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Horace

I am late posting today partly because it has been a busy yet difficult day in parts. I had to get up at silly o'clock (6.30am) to go to the eye hospital for my regular check up and they have changed the system again at the hospital now I have to post my appointment letter into a postbox which seems to be emptied once in a blue moon. My 9.30 appointment was more like 10.30am:mad: On a good note they must have won the lottery because they had new seating throughout that didnt wobble:j

After the hospital I went back to town and poked my nose inside Selfridges (I know I shouldnt go in there) so I headed to the 4th floor and had a mooch through the sale clothes which were 70% off - I came out with a skirt and a top, the skirt was in the sale but the top wasnt. Had lunch there too because I have no food at home.

Yesterday I caused a bit of hoo haa on the 4networking forum and people took exception to me asking valid questions but the last straw was when I likened one of their procedures to being very Masonic. I decided yesterday that I no longer want anything to do with them so in a not so MSE way with 226 days left on my membership I asked that my profile be removed altogether. I didnt pay money for the membership this year but had given lots of time last year so I don't feel so bad. Today, I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders - here's hoping that my uveitis flare up will now settle down (it is exacerbated by stress).

I have been busy tonight printing off attendance sheets for the Thursday Business Lunch Club meet tomorrow - there won't be many of us but I figure I will make £21 which isnt a lot but better than a smack in the face with a wet fish. The Thursday Business Breakfast has also received lots of interest and that will be launched on 12 May at a different venue.

Went to docs today too because I still have this horrid lurgy hanging about - I am very catarrhy and have an irritating cough but doc said that I could expect to have this horrid feeling hanging around for the next 4 weeks:mad::eek: and that if my cough worsened then I must go to the surgery as an emergency. I nipped into neighbouring chemist (I don't normally like this chemist because they don't provide generic medicines only something cheaper and not as effective as what has been prescribed) - but they did have several varieties of Potters Catarrh pastilles - I am trying the white decongestant one which tastes vile.

Stupidly left chicken on the side too and my kitchen was particularly hot so it has gone off, so I thought I would have beans on toast, the bread has a green jacket (I only got it out of the freezer on Monday) and the beans in the opened tin in the fridge had decided it was too cold in the fridge so they grew a fur coat - dinner was Potters pastilles and chocolate Tim Tams...sigh.

Here's hoping that everything goes well tomorrow - I had better log off because I have set my alarm for 6.30am and I need to wash hair etc in the morning.

Wordsmith

Oh, Horace. Sounds a pretty horrible day. Hope today is better. Good for you for getting out of the networking forum - sounds toxic, so you're best out of it. Is the Thursday Business Lunch Club your own thing? Never mind that it is a small start - plenty of room to grow. I much admire you for starting it.

I was at a client's for most of yesterday and then came to the shop to be a shop girl for a couple of hours. It was glorious here yesterday, and I had to drive from client's to here via a coast road, which was just luverly and I drove slowly because I didn't want to come back to work. Today it is foggy and damp.

By the end of today I will have achieved:
Service with a smile for people collecting benefits and pensions [sorry I always have to put this, but I am naturally a grumpy old mare and have to keep reminding myself]
PO admin will be up to date
Newspaper returns for shop
Invoice typed on behalf of client
3 invoices for me (me, me, me!) typed up and sent
My sister's web site will be a bit (preferably a lot) nearer the first draft conclusion
Email on behalf of client will be sent
THE STICKY PATCH ON THE OFFICE FLOOR (no idea how, what or why) WILL BE CLEANED

Have a good day, everyone.

jpwhittle

Thanks for the link horace, its birthday party stuff im after though, Aiming to branch out from just weddings, If i can get the items im after at the right price i have a little niche market out here as everyone wants themed party stuff but cant buy it so i think i could do well.

Hope you have a better day today.

Im of to take noah to a birthday party and then am going to relax for one day, still trying to get my head fully straight so taking things slowly at the moment, would like to be on facebook again soon but need to make sure i can cope with it again first lol.

Horace

Today's Lunch Club went well, although there were only 7 of us altogether it wasn't bad for the first event and everyone told me how great it was and that it was the best networking event they had been too.:j I made enough to pay for my lunch - £11.50 and someone paid by cheque too so that is £15 for my bank account. I need to set up paypal and think I will try and set up a business account with them after speaking to my bank today who said that it takes weeks for Paypal to put small amounts into the account and not immediately as they like to tell folks, there is also no trouble with using my bank either so I will have another go. It makes things easier if people can pay directly on eventbrite which goes into a paypal account. Our next meeting is on 5 May and I launch the breakfast event on 12 May.

Feeling a tad queasy this evening and have been quite sick - so it was pointless having that yummy rump steak earlier I hate this horrid lurgy.

JP use google to look up party/theme wholesalers in the UK - I must admit that whenever I went to the Spring or Autumn Fairs that I tended to wander past these stands because I wasn't that interested (probably because they had lots of pink and seemed to be rather trashy). I am not aware of any trade fairs for the kind of stuff you are looking for to be honest. The thing with facebook is not to accept friend requests from people you don't know, I tend to use facebook for games and keep my business separate by being on Linkedin.com where I have a free basic account and I have joined groups for the business areas that I am interested in. They're great for sharing and gaining new ideas.

Hope everyone is doing ok despite the wierd weather we are having lately. Yesterday was quite warm and sunny today was gloomy and not so warm.

jpwhittle

It was my supposed friends that were the problem lol, the new camp we were at was abit of a nightmare and due to making friends with the wrong people i ended up being really badly bullied. My head ended up wrecked after alot was on facebook and also had a male friend pestering about sex. We have moved camp now and im seeing a councillor to help me get my head straight after a lifeetime of this treatment. Wouldd love to get back on and catch up with people but we will see. I need to be strong enough first.
Glad your lunch went well today horace, I thought the weird weather was just in cyprus recently. Hopefully only a few more weeks and it will warm up again soon.

Horace

Sorry for not being on for an absolute age - I have been rushed off my feet and getting side tracked by things.

JP - after I was bullied at work by the twit, I had a few counselling sessions and found that those that bully others see something in them that is missing in themselves. So it is not your fault it is those unfortunates that have things missing in their lives that need to sort themselves out - with friends like that who needs enemies? I came to realise that my now ex b/f was a bully too but I am rid of him now and feel tons better - he used to chip away at me with some name calling and he used to keep telling me to get a proper job (said he who was a civil servant:rotfl:).

I have been working, going to my part time job (although why he insists he needs me 8hrs a week gawd only knows because I can get the work cleared in 2!). I have been marketing my own events, attending other networking groups, and sorting out my car etc ready for Easter.

Thought I had done some serious damage to my car yesterday because the brakes/clutch started to stink - I missed the turn for the carpark and ended up reversing down someone's drive to turn around - big mistake as their drive was far steeper than expected and I could not hold the car in first gear and the handbrake on - in the end my friend had to jump out to make sure I did not smash through the gates whilst I started the engine in 2nd gear - the darn thing just wouldnt bite:mad: Got started eventually though and as I go to pull out friend jumps back in and guess what I had to go through almost the same rigmarole again:mad: Thankfully, my car appears to be ok because I could change gear without any problems and the handbrake worked ok - I have roadside recovery anyway.

Spent the day getting the car ready, I even washed it:eek: and need to get petrol because it will be an early start on Friday to drive the scenic route to Harlech avoiding steep hills and motorways. The walk yesterday nearly killed me to the point that I won't do anymore long walks and shall stick to 4-5 milers at most. What was annoying was by the time I caught up with the group, they moved off and I was forced to follow so I didnt get the rest stops so barely ate or drank anything by the end of the walk I could barely put one foot in front of the other, I ate my sandwiches in the car and drank all my water then too before setting off home.

This week - I need to sort out my accounts and take them to the accountants (I have asked to move my appointment from tomorrow to May), market my events, go to work, do my voting stint at the DDBC AGM tomorrow night - I might end up being Secretary officially:eek::D sort stuff for the Harlech easter weekend. I am looking forward to having some fun.

Mum is feeling a bit better and has seen the consultant and he wants to refer her somewhere else - she is now pacing herself and only does 20 min stints in the garden as opposed to hours and hours. Dad is still poorly but no longer on warfarin and he started his steroids yesterday so he should be getting a bit stronger which is good news.

Wordsmith

Back to the lists ...

By the end of today I will have achieved:
typing of an invoice for work completed last week
typing of an invoice for the end of the month for regular work
admin for training client (book him a hotel, contact venue for his course this week, try and raise intererst in some future courses)
my sister's draft website uploaded
service with a smile to people collecting benefits.

Any other self-employed people around at the moment? Amatheya, how are you getting on? Horace, what you up to?

tyllwyd

Hi! I think I may have joined this thread way back in the mists of time, but not posted since. I'm a freelance proofreader/editor, specialising in legal editing, and I have been doing this for eleven years now.

I'm struggling a bit at the moment. My main client has decided to issue new contracts to all its freelancers, including an indemnity clause to say that I indemnify them against mistakes that I introduce. There doesn't seem to be any cap on this indemnity, so I'm not happy to sign up to it (and I'm not the only one, I gather). But at the moment, no more work from them.

And yesterday I found out I'd missed something when proofreading for a different client - very embarassing, and I'm worried that they might not send anything more to me.

I haven't raised my rates for a couple of years, so I'm thinking I really need to get on and do that. I've never joined the society for my kind of work (SFEP) so I've been looking at their website, but it is quite a lot of money to join - £90 - and if I wanted to get a better membership so that I can advertise in their directory, it means jumping through lots of hoops in terms of paying for formal training, and asking clients for references, which I can't get any enthusiasm for doing at the moment. So I'm at a bit of a low ebb at the moment!

Horace

Hi all

Hope you had a good Easter? Harlech was fab and the weather wasnt too bad, Saturday was a bit gloomy during the morning and breezy (read that as cold) but the evening was ok, it started thundering on Friday afternoon but we got back to the lodge before the heavens opened others weren't so lucky and got drenched. I even managed to bump into you know who on Monday quite by accident, it had slipped my mind that he was going to be in Harlech over Easter and I went with one of my chums to look at the larger venue - I saw his car parked there and thought how ratty it looked. We bumped into a gorgeous german chap and asked him questions about the venue because we were thinking of running an event there and then twerp appeared laden down with a bag and a body board (why he needs that gawd only knows because he only likes beach holidays if he can get his kit off). I ignored him completely although he visibly flinched when he saw me - he then made a show of sorting his boot out whilst my chum and I started talking about men and how sad it was that Fred (we shall call him Fred - name changed to protect the innocent) couldnt come this weekend and how lucky I was to be going out with him considering he is 22 years younger than me and has his own business, drives a very flash car and equally flash motorbike and lives in a big house (I am not going out with Fred before you get excited, the bits about the age difference, the car and the bike are true and I have no idea about the size of his house). I checked my junkmail box and there was an email from twerp suggesting that I was stalking him (in his dreams) and he wanted to know who I was talking about because according to him I hadn't wasted much time:rotfl: Stopped in Oswestry for a bite to eat and then turned off the A5 towards Bishops Castle because there was an almighty queue of traffic which went as far as the M54 which was closed.

Yesterday, I was at work - I have been given two projects - to organise an email campaign using mailchimp (I haven't got my head around it for my own business yet) and to write a blog about how to start blogging. I was at a committee meeting last night (I am now secretary of the DDBC) and then couldn't be bothered much with the internet.

Over the past few days I have changed my accountant again, the firm I was going to use this year recently split into two so I opted to stay with the chap, however, it came to light that he wouldn't return calls until around 6pm and as my boss also used him, the chap didnt turn up for a meeting with him - I cannot be doing with an accountant like that because my old one was the same. I have now gone with the other partner and she seems much more professional and returns calls - I am meeting her next week and today, I am sorting out my receipts.

Jobs for today:
Sort out receipts and bank stuff
Contact the bank to see if paypal has put test amounts of money in so that I can set up paypal properly.
Pay some credit cards
Shuffle money around (I may just have to close the ISA altogether)
Need to pay the solicitor who charged me £187 for one hour of her time to advise me about a divorce - she hopes to charge me £1300 altogether but I shall do it online for a heck of a lot less.
I am down on working tax credits too because now I only get £24 a week which isnt much so I am going to have to start paying myself about £100 a month to make up for it (I used that additional amount to pay my rent). I won't get the WTC renewal until June..sigh.
I am also marketing my Lunch Club and my new Breakfast meet too.

I am at work again tomorrow and then I am off camping somewhere - now they are mithering about following the sun, gawd if we wait for a sunny weekend then we will be waiting for ever..*rolleyes*

Can honestly say I didnt do much at all in Harlech and spent most of the time on the beach doing nowt although walking to and from the beach was an experience dependent on the way we took.

Wordsmith

Hello again twllwyd!

I don't like the sound of that indemnity clause - I would be reluctant to sign up to it as well. Do you have insurance to cover this kind of thing? I looked into it many moons ago (I am an editor and proofreader, too) but I don't work in anything critical like law or medicine, so it was not worth it for me.

I used to belong to the SFEP - I would recommend it as a professional body. Having said that, I am no longer a member and I didn't go down the route of getting accredited. Professionally I think it is very worthwhile, but having worked in the business for 25 years I didn't want the hassle of it. I know what the Society would say though ... be professional, use it to get more work, help professionalise the work. And there is always the worry that I might fail! Every now and again I think I should get my finger out and get it organised, but ... I haven't checked for a while, but I think you can still advertise in the membership directory if you are not accredited, but someone who is may get picked before you. But if your specialism is sought after and not many other people have the same skill, that may not matter.

I haven't raised my rates for some time, either. Again the Society would probably say this is not very professional, and I don't disagree, but work is scarce enough as it is without my pricing myself out of the small market.

As for missing stuff while proofreading, that happened to me on a recent job. It was all rush, rush and they wanted it back yesterday and it was extremely urgent, blah de blah de blah, so I rushed through it, told them I wasn't happy with it and wanted more time, which they refused, and then I got an email listing the missed things - a couple of which had been introduced by the typesetter when she was correcting it, a couple of changes by the author because of use of a word too near a previous use (I didn't disagree with the changes, but it wasn't a very well written book to start with so I hadn't worried too much about this) ... and a few that, yes, I had missed and shouldn't have. It's very demoralising. The next book they sent without any warning, again urgent, again wanted yesterday, but I held on to it and read it through twice and felt much happier about sending it back (that doesn't mean I didn't miss anything, though).

Long ramble, sorry. I just wanted to let you know I empathise with your situation. I have to do different sorts of work to make ends meet, when I would love to be concentrating on publishing work. I am about to do another mailshot to try to get more work, but this isn't a particularly successful way of getting new business. Has to be done, though, just to say I tried.

Do you have a web site?