

Fantastic; how does somebody go 

about doing that? 

So at the moment we have a website 

which is therecshop.co.uk and a young 

person if they're interested in recording 

can sign up online. When we run our 

youth projects, which are usually 10 weeks 

long, I send out an email to everyone who 

registered and if they’re interested, they 

can express their interest and can come 

along to have a free recording session. 

The sessions are usually 

three hours long and in that 

time they can record their 

track and we'll also mix it; so 

they leave with an MP3 at 

the end of their session. 

Tell me a bit about the 

record label Prodigies 

of Nature and also the 

name; where did the 

name come from? 

Prodigies of Nature is actually from a 

book that a friend gave to me; it was the 

autobiography of Mozart. In the book 

Mozart and his sister were describing 

prodigies of nature. That really stood out 

to me and I really liked it so I made a note 

I can hear the passion in your 

voice; it’s like music. I'm taking it 

that you love what you're doing? 

Absolutely! 

I've always 

wanted to set 

up my own 

record label, be 

an independent 

artist and 

release my own 

music... 

You're based in the Trampery, 

which is an amazing building in 

Tottenham. Would you 

recommend the space? 

Absolutely; I feel sometimes you just need 

that professional 

environment where you can 

meet other businesses to 

motivate you to complete 

any work that you have 

going on; it’s so important 

to be in the right space with 

the right people and the 

Trampery Tottenham is a 

beautiful building with a lot 

of mentors and support 

available. They have 

programs to help businesses 

and they do offer desk space as well. So 

I'll just say that anyone local or that's 

interested in starting up a business, this is 

a great space that's available and you 

should definitely get involved. 


Who are your heroes Mary? 

There are people that I really admire like 

Tupac Shakur. When I was around 14 

years old, l really loved the way that he 

used the music to address the serious 

issues to do with politics and society. I 

loved the fact that he was an individual 

and he was expressing himself using his 

platform to highlight important issues. 

And definitely my mum; her whole 

journey is an inspiration. 

She raised four children, 

and being such a strong 

woman she showed me 

that the potential of what 

anyone can achieve is 

limitless. She taught me 

to be strong minded; 

consistent and to just 

keep going. 

What was some of 

the toughest things 

that you faced? 

Just setting up the whole business, because 

to be honest, when I was younger I never 

saw myself being a business owner. I 

didn't think business had anything to do 

with creativity or the arts. 

I guess even that transition before I set up 

as a business was really hard; I was 

working part time as a teaching assistant 

and youth worker, so just taking that next 

step, allowing myself to be the leader, 

having a manager role and being confident 

in my decisions was a challenge. 

Don't give up, 

just be resilient 

and persistent 

because 

sometimes you go 

through the ups 

and downs before 

you see the best 

outcome towards 

the end. 

Give me one piece of advice that 

you would give to a new 

entrepreneur? 

You shouldn't assume that you're going to 

see the results that you want straight away. 

Don't give up, just be resilient and 

persistent because sometimes you go 

through the ups and downs before you see 

the best outcome towards the end. Just 

don't give up and just keep going. 

Tell me a little bit 

about your vision for 

the future. Where are 

you going to take this? 

My vision is to grow 

everything I'm doing and 

really demonstrate how 

even as an individual, if you 

do have a vision from when 

you are a kid, it is 

achievable. There are 

definitely challenges, but 

being resilient and 

persistent can help you go far. It's just 

one of those journeys that has its ups and 

downs, but it's really about how you cope 

with those ups and downs. 

www.therecshop.co.uk 


Write your 

first book 

Whether you choose to write fiction or nonfiction, 

depends on personal choice and 

your natural orientation. In my case I chose 

to write non-fiction, but would not rule out 

attempting fiction at some point. 

There are different strategies that can be 

adopted when writing and while they differ 

according to the genre of writing you have 

chosen, there are some basic principles that 

are common to both: 

1) Choose an appropriate subject 

One of the challenges that awaits the 

unsuspecting writer is what is referred to as 

writers' block – a period when ideas simply 

refuse to flow. Most writers experience that 

moment at some time, but it is far worse 

when you are writing on a subject about 

which you are not passionate. Your main 

aim of writing should be the drive to share 

with the world a piece of information that is 

interesting and relevant, not just to write a 

book. For example, I wrote 'Jamaican 

Proverbs, People and Places', because I 

believe that the proverbs are very powerful 

and practical and that the younger 

generation is missing out on important 

truths and a part of their culture. I am keen 

to ensure that this part of our culture does 

not disappear and I thought I could do that 

by documenting the information in the form 

of a book. 

If you have decided to 

write a book, write it! 

Allocate time to writing and 

keep a note pad on hand to 

chronicle those fleeting ideas 

that come to mind. 

2) Research 

Both fictional and non-fictional writers 

conduct research for their work. It is 

particularly important that you gather 

relevant information and have a good 

knowledge of your chosen subject. Nonfictional 

writing in particular requires 

accuracy and validity. Ensure that from the 


your readers, for example, if you are writing 

for children between the ages of say 7-12, 

you should use clear, simple words without 

patronising them. If, like I did, you draw on 

the experience of people, presenting them 

in case studies to support your arguments, 

do ensure that you include a bibliography 

and that in the text you credit those 

individuals appropriately. Ensure that your 

paragraphs flow and that you arrange the 

material into bite-size chunks. It is usually 

better to write concise, clear sentences than 

long, potentially confusing ones. 

beginning you take note of any material 

taken from other people’s work. Use the 

research you have done to help you organize 

the chapters and sections of your book. In 

researching you should consider your target 

readers - Who are they? Why would they 

want to read your book? Do they have a 

problem that you will help them to solve? 

How big is the market? Which publishers 

will you approach? Will you consider self 

publishing? 

3) Planning 

A good structure is based on a good plan. 

In order to appeal to a publisher and to 

target readers, your work should be 

presented in a logical, systematic order, 

using good grammar and syntax. The level 

of writing should take into consideration 

In structuring your book bear in mind the 

following 5 Cs: 

i) Correctness – ensure your facts are 

accurate and that your use of English is 

good. 

ii) Clearness – avoid ambiguity by ensuring 

that your readers can clearly understand the 

text. 

iii) Conciseness – don’t ramble or use 

unnecessary words; avoid long-winded 

explanations. 

iv) Coherence – check to ensure that your 

information is presented in a logical, orderly 

manner. 

v) Completeness – All relevant facts must 

be in place and any additional reading 

should be optional. 

4) Time management 

If you have decided to write a book, write 

it! Allocate time to writing and keep a note 

pad on hand to chronicle those fleeting 

ideas that come to mind. When I was 

writing 'Practical Business ABC' I would get 

up in the wee hours of the morning to jot 

down ideas that came to mind. Whenever I 

experienced a situation that I thought would 


add value to the material, I would stop and 

document it to remind myself to include 

that information later. Don’t aim for 

perfection in the first go; a manuscript is 

reviewed several times. Just write down 

what comes to mind. Don’t be too hard on 

yourself if you experience extended periods 

of writers block; it happens! Just start 

writing again when you feel inspired. 

Sometimes you may need a trigger to give 

you a jump start; learn to recognise useful 

triggers and act on them. For example, you 

may find that you are able to think when you 

are in a particular place or when you are 

alone. Create opportunities to facilitate your 

trigger if you are keen to make progress in 

writing your book. 

5) Back-up your material 

I have a friend who constantly laments on 

how he lost his material – years of work that 

he spent compiling to eventually write a 

book. Be aware of the fact that technology 

sometimes fails and ensure that you backup 

your material and reduce the possibility of 

loss. One cost effective way of ensuring 

that you do not lose the information is to 

email it to yourself. Bear in mind however, 

that some email addresses will not accept 

large files. Either break it down in sections 

or acquire software that allows the 

transmission of large files. 

6) Have the book proof-read 

Don’t assume that you know everything 

about anything. Have some objective people 

give you a fresh eye view of your work. 

They may take a long time to come back to 

you depending on their personal workloads, 

but this review stage is very important and 

will no doubt help to enhance the material. 

Be patient; you may need to nudge your 

reviewers from time to time and some may 

never come back to you. When you do 

receive the (hopefully objective) feedback, 

accept it and take it into consideration when 

conducting your final review. There is no 

point asking someone to read the material if 

all you want from them is praise. 

When I wrote my business book I had it 

proof-read by 2 people who had significant 

experience in business. Needless to say the 

publishers also scrutinised the material in 

great detail and all parties made 

recommendations for improvement. 

'Practical Business – ABC' is a better text 

because of it and those who have a copy will 

note that I have acknowledged their 

contribution in the text. 

Fictional writers have more leeway to create 

appeal and to be more spontaneous and 

humorous. Those who write non-fiction 

must also appeal to readers. The material 

must be able to hold the readers’ attention. 

Whichever genre of writing you elect to 

pursue, ensure that it fits together nicely and 

that it provides the target reader with a 

pleasant read and hopefully, learning 

experience. As the saying goes, there is a 

book in every one of us. Start writing yours! 

Andrea Campbell, MBA, MA 

Social Entrepreneur, Linguist, Published Author 

of Practical Business – ABC and Jamaican 

Proverbs, People and Places 


ADVERTISE 

YOUR 

BUSINESS 

HERE

How to 

network effectively 

PART 1 

Networking is a great strategy for 

small businesses; you can make 

friends as well as develop 

relationships which can generate 

referrals or business. 

It can seem odd suddenly talking to 

strangers when you probably wouldn’t 

if they were sitting next to you on a 

train. If it seems insincere, sometimes 

it can be, but ultimately networking is 

about building genuine, mutually 

beneficial relationships. It works but it 

takes time and effort. 

Think positively about 

networking 

It might not be natural to you, but 

unless you dislike people, there is 

usually someone interesting at any 

networking event. You need to find 

them, kiss those frogs (you don’t have 

to take that bit of advice literally) and 

find that person. Use networking to 

meet people and as importantly, to 

extend relationships with people you 

have already met. Until people know, 

like and trust you, they’re less likely to 

do business with you. 

Sharpen your elevator 

pitch 

Make sure you can get across what 

you do in an interesting and concise 

way, preferably not more than 30 

seconds. Practise on friends and 

family. 


Try different groups 

Not all networking groups are the 

same, if you don’t like getting up 

early in the morning, breakfast 

meetings might not be for you so try 

different times of the day but also 

different types of groups, there are 

lots out there catering to different 

business sectors and interests. 

Be focused 

Don’t try and meet everyone. If 

there’s a delegate list read it and try 

to meet the people you are more 

interested in, but don’t be blinkered, 

you never know who might be there. 

Don’t sell 

Obviously you’re there for new 

contacts and hopefully business in 

the long term, but don’t hard sell to 

people. You don’t like it so why 

would they? 

Ask questions 

People are often uncomfortable or 

shy on these occasions as 

networking doesn’t come naturally to 

many. People like being listened to, 

so ask open ended questions about 

their interests as well as their job. If 

you’re sincere they’ll remember you 

more than the person who thrusts 

their business card at them and 

drones on about their own business. 

Be generous 

Think of ways in which you can help 

the person you’re talking to, if you’re 

not sure how, ask. It’s not always 

about direct client referrals; it’s about 

building relationships, even 

friendships. 

Follow up 

Don't take someone's business card 

and forget about it. Keep in touch by 

phone, email, follow them on 

LinkedIn or social media such as 

Twitter. Whatever works for you, but 

maintain your network, otherwise all 

your hard work will be wasted. 

Networking is a necessary and 

essential part in any business. 

Become comfortable meeting new 

people and putting yourself and 

company out there. Remember you 

are looking to develop mutually 

beneficial relationships and never 

forget the central part of any 

network is “how may I help you”. 

Networking is just about getting on 

with people, and we can all do that. 

www.cushiontheimpact.co.uk 

Part 2 in the next issue - You’ve 

Networked Effectively, Now What? 

NETWORKING 


Managing 

Time, 

Pressure and Stress 

in your Business 

As a business owner life can become 

overwhelming at times. Between admin, 

marketing, planning, networking, IT, 

systems, accounting and delivering your 

service, life can be hectic. Add 

running a family, relaxing 

“ 

and 

spending quality time 

outside of your business 

to the mix and you may 

find yourself thinking, 

“I don’t think so!” 

If you are starting a 

business whilst holding 

down a job as you make 

the transition, you may 

well have a recipe for 

disaster if you do not 

manage your time and stress 

effectively. 

Balancing work and life is one of the 

trickiest areas to negotiate for most business 

owners, professionals and entrepreneurs. 

With so many tasks to do and not enough 

hours in the day, it’s easy to spend every 

waking hour doing the increasing tasks to 

I wish that I could tell 

you that this is an 

easy thing to do but 

the cold, hard fact of 

the issue is that it 

takes discipline, focus 

and a strong desire to 

value your wellbeing 

above all else. 

make your business work. Meanwhile, your 

social life suffers, your family suffer as they 

see you stressed and unable to turn your 

mind away from work when you are 

spending time with them and your 

life starts to slowly fall apart as 

your sleep, diet, weight, 

anxiety and blood pressure 

all slip out of harmony. 

Doing everything on 

your own, staying 

focussed and managing 

your time whilst working 

on your own is one of the 

trickiest paths to negotiate. 

” 

I have personally lost 

contracts, relationships and 

aspects of my wellbeing in the past 

as a result of the stresses that can 

accompany running my own business – and 

I am a stress management expert! What this 

means is that I have had to adapt my life 

and reprioritise my time commitments 

during my day. I wish that I could tell you 

that this is an easy thing to do but the cold, 

hard fact of the issue is that it takes 


discipline, focus and a strong desire to value 

your wellbeing above all else. 

In this article I will offer you the tools that 

have helped me to use my time more wisely, 

sharpen my focus and value my wellbeing as 

my top priority. After all, if you do not have 

your health and wellbeing then what is the 

point of having a business? 

TIP 1: Start each day by planning 

what you HAVE to do. 

Write down the tasks that simply have 

to be done and commit to doing 

them. By doing the task that you 

least want to do first thing, you will 

improve your energy and 

motivation for the rest of the day. 

Do this before ANYTHING else. 

You may be tempted to check your 

e-mails or social media accounts 

before you begin and before you 

know it, you have eaten into an hour 

or two of your day. Don’t, this will 

increase your stress as you start to 

feel guilty and sets your day up 

badly. 

TIP 2: Start your day with 

some form of exercise. 

Whether it is a few stretches for 5-10 

minutes or a walk around the block, 

get active first thing in the morning. 

This prepares your body for a more 

dynamic day. You may well be looking 

at this and thinking, “No thanks.” 


That’s understandable. When time pressure 

enters the equation, it’s increasingly 

common for people to drop anything that 

could improve their health and wellbeing as 

the pressure mounts. I go walking to start 

my day and return home feeling grounded, 

focussed and ready for work. 

Even by committing to do just 1 minute of 

stretching when you get out of bed, you 

can set a platform to improve with time. 

The trouble is that the idea of a 1 hour 

yoga or meditation class can be 

outside of most business owner’s 

time allowance, but a minute of 

stretching is accessible to everyone. 

Even the most apathetic 

entrepreneur is likely to be able to 

stretch out for a minute each 

morning. 

It’s ok to start with just a minute 

and build on that over time. The 

important thing is that you add 

some time to work on your 

wellbeing and stretching is a nice, 

gentle way to start your day. By all 

means add exercises to this routine 

as you feel motivated to do so but 

be gentle and allow yourself to find 

your natural flow and rhythm. 

TIP 3: Look to outsource or 

swap services with people to 

do the tasks that you hate. 

If, like me, there are certain tasks 

that even thinking about them 

makes your stomach tight with 


anxiety then this needs to be addressed. For 

me it’s admin, accounts and the IT aspects 

of my business, which I have had to learn 

whilst working on my own with a tight 

budget. When I started swapping services 

with IT and admin people I was able to get 

my website built and optimised as well as 

receive a ton of free consultation from 

experts on all aspects of my business. 

Just because you cannot afford certain 

services, doesn’t mean that you can’t be 

resourceful and get others to help you out. 

I have also asked people to mentor me and 

it never ceases to amaze me how generous 

other people have been to me with their 

time and expertise. I always look to see how 

I can help them and since stress is an area 

that most people struggle with, people 

usually help me and do so feeling glad that 

they did. Finding win-win relationships is 

crucial. 

TIP 4: Have a switch-off time or 

day. 

Set a time of day or a complete day 

(possibly Sunday) to turn your thoughts 

away from work. If you are in a 

relationship then ban all talk of work and 

give your family/partner permission to stop 

you in your tracks if they find you talking 

about work. Nothing will sabotage your 

relationships and life more than not being 

able to turn off your business-mind. 

Yes, your family and partner probably want 

to support you in any way they can but if 

you can’t learn how to be present and 

interested in them and what is happening in 

their lives then you will lose them 

eventually. If not by the lack of attention 

but by the lack of your own wellbeing, 

which always leads to an eventual health 

decline. 

Adopting deep breathing techniques, 

attending yoga or meditation classes or 

walking are some ways that you can learn to 

train your mind to let go of your anxieties 

which come with running your own 

business and live a more relaxed, rewarding 

and happy life. 

Adam Shaw is the Founder of Adam Shaw 

Heart Wellbeing Ltd and Creator of The Active 

Energy System. For free resources to manage 

your stress and increase the health of your heart, 

visit his website www.adamshaw.co 


Titanium Thinking 

On a particularly hot afternoon 

during the summer, I popped by a 

close friend’s home and stood 

talking to them in their front room; 

as we talked I couldn't help but 

notice a large fan fixed to the 

ceiling, spinning very fast silently 

above us. 

I moved 

slightly 

forward, 

intending to 

benefit more from 

the breeze, even if it was 

just going to be warm 

air. I eventually 

found myself 

standing directly 

under the fan and I 

could feel nothing; then I noticed 

nothing in the room was being 

affected by the fan which was 

spinning at top speed. Not the 

curtains, plants or anything and this 

was a seriously large fan. 

I asked my friend if I could check 

the fan out as something seemed 

wrong; long story short, as I 

switched off the fan and it 

eventually came to a stop, I looked 

at the way the blades were tilted and 

concluded that the fan was spinning 

backwards. I noticed a small switch 

on the side and enquired what it 

was for; my friend did not know, so 

I flicked it and switched on the fan. 

Gosh, we were immediately 

bathed in the lovely breeze; as 

the fan sped up the curtains 

danced discreetly and the 

magazine on the side waved. 

The difference was incredible; 

and to think for more than a decade 

my friend did not realise that the 

fan was not blowing, but drawing 

air upwards and circulating it. 

How many times in life are we 

going round and around in circles, 

moving things around but not 

making much of a difference? 

Doing things differently can blow 

huge results your way; it starts with 

a change of perception or paradigm 

and in many cases, it can be as easy 

as flicking a switch. 



Haringey Events & Resources 

Start-ups In London Libraries (SiLL) 

New three-year project, led in partnership 

by Haringey Council and the British 

Library’s Business and IP Centre (BIPC). 

2 day workshops, held quarterly in Haringey 

libraries. Learn from industry experts about 

what it takes to start or grow your business. 

Workshop topics include intellectual 

property and patents, marketing and 

branding and financial management. 

One-to-one support with SiLL Start-up 

Coordinator, Nicola Moore is available 

following workshops. Additionally, access 

the British Library’s vast resources and 

business advisers. 

For more information and workshop dates 

contact Nicola Moore, Project Coordinator: 

Email: startups@haringey.gov.uk Tel: 020 

8489 6939. 

Global Entrepreneurship Week 

Running from Monday 18th – 24th 

November 2019. 

A week of free workshops across 

Haringey to increase your business 

knowledge and skills to help grow your 

business. 

Sign up to the Choices Local newsletter, 

‘Inside Choices’ to get full details of all 

workshops, talks and activities in Haringey 

once information is released. 

Small Business Saturday 

Make a special effort to only shop local and 

support Haringey’s independent businesses 

on Saturday 7th December 2019. Show your 

high street, side streets, malls and markets 

some love. 

Sign up to the Choices Local newsletter, 

‘Inside Choices’ to make sure you don’t miss 

out on special discounts from your local 

shops on the day! 


Over 

30 local 

businesses 

Get your 

xmas orders 

in now

Competitive prices 

for your festive 

shopping 

Make the market 

hall part of your 

shopping 

experience

Huge variety from 

fashion & beauty, 

electricals and 

homewares to 

delicious food 

Market Hall 

The Mall Wood Green, 

High Rd, Wood Green, 

London N22 6YA

Blessed are those who 

dream dreams and 

are willing to pay the 

price to make them 

come true. 

Henry Viscardi 

CHOICES INSPIRATION

Last word... 

Well it’s a wrap for another issue. We 

started the idea of Choices Local as a way 

to share experiences and insights from 

Haringey’s entrepreneurs and business 

people with those who were ambitious 

enough to take the steps to join them. It’s 

been a real challenge and indeed a labour 

of love producing the magazine; we have 

made every mistake that you can imagine; 

we have missed some targets by a mile 

(that’s being conservative) but we have 

learned changed and grown from this 

experience. 

After all it’s not how you start, but how you 

finish. 

Speaking of finish; the year is nearly over; 

gosh the next time I write to you for 

Choices Local, it will be 2020. 

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a 

prosperous New Year; we do love 

Christmas time, but we know that it can be 

a challenging time for many. There is a lot 

of pressure to spend money over 

Christmas and if you are struggling 

financially, it can weigh on you. I’ve 

teamed up with Marie Henry from 

Breadline London to support her events 

that help those in the borough finding it 

hard to cope financially. After being 

homeless in my twenties and after my long 

battle with lack of finances, I’m looking 

forward to giving some practical help to 

those struggling and to let them know that 

if I can turn things round, so can they. If 

you or anyone you know can do with some 

practical help with finances then, make sure 

you join our mailing list or follow us on 

social media and we’ll keep you updated 

about upcoming events. 

I hope you take the time to set some 

business and personal goals for 2020. I 

know for some, things may not have 

turned out the way you planned in 2019, so 

you may be inclined to avoid making any 

major plans or setting specific goals. We 

haven’t hit all of our goals for 2019, but if 

we didn’t set any, we would have nothing to 

focus on and work towards, plus no way to 

monitor and track our progress; so we will 

be setting even bigger goals for next year. 

Our focus on supporting Haringey 

businesses remains the same and in order 

to be better, we must simply do better. We 

will do this be providing a better quality 

and more frequent magazine for you. 

We have found that the marketplace pays 

for value and the more solutions we are 

able to solve, the more clients we get. So 

keep on adding value to you and your 

brand, always seeking to creatively solve 

bigger and better problems for your clients 

and customers. 

Wishing you the very best for 2020 and 

beyond. 

. 

Anthony Charles. 

. 

Sign up for the Inside Choices 

newsletter at: www.choiceslocal.co.uk 


The business club for 

businesses and 

entrepreneurs in Haringey 

Head over to 

www.choiceslocal.co.uk for 

full details and event dates!

Choices Local issue 4 - Nov Dec 2019

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?