elementas has been appointed by Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, to help Lancashire’s businesses overcome challenges, build a trusted network and improve their performance through a funded programme of targeted knowledge sharing. 

Peer Networks, which has just been launched is a national programme for SME leaders that want to work with likeminded business leaders to address key challenges and reach their goals. 

It will run from September 2021 to March 2022 and follows a successful pilot programme which ended in March this year and supported more than 320 Lancashire businesses. 

It will create a range of diverse peer-to-peer networking cohorts of 8-11 businesses in a range of sectors across Lancashire. Peer Networks is delivered through a series of high impact group sessions, with each cohort led by an expert facilitator. 

Andrew Leeming, programme manager, Boost, said: “Our Peer Networks pilot, which took place last year, helped more than 320 Lancashire business leaders at a critical time in the county’s recovery from coronavirus. “We’re proud to announce that Peer Networks will be returning so that we can support a whole new group of business owners and managers to work together to address key issues, support each other and develop their business. “elementas is one of the 17 expert organisations we have chosen to help us deliver this exciting programme.” 

Lou Booth, elementas owner founder said: “The elementas cohort will focus on Resilience and Wellness; front of mind for us all, as we navigate our business pandemic journey. The sessions are designed to help the group explore what Wellness and Resilience means to them personally and in business. With new tools and understanding participants, will be better equipped to talk wellness together and with their staff and colleagues. Participants will be able to recognise stress, anxiety and burnout earlier. This means they can lead better and keep doing what they love doing and be enterprising and creative to thrive and flourish. Resilience and wellness II builds on the success of the first cohort and I’m ever so excited to bring more fabulous Lancashire businesses together to do their magic! ”

The programme includes interactive action learning, small groups, flexible topic selection and one to one coaching. Let previous participants tell you more and check out their videos on this link Wellness and Resilience Peer Network:

“Please do this … The support is fantastic …” 

Sharon Samlesbury Hall Director

I joined Lou’s previous group and thoroughly enjoyed the programme. This mainly was down to Lou’s enthusiasm and professionalism throughout. Everyone who has attended has stayed in touch which, in this busy life, speaks volumes for the value we all gained. Mick (MD Sancus Solutions Ltd)

“I attended this programme recently and had massively supportive experience both personally and professionally. I can highly recommend it to all “

Carl Bell Managing Director The Whitaker Organisation Community Interest Company, Museum, Art Gallery and Cultural Hub.

“I was involved in one of Lou’s groups and I have to say that it was an absolute pleasure and joy to have met so many talented and wonderful people, all on their own journeys and all able to offer wisdom, support and mentoring. Lou is a delight to work with and an experienced mentor and life coach. Her knowledge on wellness and resilience was insightful and creative. I only wish I could take part again! If you’ve not been involved, sign up now! 😊 “

Nicola Murray Head of Operations / Deputy Director at Sue Ryder

 

“I can personally recommend Lou Booth and the Peer Networks scheme. I’m very happy to speak to anyone who is interested and would like an informal chat about my experience – which is all very positive and has opened many new doors for me.”

Dawn Vickers MD, now Project Manager at DanceSyndrome

The Resilience and Wellness is a fully funded project.

It is available to any small or medium sized business that has: 

• Operated for at least one year 
• At least five employees 
• A turnover of at least £100,000 
• An aspiration to improve 

Ideally, participants should also have: 

• The potential to scale up 
• The ability or potential to export 

There are still places available if you wish to part of a journey to grow and transform join our Resilience and Wellness Cohort (starting late October 2021) . Get in touch with to find out more Lou Booth 07715814833 (phone or WhatsApp) or email Lou@elementas.co.uk.

Today is special and I have reason to be feel happy, grateful and proud. elementas has come of age, my company is 10 years old, a decade old! It marks a milestone on a journey to founding my own business and living a life that I love.

I am particularly thankful to all my clients, friends and supporters who have encouraged me from my very early days with elementas.

I can still recall meeting new start-ups and discussing our ambitions and hopes. I remember being a fledgling learning to fly, talking to other new start-ups who were mapping their futures to run their own businesses. Today I work with such people as a volunteer mentor. I was leaving behind the certainty of a secure 9-5 type job and a regular salary to follow my dreams and carve a new way to live and work. It was exciting and liberating but rather scary at the time, I didn’t have an anchor. I remember taking some months out to volunteer in South America, and writing my elementas (elements was taken!) business plan and deciding on my company values (natural, creative, holistic) half-way up an Andean Mountain!

This last year we have all had to deal with unplanned change and had to find new ways to live and work. In the middle of a global pandemic wellness and illness are at the front of mind for many of us at work and at home, with our loved ones. More than ever I sense that people are starting ‘to get’ the benefits of the work I do through elementas; combining my business background with mindfulness, wellness, compassion, heart-focused emotional intelligence coaching. A fellow professional and respected friend calls my work ‘gold standard’. In the earlier years it was tricky as these ideas and concepts were more alien or unfamiliar to many I came across. I had to be brave and muster up my courage and it paid off. More and more I see first hand the difference mindfulness techniques and mindfulness practices and compassionate leadership makes to individuals, teams and leaders. Clients find more clarity, develop more self-trust and insights. It is magic and simple!

I am grateful that I kept trusting my instinct, learning from wise experts, building my knowledge, skills and experience, taking time out (to keep well) and keeping going. After a decade of doing the work I love, navigating being a small business in a pandemic the words “together we flourish” ring more true than ever. I am truly grateful and resourcing my inner resilience and wisdom on my fascinating journey!

(On the way back from a break in Skye, May 2021)

I have always enjoyed working with men, in business and industry. In more recent years, I have become more curious about men’s health, as more men have come to me for coaching for help with work pressures and stresses; be that personally or with their colleagues and teams.

Recently I took the opportunity to train as a Men’s Health Champion, with the Men’s Health Forum. It was as chance to improve my own skills, and to better understand men’s health. I thought this would to help me in my role as coach as well as better support the relationships with the men in my life both professionally and personally. It was great to work with men’s health trainers Peter Baker and Jim Pollard, experts in this field.

We all came together as like-minded and enthusiastic practitioners, including organisations like the NHS and police, to learn more. Together we learnt more about the do’s and don’t and how to get men talking with appropriate conversations about their health. We used tested frameworks and processes to understand the stages of change and the best ways to support men in their journey to improved health choices. Together we explored the barriers that men say get in the way of their wellness. It was good fun and definitely a worthwhile experience. I was able to sharpen my awareness and knowledge about the current issues and challenges around men’s health. Here are some facts that cannot be ignored:

• Culturally and socially there is still a pressure for men to be strong.
• Health and wellness is a tricky subject to talk about; we need to learn to listen well.
• Men are less like likely to see a doctor, go to the opticians or visit a dentist than women.
• In the UK, one man in five dies before he reaches 65 years old. 
• Four in five suicides are by men – suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 35 and there has been a sharp increase in the rate among men aged 35-64.

We can all support the men in our lives be they friends, family or colleagues by being present and being ready to listen; when men are ready to talk.

To find out more about 1:1 wellness coaching and business mentoring or organisational wellness sessions, please get in touch WhatsApp 07715814833 or email Lou@elementas.co.uk

Find out more about the great work of the Men’s Health Forum (MHF) and their mission to improve the health of men and boys; all backed up by the latest research and facts. Discover partners that work with MHF, online resources ways individuals and organisations can get involved and raise awareness about Men’s Heath and Wellness.

elementas “Together we flourish”

Wellness has been front of mind for most of us, as we have navigated unfamiliar waters over the last year. Life changed beyond all recognition for many, whilst others found they were on the front line almost like “warriors of light” in the effort to save and maintain lives. I feel extremely grateful for all of these individuals and their service to humanity.

I also feel reflective and sad about the pending anniversary this week of the death of my client and dear friend Artist David Burrow (1945- 2020). Dave was one of the first to lose his life (15 April 20) during the pandemic. Dave was a pleasure, a brilliantly talent artist, who like many famous artists before him had, suffered with ups and downs of a long term mental health condition. A close friend of my late mum Cath, Dave became a close friend, an kind of uncle/ father figure, during our “Artist Endeavours” together planning exhibitions and trips out for coffee and cake. I miss his wisdom and laugher dearly, and the lost opportunity for his heartfelt presence he brought to our shared conversations about my mum and her life.

Over the last few months I have been designing e-books of wellness (to be released May 2021, celebrating 10 years running my own business).

The well books have been a labour of love. They are packed with inspirations from art to poetry, ideas, thoughts and tools intended to bring more wellness and harmony to our daily lives. I’ve created a series of six linked books (mind, body, emotions, spirit, resilience, kindness and compassion). These simple books are designed to focus our hearts and minds towards a journey of greater wellness, rather than illness. The intention is to help us all to explore the interconnectivity of our mind, body, emotions and spirit.

I have dedicated my “wellness of emotions” to Dave. It includes one of my favourite oil paintings by Dave, appropriately named ‘Hartz Mountains, Germany”.

“One of the reasons Dave said he loved painting is that every brush stroke is a part of him, his way of contributing something to the world.“ Clare

Here is a sneak preview of Dave’s contribution to emotional wellness:

Working from home, home schooling, isolation from our loved ones and restrictions have been tricky. This last year may have brought some gifts; time to pause or reflect and reassess, more time in nature, or a new family pet. However for many it has also brought much loss, and suffering and lack of the support of physical connections and interactions, that ‘someone’ to talk to or share our personal experiences with.

More and more people are starting to appreciate the value of keeping well and maintaining good health. The benefits of mindfulness are starting to become more widely recognised, which means my skills are increasingly in demand. After nearly a decade in business, I still strive to build my understanding, skills and experience in coaching and mindfulness, to ensure I can offer the best professional services and importantly something useful and relevant to clients.

This year is no different, my passion is for bringing wellness, coaching and mindfulness into our everyday lives continues. I am mid-way through a mindfulness MSc at Aberdeen university I and have been attending Mindfulness training on-line. Last August I become a licenced Heartmath coach.

Over the last six months I have successfully designed, delivered and facilitated a pilot Wellness and Resilience Peer Group with a diverse group of Lancashire business leaders. This project was on behalf of Boost Lancashire and gratefully funded by The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The project included personalised 1:1 coaching as well as mindfulness and group action learning. Client feedback was great, it was transformational experience. I feel proud of what the individuals and groups have achieved together, and how they supported each other personally and professionally, how they made each other feel…..

I hope to run this project again in May, 2020 please get in touch if you are interested in this fully funded programme.

To find out more about 1:1 wellness coaching and business mentoring or organisational wellness sessions, please get in touch WhatsApp 07715814833 or email Lou@elementas.co.uk