We all have to make a living, whether we choose to be a performer or run our own business. Marketing yourself is the same as marketing a business so we have put together another of our amazing Accidental Conferences under the banner of Funny Business to explore how we can follow our dreams and generate income.
As with our previous business events, this will be an eclectic day of self-development and discovery laced through with our particular brand of female humour. Everyone who has come to one of our previous Accidental Conferences has found out something new about themselves and applied it to their lives.
We know that ‘funny’ is good for business and apply this liberally when we work with our corporate clients including JLL, who are hosting this event for us, to MasterCard, Lloyds of London, and Aon. This event ticks the box if you want to make people laugh and get paid as a comedian on the circuit, or if you want to build your confidence and learn to communicate more effectively in the workplace. Either way we have strategies that will jet propel you to success.
We have brought together some amazing women to facilitate our workshops including our signature ‘Stand Up to Stand Out’ workshop with Funny Women founder Lynne Parker and ‘How to think on your feet and improvise’ with actor, drama coach and improviser, Jenny Bolt.
It’s increasingly difficult to balance a healthy mind and body with the demands on our time so we have invited physiotherapist and Sandra Lamb of BodyMind Solutions who combines her psychotherapy and clinical hypnotherapy skills in her workshop ‘Find Your Inner Power to be Fit For Life.’ Sandra will help you to re-wire your body/mind connection so that you can take control of the way you think, feel and move.
We regularly get requests for advice and information on funding, finance and tax so we’ve lined up some of the most inspirational women we know to deliver the dirt on how to be fiscally aware.
Accountant and author of four books Anna Goodwin will help you embrace ‘Tax without Tears’, comedian, author and vicar, Maggy Whitehouse will explore our emotional relationship with the dosh, the brass and the spondulicks in ‘Mind Over Money’ and Natasha Boardman-Steer will help us get jiggly with fundraising in her ‘Crowdfunding for Creative Development’ workshop.
Our personal circumstances can have a major impact on our ability to earn a living too so if finding somewhere to live in the capital is driving you crazy, JLL property expert Diana Alam will be on hand with some sage property advice in her workshop ‘Buy or not to buy – how to win at living in London’.
We haven’t left marketing out of the mix either. Sales are intrinsic to success and Jo James is the mistress of mastering the sales lead and building up confidence – Jo returns to run an essential session on ‘How to stop selling ourselves short’. We will also get some strategic advice on the art of reinvention from woman-in-the-know Harriet Minter with her workshop on ‘Building your personal brand’.
At lunchtime we’ll be joined by Maggie Semple OBE, Maggie has worked with several FTSE 100 global companies at senior leadership level on the benefits of diversity of thought, and currently serves as a non-executive director of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the independent public body dedicated to uncovering miscarriages of justice. Maggie is also a member of the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel. As a businesswoman she spotted a gap in the market and founded fashion house The Semple Dress Collection, a bespoke atelier in Covent Garden with a client list of impressive and intellectually curious women all of whom want dresses that fit them! Maggie will be signing copies of her book which will be on sale for £10, all proceeds will go to our favourite charity, Refuge.
At the end of the day we all wing it a little bit too so we’re going to have a confessional panel discussion called ‘Winging It’ and we’re calling on the journalistic skills of Harriet Minter to chair a lively discussion based on her brilliant article here on the very same subject. Harriet will be joined by Saskia Schuster commissioning editor, comedy at ITV who will share her tips for working in television and Kelly Ford, who says she has been “officially been winging it since 1980” and set up her blog the Book of Mum after having a baby last year. Kelly is a comedian with appearances on Dave and BBC Three under her belt and hosts her own radio show Sex, Lives and Videotapes on Soho Radio London – Mixcloud’s Best Online Station 2016.
Our big finale is pretty special too. We haven’t been able to drag Theresa May away from her prime ministerial duties or Sandi Toksvig away from her new role as host of QI, but we have got the next best thing! Jan Ravens is the hugely talented actor and impressionist of BBC Dead Ringers fame and she has agreed to headline our day and help us to draw inspiration from her portrayal of some amazing women who dominate the headlines and govern our country.
So, what are you waiting for? We’ve gone for a post-Brexit deal and delivering all this for a bargain basement price of £89 with earlybirders paying just £75. If you want to give us a generous one-off payment of £100 and become a Funny Friend then you pay just £60. For tickets click here!
Can you afford not to do this day?!
