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Mudbath

Rug??? Sheep??? whatever next! Glad things are looking up TCM.

Horace - happy one year anniversary. It'll be 14 years for me in November....scary!

I've done my first aid course this week so that's that over for another 3 years. It was interesting apart from the bit about 'how to put a plaster on'. I mean...purlease!!!!

Work is quiet this week but chocca for the rest of the month so I'm using this week to catch up with re-ordering stationary, filing paperwork and generally faffing around. I'm enjoying it too!

Speak soon xx

Horace

Am glad that things are looking up for you TCM and good luck with the rug for the sheep although that does seem a bit wierd.

I need to go on a first aid course - they have their funny ways about plasters etc I must admit.

Yesterday I went to the Holiday Inn in Bromsgrove - killing 3 birds with one stone (I am getting good at this), firstly to find a venue for 4N (although why I am bothering I have no idea), secondly to find a venue for my client and thirdly to find a wedding venue for prospective clients. I just dropped in to make an appointment and ended up seeing their Head of Sales & Marketing:cool: After that I went to Merry Hill to see a wedding supplier - they have a stand of leaflets and sell shoes etc - it may be that I shall advertise in their magazine, display leaflets and have a Q&A column in their magazine as they don't have one.

I had been asked to be ops assistant for the new bromsgrove 4N group but because they closed my group down, I have been left with a nasty taste in my mouth so I have decided to be ops assistant for a different group - this raises my profile and proves to people that I have event organising experience.

Had a call today from the chamber of commerce - inviting me to a marketing meeting to discuss cheap/free ways of marketing whoopie doo:rotfl::eek:

Horace

Hi all

Hope you are all well and beavering away?

Just wanted to thank Mabel for writing a guest blog for me - hopefully it will help her and me (just need to update my website), I have got a copywriter working on my website and I will copy and paste changes over onto my blog.

Spent a large proportion of the morning on the phone asking about getting Pink Approved status for my business, talking about advertising on a gay wedding website for £99 per annum plus VAT (get free weblinks) and about advertising in Your West Midlands Wedding as they have said that I could have a quarter page ad for £87 plus VAT (not bad when their ads are £250 plus VAT).

Oh and I did some boring stuff too - put on two loads of washing...and found a 10p ratting around in the machine after the second load.

I have to be up early in the morning for a breakfast meeting - it means getting up at 6am and leaving the 'house' at 7am to be there for 7.30:eek:

TCM_3

Beavering, beavering..... the web site is doing my head in and if i were a rich bird I would be on the wine but as it is I am on the water as I am skint.

The sheep rugs looked quite sweet! I did take a little bit of the whoopiee doo doo though and I made the fleece rugs out of blue fleece with cartoon sheep on them! The owner was happy enough so I'll not complain.

Horace

I have visions of sheep skipping around in little blue coats now.

I had a bit of a stinky day yesterday - I went to have my hair done at a different salon because I was sick of it, well the woman that used to do my hair has caused no end of problems - overdoing it with the dye so that it would come off onto my pillowcases and towels and this in turn has caused my hair to resemble a hay bale it is so dry and straw-like. The new hairdresser had to use a mild bleach solution on my hair to strip off the old colour and then had to re-dye it (a nice dark coppery shade) and it has been cut properly into a graduated bob - the woman who did it before cut the back and left the front long and it was like two separate hairstyles. After I had finished having my hair done I grabbed a spot of lunch and whilst I was having lunch received a telephone call from a completely vile man - well, seeing as he was so rude, I have told all my business networking chums to avoid his venue like the plague.:rotfl:

Last night was a bit better as I went to the DDBC meeting (it costs £25 a year for membership and £15 for a two course dinner with coffee for each monthly meeting). My chauffeur came and picked me up (he is the chairman) and on the way asked if I would be willing to join the sub-committee to sell raffle tickets at each event and assist in organising their 25th anniversary dinner. I did agree as it raises my profile even more and if people see that I am doing then they are more likely to use my services.:D I was naughty as I had a small glass of rose wine last night along with a glass with my lunch and I don't normally drink:eek:

My fee cheque has been cashed for Pink Approval so watch this space. More news is that I have managed to secure a mini credit account with one of my suppliers so now I have a £150 order limit and 30 days in which to pay any invoices...now I feel like a proper business.

Mudbath

Sounds like you're both keeping busy!

I had a lovely email this morning from an old client who'd moved to Germany (i'd wondered why she'd stopped coming!). Anyway, she's coming back to the UK for a week and wanted to book 5 treatments...I've managed to fit them all in with a bit of juggling and asking favours from other parents to pick my children up from school. I'm usually bad at asking favours but as I often help them out I didn't think it was being too cheeky. So, everything sorted and they were happy to help! Yeahhh!!!!!!

Apart from that work is steady with just one voucher booked via the website and another enquiry that might still come off. Still, if I didn't have the website I wouldn't have got that voucher. Also, the lady from Germany had lost my number but found it easy to find my website so having one is definitely a bonus.

We're away with lots of friends this weekend so I'm quite looking forward to a Saturday off. Hope you're enjoying the weather xx

TCM_3

Horace, I had a hair nightmare too - only I bought the dye out of Tesco one time and didn't look at what i was buying. I glowed in the dark for several days!

Glad you were able to fit your client in Muddy - good customer service.

I have not seen a person this morning yet, and keep praying that customers will come in soon. I am so broke it is unbelievable and am going to try really hard to make this place work. I have come to the conclusion that it is a sign of the times rather than anything that i am doing wrong. It is very demoralising though when i have overheads to pay etc and all this stock sitting and not moving. I have had the bank on my case too wanting to get the overdraft down a bit - i have tried saying that everything that comes in goes straight in to the bank, which it does, so i suggested that i sell a kidney on ebay and they did not see the funny side.

Horace

Hi all

Muddy - well done on the German client and your expert juggling to fit in her 5 appointments. There is never any harm in asking for favours especially as you do favours for others.

TCM - sorry to hear that you are in dire straits, can you get working tax credits if your income is low? I don't know what to suggest to drag people in - I think everyone is struggling.

I was talking to the black country living museum this morning and have offered my services to them as a wedding planner seeing as they now have a license. I need to get clients - it is driving me nuts.

Need to get these wedding dresses photographed too so that I can sell them - am still trying to find a shop who would be willing to sell them for me in exchange for a share of the money but I need photographs to show them. Am also working on my biography which the copywriter needs for my website I also need to update my blog too and start selling space on there so that I can earn money from it.

Good luck TCM - hope you get some clients in soon.

moneymabel

Hi all, its just taken me ages to catch up! Hope you are all doing well ,business is very quiet for me at the moment, hoping it will pick up soon, have had some SEO done on my site and I'm getting more visitors just need them to actually bloody buy something!

Horace

Hi all

Another of our gang is now in Cyprus for 3 years (:wave::wave:JPWhittle) she flew there on Tuesday.

I am now on the committee of Dudley & District Business Club as their events organiser and raffle ticket queen and have been tasked with getting their buns out of the fire with regard to their 25th anniversary dinner. If I do a fab job then people will see that I can organise things and will start booking me.

I am off to Swindon on Thursday to take the dresses that I acquired from the auction to be professionally photographed because hanging them on the back of the door doesnt do them justice and I want to sell them. I have a meeting on Friday with a lady that I met at the networking group on Tuesday - we are considering working together for our mutual benefit.

My website has been re-written and it has been the text has now been uploaded to my website and to the blogsite. I am learning to use my blog more effectively and have taught myself how to enter tags, I just need to find out how to install a contact form.

I have also done something for me for a change - I have many photographer friends and one of them is running a course on how to get the best out of a digital camera so I am off to Brill in Oxfordshire on 4th July but as the day finishes at 10pm and I cannot see to drive home in the dark I have booked a room in the pub where we shall be having lunch and dinner. I thought that I would use money that I had been given for Christmas to spend on me.

Mabel - you need to get yourself onto twitter and the 4networking website and start chatting about your jewellery. There is someone there at the moment who is trying to push her jewellery and to be honest with you I could make and have made better myself.

I was looking at Kernowcraft the other day because I want some cufflinks as I need to keep a couple of pairs in my emergency kit and thought that it would be cheaper to make them myself. Maybe it is something that you could do to run alongside your tiaras etc Mabel? I did see that Kernowcraft sell sterling silver cufflink blanks for around £16 (I always look at the expensive stuff) and then the semi precious cabochons for a matter of pence, would need some strong glue (I don't think that Modge Podge would be strong enough)...so I am still toying with the idea but havent done anything about it.

Hope you have a great weekend - I was going shopping today but its lashing down with rain.