This Weeks Good News From Judith

This week I slowed down and stopped chasing international tax exiles and busy multi-tasking property entrepreneurs, trying to badger them into finding 30 minutes in which their diary might coincide with Nicola’s and mine so we could interview them.

Do you remember that advert for Cadbury’s Caramel, where a seductive bunny tried to persuade some other (fast) animal to slow down?   Well this week I surrendered to that same caramel seduction and stopped chasing.   Go with the flow, I reminded myself.   So I just sat back and allowed some good ideas to sally forth, about which more later.

I spent all of Tuesday on logistics.   Cor Blimey, team!   Remind me next time before I do this exactly what’s involved in running a Big Gig.   The venue, the AV tech, the laptops, the presenters, the timetables, the presentations, the film cameraman, the photographer, the speakers and their entourages, their lunch requirements, making sure they have their presentations on memory sticks with back up, the volunteer team, the stationery shopping list of sticky labels and pens, the systems for registration and the dispensing of badges and goody bags and how to process 200 people in 30 minutes.

The prizes, the prizes, the prizes – that’s my favourite bit.   The abundance of the speakers and their donations, all so we can raise £4,500 for The Big Issue.   Wow, is all I can say.   In my current totalling of their combined values, I am up to well over £42,500.   And with only 200 delegates, the chances of bagging a big one are excellent, especially if you are visualising it coming your way and the speaker of your choice shaking your hand/kissing you and congratulating you on your big win.

I persuaded Nicola and Steve to let me give away 90 days free in the Silver membership of the Money Gym to anyone who had already booked a ticket and then persuaded a friend to come too.   That’s 90 days each by the way!

You should have seen me and Steve trying to understand the process for THAT one!   At the time of writing, there’s still time for you to cash in on that promo.

Then Marion and I walked through the event, decided what we wanted each volunteer to do on the day, decided who was going to take money for books on sale, who was going to be the Speaker Fairies, and who in charge of logging who won what so I could follow through and make sure each speaker delivered.   Marion and Steve are in charge on the day because I shall be on the stage for a change.   Fabulous to have such support from folks as passionate as I am about this project and all the good we can do with it.   Good for the delegates, good for The Big Issue, good for us.

At the time of writing I am still trying to work out how to use viral marketing to sell the remainder of the tickets – if you can Twitter it, or blog it, or somehow pass the message along, do please do that.   If someone mentions your name on their booking form, 90 Silver days will be winging themselves in your direction too.

The Big Issue have us appearing in their magazine dated 16th March, apparently most copies are sold on Mondays and Tuesdays – they have been so helpful it’s not true – and on Tuesday a small select bunch of us are going to scope out what they do at closer quarters at their Real Lives Real Achievements evening at the Proud Gallery in Camden.

I’ve written up most of my 37 reasons to attend and circulated them to our list:

Wriggling the Knobs (8 inspirational reasons)
10 Year’s Holidays for The Price of One (7 financial reasons)
Is that YOUR Raffle Ticket in my Champagne Bucket (5 incentive reasons)
A Hungry Mosquito in a Nudist Camp (10 opportunity reasons)
Stop the Rot, Get a SIPP (three educational reasons)

Total so far 33 reasons, just four more to go early next week.   I shall make it my business to be The Killer Reasons!

It’s been another fabulous week.   I am learning so much about how to put on a big event, marketing, planning, delivery.   Ironic that the last ten years, when I was b****ing about getting out the day job, I was an FD for an events company.   Perhaps that explains my love of the live event, I’m so looking forward to the day.   I’ve even collected The Big Cheque from the bank, now all that remains is to fill it in.   How many more tickets will I sell, how much money will I be able to write in there?

Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported and volunteered so far, especially the enormously patient Mr Steve Watson who himself has made a donation of his time worth £1200 for the prize fund.

And finally, I am cooking up something extra special for those new Silver Members which I may be able to roll out to all Silver members and perhaps even to create something ongoing for them.   Silver membership is all about self-study.   Its uber affordable access to all or most of what the Money Gym offers, without the 1-2-1 coaching.   So I am thinking of setting up a little pilot scheme to get the new ones through their first 90 days so that they derive maximum value from it and will want to continue their relationship with us.   I can’t think about this much before the 21st, but I will announce it before 1st April – another exciting creative project coming your way.   Left alone to study, how many are successful?   In all my years with the Money Gym, I can think of only one shining example.

It’s all go.   This is my last Good News piece for the ezine before the Property Extravaganza.

Have I done enough to get you there?