Working away from home – what’s in your bag? Part 8

Catherine Poole, VA

Catherine Poole is a virtual assistant who specialises in helping coaches, trainers and journalists make sense of their words with intelligent transcription and proofreading. (Click on the photo to see it full-size).

Here’s what Catherine takes with her when she’s working away from home at networking meetings:

Because I mainly work from home, I don’t find myself out and about as often as I’d like, but I do try and attend a couple of networking meetings every month. Here are some of the essentials that I carry with me in my bag for these occasions when I’m working away from home:

My bag
This is my trusty Radley bag given to me by my husband after our daughter was born four and a half years ago. It’s getting a little tatty now, the little dog tag is a bit on the loose side and the leather could do with a polish, but I’m very fond of it.

Powder compact
I do tend to suffer from – shall we say – an oily complexion, and this is essential for a matt finish!

Lip balm
This one is raspberry flavoured and slightly glittery, so not only does it help stop lip dryness, it also tastes lovely and doubles up as a lip gloss!

Hairbrush
No matter how tidy my hair is when I leave the house, I always seem to get caught in a gust of wind, so a hairbrush is an absolute necessity!

Tissues
An essential when you have children, especially as I always seem to catch their germs, but I also suffer from hay fever, so when summer comes (if it ever does) it’s best to keep these at hand

Purse
I’m a big fan of low cost networking, and love the one I go to once a month which costs a fiver, and where you get a bacon roll and a cup of tea thrown in. Plus it’s at 10am, which doesn’t clash with the school run – result!

Business cards
Another networking essential, but I always carry some around anyway, as you never know where your next lead could be hanging out!

Chewing gum
It always pays to keeps one’s breath fresh when meeting new people!

Phone
I love my Nokia Lumia phone, but it can be a bit addictive! Interestingly enough, I was in a museum the other day, and they had my first mobile phone on display in the telecommunications section!

Pen
You never know when you might need to jot something down or write some useful info on the back of a card!

What’s in your bag when you’re working away from home? Send me a photo and a description of the contents of your mobile working bag and I’ll publish them here with a link to your site or blog.

Enjoyed this? Check out more home workers opening their bags in the What’s in Your Bag? series