What we learned when our wonderful course creators took over Peckham Levels for the first ever Discoco pop-up skills market…
When we started Discoco, our focus was very much on online learning – and it still is. However, when we were given the opportunity to collaborate with an ace charity (The Sisterhood of Arts) to throw – and possibly invent the concept of – a pop-up skills market, we couldn’t say no. It was the perfect opportunity to bring our mission to life by making self-development more accessible.
So last weekend we applied shedloads of makeup and set up shop at Peckham Levels in south east London to put on a jam-packed weekend of real life workshops presented by our wonderful course creators. It was also our first time meeting most of them IRL, which made it all the more special.
If you couldn’t make it – or you came along but want a little refresher – we thought we’d highlight a few nuggets from some of the sessions…
In How To Network Without The Self Loathing, our very own Lucy Cleveley talked about the concept of being a drain or a radiator. No, she doesn’t have a secret sideline in plumbing, she was explaining how, to get good at networking, you need to be a radiator – someone who gives out warmth and is interested in who they’re talking to (we haven’t met any talking radiators tbf, but we’ll go with it) as opposed to a drain, an energy-sapper who makes it all about them.
In Where To Start With Your Website, founding course creator Julia Ferrari and her incredible scarf managed to boil down what’s practically a whole Masters into a snappy workshop, talking through the pros and cons of different platforms like WordPress, Wix and Squarespace, and explaining how to integrate with newsletter services like Mailchimp and Mailerlite (big Mailerlite fans here… not an ad. If only).
Check out Julia’s WordPress course here.
In Know Your Worth, with course creator and financial coach Sara Maxwell – and one of the most packed out sessions of the weekend – we got worked up about the gender pay gap and decided what we should be doing about it.
Check out Sara’s Intensive Money Mindset Programme and Couples Talk Money Programme here.
In Unlock Your Creative Confidence with Tommy Ludgate, we formed a wonderfully supportive circle, got friendly and talked through ways to relight our creative fires. It was awesome.
Find out more about Tommy and book her courses and workshops here.
In Starting Your Side Hustle and Growing Your Side Hustle, the formidable Jaz Broughton talked about starting her journey in business aged 14 and reminded us all that we don’t want to be for everybody.
In Tone Up! How To Make Your Voice Your Brand Superpower, Discoco’s Isabel Mohan talked about how tone of voice for brands isn’t just about the written word, and got the audience thinking about “brands” that have a strong tone – from obvious examples like Innocent Smoothies to Boris Johnson and Stacey Solomon.
In Get Reels Confident, Kam-Mei from Get Video Confident, empowered her audience to experiment with Instagram Reels, whether it’s the tech or the putting themselves out there that holds them back. Within minutes of the workshop, one participant had published her first Reel, hurrah.
Check out Get Video Confident’s courses here.
In Be More Productive, Catherine Serusclat got everyone thinking about how they can better structure their day to increase productivity AND dropped the bombshell that procrastination isn’t laziness.
Check out Catherine’s courses (Kickstart Your Career Change and Get To Know Yourself Better) here.
We’ve had great feedback from the event so far (if you came along and haven’t told us what you thought yet, you can do so here), so we’re already planning another one, along with a whole lot more online stuff, to stay true to our roots. Hope to see you in either a trendy converted car park or through a computer screen soon…
