Personal and professional development stopped for me when I graduated university and started on my career path.  Gencia started trading in 2002 and I was conscious that I should attend some kind of skills training.   I attended a few seminars on time management, how to network and how to build a team like most other people starting in business - some with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and a few others with Business Link.  Although I found the sessions to be ok, I was not inspired.  They lacked substance.  The information was general and it was not going to make me a better time keeper, networker or boss.

I made a conscious effort after that to avoid seminars and business development seminars until I met Yvonne Halling, co-founder of the Well Heeled Divas.  Yvonne Halling and Jane Kenyon founded the Well Heeled Divas a year ago and their passion is to inspire women to entrepreneurship.   I did not know at the time what opportunity Yvonne was offering when we met but a voice in my head was telling me that I should go to their seminar and keep an open mind.

I went to a Diva kick start 10 months ago – November 2007.  I still remember the goosebumps it gave me at the time listening to Jane’s story.  I walked out of that seminar inspired and I knew what I needed to do.  It was like a light bulb had been switched on in my head.

To become a better person and a better business person, I need to work on me.   Skills like time management have a value but they can be learnt over time and if not employ an assistant.

I attended the Diva Step Up programme in December 2007 and it became the day that I started investing in me and my own personal development journey.  It was held over a weekend and it allowed me to switch off from the world and work and look at my life.  I am so used to creating plans for my clients that it had not occurred to me that perhaps I should create a plan for my life!

Since the Diva programme, I have joined XL which is an entrepreneurs’ network.  This allows me to network with like minded people in business.

So what is my conclusion on personal and professional development?  I want to be the best person I can be – personally and professionally – and in order to do that I want to be stretched, pushed outside my comfort zone and work with people at the top of their game.   There is a lot of rubbish out there – everyone seems to be an NLP practitioner or a coach nowadays and unfortunately it is a case of trial and error.  It is worth persevering!

For more information on the Well Heeled Divas, please visit www.wellheeleddivas.com

If you would like any more information on my personal development journey, please feel free to email tina@gencia.co.uk