[00:00:08.17] - Gordon
Hello.

[00:00:08.27] - Taylor
Hello.

[00:00:09.06] - Gordon
My name's Gordon from Drayson Design.

[00:00:11.04] - Taylor
And I'm Taylor from The Creative Tinker.

[00:00:13.05] - Gordon
And welcome to "This Week With Taylor and Gordon," a weekly podcast and vidcast, where we talk about things that have affected our businesses over the last seven days. And thank you so much for joining us. It's been an interesting week for me. How's the week been for you?

[00:00:30.02] - Taylor
Yeah, it's been pretty good.

[00:00:31.05] - Gordon
Okay, so let's just check. Is there any news we need to talk about? I don't think so. This is episode 198. So next week and the week after, we have our special episodes that were pre-recorded, where we have two special guests, and I can tell you who they are at the end of the episode, if I remember. So that's coming over the next two weeks. So let's get straight into this week. Would you like to go first or shall I?

[00:01:01.23] - Taylor
You can go first this week.

[00:01:03.09] - Gordon
Okay. I'm going to be talking about embracing the unusual. Now, over the last weekend, I had two parties, two children's parties that were a little bit unusual from what I normally do. The first was a party for a friend of mine, and she was running a party for her 11-year-old son, and she wanted to have a very special party that involved two magicians. So there was myself and my double act partner, Paul Longhurst, and he did a magic show, and I did a magic workshop. And that is what our friend wanted. We are both friends with her, and she asked if we would do this many months ago, and we said, "yes, we'd love to." And it was really, really fun. First of all, the children were lovely. Our friend who is also the transcriber of all these episodes, so it's a connection there as well. She had planned everything out. She knew exactly what she wanted. It was going to be a surprise birthday party, which again is very unusual. Don't normally get surprise birthday parties for children. The birthday boy had absolutely no idea what was happening. He was led into the room, blindfolded, and we were all very, very quiet.

[00:02:28.29] - Gordon
And then when he took his blindfold off, we all went, "surprise!" And he was just shocked. He was just stood there and his mouth was open, and he didn't quite understand what was going on or what was happening, but had a fantastic time along with all his friends. His friends were really good fun. Paul did the magic show, and he did a section where both of us did something from our Pip and Paul show, something that we were requested to do. And then they had something to eat. Then the second half of the party was me doing a magic workshop where I taught the children how to do some simple magic tricks, and they all got to go home with a little booklet. And it went really, really well. It was a very unusual party compared to what I normally do. I don't normally work with another entertainer at a children's party, so that was fun. It was a lovely group of children, 11-year-olds again, which is I do 11-year-old parties, but again, very rarely. For some reason, parents don't think that 11-year-olds want a children's party. They want something else like a climbing wall or quasar or paintball or something along those lines.

[00:03:41.01] - Gordon
But it just went to prove that these 11-year olds had a fantastic time, and they do like that. So that was a really unusual party for me, but I embraced it. We planned it out, we knew what we were going to do, and it went really, really well. The second party that I did over the weekend was another unusual one for me. It was a nine-year-old party, which isn't that unusual. I do nine-year-old parties, but it was in the middle of a field in a marquee at a local scout place near us, which is a big wood with lots of activities that happen. The parents wanted me to go and entertain for them last year, and unfortunately, I was already booked, so they booked me for this year, and I went off and did it. The difference here is that we had a two-hour party compressed into an hour and a half. So normally there's half an hour in the middle for food, and we got rid of that, and I just did an hour and a half straight. So I did a magic show, followed by games, and they had been there for about two and a half hours before I even got there.

[00:04:48.14] - Gordon
So they were doing all sorts of other activities like archery and tunnelling and all sorts of other things that were going on. And we had a really good time. Now, one of the things I was concerned about was power being in the middle of a field in a marquee. So I took along my Echo Flow, which is my new power pack that I bought last year, and that was fantastic. That was really good. I managed to run the whole of my sound off it for the whole party, 2 hours, including set up and take down, music was playing, and it went from 100% down to 88%, which is pretty good going, I thought. And so I had a really lovely review from the family as well. The mum left me a lovely review over the week just saying how much fun it all was and how she got so many nice comments from parents about how much fun their children had, and it was nice and easy for the parents. The parents joined in as well. It was, again, a very unusual party. It's not the in a church hall or someone's house type party that I normally do.

[00:05:59.29] - Gordon
But because I knew what to expect and I asked the right questions, it went really, really well. I took my own tarpaulin to put down as well because I didn't know what the ground was going to be like. And as it turns out, there was a ground sheet, but it was incredibly dusty. I think this marquee has been up for many years, so it was really dusty. All this mud that had come in, dried and then broken up was all over the place. So by putting my own tarpaulin down, I managed to make sure my sound equipment and everything else that I take with me was on a nice dry surface, nice clean surface as well. And that went really, really well. So what am I trying to say today? My topic is all about, if you are looking at something and it's out of the ordinary, if you think you can do it to a very high standard that's not going to let you down, not going to give you a bad name, then go for it. Because now I've done this, I've now got some information as to how I could do the same thing again for other customers, should they want something different.

[00:07:10.21] - Gordon
In fact, I've already got a gentleman who's booked me to do a party for his daughter, and he also wants a magic workshop instead of games. So now I've done it for a party. I've done workshops before, but now I've done it in a party situation. I know how long things are going to take, and I know how much I need to do to make sure I get it all done. So I've just added some more variations on my party options, and that just makes me even more bookable. So that's what I wanted to talk about today. Taylor, what is your topic all about?

[00:07:48.04] - Taylor
So I want to talk about reflection. Now, over the last, probably four months or so, a lot of things have changed, both in just the world, in my business, in my personal life. And sometimes when we're going so fast and you're in a routine or you're always busy, which I like to be busy and just keep myself busy, you sometimes stop to... Well, you sometimes forget to stop and actually look back and see what you, your goals. If you set yourself goals, are you achieving them? Are you actually putting in place and making decisions that will get you closer to your goals? Or are you actually just making the same decisions that you've always been making.

[00:08:46.14] - Gordon
Pardon me, another one coming. I do apologise. Carry on.

[00:08:53.17] - Taylor
So for example, I'm looking at starting to have conversations about getting my own place, with a mortgage adviser, and obviously all the things that come with that. And having the initial conversation opens my eyes to like, okay, so it is possible, it is achievable, but I'm going to have to make some changes to the way that I run my business, the way that I spend my money, or don't spend my money. Places I was earning income is now either changing or has, the landscape's changed or I've got new income streams. Am I capitalising on making the most out of that? And so, yeah, just something to think about when you're always in a routine or you've always been in the same place, you've been in the same industry, or the same position is, one, is it the position you want to be in? And if you're not happy with where you are, then obviously, what can you do to change that? But also looking back and going, "actually, I have come a long way." You sometimes think "I'm making no progress." But if I compare where I was six months ago to where I am now, I've made a lot of progress.

[00:10:05.28] - Taylor
And sometimes it's hard to see the progress that has happened, especially if you were to take, for example, a photo of your physical body, for example, if you go to the gym, taking a photo every day, you're not going to see changes, or if you're weighing yourself every single, you're not going to see the changes because you're doing it every single day. But if you compare that from now to six months ago, you might probably see there's a big, big difference in whatever you are measuring. And so it's sometimes good to look back and reflect and look on the bigger picture of some things because it's very easy to... I get to the end of the day, sometimes I go, "I've done nothing." I've ticked lots of things on my checklist, but because they're now checked and they're hidden, I'm like, "Oh, I haven't actually done anything because there's still 10, 15 things on my list that I need to do." And it's actually, when you look at it, you actually are getting a lot done. So yeah, just something that I put into perspective with a lot of things that have happened. And I think it's always good to just look back and reflect.

[00:11:12.07] - Gordon
And I think adapting is another thing that you alluded to there. As things change, how can you change and make the most of those changes? How can you benefit from these changes that are happening? Can you influence the changes in any way? Quite often you can, especially if you're looking at getting a new place and moving into a house on your own or a flat, then there's a lot you can control there. And it's all about making the right decisions as well, isn't it? And hoping that you've made the right decision. But experience is going to help with that. And as you say, reflection, looking back at what you have done and where you've been and moving forward all the time.

[00:11:58.17] - Taylor
Yeah, it's, although I don't look back and watch past episodes we make for This Week With, I think if I went back to watch some of the earlier episodes that we created, I think just the way that I present myself, the way that I talk, the position that my business is in now compared to when I first started is really, really different. But again, because I don't see that, because I live the life every single day, it's sometimes hard to see the micro differences and micro changes that you're doing every single day that are getting you towards your goals. I have a couple of people that I've touched base with and I haven't spoken to for half a year or a couple of years or whatever, and they're like, "Wow, you've actually done quite a lot. You're really busy." Or things like that. Sometimes you don't see that, especially when you're too close to it.

[00:12:52.11] - Gordon
It's very true. So take time to reflect. There you go. There's a message for you. Anything else you want to say today?

[00:12:59.25] - Taylor
I don't think so.

[00:13:00.27] - Gordon
Perfect. Well, that is it for today. As I alluded to at the beginning, that's twice I've used the word alluded. That's twice in one episode. As I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, next week we have a very special episode, and the one after that is our 200th episode. Can you believe we've got to number 200? We have two guests. One is Marc Summers, Marc P. Summers, And he is a very good friend of the podcast, and he listens to it and watches it. And he's also a very good friend of both of ours, and I've known him for a long, long time. And we also have someone called Caroline Ainsley. Now, she is also a friend of the podcast. I can't remember if she's been on before. I don't think she has. So it'll be the first time for her. But they are both business owners, lots of experience between them. And we have a conversation with them in two parts over the next two episodes, and we each get a topic. So there's going to be two topics in each episode. So there's Taylor and I, and then there's Marc and Caroline.

[00:14:13.09] - Gordon
And that is something we recorded a few weeks ago when they were over here because Marc lives in America. Caroline is busy all over the place. So it's the one and only time we had to really sit down and do something. So that is coming up for you next week and the week after. And then the week after that, we will be onto our 201st episode, and we will be back for you then.

[00:14:38.19] - Taylor
Yeah.

[00:14:38.24] - Gordon
As always, you can like, share, and subscribe. We're on YouTube, and you can watch them anytime you like.

[00:14:46.26] - Taylor
You can also go to our website thisweekwith.co.uk to find all of our past episodes.

[00:14:51.17] - Gordon
And if you prefer to listen to us, we're on all the major podcast platforms. Please do so and let us know what you think. We'll be back with you in, well, next week as far as you're concerned, but for us, we'll be back in three weeks. Until then, my name is Gordon and I am from Drayson Design.

[00:15:10.23] - Taylor
And I'm Taylor from The Creative Tinker.

[00:15:13.17] - Gordon
Goodbye.

[00:15:14.06] - Taylor
Bye.

This Week's Topics

Show Notes