Wonder Women by Rosie Fiore Page A

knew.’
    â€˜I thought you might be Louise’s glamorous assistant.’
    â€˜Sadly I don’t have one of those,’ laughed Louise. ‘I try to keep costs down when I do these things … I know peopleare spending their own money to come on this seminar, so I want to give them as much as I can for a good price. I do the setting up, the photocopying – all the housekeeping tasks. I also pour a mean cup of tea!’
    She seemed so warm and easy-going that Jo already felt more at ease. ‘Well, as I seem to be the first here, I can be the teacher’s pet and help you, if you like.’
    â€˜Thanks, that would be fab,’ said Louise. ‘Could you pop these notes into each folder, and make sure each person gets a pen and a notepad too? I’ll go and double-check the laptop and projector are working; I have a morbid fear of being let down by the technology. I like to be sure that things will just do what I need them to do, when I need.’
    She left Jo packing folders and went through the doors into the other room. Jo sneaked a look at the delegate list, but it was just a list of names. There were roughly equal numbers of men and women, but no indication what areas of business anyone might be interested in.
    Once she had finished organising the notes, she looked around the hotel foyer. There were a few people standing around uncertainly: a middle-aged woman in a tweed skirt and sturdy shoes clutching a battered old briefcase, two teenage boys, looking uncomfortable in shirts and ties, an elderly chap who was sitting at a table looking at an iPad, and three or four men between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five. She backed away from the table before anyone could approach and ask her questions. Just then, Louise came back out of the conference room and stood behind the table with a bright smile. She winked at Jo. ‘Could you come over and get the ball rolling?’
    Jo went up and signed in, gathering her delegate pack and name badge. The other people straggled after her and formed a queue. Louise indicated that she could go through, so she walked into the conference room, where chairs were set in a single row, forming a neat semicircle facing a screen. She dithered, then put her folder and bag on a seat slightly to the left of centre and fetched herself a cup of tea. One by one, the other people came into the room. Nobody seemed to want to make small talk, at least not yet, and they all sat rather awkwardly, folders on laps and balancing their teacups, until Louise came in.
    She checked her watch. ‘Hi, everyone. So glad you all made it. Everyone who should be here seems to be here, and we’re all set to start on time. Miracles will never cease! Let’s begin with some introductions. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m Louise Holmes-Harper, and I’ll be running the seminar. I know that for each of you, your business idea is the most precious and valuable thing you have, so the one rule I’m going to insist on is that you don’t tell everyone exactly what your idea is. Today, we’re going to be focusing on general skills that will be useful whatever your business, and in the one-on-one sessions tomorrow with the various experts you can talk more specifically about any help or information you need that is particular to your field. Still, it’s important to get to know each other, so I’m going to ask each of you to tell everyone your name, and one little-known fact about yourself. So, let me start by saying that my name is Louise, and I’ve never been able to spell the word “occasion”. One
c
, two
s
’s? Two
c
’s, one
s
? And the last part:
i
,
o
,
n –
i
,
o
,
u
, n? It gets me every time!’
    She laughed warmly and it made everyone else laugh too. ‘You see?’ Louise said. ‘Confessions are easy. Let’s start with you, Eric,’ she said, indicating the elderly man sitting on the