You might have noticed that I’ve been talking about the Power Partnership recently. It’s my programme designed to help stop established businesswomen from drowning in their to-do lists and free up time to make an even bigger impact in the world.
Joining the Power Partnership is an investment in your time and money so I created this blog post to help you understand everything you need to know if you’re considering joining me.
I want you to make the right choice, so this is my unbiased look at the Power Partnership, to make sure it’s right for you.
What is the Power Partnership?
The Power Partnership is six months of one-to-one working with me to get you: organised, blasting through those to-dos that have been hanging around for ages, professionalising your business, and bringing all your exciting new plans to life.
You bring the ideas and specialist subject know-how, and I bring the organisational skills and my behind-the-scenes magic to make it all happen.
Why I created the Power Partnership
Running a business is one of the biggest challenges you can face. It can be incredible and frustrating, too—a real rollercoaster ride.
In the corporate world, you had armies of people sharing the responsibility but launch on your own and…you’re on your own.
Of course, you can outsource all sorts of things from your admin to bookkeeping. You can even get support with delivering paid work for your clients by growing a team of associates.
But you can’t outsource the ideas and decision-making (unless you want to go down the route of hiring a CEO) because that’s what makes your business YOURS. You are the creative driving force that makes it what it is.
The responsibility can weigh so heavily.
Continued effort is needed to make sure you stay relevant and deliver what your clients want. Then there are all your ideas on how to develop and improve the business, making sure it continues to work for you, too.
Throw in the occasional confidence wobble, all the niggly stuff you never get around to and you have the perfect recipe for overwhelm.
Progress stalls and frustration sets in.
Your thought processes become clouded and your decisiveness fades.
I created the Power Partnership so you don’t have to do it alone. I work closely alongside you, keeping you organised, and focused, taking purposeful action towards your big goals.
I even roll up my sleeves to do some of the doing for you.
What do you get as part of the Power Partnership?
1) A two-hour brain dump session
Which we do over a Teams call. The point is to get everything out of your head and onto (digital) paper. If you’ve got post-it notes and to-do lists all over the place, this is where we bring them all into line. You tell me everything there is to know about it all.
- What’s worrying you?
- What are you putting off?
- How do you feel?
- What feels possible and what doesn’t?
- Anything you’ve never vocalised before.
I ask questions to help me understand and capture all the details.
Together, we figure out the priorities and pick out the top one or two to focus on. Everything else will wait on the ‘not yet list’.
We agree on what we’ll get done, even just the smallest steps, before our next call, and I send you a short email as a reminder of the action points.
2) A Trello board noting everything we’ve discussed
This is the master to-do list where we keep track of everything and can easily move things around. I can give you access to this if you want, but most clients prefer me to manage this for them so they can focus on one thing at once.
3) Fortnightly one-to-one calls
These are so we can check in on progress since the last call. I whizz through a reminder of what we agreed would be done and let you know where I’ve got to with my actions and you do the same. I make sure that the Trello board is updated.
We troubleshoot any problems, bounce ideas around, plan next steps, make sure new things are added to the list and reprioritise as necessary.
You get a short follow-up email after each call summarising our agreed action points.
4) Unlimited access to me via phone/email/WhatsApp
This is so we can discuss anything that crops up outside our scheduled calls. You get this for the whole time we work together.
I just ask you to keep in mind that I have other clients to support so am unable to respond straight away but will get back to you as soon as I can.
If you need a phone call, please send me a quick WhatsApp or email first so we can agree on a convenient time.
5) One-off co-working calls
These are included at no extra charge if there’s something we need to work on together or if you have something specific you need to commit to getting finished and want me there for accountability.
6) Specific items you need for your business
This depends on what project work you want my help with.
a) If I’m sorting out your GDPR compliance arrangements, you’ll get:
- a clearer understanding of the legislation and what it means for the way you do business. No gobbledegook – I promise!
- A simple audit of all the data you process with evidenced reasons that you do it lawfully.
- Support to increase the security of the data on your devices, through the software you choose, and the freelancers you work with.
- A fit-for-purpose and easy-to-understand Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, so it’s clear to your clients what their rights are concerning their data plus details on what you do with it and why.
- Enhanced data security measures if you work with more sensitive or high-risk data.
Guidance on all the above comes from an online DIY GDPR course purchased from legal and data protection experts, KoffeeKlatch Ltd, which I purchase and work through on your behalf.
I do the bulk of the work (around 80%) but will need your input at various stages during our fortnightly calls.
Once we’ve completed the course, you’ll have a suite of documents to evidence your compliance with GDPR, should you receive queries from clients or become involved in an ICO investigation due to a data breach.
b) If I’m supporting you to improve your contracts, you’ll get master templates and versions to use that are fully branded and personalised to the specifics of your business operations.
You’ll need to purchase the templates from KoffeeKlatch Ltd, and I’ll work through the guidance to personalise them for you.
More details on the KoffeeKlatch purchases are in the section, “How much does it cost to join the Power Partnership?” below.
c) If I’m helping you bring new ideas to life, you get everything I create as part of that process, from research notes and project plans to the finished product.
What problems does the Power Partnership solve?
1) Loneliness and indecision
As the saying goes, “It’s lonely at the top”. When you run your own business, there are always so many things to think about. You’re constantly juggling work priorities and trying to have a life outside of work, too.
It’s often difficult to carve out time to think things through in detail, meaning that decisions are often delayed for months.
Making all the decisions alone is exhausting, too. It doesn’t matter how supportive your partner and/or friends are, they don’t fully understand what it’s like to run your business, especially if they all have employed roles.
When we work together, I make it my priority to really get to know you and the ins and outs of your business. I’m your sounding board, bringing a fresh pair of eyes and a second brain. I ask questions to help clarify your thinking, share knowledge and ideas to help you solve problems and leave you confident in the decisions you make.
2) Chaos and disorganisation
Running a business = hundreds of things to do. ALL. THE. TIME.
Some things must be done now, other things you want to get done soon, and there’s the stuff you’d love to happen one day.
You’ve usually got notes all over the place, and outside of doing client work and marketing, you struggle to get anything else done. Half-done things never get finished and some stuff is never started.
When we work together, I keep track of everything, so you don’t have to. This leaves you with more time to get on with doing. We break everything down into small chunks and pick them off one at a time in priority order.
Our regular check-ins, plus the added power of co-working sessions help keep you on track.
If you need processes defining or your online filing system sorting, I can do that, too. Let’s add it to the list!
3) Overwhelm and frustration
Once we tackle the chaos and disorganisation and you have me to listen and bounce ideas around with, the overwhelm and frustration will take care of themselves. You’ll be working step-by-step through a clear plan, no longer fed up that things aren’t getting done.
4) Lack of knowledge
You don’t know what you don’t know, right?
I have over 15 years of broad-ranging experience working across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in a variety of back-office roles. Complemented with over five years running my own business, I bring an exceptionally broad range of experience to bolt onto your business.
I’ve also cultivated an extensive network of trusted contacts to bring in additional specialist support if you need it.
5) Lack of time
One of the most common challenges we face as business owners is a lack of time. We can be so busy working IN our businesses, that we rarely make time to work ON our businesses, yet that is the only way we progress and ultimately achieve our goals.
When you join me in the Power Partnership, you’re automatically protecting time to work ON your business every month.
Our calls help you iron out your thoughts and take decisive action. I also offer you additional capacity by taking on some of the trickier projects you don’t have the time or skills for. Things like:
- Improving and documenting processes
- Reviewing HR and legal documents
- Strengthening data protection arrangements
- Researching how best to bring your new ideas to life.
The support you get inside the Power Partnership.
How much does it cost to join the Power Partnership?
The total amount for six months of one-to-one support with me is £4,450, or six-monthly payments of £750. This includes access to the GDPR course from KoffeeKlatch Ltd.
If your business has particularly complex data collection arrangements or handles extremely sensitive data, we will likely need additional technical expertise directly from KoffeeKlatch at a charge of £250+VAT per hour.
However, for most micro-businesses I support, data collection is minimal, so working through the KoffeeKlatch course is straightforward, and no additional support is needed.
We’ll discuss all the details about your data protection needs on a chemistry call before signing any contracts, so I know exactly what I’m dealing with and can give you a clearer idea of whether we’ll need to buy any additional support. I’ll also be honest with you if I think you need way more support than I can give and signpost you elsewhere at no charge.
If you need support with improving your contracts and other legal documents, I recommend that you also use KoffeeKlatch for these. You can purchase templates designed specifically for micro and small businesses, and I will follow the guidance that comes with them to personalise them for your business.
There is a range of templates already available for various industries from coaches and trainers to graphic designers, web designers, and bookkeepers. The cost of the premium level documents, which can be fully personalised, is currently £250+VAT.
If your business type isn’t currently catered for by the KoffeeKlatch contract offerings, they will work with us to modify an existing template from their library, so it fits the specifics of your business. They offer power hours to do this, each costing £250+VAT. Based on my experience, one power hour is usually enough to get the job done.
There’s no need to buy any contract documents from KoffeeKlatch before joining me in the Power Partnership. I will provide links for you when we get started.
The cost for all my work on your GDPR compliance and contracts is included in your Power Partnership fees.
Full disclosure: As an affiliate of KoffeeKlatch Ltd, I will earn a small commission (usually enough to buy a coffee), on any product you purchase using the affiliate links I provide.
Why does the Power Partnership cost £4,450?
The pricing of the Power Partnership reflects the fact that I will give you EVERYTHING I can to make your business even more successful.
Not only do you get my years of experience, the time I put into our calls, preparing for our calls, keeping everything organised, and the specialist/technical work I do for you, but you also get the benefit of my deeply reflective personality. Once our calls are done, I go away and mull things over. I can’t help it, it’s just my brain doing what it does, and often I come back to you with further thoughts or ideas.
When I was doing market research for the Power Partnership, I didn’t find anyone else who offers what I do. Some offer similar support to the strategy and accountability elements at prices of around £500/month. Because I offer done-for-you support, which requires more of my time and expertise, I charge an additional £250/month, taking your monthly total investment to £750.
Is there a refund policy?
No, there isn’t. If you aren’t happy with the service I provide as part of the Power Partnership, I ask that you raise the issue with me so I can work on improvements, but if you are still unhappy, you can terminate our Work Agreement as described in my Terms of Business.
I’d be really sad if things didn’t work out between us, as in my five years in business so far, it hasn’t happened yet. I share a lot of content on social media and my website to show you what it’s like to work with me and always have a chemistry call with potential clients so we can get to know each other before starting work together. This getting-to-know-you process hasn’t failed me yet!
Why do you use the KoffeeKlatch products?
I’ve worked with a few other legal service providers in the past, for my business and client businesses, and have found their products to either be far too generic or too complex and full of legalese that only a trained lawyer would understand.
As well as having the support of a qualified barrister, Christopher Head, the team at KoffeeKlatch includes Sarah Fox, known as the 500-word lawyer, who is an expert in making legal documents understandable, accessible and usable. They also work with a copywriter, Jackie Barrie, who specialises in making complex information appear simple.
Under the guidance of Annabel Kaye and Jo Brianti, KoffeeKlatch is totally up to speed with all things data protection. They are the only company I’ve found that’s developed a course that teaches you the fundamentals of the legislation at the same time as giving you all the resources and step-by-step instructions to get you compliant. The course is also regularly updated to reflect ongoing changes in this complex area of law.
I think it’s much better to fully understand your legal obligations and create a suite of affordable, detailed documents that you can explain when questioned, rather than use generic tick-box documents that you don’t really follow.
I work through the GDPR course and the contract guidance videos for you, so you don’t have to, ensuring they *actually* get done and don’t linger in your to-do pile forever.
While all the KoffeeKlatch products have been created to be as simple as possible, they do cover a lot of ground and require a lot of time to do properly. Many of my clients find this detailed process-y work exceptionally boring so love being able to hand it off to nerdy me, safe in the knowledge that I understand it all and how to make it fit with their specific business requirements.
Did I mention that I also have a law degree, too? This kind of thing is right up my street. 🤓
Who is the Power Partnership for?
It’s for solo business owners who’ve run their businesses for several years and have a steady stream of well-paying clients. They’ve nailed their offers and marketing messages but are struggling to stay on top of everything. They know they need to spend more time working ON their business but find it difficult to make that happen.
They need support to stay organised and want someone to hold them to account and take control of complex and sometimes yawn-inducing projects they can’t complete on their own, but which are essential for the continued strengthening and growth of their business.
I only want you to invest in the Power Partnership if it’s right for you.
It IS for you if:
- You’ve been in business for at least three years, have a good flow of well-paying clients, and need help to keep on top of everything while making space for new stuff.
- You know what you need to do, but it’s virtually impossible to get on with it all.
- You need hands-on support with some of the less sexy behind-the-scenes stuff so you can concentrate on client-facing work.
- You’ve got a solid business strategy but would love additional high-level input on new plans from someone who brings objectivity.
- You want support from someone who gets to know the ins and outs of your business to be your sounding board and confidant.
- You need someone to hold you accountable, so you blast through your to-do list and can say ‘hell yes!’ to any new opportunity that comes your way.
Who isn’t the Power Partnership for?
It is NOT for you if:
- You prefer to cut corners and leave yourself and your business open to unnecessary risk.
- You don’t do details and prefer to fly by the seat of your pants.
- You just want me to agree with everything you say.
- You want to hand over responsibility for entire areas of your business to someone else. Sorry, not gonna work! I’ll do most of the leg work for you but will need your input along the way.
- You’re happy with the status quo and don’t want to push onto bigger and better things or help more people.
- You aren’t ready to commit to making work ON your business an equal priority to working IN your business.
- You need help with your admin and other day-to-day operational tasks. A Virtual Assistant can help you with these.
How long will it take to go through the Power Partnership?
The minimum time commitment is six months, and, in that time, we’ll work through as much of your to-do list as possible. However, we need to be realistic. If you have many big projects for me to help with, we’ll need to pick the most important to focus on.
I’m not the type to watch the clock and walk away leaving things incomplete. If we need a couple more sessions to make sure loose ends are tied up at the end of our time together, there will be no extra charge.
Of course, I hope to impress you so much that you ask me to stay on and continue supporting you beyond the initial six months, developing a long-term relationship and bringing ALL your incredible plans to life. 🤩
What will I need to get started?
All you need to bring to our first call are your scribbled notes in whatever form you’ve got them. Your ideas, plans and dreams. Enthusiasm and a commitment to taking action.
Photo of me, Caroline, your Power Partner.
Who is my Power Partner?
Me! I don’t typically hand off my work to associates.
One of the best words to describe me is: range. I’m a law graduate with professional qualifications in HR and quality management. Before going self-employed in 2019, I worked in a variety of roles across different sectors. I’ve handled everything from recruitment and HR to health and safety, office management and elections administration, and now wear all the hats of a solo business owner.
I have a reputation for getting stuff done, whether overhauling management systems, turning around poor performance in quality audits, or getting to grips with complex legislation like GDPR. If I don’t know how to do something, I find out. Research is one of superpowers.
Detail is my jam. I’m super organised and have been told I have the mind of a super-computer because I know so much about so much. I never forget faces or names and freak people out because I remember almost everything they’ve ever told me. 😱
I have a kind heart and love talking. I adore eating cake, going to gigs, Pilates and lifting weights.
I’m big into supporting women who are doing it for themselves and I’m an especially good match for:
- subject matter experts or specialists who need backup from a generalist with broad experience; and
- ideas people or visionaries who need someone to take care of all the details.
I’ve worked with some truly exceptional human beings and would love you to be my next!
How do I access the Power Partnership?
Book a chemistry call so we can get to know each other and talk through everything you need my help with. If we like each other, we’ll get cracking! I’ll send you a short Work Agreement to sign and a link for you to book your brain dump session. Further calls will take place roughly fortnightly as our diaries allow.
All calls take place online via Microsoft Teams.
What results can I expect?
- An end to overwhelm, chaos and disorganisation. You’ll be focused on your priorities and will have gained momentum.
- No more frustration that things aren’t getting done. You’ll be working through a well-considered plan of bite-sized actions and have additional capacity from me working through some of the complex projects for you.
- More of your ideas will be a reality, improvements will have been sorted, gaps filled, and risk minimised.
- We’ll have professionalised your business without diluting your personality.
- You’ll have got the trickier stuff sorted which enhances your gravitas and credibility.
- You’ll be able to raise your prices, secure your best-ever clients and chase down those once, scary big goals knowing you’ve got all your ducks in a row and won’t get caught out.
Here’s what some of my clients have achieved inside the Power Partnership:
This is a video of my conversation with my client, Emma Watkins, Director of Prospero Planning. Click here to read the video transcript.
“I had the pleasure of working with Caroline last year. I don’t mind planning, and I felt like I had a lot of the pieces of the puzzle to professionalise my business, but fitting them all together, noticing the gaps and actually getting the ruddy work done felt nigh on impossible.
The particular things that I wanted to get sorted were my onboarding process, starting to use my new Ts & Cs, having standard operating procedures for the key processes in my business and the whole GDPR nightmare. These things never made it to the top of my to do list. It was the business equivalent of sticking my fingers in my ears and shouting ‘la la la!’ loudly enough to drown out the sound of these important but not very exciting things that needed to get done.
Caroline helped me to prioritise everything so it was easier for me to handle. Not only did she keep me on task, so I got everything done, but it was so good to have her to bounce ideas around with too. She has such wide-ranging knowledge and experience.
After working with Caroline I felt much calmer. More in control. I felt like I’d taken a step up in my business by making sure that the essential tasks had been taken care of. I don’t like the idea of leaving great potholes of unnecessary risk in my business- working with Caroline filled in these holes and left me so much more confident in my ability to grow my business without those baked in fault lines.
Thanks so much Caroline!”
Janine Coombes, Janine Coombes Marketing
How do I join?
Now you know everything you need to know about the Power Partnership! I hope this post helped you. When you’re ready to join me, click this link to arrange our chemistry call and we’ll go from there. 😊
