Anyone else experienced a Mad March?  As an auto entrepreneur trying to make it in South West France one might think that life is quite easy going in the sleepy rural France. Think again!

March was a particularly busy month as my husband and I had to make a return trip to the UK, which was met with its own challenges but we are used to those now.  But it does mean that work has to be planned in advance, and then there is the catching up to do when you get back. We were without the usual fripperies of online life and made do with a pay as you go mobile phone to keep in touch with UK people.   Sighing a huge sigh of relief when our vehicle wheels touched French tarmac and headed for the toll roads back to our pocket of peace and tranquillity.  Talk about hit the ground running!  Neither of us had stopped for breath throughout March.

Fortunately, some much needed 'me' time was planned onto my calendar in the form of a 'pamper' day at Michael William Hairdressing in Chef Boutonne.   After an extremely fast paced Friday the day before, I questioned whether I should be taking some time out for me and use the Saturday to do some serious catching up with 'more important things'. 

On arrival to Michael William Hairdressing premises on Saturday 29th March, I was asked a really important question by Laura, who goes to great lengths to put on these pamper days.  "On a scale of 1-10, how much do you need today?"  The number 12 left my lips in a nanosecond.   

With bucks fizz at the ready, it was time to take advantage of 'me' time.  It was during my meditation moment that I realised just how important the day was.  Lying on the couch I  reflected on the month of March, I had packed a lot in... trip to the UK, house on the  market, house sold, the ensuing paperwork, organising of Les Dames networking, 12 hour #Facebook Day, birthdays, anniversaries , and that was on top of a busy day job. Not to mention the day to day, week by week housekeeping duties and gardening!  Since moving to France 18 months ago, I have not taken any time out for 'me'.   I regularly take a trip to my favourite hair salon and will walk for miles with dogs down white tracks absorbing the nature around, but cannot remember the last time I painted my nails! 

So I thank Laura from Michael William Hairdressing and Nicky from Nails by Nicola for pouring sanity over my Saturday and giving me the opportunity of some 'me' time,  that yes while we live in laid back rural France, where the pace of life is slower,  if you are not living your life at that slower pace, something will eventually give.

An all work and no play approach may have been de rigeur for life in England, but from now on, I will be making the most of the French bank holidays and making sure that my pedicured 'pieds' get the attention they deserve!

Do you take time out to spend on you?  If so, what do you do?  What's your 'me' time?

How do you get people to network when geography and distance between each networker is a strong barrier?  Organise a networking event online of course! 

Which is exactly what Ladies in Business in France did on Friday 21st March 2014. Ladies in Business in France is a 450 strong closed private group for female business owners in France.  It would be completely impossible to organise one single destination for everyone to meet up.    The group is visited daily by ladies posting questions about certain aspects of their business with advice and tips shared from how to promote your business to tax issues.  Ladies can then join a number of business directory files so that their services are easy to find should anyone need them.  

I had been toying with the idea for a few weeks about having some kind of networking event on line.   Having read some online links about organising Facebook parties and looking at a number of regular #FacebookFridays that take place on business pages, surely it would work for a private group?  

With International Day of Happiness and the arrival of the Spring equinox, Friday 21st March seemed an ideal day for a Facebook Friday.  An invitation was shared with the group on Monday 17th with the theme of Spring so that business owners could share any new offers  and chat with other page owners.  With a key takeaway that we all share another business page[s] to our own and extend a bit more Facebook love.  The event was open from 9.00am to 9.00pm to allow for working needs of the ladies.  

The event was officially opened at 9.00am on Friday 21st March and the following 12 hours literally sped by.  At 11am it was time for a virtual coffee break and at lunchtime an exercise sheet was shared as at this point 3 hours sitting on a chair can be somewhat uncomfortable on the derriere.  Pages were being shared, conversation was flowing, as you would expect with a room full of ladies.  Mid afternoon it was time for a cheeky cocktails and a bit of music to keep everyone on their toes. High fives were shared when pages reached significant number milestones.  You could feel the energy and buzz of activity as if it were taking place at a physical location and we were all in the same room!
 
With timed posts on other groups throughout the week, the day saw an influx in new members joining the group and as they were welcomed, they were signposted to join Facebook Friday which was taking place in the events tab just a click away.   

By 9pm 55 ladies had shared their pages.  Over 110 posts were made in that 12 hour period and over 40 new members had joined Ladies in Business in France.  With pages liked and increased understanding of other businesses, the week ended on a real positive note.  

What this exercise really showed was the power of using an online network to good effect.  France is a huge country.  For many it is difficult to network with other likeminded businesses whether with fellow expats or the French community.  Groups like this are a real lifeline when setting up or running an established business.   Everyone has a different experience and knowing that there are others out there who have been through those experiences and are willing to share them can make a huge difference on your mindset.   We will most certainly be hosting regular events in this way as the months go by.

If you are a female business owner in France and want to connect with other ladies, then please do visit Ladies in Business in France Facebook Group come and join us for a virtual coffee and a chat!

Yours Socially

Micala

To make things easier, plan your thoughts and strategy into seasons, as per the image above. Apply the above tips and what you do already and voila you start to have a plan. 

Don't limit this content to just Facebook, share across your other platforms.  If you do not have other social media platforms then do at least consider Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.  Different platforms have different audiences and if you place your content across each one at different times your audiences will be continuously visually inspired.   While social media platforms can lead to sales generation, the purpose of the activity is to drip feed consistently.  Social media platforms have the power to surprise when you least expect it and a follower on any of your platforms could be a potential customer or they know people and by sharing your content can indirectly put potential business your way. 

I am sure there are many more that can be added to the list, so please do share your thoughts

Yours socially
Micala