Week In Review - 9 January 2015!

I hope you had as lovely a Holiday Season as I did because honestly, taking those two weeks off was just what I needed to reflect on a very productive 2014 and set my intention for what I hope will be a stellar 2015! I have to confess there's a bit more of me to love, because I certainly didn't miss a meal during those two weeks, and I happily indulged in all those yummy foods that I tend to stay away from during the year. I am paying for it now having to work out like a mad woman so I can get into that lovely Diana Ross dress for my first gig of the year next weekend!

When I say I took two weeks off, that's strictly from admin work. I was performing quite a bit and ended the year with a bang by performing four mini sets of my Diana Ross Tribute Show at four different venues on New Year's Eve! It seemed like a good idea when I said yes to doing this type of booking, but I had no idea how exhausting it would be. It was interesting to see how the demeanor of the crowd changed at each venue. 

At the first venue I went on just after 8pm and the night was young, people were just starting to get their drink on so the mood was laid back and mellow. Venue two, and hour later and the crowd was a bit livelier as the liquid courage was just starting to kick in. I get to venue three and this crowd was marinated just enough to think I was the real Diana Ross and gave me the rock star treatment complete with being followed around and trapped by the pappirazzi with a line of people wanting a photo!

Then it was off to my final venue ... I arrived just before 11pm and the crowd was totally baked and well up for anything. I could have stood their barking and they would have loved it! I didn't, but I could have. I had a great time at each venue and was done at 11:30 and back home and in my onesie just in time to watch the count down and the fireworks on the telly. A special shout out to the hubs who was my driver, sound person & body guard for the night! I would not have survived without him!

Also during my Christmas hiatus, Mayfield Recording Studio was launched! I am so proud to be associated with this amazing venture and the buzz is already starting about this brand new, state-of-the-art recording facility located in Portsmouth. Visit the website to learn more about the studio and the 50% Introductory Offer!

There have already been a few recording sessions at the studio, and Mayfield the band was in on the 2nd of January recording the first track for our second album due to be released later this year. If you having any recording needs, do check out Mayfield Studios and take advantage of the discount while it lasts!

It was hard getting back to work on Monday, but moving into my very own office space at the Cathedral Innovation Centre in Old Portsmouth made it a bit exciting. I've been hotdesking at this location for the past year, and now the Gloria Miller Entertainment Ltd. office is now open for business. The space is proving to be quite the boost to productivity as this week I added quite a few bookings to the diary. Let's hope this keeps up!

On Thursday I had a meeting with Ross from the Jolly Sailor about Southsea's Got Talent, and I am happy to be returning as one of the judges for the competition that is going to be bigger and better as it goes into its third year. The first heat will be 5 February! Watch this space for more info. 

On Friday I did my first music business coaching session with a new client. Last year I started doing some vocal coaching and this year I am diversifying that service to include music business coaching as well. I will be officially launching this service later in the year in partnership with Mayfield Studios Tuition Services. More details to come ...

Finally, on Saturday I am off to Leeds for two days of intensive rehearsals with The Midnight Soul Sisters as we prepare for our promo video shoot and the growing schedule of upcoming shows!  I'll put up a good fight against the battle of the bulge this weekend as I try to turn one of my two left feet into a right foot and learn all the dance moves required for these shows. I had a look at the routines we'll be learning, and this is going to be a hard couple of days, but well worth it 'cause these moves will look amazing once it's all put together! I'll post the promo video when it's finished! 

Well, I think that's enough yapping from me this week!  Have a fabulous weekend ...

Week In Review - 25 July 2014

Mostly this week has been about prepping for a very busy summer of gigs and events. In order to help keep myself organized and on top of getting ready for shows, running the day-to-day business operations and the constant battle of learning new material, I decided to attend a workshop on Time Management (which I was late getting to by the way ... LOL)! On Tuesday, I headed to Chichester to attend 'Time Management & Focus' run by Cara Moore and most of what was shared I already knew, but wasn't exactly implementing. But, the biggest thing I walked away with was finding out what my 'golden hours' are during the day and tackling my biggest projects during this time. The golden hours are the time of day when you're most focused. Cara encouraged us to protect these hours and not squander them away on the things that don't necessarily build the business. She even suggested not scheduling meetings during the golden hours, as they can be time killers. 

Cara Moore, Executive Coach

I identified my golden hours as 1-3pm. That's the beginning of my work day and when I feel most ready to tackle the day. Before attending this workshop I was using this time on operational tasks (emails, social networking, scheduling, etc.) and not on the activities that build my business (new business research, developing new clients, servicing existing clients, newsletter, etc.). I immediately implemented refocusing the tasks I work on during my golden hours and just like that revolutionized my work week. More of my quality time is now directed to building my business with the every day tasks still getting done, but in a more efficient way. 

We were also encourage to delegate the tasks that can potentially steal those precious golden hours. I'm now identifying tasks that can be outsourced to a Virtual Assistant. I tried using a VA before when I first started my business, but I wasn't quite ready to let go of the reigns in certain areas. Now that my business has grown and therefore the demands of running the business have grown, I'm willing to try using the services of a VA again. I'll let you know how I get on with delegating. I'm scared, but willing ...

Last night I had a lovely mid-week gig at the Portsmouth Guildhall Cafe performing as part of their Summer Sessions with my Duo. A special shoutout to Nathalie Gunn who booked me and John Sackett of Big Adventures who organized the event. The evening was called 'Alfresco Thursdays' and it was indeed a lovely evening to perform outside. We had a lovely crowd who were singing along, even on my original song 'Because of Your Love.' I also ran a little contest during 'Ain't No Sunshine' which the crowd eagerly participated in. You know that part of the song that goes ... 'I know, I know, I know ...?' I promised the first person to accurately call out how many times I actually sang that phrase a free CD. So I sang it 18 times, really, I'm not kidding, and ended up with several people nailing the answer. So I gave out about 5 CDs and then a random lady who was just walking by the cafe at the time got a free CD too! What can I say, I'm easy. Please don't let that get around :)!

These Summer Sessions will continue through the end of August. Do support this new venture be spreading the word and coming down to the Guildhall Cafe to enjoy the lovely atmosphere of live music ... alfresco style!

Lastly, in preparation for the upcoming Southsea Show on the 1st-3rd of August, I had rehearsals with my covers band, Move On Up on Tuesday and my originals band, Mayfield on Thursday who will both be performing during this 3-day event. Supremely, Diana Ross is also making an appearance. It would be great to see you at this event. If you do come, please be sure to say hello!

Well, that's it for this week ... have an amazing weekend!

Weeks In Review - 6 June & 13 June 2014

FranClassic
Foodies Festival - Clapham

Apologies for not getting my 6 June Week In Review out to you. I usually write this blog on the Friday, but last Friday was Day 1 of Foodies Festival Clapham and I jumped right into the deep end of this 3-day event and didn't come up for air until Sunday night! The entire week was really devoted to sorting out all the last minute details for the event. We were so lucky with the weather over the 3-days and had huge crowds at the Entertainment Stage throughout each day. 

On 5 June I went to an early morning BNI networking meeting at the Hilton in Farlington where I gave a 1-minute presentation about GME. BNI is a worldwide network who are looking to launch a Portsmouth area chapter. I was invited back this week, but 6:45am is a bit too early for me, especially since I'm still recovering from Foodies :). Later on the 5th Dominic Elton (Mayfield band leader) and I met with Jeff Powell of Groovefinders to discuss Mayfield Studios, which are in the process of being built. We also discussed songwriting for our next album and development ideas as we take Mayfield to the next level as a band. 

Jerry Williams
Foodies Festival - Clapham

Jeff is a visionary manager who works with several emerging artist, including the very talented Jerry Williams who I booked to perform at Foodies Clapham. She was delightful by the way! There is mutual interest between Jeff and Mayfield to work together and I'm excited to see how things unfold in the coming months.

Even later on the 5th, I was at The Jolly Sailor judging Southsea's Got Talent! It was a very early start and long day, but no matter how tired I may feel when I get to SSGT, I am always energized and amazed by all the untapped talent in the Portsmouth area. This night was no exception. Each contestant was at the top of their game, and sadly only 3 were able to be put through to the next level! That was a hard decision to make!

Now we come to this week ...

Supremely, Diana Ross

On Monday, I had to drag my very tired self out of bed for a meeting at a venue where I'm booked to perform Supremely, Diana Ross for a birthday party. I am triple booked on this date, 21st of June,  so I need to check out the venue ahead to make sure I know how to get there and to see what equipment I will need to bring. I will be on such a tight schedule on this date, so there's very little room for errors like ... getting lost!

Wednesday I had my 1st full vocal coaching session with my new student, Nicola. I am helping her prepare set lists, find the right songs for her voice and music business coaching in addition to helping her fine tune her vocals. We had a great session and I am always thrilled when I see a student learning and growing. I recorded most of our session and played it back to Nicola. She struggled to listen to herself, but doing that helped us identify things she needs to work on, and the songs later in the session were already showing a marked improvement. I'll be seeing her again in a few weeks. 

If you are someone you know is looking for a vocal/music business coach, do get in touch to set up a free consultation.

Move On Up!

Thursday, I was with my band, Move On Up at The Wine Vaults and we had a fantastic night! We were worried that we would have a small crowd due to so many events happening at the same time including camper's night at the Isle of Wight Festival, and the opening night of the World Cup. However, we had a great crowd who were already on the dance floor by the third song of the first set ... this is very rare! By the end of the second set, the place was packed to the rafters and the punters were screaming for more ... even after our second encore! Sadly, we were out of energy and out of songs so we left the crowd wanting more, which is not a bad thing!

Speaking of Isle of Wight festival ... Mayfield are gearing up to make our debut at this great festival on the Hipshaker Stage on Saturday starting at 9pm! We had our final rehearsal prepping for the gig on Tuesday and the set is sounding very tight. We'll be dropping some new songs from our next release, and Amy and I will be donning new dresses that she designed and created! I'll have loads of pics to share with you next week.

Gloria Miller Duo

Finally, tonight I'm rehearsing with my Duo partner, Dennis Elvie as we prepare for our next gig which is the first of the three gigs I've got booked on the 21st of June. We will be doing Jazz & Blues originals and covers at The Spring in Havant! 

I've got one hour to prep for rehearsal, so that's it for now! Have a fabulous weekend!