{"id":3803,"date":"2022-01-20T10:24:57","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T09:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/lightbulb-moment-with-tessa-parry-wingfield\/"},"modified":"2024-04-19T14:31:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T12:31:29","slug":"lightbulb-moment-with-tessa-parry-wingfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/lightbulb-moment-with-tessa-parry-wingfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Lightbulb moment: \u201cMy business was purpose-less\u2026”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tessa Parry-Wingfield is the founder of The Power of Words writer collective \u2013 who encountered not one, but three lightbulb moments during the entry level of the Wyseminds\u2019 training programme<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"TessaWhere to begin? My all woman writer collective, The Power of Words, began writing for Wyseminds about a year ago. But, it became increasingly obvious that it was <\/span>me, <\/span><\/i>as TPW\u2019s founder, who needed the wisdom of Wyseminds\u2019 Julie Perkins and her knowledge of working with female entrepreneurs – as much as we needed her as a client. Arguably more so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything for everyone<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019d recently made the bold (read possibly foolish) move to go from being a one man band business writer to heading up a small copywriting consultancy. Rather naively, I thought this was an obvious next step. And it was, in many ways. But my offering was weak: we were fast becoming everything for everyone. \u2018We write any copy for any sector, anywhere in the world\u2019, kind of thing. Not only copy \u2013 but video, podcasts, graphics. More content, content, content; a kaleidoscope of confusion and chaos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lightbulb moment #1: I didn\u2019t want to continue on this path<\/b><\/p>\n

As I delved deeper into Julie\u2019s work with other female entrepreneurs, embarked on \u2018Your Journey<\/a>\u2019 – their interactive training programme – and started having my own brainstorms with her, my first mini lightbulb moment happened: I realised TPW was not only<\/span> not<\/span><\/i> purpose-led, it was entirely purpose-less. And certain patterns of behaviour were escalating and perpetuating tiring inefficiencies and annoyances. Sure, I\u2019d still be able to grow, operationally. But I would be the worker bee, pouring my energies into the operational level of TPW. A project manager (where my skill set does <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> lie) frantically doing more, with less enjoyment \u2013 and a lot of burn out. This was the trajectory I was obviously on, just one year in.<\/span><\/p>\n

No more \u2018niching\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Various calls with Julie later (simultaneously the most patient listener and yet galvanising guide I\u2019ve ever met) and it was time to give purpose a go. I\u2019d spent a lot of time previously trying to \u2018niche\u2019\u2019 as they say; we write for particular sectors and have experience in certain topics like tech. But purpose, I (wrongly) believed, was the territory of companies that fight to save the planet, people or animals. Or a word bandied about by corporates trying to fulfil their ESG pledges. To think that a writer collective could have a purpose that acts as a North Star of the business, was both confusing and compelling, in equal measures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lightbulb moment #2: discovering untold stories<\/b><\/p>\n

Then came the quite daunting task of trying to unearth what that purpose might be for our all woman writer collective. Julie asked me to peel back the layers to when I first started in journalism. What was it about the newsroom that I loved? I explained my intrinsically nosey nature. How it was our job to discover untold stories from all corners of the world so they could be heard. And there we had it, my next (proper) lightbulb moment \u2013 although it was Julie whose face lit up, alerting me to the fact that we\u2019d hit a nail well and truly on its head.<\/span><\/p>\n

More enjoyable and no less profitable<\/b><\/p>\n

The Power of Words\u2019 purpose was born: we discover and write untold stories for businesses. This is now a North Star for my company. One that my writers, clients (and perhaps one day investors!) can align to. No more niches. No more obliviously ploughing energy into growing by doing more. Instead, doing it better when it\u2019s the right fit. And above all, not taking on any clients (or writers, for that matter) that don\u2019t align with our purpose. We would only write for brands if we truly felt we could unearth an untold story which brought value. That may mean turning away lucrative gigs. But that\u2019s ok \u2013 because there are better fits out there. Ones that are both enjoyable and profitable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lightbulb moment #3: tapping into the zeitgeist<\/b><\/p>\n

My lightbulb moments soon turned into a trilogy. Thanks to Julie\u2019s insight, and the space she\u2019s given me to air my angst and ambitions, I have come to another liberating conclusion: some time in the future (not now, the time is not yet right), I\u2019d like The Power of Words to write untold stories for or about women only. Challenges, equality, ageism, pay, menopause. And that\u2019s a pretty powerful purpose right there \u2013 one that we\u2019d all be proud to be aligned to that I believe captures the zeitgeist of right now, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tessa<\/b><\/p>\n

But I\u2019m\u00a0<\/span>racing ahead. I am only part-way on the journey. I still have some of the entry level to the <\/span>training programme<\/span><\/a> to go: defining our values, proposition and only then, business strategies for the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy, but it is liberating\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Finding purpose is difficult, yes; it\u2019s not a straight-forward endeavour. Well, it wasn\u2019t for me, anyway. Your brain can ache. And at times, Finding Purpose (like Nemo) feels elusive. But, Wyseminds guides you through in such a kind, curious and motivating way, that you never feel like you\u2019re in a tunnel on your own, trying to dig yourself out. When you do see the light, it\u2019s liberating. And exciting. And it\u2019s changed the course of my business. Now for TPW\u2019s next purpose-led chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n

To have your own lightbulb moment, why not join the entry level to \u2018Your Journey\u2019 right now? Click <\/i><\/b>here<\/i><\/b><\/a> to find out more.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tessa Parry-Wingfield is the founder of The Power of Words writer collective \u2013 who encountered not one, but three lightbulb moments during the entry level of the Wyseminds\u2019 training programme. Where to begin? My all woman writer collective, The Power of Words, began writing for Wyseminds about a year ago. But, it became increasingly obvious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60,36,37,71,40,148,41,42,149,150],"class_list":["post-3803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-business-growth","tag-entrepreneur","tag-female-entrepreneur","tag-freedom","tag-julie-perkins","tag-lightbulb-moment","tag-purpose","tag-purpose-led","tag-tessa-parry-wingfield","tag-your-journey-training-programme"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3806,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3803\/revisions\/3806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}