lyndsey@ukbidwriter.com

Obligatory 2021 update

Obligatory 2021 update

2019 seems like a very long time ago now and I think we can all agree that, no matter how akin to normal we might strive to get ‘back’ to, realistically, *everything* has changed. At least a little bit, in some way.

Back in late 2019, I was putting together plans to wind down UK Bid Writer entirely, move from Birmingham to Kendal in Cumbria and begin a new phase in my personal and professional life.

And then.

Now, like many, many businesses and individuals, I’ve had to rethink my plans, and try to figure out the best way forward in this new era.

So, in brief, this is what I’ve been doing over the last 18 months and [the current!] new plan:

What I’ve been up to:

  • I did move to Kendal. It’s nice!
  • I spent some time retraining in an entirely different industry – I qualified as a Domestic Electrical Installer in October 2020.
  • Thinkin’. I’ve done a lot of thinkin’.

What’s next for UK Bid Writer:

  • UK Bid Writer as a business will continue for least a couple of years.
  • Some of my existing services will be streamlined and others adapted to reflect our collective new ways of working. If you have any thoughts on how a bid writer/consultant can best support you and your staff in this new era, give me a shout!
  • The number of core hours/days I generally set aside for UKBW will decrease, to about 1/3 of my available working time, giving me the space and time to work on other ventures on a consistent basis, while still offering enough flexibility to support UKBW clients as needed.
  • The podcast will return! Series 2 will simply blunder on as planned, just 18 months behind schedule. Episode 1 will aim to process the recent shocking revelations around UK procurement during the height of the pandemic – I really need to get some things off my chest about this, so it will be quite sweary.  I’ll also give a bit of a recap of Series 1 and an overview of what else is coming up in the rest of the series. As ever, if there’s anything specific you want covered in the podcast, let me know.

What’s next for me, aside from UKBW:

  • I’ve got a handful of extra City & Guilds qualifications to rattle through before the end of the year, which will give me a good foundation for a new business – an extremely local, lo-fi, handywoman service. This, I hope, will ultimately account for another third of my available working time.
  • The last third of my available working time is deliberately set aside for a combination of:
    • Additional hours/days as needed for UKBW or other work.
    • Day contractor to larger local electrical or other firms – most likely for EV charging point installation – as their workload dictates.
    • Being available for new opportunities as they arise. The world has changed and we won’t know the full ramifications on how we work or what we need as services within our communities for some time. I want to be able to act on ideas and try things out, without putting all my eggs in one basket.
    • Lastly, I turn 50 in 2022 and by next summer I’ll have been working for 34 years! Maybe some days I’ll just have a lie in ?

Wishing you all well,

Lyndsey

 

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