A few months ago, I announced that I had been accepted into the Natwest Accelerator programme, which was created to support entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom so they can scale their business to the next level. I applied with the intention to develop my education project Success Beyond The Score, and so far, it has been useful, inspiring and worth all the time and effort I’ve put into it, no doubt.
The programme has helped me clear my head and define exactly what I want to achieve. It has tested my time management and given me some excellent new tools to optimise it. You wouldn’t believe how many great apps are out there to help you stay on track! Even something many of us take for granted, like Google Calendar, becomes formidable when used in an efficient way.
Speaking of apparently simple tools that become indispensable, my iPad stylus has become my best friend. Let me be clear: I’m not sponsored by Apple in any way, I had to pay for my iPad and the stylus like any other person. It’s just that being able to write over digital files, make drawings and take quick notes with them has been so beneficial that I have to talk about it. For an old school person like me —trained typist, but still!— whose profession puts a lot of focus on the hands, this flexibility is a game changer. My thinking process flows better, I can freestyle and be more creative. That’s what I call money well spent.
Beyond tools and apps, though,the greatest value brought by the Natwest Accelerator programme is the people. The other members of the programme, who come from all sorts of backgrounds (not only music of the arts), are interesting, creative and proactive. We have exchanged feedback and business advice, grown our network and talked about participating or bringing clients to each other’s projects. Chelsea and Chloe, the enterprise accelerator managers in charge of the sessions, are mindblowingly talented. Chelsea knows exactly how to keep me on track and I really appreciate what she’s been doing for me. I still feel excited when I remember how well my 60 seconds business pitch ended up going thanks to everybody’s support. I’m sure it’ll be very handy for when Time For My Music starts recruiting again, which should be very soon!
I hope sharing my experience with a programme like the Natwest Accelerator helps you get motivated to reach for help and support for your own projects and dreams. It’s important to know things, but maybe it’s even more important to know people who know things! We’re all constantly learning and getting better, and it’s more fun when we do it in community, don’t you think?
