Budget Wars - A New Hope (with apologies to George Lucas)

hugglemonster

Glad you've got some regular income coming in, I hope it keeps going for as long as possible to get yourself straight again.


H x

emmie26

Yay :T so glad to here your absence is because business is booming - long may it continue xx

Hiddenidenity

So nice to 'hear' from you Bob. Glad things are busier although I hope you manage to find the balance and get some time to look after yourself too x

mummytogirls

Evening Bob,

I totally agree about people's timekeeping. Infact it totally winds me up how people don't take it seriously!!!

Fingers crossed that business continues to boom and you catch up quickly xx

determined_new_ms

Siebrie wrote: »

Sort out the house for a bit - can you set a timer for 15 minutes and then stop? Make it a habit

Bob I hope everything is ok and that we'll see you back online soon x

Can I whole heartedly recommend giving this a try? I've been doing it for a few days since reading it (Tuesday I think). It's made such a difference! I did 15 mins this morning before work, 15 when I got in and I'll do another 5 just going round and tidying up. I pick a task/area I'm going to focus on and then do it super speedily.

If only we could learn to be tidy....

parsniphead

I'm glad business is starting to build again for you Bob. You've achieved so much and should be proud.

Regarding folks turning up late :eek:. That's so flipping rude. People are so thoughtless and self absorbed these days.

boxofpaws

Glad its busier for you, hope you are taking care of yourself.

stressed.mum

Hope business picks up soon Bob and you are finding time to enjoy the summer holidays with the kids.
One thing about the bike, I had a trailer for my youngest ( proper enclosed 2 seater) for the school run and she happily napped in there, sourranded by bags and lunch boxes 😂😂 I decided to buy it after a couple of 'dodgy' rides when's she had fallen asleep in the toddler seat xxx

Bobarella

Morning All

I am trying to take stock of the situation and enagage with what I think the issues are as I said to my husband the other night in another discussion, I often think if only I had the ear of a business expert. But you wouldn't go into a meeting with someone like that unprepared. So my theoretical list I think would include the following

- How to deal with cash starvation. By this I mean what do you do when cash flow is so bad you literally can't pay your bills?
- How do you boost volume on a consistent basis? I have periods of boom on the enquiry front and then bad lulls.
- How do you cope with having a seemingly extremely erratic customer base? What methods can you use to control them & make them take my business seriously?
How do you attract small traders to work with you, but also find bigger better more established ones? All I seem to get is newbies who don't have the money to really do anything.

I can't think of anymore right now but that's half the issue for me my brain doesn't seem capable of focusing on one thing for long enough.

To those asking about cash flow etc. This is looking like being the 3rd month in a row that I am not making ends meet. I have problems all over the place because of that. I think I've mentioned in the past that we need me to contribute around £500 to the household budget to get by. I haven't been able to do this since May. So our finances are seriously behind.

It's hard to explain the life I'm leading but an example of situations that make me want to howl are as follows. I meet someone who seems sensible, a fellow business person, already running a business with impressive deliverables. They are excited about working together, book a load of dates. I go down the route of asking for a deposit, moving my diary around to accommodate that new business. Wait. Hear nothing for days. Keep chasing them. Get a response that leads me to believe all is well. Get to the day before something is due to start and then find they've changed their plans. Scenario one.
In this example, I am desperate for bigger chunks of income, and repeat business, so do I a) never speak to them again because I'm furious about being messed about, having my hopes raised, and physically allocating money I am now not going to have?
Wait patiently whilst they sort out their 'issues' and are ready to work together properly. The smart money is on B right? But I tell you what I have been going with option B for the last year of this situation. Because when you are desperate for money all the time, beggars feel they can't be choosers.

I am also having issues with attracting the sort of business I want. I have been lied to on multiple occasions now on what is actually going on during a booking, and finding that people are basically abusing the venue and building up problems with the community, not my idea of a good business plan. But how do you vet someone who makes a booking? You can tell them, these are the rules, but until they use the place, and you find the issues, what can you do to stop them reoccurring?

So I am spending my time chasing the 'right' kind of business that fits with my vision, finding people who agree in person that they want the same thing. They seem to let me down left right and centre, which I physically cannot afford financially. Or I end up with dead beats who annoy the neighborhood. But pay me.

Other reasons I am miserable, other than being utterly broke, I keep feeling like I've made a breakthrough only to ride the situation out and find it isn't. And literally weeks go by like that.

I have people coming to me for advice constantly, and I just want to run away. Each time you meet a new person you have to be positive and sell your situation and what you hope to achieve. And each time you say it, it feels possible and not like saying you want to fly to the moon. But then these constant disappointments make you feel like you cannot trust anyone.

What a miserable update!

I'm spending hours at the moment trying to get as many followers on my social medias as possible so have been pouring over YouTube how to videos for hours, and I have learned so much! I could probably take on a social media manager role ha ha
The flip side of that is you feel frustrated when things aren't working out, your time is being drained by yet another thing and yet it is essential for new business to have a maintained social presence.

On the housework front, I do around an hour a day to try and keep up. The only thing that doesn't tend to be done as much as I'd like is hoovering. Between OH and I we are fire fighting constantly on making sure the children get enough time to feel happy from both of us, him trying to make sure he works the hours he's supposed to, the house, the garden, the never ending stream of broken things! In the last month we've had to carry out plumbing repairs at both the Business and home, which costs for the parts and obviously takes up OHs labour. We just never seem to get a time where there isn't something that needs doing.

So yes in a nutshell, I am busy for enquiries and viewings again at the moment but being so far behind means taking £100 is never going to be enough, especially when you need that £100 to pay off arrears, cover groceries for your family and try and allocate to new bills.

I finally pulled me finger out after the shock of my friend letting me down and stealing my money, and listed my item for sale online. So far I've had offers but they are too low. I am also struggling as a non engineer to answer some of the questions. I wish people would just come and look at it themselves but some of them are in Southampton etc so they don't want to risk coming to buy something without having all the answers. Anyway if that sells this month it might give me some money in the kitty. But I think my friend was way off in his estimated value now it's actually on sale. I was hoping I'd have enough to replace the current model with something smaller and cheaper and bank a chunk as a buffer or at least a cash injection but that is looking very unlikely.

I am not really looking forward to today in any case. I allowed some people to leave some stuff yesterday because of various issues they had experienced that day it was the kind option. But I seriously doubt their timekeeping and having fixed a time to meet I am doubtful they will be there on time. But I need them to remove the stuff so I have to go along with it.

Well. That's me as they say.

Bob

crazy_cat_lady

:grouphug: Bob :grouphug:
I wish I knew what to say. Your situation sounds so stressful and I literally don't have a single word of advice to offer. All I can do is remind you that you're a fabulous woman doing the best that you can. I'm in no way trying to offer any advice or opinion - just want to say that I'm sure that you know deep down whether it is worth this fight.
I'm lucky in that I can make ends meet but I'm more than able to remember the stress and pain of wondering where my next fiver was coming from and who wasn't going to get paid this month. It's a horrible, hard place to be and easy to fall onto that downwards spiral. I don't want you to hit rock bottom at all - you deserve way better than that.
Lots of love to you and yours Bob - send me a message if there's anything at all I can do in any small way.
XXX