Notes On Finding Common Ground

Thanks to everyone who made it last Saturday to create community with us! Art Sense Studio, Skaped and I ran a workshop in which we explored what it means to belong to a community in the present social, political climate. We guided participants to work and reflect on themes like displacement and a sense of belonging. This workshop was an invitation to delve into our commonalities and expand on what kind of relationships we have been building up with the communities around us.

The workshop consisted of a variety of group dynamics and short exercises in which we intended to instigate people to think about the way social issues impact our lives and communities. Participants said that the exercises were thought-provoking, they sparked deep discussions, and they taught them to focus more on our commonalities and less on our differences.

This workshop was the first part of a bigger project that I will be working on in 2020, where I will explore through photography what it feels like to live in London in this ever-changing social, political and economic landscape. Thanks to Art Sense Studio and Skaped for this beautiful collaboration and here is hoping for many more in the future!

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About Art Sense Studio

London-based social enterprise that delivers group sessions facilitated by experienced mediators specialised in community and participatory art interventions and programmes.

Participants and member of groups are supported in taking creative risks and in discovering the benefits of art as therapy.

We empower residents and their communities by providing opportunities for them to develop their artistic projects, and we support them along the way.

We have been delivering talks, one to ones, tutorials, seminars and wellness/CSR projects. We are also experienced in designing and providing programmes for individuals with lived experiences of mental health issues.

About Skaped

Skaped raises awareness of human rights issues and challenges as a way to inspire people to become actively engaged in social and political matters around the world, as well as at their doorstep.

Their mission is to work with people, and for them to take ownership of their human rights and provide a platform in which they develop confidence to realise their power and gives them a voice. They do this through creative arts workshops that use storytelling, film-making, and performance, to widen people's understanding and respect of human rights.

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Finding Common Ground

This coming Saturday, November 2, 2019, I will be running a free workshop in collaboration with Art Sense Studio and Skaped in which we will explore what it means to belong to a community in the present social, political climate. We will guide participants to work and reflect on themes like displacement and a sense of belonging. This workshop is an invitation to delve into our commonalities. Join us and expand on what kind of relationships you have been building up with the communities around you.

Are you someone actively involved in your community? Do you identify as a community leader? Would you like to understand your level of engagement with your community? Are you involved in promoting well-being for your community? Are you interested in exploring displacement in community settings? Do you consider yourself as a change-maker in your community?

If any of these questions sounds like you, sign up for free on https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/finding-common-ground-tickets-37069860952

We aim to provide a welcoming space to explore these themes in an honest, friendly and supportive way. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

See you there!

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To Satisfy Your Clients You Must Understand Them

As I write this post I am finalizing the migration of all my self-promotion and marketing communications from MailChimp to MailerLite. After 4 years of using it, I came to realize that MailChimp doesn't fully understand the segment of their target that I belong to. In the words of Eugen Herrigel, author of Zen in the Art Of Archery, in order to hit the target, the archer must become "simultaneously the aimer and the aim". If you don't understand your target, how can you serve them well?

Don't get me wrong, MailChimp is an outstanding service and it has gotten to be one of the best mailing services in the market today. I have used it for my mailing campaigns, for my weekly newsletter, for my blog subscription service, and until I finish migrating to MailerLite I will keep on using it for my documents download workflow. Nevertheless, over the last few months, I have encountered problems with some of the templates that affect only specific geographies. But, because I am on their free plan I do not have access to their technical support. They don't offer a means of contact for their non-paying users.

I am a freelance photographer, and like most freelancers out there I have a very limited budget for my business expenses. Therefore, I rely on services which offer free plans to be able to operate my business. "So you are a business who's trying to make money from your clients but expects free services from your suppliers?", you may ask. As contradictory as this may sound, businesses like these that offer free plans are not really doing it out of humanitarian reasons.

By offering free limited plans, free trials or even free forever options, these services grow their client base faster and have more chances of becoming mainstream without having to invest too much in their marketing. They also get thousands, if not millions of users to test their services and give them feedback on potential issues. But ultimately, and more importantly, is that they can go to their investors and show them how popular they are and ask them for more money. So, in a way, they put their free plan users to work for them.

Obviously, a business model where the majority of your clients don't pay you is not the type of business that we all dream of running. But I am sure that, like me, a lot of freelancers and small businesses out there end up subscribing to the paid plans of these services when they can finally afford to or when they consider that it is time to use the more advanced features that the paid plans provide. I have done it myself with some of the services that I use, and the only reason why I hadn't done it with MailChimp yet is that frankly, I can't afford them at this point.

But then I ran into MailerLite and from the start, I felt that they were the right fit for me. They are an unpretentious company based in Lithuania that prides itself in having a small team of people who work for other people. No big corporation aspirations, no nonsense. That's the kind of supplier that I want to have because that is the type of business that I want to be. On top of that, their templates are beautiful, their website is easy to use and so far I am in love with their service.

So, even if this sounds like a paid post I can tell you that it is not. This is a client testimonial from someone who fully identifies with their ethos. Because why would I want to be the client of a business that doesn't really understand me and that doesn't even offer a communication channel to hear what I have to say.

Photo by Andrzej Gruszka.

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