July Newsletter

Hello,

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July. Well and truly into H2, I wanted to give you a personal account reflecting on H1 2023.

To be honest, it has been my worst half year of my independent career so far. Having said that, if I had had a full-time job, it would have been likely that I had taken another redundancy in the tech industry, and with that, lost 100% of my income. With a bit of luck, I had picked up some redundancy pay, but it's not a buoyant market out there for any kind of jobs at the moment. Yet there are advantages of a down market too, and I see a lot of opportunity, filling my pipeline for after the summer.

I am grateful for having clients that are ticking over, and having a diversified portfolio of companies from different sectors to work with. Also, I took on a new client for the German market earlier in the month too. I am working on concepts with new potential clients, and some are close to sign-off stage. So somewhat, I resigned to be less busy during July and August, yet with a holiday thrown in half way, and before I know it, it will be September. Maybe something to aspire to in the coming years, taking a good few weeks off in the summer. I am still learning to balance work and life as a 'freelancer'.

And as a friend of mine said the other day: "Volker, anyone who says they are doing well in the current climate, are lying." Whilst I might not 100% subscribe to that, it is tough for a lot of people out there. Yet, somehow, we are always going to be ok.

Let me know if I can help you in any way! Just hit reply.

I am super excited about the revenue intelligence space and platforms that deliver you insights about sales people and sales funnel performance.

Why? It delivers the hard facts and actionable insights what to coach the sales reps on. And, if it's not the sales rep, then it might be the strategy I can consult on. Tools made for me!

Being able to work in that space, utilising both my sales consulting as well as my sales coaching skills, whilst playing around with some very exciting (??) data, would be amazing.

If you know anyone in that space I should be speaking to, please give me a shout!?

The learnings of being independent have been manifold, including what someone calls the 'ongoing curiosity about things'. Being independent means you can be curious about any industry, and it feels like I have been discovering things and slowly but surely settle where I belong. And that's easier being independent. When you go from job to job, you build on what you have, with little wiggle room to look left or right.

In other words, looking back at my expectations on what a career would have looked like when I finished university 20 years ago, to what it actually looks like....I had to unlearn a lot of expectations and assumptions that were drilled into me from my parents and mentors over the years. Working in the 1970s meant something different to 2023.

Sometimes, life is astonishing if you can take a step back and look at it from a distance, reflecting on your achievements. Summer is always a good time to do that.

Here is to a successful H2 and the fulfilment of dreams. I am very optimistic and positive about growth towards the end of the year.

Hit me up if you fancy a chat or book some time here: https://tidycal.com/ballueder/25mc

?

With best wishes,

Volker

BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP -?subscribe for the full version.

• Passion at work? Not everyone loves their job and that's ok.?LINK
• Talent as antidote to uncertainty. A great read by BCG. LINK

SELF DEVELOPMENT -?subscribe for the full version.

• Non-verbal communication going digital. LINK
• How to make yourself happy! LINK

SALES and GROWTH -?subscribe for the full version.

• 5 common sales mistake to avoid. LINK
• How B2B buying behaviour has changed forever. LINK

Announcement:?I am part of the Productivity Powerhouse Summit, where we'll dive deep into strategies, insights, and tools to help you unleash your?productivity?superpowers and achieve extraordinary results.

Throughout the summit, you'll have the opportunity to learn from renowned experts in the field, who will share their knowledge and practical tips on various aspects of productivity, time management, goal-setting, creativity, and more.

I'll be presenting on productivity principles, where we'll explore effective techniques to make you more productive and achieve more with less. I'm confident that these strategies will empower you to enhance your productivity and achieve remarkable outcomes in your personal and professional life.

??? August 14th - August 20th

? 30-minute daily training sessions delivered to your inbox

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Podcast news:

Man Up Man Down?- a podcast which focuses on middle aged men and mental health, and all the things to do with that. I am hosting it with my friend?David Pawsey.

Sponsored by?Welldoing, a platform to find your perfect therapist.

This month we finished season 1, including an episode about slowing down and sex in middle age!

What an achievement and we are a little bit proud of it. Hopefully you are enjoying the episodes. Please give us a good rating and leave a comment on the podcast outlet you are listening to.

We are back from September! Enjoy the summer to catch up on some of the episodes.

Listen to it on any podcast outlet (Spotify,?Apple) or?here.?