Inspiring workshops to sharpen your skills, get your creative juices flowing and help you work smarter. Just for 26 members, we have a rotating sushi bar of brain food to tempt you throughout the year. Not a member yet? Stump up £40 pounds and grab a seat at the bar.

Our next workshop...

Trade Secrets: how to make more money

How can you make more money—and still be a nice person? This is the 12th of our Trade Secrets training sessions, and it’s scheduled for 2pm—6pm, Friday, 4th October 2019.

Save the date now. Book the course now! It’s sure to get busy, once the penny drops. But who’s talking about pennies? Or dropping? We’re talking about raising your income, and raising your profile.

Together, we’ll tackle tricky money matters, like terms of engagement, getting paid, quoting and negotiating, day rates, project rates, charity rates, putting up your rates… AND we’ll explore the more atmospheric stuff, like marketing your wares, building your profile, networking, and being an all-round irresistible trader of words.

This is a guided workshop, not a lecture. There’ll be group wisdom, practical exercises, and plenty of tips that will work for you. Your guides on the day? The Trade Secrets trio—seasoned writers, trainers and communications consultants, one and all: Elise Valmorbida, Fiona Thompson and Heather Atchison.

When: 2pm–6pm, Friday, 4th October 2019

Where: The Storytellers, 5 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2JE

Fee: £200 if you’re a member of 26 (don’t forget: it’s tax-deductible)

Early bird fee: £175 if you pay before Friday 13th September

Your call to action: email training coordinator Rachel Marshall. She’ll tell you what you need to do in order to secure your place. If you’re not already a member, join 26– it’s only £40 a year (also tax-deductible)

After this session, you’ll be able to make more money, by:

- knowing how to charge more, and possibly work less

- getting paid what you could or should be paid

- managing clients effectively and setting up projects for success

- boosting your professional presence

- setting ambitious realistic goals specific to you

About the training team:

Elise leads communications consultancy word-design, with clients such as the BFI, LEGO, Dishoom and Arvon. In 2017, she was President of the D&AD Writing for Design jury. She teaches creative writing at Central Saint Martins, and she writes books—most recently, the award-winning Faber novel The Madonna of the Mountains.

Fiona started as a journalist, writing features for national newspapers and magazines. She runs her own copywriting consultancy, Wordspring, where her clients include Nike, Nokia, the Paris Opera House, Save the Children, Help Musicians UK and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. In 2018, Fiona was President of the D&AD Writing for Design jury.

Heather heads up Enough Said, a brand language and content strategy consultancy that’s on a mission to free us all from the tyranny of woolly and wasted words. Over the years she’s helped the likes of Virgin Holidays, eBay, Vodafone, Girlguiding and Bank of Ireland use words more wisely to reinforce their brands.