Véronique (Guest Blog)

Véronique is ATSuccess's resident muddle-headed wombat. I am chief muddle-headed wombat - but as a muddle head, I'm not quite sure if that's right. Hmmm. You probably have no idea what I am talking about do you? The wonderful thing about muddle-headed wombats is that the muddle is actually all about asking questions, wondering - deciding you really don't know, but you want to find out as much as you can. For any Alexander Technique teacher out there (or trainee) feeling in a muddle about building a practise that works financially, there is no better thing for you to do right now than to settle back and read this inspiring account of how one teacher got through her own muddle… *** Me, Véronique D. 02.10.2013 I’m french, I was born in Paris and moved to live in Cork, Ireland (without my family, on my own, when I was 19 to be with my then boyfriend and my now husband (what else would bring a young french woman to Cork!). I was a very shy, self aware teenager, always uncomfortable in my own skin. I suppose most of us feel that way in our teens although it didn't seem that way back then, it always felt I was the only one. As a young woman, I developed neck and shoulder pain and as a graphic designer, spending long hours at a computer, tight deadlines, I suffered from repetitive strain injury in my right arm (RSI). I was in a lot of pain, my fingers and forearm would get really sore, particularly after a day's work until eventually the pain was there all the time. So I looked for the usual routes, doctor, physiotherapy, but really I found no help at all and was getting quite desperate as I was considering leaving my job the pain was so bad. One day I went to an Alexander workshop, a whole day and a new world opened up to me. I was able to see a potential I didn't understand but I could sense. The very gentle touch and approach, really appealed to me. It's a strange thing to say but from that very day my whole being knew there was something so deeply true, I had to find out more. From there I participated in a 6 week course which was fun and showed me lots of different ways to explore and play with activities and see how I could change the way I moved using less effort. The value of seeing other people in the group changing, thinking and moving effortlessly was quite amazing and very quickly I just wanted more of that freedom in myself. I moved on to one to one classes and there the deep and profound changes I made are still with me now. I started to feel better in myself, my RSI pain disappeared and I just started to sense myself. I spent 3 faithful years of weekly Alexander lessons before I trained In Richard Brennan’s Galway School in 2003. I decided to do it as after my sister went through being diagnosed with breast cancer at 36, mastectomy, chemotherapy, amazing bravery, reconstruction, Alexander lessons to recover. She helped me feel daring, that life was for living and that 3 hours drive to Galway every week was possible as I stood to gain so much. I’m so glad I did. In 2003, I started my training (which I never really thought as teacher training, more as my own development) got my ATI Cert in 2006, followed by my STAT cert in 2007 (somehow then, it was important to me to be recognised by both and an ISATT Irish Society cert, I’m all certed out). I was taught by great teachers and met with some amazing people, locally and Internationally during my training, it is an aspect I really miss now with having so little time for myself as family time takes most of my time now. Jeremy came to the training school in my first month of training, followed by an ATI AGM in Spanish Point. I came out of that AGM feeling like a bulldozer had run over me, I was an emotional mess and it took me months to stop crying. I think the first year of training sums up as knocking down the old house, lots of crying, releasing, having fun, changing. The second year of training was digging down new foundations, it hurt like hell. It was like walking around with your skin peeled off (I have spanish blood in me and we like to exaggerate a lot!!!!!!!!!). And the third year was building the new house, new understandings, new exciting ways of thinking. And then I got back to the world... The training course being the honey moon of my AT life. For the future this is what I wish, more training, more meeting and exchanging with people, my training/AGMs/Workshops are what keeps me going and I will find the time and money to be able to do this again. And for now, exchanging in this group, really keeps me going. Thank You Jeremy and Thank You Group! I’m still sharing lessons with my first teacher and have been now for 13 years! (You want me as a student! I want me as a student!). While I was training I started working with some of my friends at home in my spare room and when I finished my training I just carried on slowly (very) taking paying students, raising my fee, slowly but surely every year. I have always worked part-time while training and to this day as a Graphic Designer. I’ve never felt the AT would bring me enough to sustain a good lifestyle I’ve looked around me and not many teachers are making a living except maybe for Richard Brennan here in Ireland (I’m not talking about International Teachers) he has his front end (intro workshops, and back end business with the Galway school + books, super website, etc, he’s also worked at it for a long, long time). In 2009, I had my son Alex (not called after F.M. Alexander!! but after my long standing friend Alexandre Dallant), sold and bought a house, which had to be renovated for 6 months, got married (yes all in that order and the selling and buying all happened 2 months after baby arrived!!!! Oh horror!!! and a week later wedding, thankfully only 13 of us so quick and easy!). Probably suffered undiagnosed Post Natal Stress and definitely Post Builders Stress. So for a year AT business got put to the side, I’m still recovering from all that crazy time. In January 2013 I joined Jeremy’s online blog. Ever since 2006, I have kept an email list which is now growing, slowly but growing and certainly growing faster since January! I’m only currently using it to get students to my evening classes, which work well now I’ll have to say. I’m definitely going to use my mailing list in a different way once I have written up some content to send on, to cultivate a community. I’ve never really thought about Business in the Marketing/Business having to work at it, I was under the illusion (pre January) that you just set up and people come. What I’m also noticing is I’m not the only one, and a lot of therapists here have this same idea, and live with no money or just give up. You just set up and woops it happens, money, business. I’ve been so deluded on that front, and I’m glad that Jeremy has opened my business eyes. To the point of I had never invested any proper money into my business (yes I have done fliers and business cards, I mean invest in The Business, apart from training & workshops on the Work itself). Now I think that is just plain crazy which is why I’m here in this paying group as a first step. What I have at the moment is a word of mouth sort of business which keeps me ticking over for the part-time hours I have allocated to it. It seems busier since last January but I must look at my income and see “Is that really true?” let the numbers speak. In the last few months I’m starting to develop a real sense of Business, my Business. How do I want it to grow, what do I want, where do I want to go... I have a lot of questions, which for now I’m just asking, waiting for the answers to find me. Back-end, Mission statements all grand ideas and very very scary to me! That is going to be a work in progress and I suspect for me is going to take a while, but at least the ideas are there as a possibility, which is better than where I was before. • Since January I’ve had a visiting teacher here in my studio, I made good few connections through that, organising workshops, mailing lists, etc. And I also learnt so much in that week as I attended all the workshops. I definitely want more of that for my business and for my self development. Tick. • I have set up my own website and a blog, it needs work but it’s my own, as up to now I’ve been and still am on the Irish Society Website which is really good, but I want to make it more about me, I’m thinking I’m going to change my URL for my name (although Jeremy you might answer this question my name Veronique Druesne is a mouth full around this parts so I’m not sure about using my name for my new website? any comments on that), that’s my plan for the next few months, play around with niches and see what might fit me long term, and work away at a new website. • I have found the confidence to do a talk in a Pharmaceutical company, I collected over 30 email addresses, I have 2 people in my current 6 week class from there. Their staff health nurse contacted me via a student of mine who works there, it was great, it was non-stop for 2 hours and I had queues waiting to talk to me, so I was talking to groups at a time. When I finished I felt so good, just because I had been myself, I kept it simple and I seem to make sense to people, which has been a bit of a struggle, but now I’m not trying so hard to explain the whole technique in 5mn, IMPOSSIBLE, I’m not doing it anymore. The people who will come and stay will find out, the others won’t and that’s ok with me. • The Teaching Singer at Academy of Pop in the School of Music, Cork, as a result of meeting the visiting teacher at one of the workshops, called me to ask me to do 2 workshops for their students (all teens from 11 to 17). I said yes, which I think pre-January would have been a no-go. I don’t know exactly how I did there, I’ll be honest I think I did ok, I survived so did they. I decided this morning to send in a feedback form, so I can learn from my mistakes and I hope I’m strong enough to take whatever comes back my way. • October, I’m booked in to do a workshop with another AT teacher, we’re going to watch radiographers work in the main Cork Hospital and we are booked in to do a workshop there. Previous to doing this online course that would have been it. Now I’m going in with big plans of selling them 4 workshops a year, not sure if in my studio or on-site at the moment, wish me luck! • Niches, oh niches I’m absolutely struggling with that too. Work-Related Muscular-Skeletal Disorders? Computing with ease? Posture. I can’t seem to get beyond pain! I know it’s not about Pain or Posture I know, I know, I know. Other therapists? teaching them about their own coordination? They also hurt in some way, massage therapists who I have been talking to their say wrists and hands hurt, neck pain. I have started talking about this to some therapists I know, we’ll see where that might take me. It seems to be all pain related for now, I know go deeper!! In time I will. • Facebook ads, I’m on for that, but niches niches niches... Maybe I’ll do 2 Facebook ads one to get some likes (helping my community based AT Hub) and one to advertise my next evening classes • Currently I teach my evening classes, they are only introductory classes or Level 1. I’m putting on my list of things to do thinking around Levels, modules so there is something to go from and to, up to January the thinking was evening classes to feed one to ones!!! Never happened in a way that brings money I mean, of course some people do. I really want to build the evening classes, I’m having fun with them, and it seems people have fun too and they find out a lot more than looking after their posture (of course we AT teachers we know that), that’s why they come. So building a community around that, How? and levels? I’m currently taking yoga in a really cool place, it has a chill out area with herbal teas and water, it looks and feels really nice. Then they have classes all throughout the day with different levels to choose from, they organise workshops, weekends, etc (I’m not comparing AT principles with Yoga, I’m comparing Businesses!) but of course they have 3 or 4 teachers in there and possibly more. • So in 3 years time I want to be doing that! Having a good AT community going in my niche (which of course is going to come to me and maybe it’s the one I have, women 35-55 that want to improve their posture and their well-being. Inviting teachers to come and teach so to create an AT hub around my studio and Cork and of course sharing with community here in Ireland. YES! • The Less Muddled Headed Wombat Over to you. Jeremy's Comments Véronique was one of the teachers who volunteered to be a case study in my free, online course "12 Steps to Financial Success as an Alexander Technique Teacher." It would serve you well to go back and read her story then, compared to where she is now. It offers you hope, at a level where you don't need to be extraordinary, or brilliant or anything that feels beyond who you are - you can be a muddle-headed wombat and get through all the "stuff" slowly, just like building a garden…

My heart is full of joy reading your account Véronique. I'm thankful for a wonderful testimonial that will inspire Alexander Technique teachers to navigate into the mind set that will actually help our work become available for more people. Who else could you encourage with your practical down- to-earth, let's-not-be-defeated-by-this approach to moving into the impossible? Right now your story is at a perfect pitch for this blog (thank you) - so if you can do it here, where else can you do it? It immediately pops into mind your other profession - graphic artists - but I am guessing there's not that many of them in Cork! Your story begins with them, but it speaks to the whole person - it is a more original way to tackle the pain market: people looking to change their life, people fed-up, desperate, needing some light. I love it. I also think you are an original, and with only 120,000 people in the local area, building YOU as the niche starts to make sense. You build an Alexander Technique niche, slowly like a garden, but you are the real star, not Alexander Technique. That opens you to multi-niching - pursue one area for a year, then move on to another. Then your story has wonderful metaphors for the reader - how your sister inspired you to be daring. Your reader is cued to think: "Oh, I want to be daring too." Daring is what helped you escape from the drudgery of what you had. Your theme is "do something new. do this really weird foreign thing that you don't have a clue what it is but your intuition tells you it's for you" That "intuition" thing is in your story too. This can be an appealing multi-niched message. I can hardly believe I am writing this! Yet I have always said that a person is a small town has a different challenge from those in the big cities. Being that Alexander Technique is ultimately a belly-to-belly business, and being that you don't have the kind of grandiosity that I suffer from, then building a modest business that supports your family, with the patient gardener approach, renders multi-niching a viable alternative. I still believe focus is important - especially for muddle-headed wombats - so I don't advocate you abandoning the niche focus you are currently exploring. But you can give up the idea "I have to settle on one." No, instead settle on the one that "intuition" tells you to follow right now. And be happy to have a shifting focus that juggles a few together. Your blog then becomes "the quirky Véronique" rather than niched to a topic. You won't go as deep and as far as Basil has gone in the Music niche, but I don't think that's what you want anyway? As a strategy, you'll never make a million this way, but you can have your studio with several teachers and a joyful community. Except don't have a "chill out area" have a "warm in area" (but still serve the herbal teas and water). It's a beautiful vision.