Category: Everyday People

3 Golden Minutes with a Guest.

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Everyday People

Dorothy Otite

D Otite3 Golden Minutes with Dorothy Otite, founder Swish Luxury…

Hello Dorothy! I hear you’ve been doing exploits in the field of design. So, what’s the name of your organisation?

Swish Luxury

Please describe it to our readers

We are an online business that produce and retail exclusive interior textiles and accents that illuminate and transform your space.

Wow! I now see why you’ve not been able to attend any of our events to date. How long has it been in operation?

Firstly, I must apologise for not honouring any of the invitations to your events. I’m not one to make excuses… but you know that I’ve got your back always and will make up for it in a big way soon! Very well done on what you’re doing for God’s Kingdom and in fulfilment of God’s Purpose for your life! You’re truly an Inspiration!

We’ve been in operation since 2013, starting out making soft furnishing with African Print fabrics. We had a negative experience that propelled us into launching our new exclusive Swish Luxury range in May this year. Basically, we turned a negative experience on its head!

OK, OK, you are forgiven! So tell us, in the end what inspired you to step out?

One word ‘Passion’. I left my well-paid Corporate job to spend more time with my family and then decided to follow my passion for interiors. With no formal interior design qualification, using what some people call ‘raw’ talent, I forged ahead. Interestingly, I had always dreamt of presenting a TV show in Interiors (called Glam up my pad). I pursued this dream only briefly a couple of years back, only for it to come back to hunt me again!

Who knows? You could still end up on TV! Tell us three things/areas you pride Swish Luxury with?

  • Exclusivity: Our products are exclusive to us. We have the Design Rights for our fabrics from the Intellectual Property Office. This means that our customers are assured of the authenticity of our products.
  • Quality: Our products are of excellent quality and are made in England by some of the best craftsmen. This means our customers are assured of the quality and durability of our products.
  • Uniqueness: Our fabrics can be described as a fusion of vibrant colours, tropical flowers and contemporary designs. This means our products illuminate any space they are placed in and form perfect statement pieces or accents for the customers’ interior decor.

What has been your greatest challenge or challenges so far?

My greatest challenge so far has been working as a ‘Lonepreneur’. With about 20 years experience of working as part of a team or managing teams in the corporate world, working alone came as a shock to my system! To provide a fine balance, I make conscious effort to bridge this gap by networking regularly either in person or online with like-minded people.

I love the term “lonepreneur”, a first for me! So, what advice would you give to someone thinking of starting up?

I would say do your research and step out in faith! Faith is the ONLY divine currency you need to start up, money isn’t! Remember this, if you don’t do it someone else will and you will live a life of regret. So get going! Don’t wait for perfect conditions! They don’t exist! Start where you are! Your passion will always lead you to fulfil God’s purpose in your life. In the end, what really matters is completing the assignment you were called to do! That’s the only way you can die empty! The world is waiting to celebrate you, yes you!

Wow! I’m fired-up already. Finally, what are your plans for the next 3 years?

I’m really excited about the future and I’d like to share some bullet points, highlighting my plans for the next three years:
  • Becoming a known brand in the Interior Decor sector.
  • Having a Showroom or a Studio as a base for the business.
  • Having a concession in at least one high street store.
  • Having a strong client base.
  • Having a world-wide list of stockists for our products.

Great, you seem to be right on track, so I best leave you to get on with making beautiful things! Thanks for your time. Friends, for further information about Dorothy Otite and Swish Luxury:

Email Address: info@swishluxury.com
Phone number: +44 208 144 9340

 *To have your profile featured on this page, send an email to clem@healingsprings.org.uk with the subject: Profile of The Day 

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Everyday People

Michelle Raymond

Michelle Raymond_Profile Pix3 Golden minutes with Michelle Raymond, Founder and Director of The People’s Partner Ltd

Hello Michelle! I hear you’ve been doing exploits in the field of Human Resources…

So, what’s the name of your organisation?

The People’s Partner Ltd

Please describe it to our readers

The People’s Partner is Human Resources(HR) consultancy. We provide HR support, employment law advice, and mediation services, to small and medium-sized businesses. Our services ranges from writing and reviewing contracts of employment, to managing and advising on redundancies. Our focus is to maintain the working equilibrium of an organisation and its employees, to this end we advise on employee relation issues like disciplinary, grievances, discrimination, bullying and harassment, equal opportunities, and talent management. Also, workplace mediation, career management, and outplacement forms key features of our business.

Wow! I now see why you’ve not been able to attend any of our events to date. How long has it been in operation?

We are pretty new. The People’s Partner was formed in February 2014, but previous to that I was offering my services to a few clients. In February the name was registered and that’s when the real hard work and adventure began.

What inspired you to step out?

We all have gifts and talents. It could be painting, dancing, being good with figures, or even singing. I’m good with people and employment law, so I feel really privileged to be able to use these gifts in helping people and small and medium-sized businesses. Especially businesses that cannot afford to hire a full-time HR staff. They now benefit from a consultant that understands their vision, needs, potentials; with the knowledge to keep them on the right side of law.

Tell us three things/areas you pride your organisation with?

  • We are bespoke.
  • We are genuine.
  • We are great value for money.

What has been your greatest challenge or challenges so far?

Winning business!! Everyone wants your service for free, and yes I do sometimes give my advice, support and expertise for free, especially when I hear stories of employees that have been mistreated or unfairly treated. Also, keeping the social media drive on full throttle can be challenging. Tasks like maintaining, updating – keeping the fire burning! But no matter how late I have to stay up writing a policy, or re-wording a consultation/proposal, or editing CVs; it’s a job that I love, so I do it with a smile.

I love that! What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting up?

  • Before going it alone, you need to be honest with yourself. Do you have the willpower, determination and drive to do this?
  • Can you manage your time knowing that the social life, the eating out, the television watching will have to be put on hold because of your assignment?
  • Your biggest question should be WHY?
    • Why are you doing this?
    • Why do you choose to forgo sleep and put in the hours into your business?
  • If your WHY is big enough, you’ll achieve your dreams.

What are your plans for the next 3 years?

  • Leave my current employment and work on The People’s Partner on a full-time basis
  • Employ two members of staff to assist with consultancy
  • Win a contract with an umbrella company to do all the HR for their organisations

Great! Thanks for your time.

Friends, for further information about Michelle Raymond and The People’s Partner:

Web address: www.thepeoplespartner.co.uk

Email address: michelle@thepeoplespartner.co,uk

Social media contacts:

Mobile: 07956 417479, Office Address: Suite 1, 226 Court Farm Road, London SE9 4JZ

*To have your profile featured on this page, send an email to clem@healingsprings.org.uk with the subject: Profile of The Day 

Categories
Everyday People

A quick catch-up with Kimberley Payne!

 3 Golden minutes with Award -winning Author and Blogger, Kimberley Payne,

Kimberley Payne authorHi Kimberley, so nice to have you with us again! By way of introduction friends, Kimberley Payne is an award-winning author who combines her teaching experience and love of writing to create educational materials for children about family, fitness, science and faith.

Q. Now, please tell us about any major project(s) you have completed or embarked upon, since our last interview? A. I completed Adam’s Animals – Fun Facts about God’s Creation along with Super Simple Animal Crafts – a supplemental book on crafts for the kids.

Q. Wow! Give me three new skills/experience/knowledge/wisdom you would like to share with our followers?  A.

  • I learned that I’m not a craft-klutz but that there are crafts out there that even I can do!
  • I learned a ton of information about animals. There’s so much cool stuff that it was hard to limit it to only 5 facts.
  • I learned that if a door is closed (the Kickstarter campaign was not successful) I needed to look for an open window (published through CreateSpace)

Q. Finally, what are your goals for the next 6 months? A. I plan to continue writing for my blogs and start work on a third book in the Science & Faith Matters series.

Great! We wish every success with that. So friends, is your church running a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program this summer based on the Weird Animals curriculum (http://www.group.com/vbs/weird-animals)? Then consider using  Adam’s Animals along with the accompanying craft book, Super Simple Animal Crafts http://bit.ly/SuperSimpleAnimalCrafts in your Sunday School program leading up VBS. It’s a great resource for your church to generate interest in your summer programs. Adam’s Animals is an entertaining and educational book that offers children loads of fun while they learn about the Bible. Inside you’ll find:

  • Bible stories about the animal
  • Fascinating facts about each animal
  • Whimsical illustrations for creative colouring fun
  • Word search puzzles to learn new words and improve spelling

Watch a video of author Kimberley Payne reading from Adam’s Animals http://bit.ly/ReadingFromAdamsAnimals View sample pages from Adam’s Animals using this link: http://bit.ly/ExcerptsFromAdamsAnimals This is what users are saying about Adam’s Animals

Kimberley looks at the creatures found in the Bible and gives children some incredible scientific facts about them. She then follows those facts up with Scripture references from the Bible on what God has to say about the many animals she has listed in this book. If your child is one who likes “Did you know…?” books, they’ll love this one. Included in the book are word search activities and pictures to colour.  – Laura Davis

Author Kimberly Payne has done a thorough job of researching the animal kingdom and combining it with scripture and biblical stories. This book has many fascinating facts about animals and is laid our in a very organized manner with pictures to color and word puzzles. – Carol Stratton

From ants to worms, children will not only find the facts interesting, some will even make them giggle. At the same time, they are learning how creative God is that he would make so many animals with distinct characteristics. – Carol Round

I plan to use this book in our home school program as it integrates faith, science, language and art. My kids love it – there is much information in it, our 12 year old couldn’t get through it in one sitting. – Michelle Evans

This is a delightful book filled with (as promised) fun facts about God’s creatures. I appreciated the focus on scripture and how Kimberley aligns God’s word with God’s creatures. The word challenges are a wonderful way to hone other skills such as spelling and reading, too, so this is a great activity to go along with the information. – Glynis Belec

This children’s activity book cleverly ties in scripture, so not only does it teach the inquisitive child about God’s creations, but also about God’s word. —Melanie Fischer

On Amazon: http://bit.ly/adamsanimals Adam's Animals Also now available, another children’s activity book in the Science & Faith Matters series.

Adam’s Animals – Fun Facts about God’s Creation

http://amzn.to/1iQLEJW

http://www.scienceandfaithmatters.wordpress.com

http://www.kimberleypayne.com

To have your profile on our site, drop me an email: clem@healingsprings.org.uk