Katy Davies

If you think about it, the way you are reading this post is pretty much beyond comprehension and makes no sense.

There is a piece of plastic on my desk, I hit some keys on it with letters on, it is not attached to anything at all, and the words appear on a screen in front of me. Then I hit enter, and they appear on a device, again not attached to anything, that you are holding in your hand. That you can also pick up and speak to people on anywhere in the world. You can see moving images, and hear people talk. Like how does that even happen…? (And the desk, well did you know there is more empty space in that desk than solid matter?)

Science says so, so you don’t question it. But the reality is science doesn’t understand it either, we’ve just learnt how to use it to our advantage.

There is a quote by Richard Feynman that says “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.” And having studied it as part of my degree, I can confirm that to be true! No-one really understands it, it doesn’t make logical sense.

So if science doesn’t even really understand it, why are we so comfortable with it? Because you can see it, feel it, touch it… so you believe it to be true. You don’t need to understand it, you can see the tangible result. So that is good enough. Stick some popcorn in the microwave… boom, magic happens!

Where am I going with this… stay with me.

Over the last 3 years, mainly thanks to going online over covid, my world has expanded to include some lovely people who, I am going to describe as woo. They themselves would say they are all the way woo. Old me would have actively avoided them, not for me thank you. But situations and events conspired for us to cross paths, and a chance for me to learn and see what it is all about.

When we don’t understand something we can often label it ‘weird’ and I fell into that category. I did a Physics Degree, I look at life through a very logical lens, through science. So me? Most definitely not woo.

However, by spending time with people who have a different perspective to me I have come to realise, that actually I kind of am, at least a little bit. I just didn’t know it.

Once I started to understand what being woo meant, what all the terms mean, it’s not really that weird. Most of it is just a different language, a different way of explaining things, different terminology. And a faith in not needing to be able to explain everything logically and tangibly.

The very thing that I thought made me anti woo – my science back ground – is now making me think some of it is no weirder than you reading this post on your phone.

Take crystals for example… healing, energy work through crystals, or reiki.

Most of you will have heard of a quartz watch. Do you know how that works? Quartz is piezoelectric, meaning it can transform energy from one form to another. The watch uses the properties of the crystal to create an electric pulse that keeps time.

We know that the human body generates its own electromagnetic field, virtually every single process which is keeping you alive can be traced back to an electric field that some component of your body is creating. The heart generates the biggest. Bigger than the brain.

If you start thinking about energy, all the different types, Kinetic, potential, chemical…, the laws of thermodynamics – it will probably make your head explode – but everything is energy of some kind or another, and cannot be either created, nor destroyed, merely changed into a different state.

If a crystal can make a watch work, through use of energy and magnetism, is it such a stretch to think that it can interact with the energy and magnetism of the human body? Or that one person’s electromagnetic field and energy can influence another’s?

Why is that any more weird than a caterpillar going into a chrysalis, turning into a pile of goo, literally digesting itself to return to base molecules, rearranging all those molecules and emerging as a butterfly.

Or the moon having an effect on your body any weirder than the fact it makes the tides go in and out every day…

I am not declaring I’m now all the way woo by any means… or that I understand it anymore than I understand all of the science behind technology. (it’s been 23 years since I did science). But what I am starting to realise, is just because I can’t tangibly see it, doesn’t automatically mean it isn’t true.

There will always be con artists and charlatans in all industries, but for some reason it seems to be that in the spiritual world everyone is tared with the same brush, it all must be a con! (Which I find ironic in a world where religion is so widely accepted, religion is the very definition of believing in something you can’t explain)

But why is that…why does a whole industry get labelled a con, by so many?

The internet likes to divide us, to take sides, and stick our stake in the ground and declare our position. I’ve seen so many posts actively slating anything ‘woo’ by people who then go on to talk about using their intuition, believing in the universe, everything happens for a reason etc, (All woo terms).

So my invitation to you is to consider… is it possible woo isn’t so weird after all? It’s just science hasn’t caught up yet. 200 years ago the science we have now would not have been believed, and would be thought of as ‘magic’.

I am still deciding, but I am not going to declare it ISN’T true, and start slating an entire industry, because I have no idea if it is true or not. (No more idea than if Schrodinger’s cat is indeed alive or dead). Instead, I will continue to be curious, and open minded, but with a small side of scepticism, just in case.

My journey with time management, timesheets and time blocking started way back in 1999 when I was on my University placement.

I worked for the Transport Research Laboratory on my year out digging up roads! (If you haven’t heard that story yet, then ask me about it!)

Even though I was there as a Pavement Engineer, yes there is such a thing, they pretty quickly realised I was highly organised and had a good grasp of tech. The company had a new boss and he was implementing a new timesheet system.

They selected me to go and learn the new system and teach everyone else in my department, and then gave me the job of Timesheet Liaison Officer. Exciting Stuff!

From there, I went on to work at a marketing agency in the West End where I then designed and built an entire online system with the company’s developers for all their internal systems. You guessed it, it included a timesheet system.

When I left in 2013 to become self-employed, I thought I had finally escaped timesheets! However, it soon became clear that I still needed a way to make sure I stayed on track and got everything done. Enter time blocking. When you are making wedding cakes, you can’t just shuffle everything along to another day!

My point being it doesn’t really matter where you are, or who you work for, somewhere along the line there will need to be some way of organising when you get stuff done. And that is all time management is.

If you need somewhere to start, then you can find my time blocking training up in the guides section of my Facebook group. Now you may not need to be as regimented as this, but it is a great place to start! The Missing Piece: Actionable small business advice

Right now a slow down in sales is not something anyone wants to see, but for some it is a reality. Below are some ideas to help you focus and make some tweaks to keep bringing in those sales.

Review your products and services… what ones would be most helpful to your current audience right now? Focus down on the things they need at the moment.   

Adapt your sales copy to be relevant for their situation now. Things might be changing for them – acknowledge that in your copy and your posts.

Follow up on past leads. If someone was thinking about working with you before, could it be the case that they need it even more now? Or there is a slightly different version that would be more suitable?

Engage with the audience you already have. Don’t just put content out there, comment reply, talk to the followers you already have.

Do a mini review of your SM links and website etc, are they all working, is it easy for your client to buy from you? If they were on the fence and hit a road block you’ll loose them.

Social media reach is unpredictable at the best of times, and seems to be even more so at the moment. Review your website and your google presence, is there more you could be doing to be found online by search engines.

Go old school – how are your relationships with other people in your industry and network? Even old clients. Is it time to pick up the phone and check back in to help remind everyone who you are? Referrals and word of mouth recommendations are going to be even more important at the moment.

The main thing is whatever you do don’t panic. Double down on what has worked before, or make some tweaks. Normally the last thing we need to do is chuck everything out the window and start again. Knee jerk reactions made from panic and fear aren’t going to help anyone right now. Take a step back, review and amend. You got this!! 

If you need more support than have you joined my Free Facebook Group: The Missing Piece?

Katy x 

Well it started in 2013 when I left my job at a Marketing Agency in London’s West End to start a cake business, KatyBakey. A few years later that business evolved into Wedding Cake Design ByKB and in 2018 I started Piece of Cake Coaching.

One lead to the other.

The first because I wanted to be my own boss and cake making was something I was good at, so seemed the obvious choice, the second to help all of the other business owners I met while running my cake business.

I actually started my career as a receptionist at a small design/marketing agency in London’s Westend in 2000 after 4 years at Bath University studying Physics (Yes I did say physics) I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I did know I needed to do something so I could move out from my parents, and receptionist seemed like as good a job as any. I stayed there for 12 years, and worked in every area the business had, from office manager, to accounts, HR, project management to doing the marketing for the agency itself.

The time I spent there gave me a full rounded view of what it takes to run a business. Perfect for when I left to set up my cake business. I knew how to run a business not just the thing that ‘is’ the business.

And that is how I transitioned to coaching.

I met so many other entrepreneurs who were passionate about what they did but had no business background. So not surprisingly, found themselves struggling to wear all of the different hats it takes to be business owner. I started helping, answering questions, pointing people in the right direction to help them get unstuck, giving advice, showing them how to post online etc etc etc. I just started coaching… not intentionally it just happened.

My coach at the time became my first client and encouraged me to start charging for what I do rather than helping everyone for free. And Piece of Cake Coaching was born.

My journey to get to this point is why I can help others, I took all of my knowledge working for a company, (often running it when the directors were not there) all of the systems and procedures, most of which I wrote, and applied them to working for myself. Took the parts I needed and adapted them to the entrepreneurial space. Add in all of my marketing knowledge and helping others take a look at how to run their business becomes a no brainer.

Combine that with the fact I am an admin Ninja, super organised, a great listener, I remain calm and people feel safe around me, I am great at explaining things, and that my brain is naturally geared towards problem solving you have a winning combination, how could I not become a coach (Mentor, consultant whatever you want to call it)?

I still run my cake business, but I have scaled it back completely and now mainly take on Weddings at a set number of venues that works for me. Giving me the time and freedom to concentrate on the coaching side of things to help others do what they love, which is what I love! Why did you start your business, I would love to know?

We all avoid something every day, going out in the rain, our overly chatty neighbour that we just can’t escape from… being tempted by ALL the chocolate. ⁠

Some avoidance is good – but in business more often than not the thing we are avoiding is actually doing us harm. ⁠

• Avoiding doing our accounts – so we don’t have a clear picture of what is working and what isn’t ⁠
• Avoiding being visible – so we don’t get the sales we want⁠
• Not asking for the sale – I don’t need to spell that one out to you! ⁠

⁠There are many reasons why we don’t do these things, maybe we just don’t like them, they don’t make us happy, they are beyond our skillset, so we push it to the ‘tomorrow’ list and ignore the fact we know we are self sabotaging. ⁠

But if you want your business to succeed you need to look closely at your WHY, Why are you not doing it, so you can get help to fix it. Either by outsourcing it, getting some training on it, or if it is a mindset problem, getting some coaching and working on your own blocks. ⁠

You need to be honest with yourself so you can move forward and avoid the unavoidable disaster that is avoidance! ⁠(I know, I know that last sentence, but I couldn’t help it )

⁠⁠What are you avoiding in your business and how can you correct it? ⁠

Photo: Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Don’t underestimate how important the basics are.⁠
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This is exactly what I did yesterday. It started the night before, I was on the phone chatting to my friend and we didn’t end the call until 11:30 at which point I should have gone to bed. But instead (because I am an adult and I can do what I like right?) I decided to watch Greys Anatomy. I knew it was a bad idea and I would be tired in the morning, but I did it anyway.⁠
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Come the morning, surprise surprise I was tired. But not only that I realised I had run out of cereal and bread, so didn’t have any breakfast. I thought about what to have, but spent so long faffing about I ran out of time. I had a PT session at 10:00 and ended up deciding not to eat as I’d taken so long to figure it out I didn’t want it all jiggling around in my stomach during the session.⁠

So I headed into my PT session tired and having not eaten. You can guess how well that went. I also forgot to open the door and got too hot.⁠
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I had a quick turn around to head to a Networking Event – which went well. BUT I didn’t have lunch until 13:30. So I was tired and hadn’t eaten anything all day until the afternoon. I also hadn’t drunk enough water.⁠

Needless to say I ended up with a headache, and trying to get through my work in the afternoon was like wading through treacle. I was slow and not productive in the slightest. Basically I wasted the rest of the day faffing about.⁠
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So why am I telling you all of this… because it is important to make sure you don’t make the same mistake. We often underestimate how much of an impact taking care of ourselves has on our productivity and ability to function. If you don’t take care of the basics, like sleeping, eating and drinking… you end up tired, with no energy, a headache and struggling to get things done. And it is so easily done.⁠

Yes we are all adults, but sometimes we need to parent ourselves. How good are you at taking care of yourself?

Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash

Don’t over complicate things!

• Do you put obstacles in your own way? If you do you aren’t the only one. We often do this out of fear to protect ourselves… keep us safe.

But often there isn’t really a threat and we need to pay attention to the real reason why we aren’t doing something. I recently decided I wanted to create a feature wall in my lounge (I was literally bored of looking at the same 4 walls) In my head painting the wall was going to take a lot of effort and I resisted for a few weeks as it was a big job, I didn’t have time, it would make a mess… blaa blaa blaa…

But actually it wasn’t hard at all, I moved the sofa out of the way and just started painting! It took a few hours, that was it. I was making excuses of how hard it would be, because what I was really concerned about was the colour I had chosen, what if I didn’t like it, what if it looked awful?

To overcome that fear, and so I couldn’t change my mind and give in to my natural aversion to change, I just started paining! Got the brush out, painted a patch, then I was committed. No going back. Is there something you really want to do, but are making an excuse for why you can’t do it…? Is there something you can do to force yourself to do it… overcome that fear that thinks it is keeping you safe?

Today’s lesson from my tidying spree is to make sure you look at the bigger picture as you will achieve the results you want far more effectively. The reason for me starting this epic decluttering spree was well, no internet, but mainly because I have run out of space!! My home is full and it is annoying me I can’t put anything away any more. Every time I open a cupboard or drawer it is like a game of Jenga trying to get at anything. I need more space!

A big part of the problem is my cake equipment, there is ALOT of it! Storage boxes in the lounge, in the hall, the hall cupboard and the wardrobe in my office/spare room. Four different places. Once a year I clear them all out and re-organise etc. and here is the BUT….

BUT I do each area separately at different times independently of each other. Today I am undertaking to sort all four of them at the same time… so far I have only done 2 of them, and already I have whittled down 14 boxed to 10! I have 4 empty boxes…. result the more space I was looking for. Some of the boxes were only half full – by looking at the bigger picture I have consolidated them and achieved the result I wanted. Once I start on the two cupboards as well I have no doubt I will get even more space back… as I will maximise the WHOLE space… not just the four different parts.

So my question to you… do you look at the bigger picture, see all of the moving parts… how they all work together to get the best result… or are you missing something obvious by getting too caught up in what you are used to?