CHARMAINE DAWKINS-ALDER The powerhouse behind a leading London training organisation revolutionising Health & Safety education, Charmaine is committed to elevating safety standards, and is on a mission to empower and enthuse employees. Her mantra? "You can't buy a new arm, leg, or eye at Harrods! FEATURE EDITION | DECEMBER,2023 B r a n d M e ! V i s i b i l i t y N e t wo r k i ng G r o u p Spotlight
Meet Charmaine DawkinsAlder Founder of Difference A Day Makes Charmaine is the founder of the Award-winning training company ‘Difference A Day Makes’ and she is also a Trainer, Employment Adviser, an Encourager and an Author. Charmaine’s training organisation provides a range Health & Safety related courses to a wide range of businesses and individuals across London. They are committed to improving, safety standards and strive to deliver high quality interactive and appealing training. Charmaine says, “I want to empower and enthuse the employees who are going into the workplace day by day to be able to take care of their health and safety and in doing so they are taking care of others. I always say you can’t go to Harrods and buy a new arm leg or eye. If your health goes then all the money in the world isn’t going to help you run in the park with the children or grandchildren. I have moved from an employee to self-employed/ Business owner. Until a few months ago I ran the business as my side hustle, Having just stepped out of my 9-5 and need to move the business on, we need to be visible and grow to the next level. My values are Honesty, Openness, Creativity Enthusiasm Encouragement and Empowerment. Whatever I do is driven by my Faith. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Charmaine Dawkins-Alder Page 2
Where did the desire come from to start your own business? The seed was, has been there for a long time but how, what and why took a lot longer in coming. It took a while before the threads came together to start looking like a jumper back in 2005, I read an article in a H&S magazine on someone who was now running a successful training organisation and I thought that’s it that’s what I want to do. At that time, I did know anyone who looked like me doing what I wanted to, or to say this is how you start, run and sustain a business. I started out as a freelancer working for other companies and do you know never once thought to ask, how do you do this. “I did know anyone who looked like me doing what I wanted to, or to say this is how you start, run and sustain a business.” BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Charmaine Dawkins-Alder What do you think are the significant benefits of being an entrepreneur vs working professional? Benefits, there are the obvious one like being the boss in charge of the day to day running of your company, flexible hours and days and you get to choose your location. Also it’s your baby something you can build with your beliefs at the heart of it. You are also contributing to your community. Page 3
What do you hope your key learnings will be as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey? I hope to learn how to convert all the facets of what I do and who I am into a successful company. This will involve embracing change taking some risks and not linger to long when thing don’t go as I’ve planned, but to take stock and move on. Can you share a specific project or accomplishment that you are particularly proud of and why? With the courses I deliver it’s very easy to go into a room and give them what you know and enough to get through the test at the end of the day, but that’s not our way we are driven by the needs of our clients, the learner in the room. I’m very much aware that for many attending our Level 2 courses did not have a good experience of school, they may be struggling with literacy, they have been sent on the course by their manager as a requirement and thinking how they’re going to get through the day. “I thought I’d somehow upset her, but she said she was fine and it was just that no-one had ever made her feel she was capable of achieving anything and these were her first ever certificates. ” A lot of barriers to cross in one day, but thankful from the feed back we are accomplishing it. One lady I had on a course had left school at 15 with no qualifications, she went on to have her family and amidst a lot of loss and struggles she felt she wanted to return to the world of work. She attended what we call our Childcare Related Suite, this consists of three 1-day courses Emergency Paediatric First Aid /Safeguarding of Children and Young people and Food Safety. When her certificates were handed over she began to cry, I thought I’d somehow upset her, but she said she was fine and it was just that no-one had ever made her feel she was capable of achieving anything and these were her first ever certificates. If this is what attending one of our courses does for an individual, we want to do more of that. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Charmaine Dawkins-Alder BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Charmaine Dawkins-Alder Page 4 Page 3
As a busy entrepreneur/professional, how do you manage work-life balance and avoid burnout? What are some strategies you use to stay productive and focused on your priorities? I’m learning that my diary is my best friend, I cannot keep all the dates etc in my head. I think one of the most valuable things I learnt on the Amplify Your Business Mastermind I participated in, was to cut down my to-do list to 3 task maximum for each day. I’m aware that my most productive time is between 9m and mid-night, so I tend to tackle the important tasks at this time, even if they are not completed but they are mapped and ready for the next step. I used to have these long lists and obviously never completed them, so the next days list was even longer and always felt overwhelmed by the end of the week. The shorter lists help to keep my sanity. Being a bit of a magpie (love the next shiny thing) accountable is really important as this helps to keep me focused. I can’t say I’ve done nothing but scroll, it has to be at least 1 small step. On Saturdays I try to incorporate a something I enjoy doing into my day. It may just be going for a walk attending an event or going to an exhibition. Sundays are for family, once a month it’s everyone together at the dining table. Industry Trends & Predictions What do you see as the most significant trends or challenges in your industry/profession right now? The trend I see right now, is a growing number of companies are moving the use of online courses, they are cheaper, often much shorter so less time your workers spending away from the job, and I do think they do have their use, as CPD but I think nothing beats a good face-to-face session, those drop down boxes of frequently asked questions never seem to have the question you want to ask! We also find for number of workers especially in hospitality and care, English is not their first language and they find some words difficult to translate and Industry Acronyms are lost, so there is still the need for faceto-face training. Where do you envision the industry heading in the next few years, and how are you preparing for it? With the advancement of AI, who knows where we are going, but a lot more blended learning will be used some online some face-to-face whether that be in the training room or via zoom/MS-teams session. I can also envisage the use of V-R being introduced. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Charmaine Dawkins-Alder Page 5
How do you continue to learn and grow personally and professionally? I still attend courses to do with my field, read articles and watch related videos. No one knows everything and thankfully the awarding body I use - QNUK, are helpful with questions, as well as the network of a host of trainers. Have there been any mentors or role models who influenced your approach to business or work? Lorlett Hudson of One Hand Can’t Clap was my coach for many years and still tap into her wealth of wisdom when needed. During the Covid years Claudine Reid’s Navigating Life Platform was a great lifeline. This is where I stepped out of my comfort zone and became an author. My story features in the ‘Health Grief and Loss’ volume of the Navigating life series. The Just-Be group is where I get to join in activities with other likeminded women. Yvette McDonald who founded the group is a great example of what it is to love people and she has also built a great team who help to make the whole thing work. There is also a lady by the name of Pearl Jarret whom I’ve never met but, her pursuing her dream of becoming an actress in her fifties really inspired me. Building Your Personal Brand As you go about building your personal brand, how do you want your audience to perceive you and why is this important? What does authenticity look like for you, and how will you stay true to yourself while also adapting to changing circumstances? For me it’s important for my audience to see it’s not too late to step out and be you, the business owner the author or any of the things you dreamt about all those years ago. For many of us women we have been and still are someone’s daughter/ sister/ mother/ wife and very little time being us being me. Authenticity looks like continuing to encourage others to be the best that they can be. Whether that is in my business or any other endeavours I embark on. My family and a few close friends are great levers and mentors I can reach out to for help. It doesn’t mean you throw away the rest of it but there is room to make the dream a reality. I’ve also learnt you don’t have to only do one thing; you can have many strings to your bow and it’s also important to have some fun too. Bonus Question - Choose one of the following to describe how you see your personal brand now or in the future: Fearless > Authentic > Confident > Exceptional > Successful (BrandMe! FACES) My Word would be Authentic LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/charmaine-dawkins-alder-704ba61/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063733800670 BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Charmaine Dawkins-Alder Page 6
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