The Slow Corner: a story of purpose and positive impact

This is a story of commitment and hard work, of the desire to give and to give more, of passion and reality, of obstacles and the strength to overcome them.

Today I am going to tell you about when, why and how I founded The Slow Corner, about the imperative need to update and renew the site and finally how you can support this project.

The Slow Corner promoter of positive impact

I founded The Slow Corner in 2021 with the aim of sharing my knowledge, research and experience on sustainability and positive impact with a wide audience.

While studying, researching and working on these issues, I realised that each of us needs to be informed, educated and made aware of the tools available. There are so many things we can change and do that can have a positive impact on society, the economy and the environment. It is all about knowing the state of the art, knowing what we can do and how to do it; last but not least, we must act accordingly.

I decided to start publishing my content online and that’s when the idea for The Slow Corner was born: a place where people can take a break, be human, reflect on important issues and take action to make the world a better place. Day by day, step by step, all together.

A story of perseverance, determination, altruism and commitment

Since I started this project from scratch and without funds, I had to develop the website myself. Looking back, I must admit that it has been quite a challenge: understanding the legislation, designing the layout, managing the technical aspects and translating the content into three languages (English, French, Italian)…

Behind each article there is an enormous amount of work: the text delves deep into the topic, the vocabulary is carefully chosen and the translations are only partly realised with the help of AI, while they are adapted and revised manually.

Everything went well and over the years I received support from many colleagues and friends who motivated me to keep going.

However, at a certain point I started to notice an increasing loss of time; this was due to many technical aspects that I did not have the opportunity to deal with and solve, but also to my lack of knowledge in web design. I realised that the same amount of time spent solving technical problems could have been spent on a more regular publication of content.

That is why in 2024 I decided to hire a web designer, Sylvie Tinseau, who proved to be passionate about my project as well as patient enough to struggle with the current functioning of the website. Thanks to her work, it has been possible to implement more functionalities and features.

Step by step, The Slow Corner has grown and I have started to share the events I organise, the books I read, my experiences with companies and schools.

In the meantime, the audience started to increase: 1,000, 2,000, 2,500, 3,000 visitors per month and still growing.

There seems to be no end to the interest in the content I share and in the approach of The Slow Corner. The total number of visitors will soon reach 50,000: behind these five figures there are people who have been able to grow personally and professionally through the contents and events proposed. Something to be proud of.

The website gets a makeover, its values are still pillars

Which brings us to today. The original plan for The Slow Corner included more content, ideas and features but, as explained above, technical problems became a holdback and prevented me from developing the project in its entirety.

In recent weeks, together with Sylvie, we have come to the conclusion that this will not be possible without a complete transformation of the website. We started planning the new version of The Slow Corner and the tasks on our respective lists started piling up.

Each task finds a correspondence in hours of work, both mine and that of other stakeholders who will work on this project and will be paid for their time. Sylvie will take care of the design and technical aspects, but there are other economic and legal issues that need to be taken care of.

After some calculations, the current estimate for the renovation of the website is around EUR 4,000, including web design, plugins, lawyer’s and accountant’s fees, insurance, etc. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the amount does not grow any further).

There is one important point I would like to make: for the future version of the website, I have set myself the ambitious goal of keeping 75 % of the content free. Not only that: for the 25% of the content that will be on payment, I want to maintain a fair price, so that there will be an honest balance between stakeholder remuneration and affordability for site visitors.

How the website will change and how to participate in the project

That is why I decided to renew the website and include all the elements that were originally planned:

– A regular publication of contents;

– Online events;

– A professional network;

– Partnerships with professionals and companies;

– Detailed resources such as e-books, articles and training sessions;

– A Newsletter to provide updates not only on the site but also on the ecosystem and the realities that gravitate around it.

This is why I have launched an online fundraiser: by raising 2/3 of the planned expenses (i.e. €3,000) I will have the opportunity during the first year to keep most of the content free of charge and to provide a high level of information and awareness to the widest possible audience.

Would you like to participate in this project?

If you share this vision and want to be part of it:

  • You can also become a partner, propose content, collaborations or any other contribution by contacting us by e-mail: info@theslowcorner.com
  • Finally, you can share this information with your contacts and network, and invite other people to join the world of The Slow Corner.

“Individually, we are a drop,. Together, we are an ocean” (Ryunosuke Satoro).

Thank you in advance for your support,

Laura

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