Red Nail Polish

So, I don't know whether I should be sharing this with you once again, but as the Social Media rule books states, 'you must be authentic' and 'be brave'. Therefore, I want to share with you my views on nail polish.

When I say nail polish, I mean more specifically the application of, and my attempts at, trying to look polished and professional. Me? Yes, me.

I know, the idea of me looking "polished and professional" as I fling myself from playground pick-ups to mad dashes around Sainsbury's, whilst taking very important business calls and advising on marketing matters, is perhaps a difficult image to conjure up in your mind.

However, a few years ago I found myself in need of a spruce up for a meeting with a lovely new client. I admit I wanted to cover up the fact I was two stone overweight and needed my hair cutting badly (don’t we all right now?) but I really thought that putting red nail polish on would detract from all these little problem areas. Not to mention, the ever-so-slightly tight Boden dress I bought last year when I didn't have the extra two stones - I'm still not sure where it all came from - Doritos aren't unhealthy are they?

There I was at 10pm the night before the meeting applying my red nail polish. And disaster struck! I knocked the bottle over. A vast swathe of red polish flew in slow motion across the room to land on my lovely light-coloured carpet and white wall. It was a complete mess. I found myself running from one room to the next collecting cleaning products and a bowl, whilst holding my fingers out straight so as not to knock them as they were still wet! The damage was so bad I had to forget the nails and get scrubbing. I scrubbed and dabbed for what seemed like hours cleaning up the red polish that was destined to stain. At that point, on my hands and knees, I couldn't help realising the state I'd found myself in, attempting to make a good and lasting impression. For the record, I was trying to re-invent myself from a mother who had seen many a sleepless night, been covered in sick, smelt of pooh, and loved every minute of bringing 3 little people into the world. However, it was now that time in my life to move forward and go back to working again. Draw from my experience as a Marketing Professional to advise and guide clients through marketing campaigns. Put on my working clothes, shoes, and nail polish again to resume an identity that had been silently waiting in the wings for a while.

I love being a mother. More than anything in the world. But to be a good mother I believe I needed to create a balance. Show my two girls that working and nurturing can work together, and my son, I hope it will teach him how important it is to know it's not just down to him to be the provider for the future. But to do all this, I needed RED nail polish.

After much scrubbing, the red nail polish was reapplied, and as the colour flashed in front of me the following day whilst I sat on the train, I knew no one else would have known I'd thrown the stuff around my bedroom the night before. I looked like everyone else, self-assured, knowledgeable, and heading into a meeting with purpose and poise.

I think the moral of today's ramble is, no one needs to know that I may have only just made it to the train in time due to my tights attaching themselves to my son’s velcro shoes. No one will know that I'd had only a few minutes to think about what I was going to say. My client would know I understood the pain and challenges of social media. I would always be honest. I will be consistent. And I can offer advice and support.

Social media can be overwhelming at times, and feels like there are too many obstacles to get over, too much to learn and how much does it achieve anyway? But I say to you, look at all the obstacles I have had to get through just to make it to a meeting in one piece, then come back to me and we can talk about what is really overwhelming and whether we can meet those challenges together. Polish or no polish.