FAQ Consultancy Service

I provide consultancy services across my blogs which is basically people hiring me to work with them privately. This means I have been hired to provide business advice particularly pertaining to online businesses and blogging, to speak at conferences and workshops, and  on Baggage Reclaim, since mid 2008, readers have hired me to get detailed private advice on particular situations.

Are you a psych_______, counsellor, doctor, whatever?

Er, no. If I were any of these things I’d have a Dr in front of my name and some letters after it. If I were, for example, a life coach, I would quote the relevant qualification. You can also see my about page.

Why do people choose to hire you?

Well for a variety of reasons but one of the main draws is that I’m not a psych anything. A number of clients have hired me because I’m not a psychiatrist or counselor but that I have demonstrated through my site and ebooks that with respect to their situation, I know exactly what they are going through.

Most of my clients have previously or are working with someone like a psychiatrist and get in touch because they want a perspective from someone who is able to understand and explain certain types of specific situation. 99% of the time, they give me the detail on a situation and I explain it – through email or phone discussion, I help them make sense of it so they can either deal with or move on. This may be a one-off or over a series of calls and emails depending on the nature of the query.

I should add that people often use my site as a catalyst for seeking further help from people like psychiatrists and counselors.

Do you deal with all queries?

No. I can only work with a limited number of clients as I also write my various blogs, ebooks, plus the general day to day craziness of being a mum to two young children. People often get in touch and while I will answer their initial query, I’ll recommend that they seek professional help from someone who deals with clinical issues for example. If I don’t feel I am appropriate or feel that I would be of limited help and that something is out of my capacity, I will say so as it’s of no benefit to either of us.

I can’t afford your rates

I do have a very full inbox of free advice queries and I spend about 15 hours or so a month dealing with these. There is a waiting list but you are more than welcome to submit your query. I do try to respond to all emails but due to the large volume, I can’t provide lengthy replies. There are also over 1100 articles on the site on a variety of subjects. The 15 hours a month I have set aside, I do when I feel that the situation calls for it, telephone readers (it doesn’t matter about the location) if I feel that it’s an emergency and that I can be of help.

What times are you available?

I primarily do consultations on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s. I don’t work between 5-8pm UK time and to accommodate overseas clients, I do make some evening times available, generally between 8-10pm. If you can’t fit into my schedule during the day, I do respond to queries via email.

How do you take payment?

Via Paypal – you don’t need an account in order to do this. If you do have an account, when we are corresponding re booking me, I will clarify the email address to be invoiced.