Starting over...

UncannyScot

OMG, OMG, OMG.... You got a gig with The Lounge Kittens???? *faints*

ladymay

UncannyScot wrote: »

OMG, OMG, OMG.... You got a gig with The Lounge Kittens???? *faints*

Oh my goodness, I wish, I'm not nearly cool enough for that :rotfl: It's a much more traditional trio; I love the Lounge Kittens though!

ladymay

In short - it's going to be a squeaky few months! Main reason being that I need to buy a load of equipment for the business which will be over a grand (I need to find out how much exactly), and while some of that can get transferred over to my 0% credit card, half of it will stay on the horrible credit card and have to get paid off asap. Having said that, April is by far my busiest month so far, and if that trend continues and I keep working hard, there's no reason why I can't have the surplus cleared and start saving again in the next three months.


Best get on the emails and texts tomorrow!

ladymay

Well, it's been a lovely and very productive few days! Dinner with mum and my middle brother on Thursday evening - I paid for a round of drinks but the food was mum's treat, and my brother bought some fancy candles and gave me a bit of money which as paid for a few nice bits this weekend.


Yesterday was two nursing home gigs, followed by my favourite bar's birthday party (a friend of mine was singing too, double win!) Only a mocktail for me as I was driving and I'm trying to do the 'health kick' thing with the bf. And today I went to the beach with a cousin and her little one for sandcastles and ice cream. Cheeky nursing home gig this afternoon and now I'm waiting to do my sound check at a holiday park in the glorious sunshine


Bookings-wise, no new clients this week but I've booked in six new dates throughout the year with regulars, so while I need to get on the sales train again next week (choo choo!) I'm confident that as long as I keep working hard the gigs will come.


I'm also working hard on my SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) rankings and Social Media strategy at the moment, which is every bit as dull as it sounds :rotfl: one thing I think I'll enjoy that'll really help is I've started a blog on my website! It's going to be about weddings, the vintage scene, and my love of music. I really want to get back in the habit of writing regularly again and I think this will be a good way to start!


Not much else to report for now - I'm working every day until next Sunday o I'm just plugging away and having a lovely time.


'Hoppy' Easter :EasterBun


xx

DebtFreeDuo

Sounds like everything is still going great for you, have you looked into whether a 0% purchase card might be something you could use for your new equipment if you can find one?

ladymay

Thanks for the support DFD :dance:


All my purchases for the business are sitting in my online basket atm - spending lots of money makes me so nervous! Plan is to transfer as much of the money as possible to my 0% CC and pay off the rest asap; hopefully by the end of May. DFD, getting a new card is potentially a good idea, but last time I had three credit cards I really spiralled into debt and I'm not sure it'd be a good idea for me...


It's been a really busy week again this week - not much maintenence or progression on the business front - I've been too busy working to work on work, if you know what I mean? It means I'm slightly frustrated creatively, but my bank balance is looking healthier and I even put some money in my savings account to day for the first time in months!


I've got my last gig of the week tonight (five nights in a row, my voice needs a rest!), then tomorrow I'm going to a creative writing workshop and heading to see the bf for a few days


My list for this month is woefully incomplete as ever; I'm looking forward to pressing the reset button on Wednesday.


Happy Saturday! xx

ladymay

Had a funny few days - two friends told me over the weekend that they have cancer and it resulted in a big anxiety spike that I'm coming out of now. Both of my friends are in treatment and doing as well as can be expected. I hate that awful things happen to wonderful people...


Anyway, I'm trying to take my mind off things with work (I'm also at the bf's which helps) and there's plenty to be getting on with. My debut with the harmony group is next Saturday and we have a group rehearsal on Thursday so I'm busy with learning all the harmonies and lyrics for that. I also need to get my wedding fairs sorted for the rest of the year, finalise plans for the photoshoot for the duo next week, and write a blog post.


I've also started writing down my time in half-hour slots in a bid to work smarter, not harder... I'm listening to a great podcast on time management by Laura van der Kamp and it's already making a difference to my productivity.



So the plan for today is:


- NSD
- tidy budgets already done, YNAB updated and £8.05 skimmed over to CC
- work out
- contact lots of friends to arrange skype/coffee dates

- keep working on music
- chill out with the bf tonight


Here's to a good day xx

ladymay

Hmmmmm, I didn't do very well with the list this month...


Solo
- Gain 10 new nursing home clients I've gained none, but I've booked in three new weddings
- Increase social media followers by 10% 5%
- Book in and record new promo video Not yet
- Start my blog and write two posts Blog is started and one post is up
- 10 new pages on website, including set lists Only one new page, no set lists
- Order banners Done!
- Order more flyers and business cards Not done, not needed yet


Duo
- Put together showreel Nope
- Start contacting agents Nope


Community project No longer going ahead
- Find venues and communities to work with
- Get funding application sorted


Life
- Finish changing addresses with everything I found a few the other day that I have to sort out
- Hang pictures on the wall Nope
- Keep selling stuff (I made £150 in March!) Nothing, lots of time wasters...
- Finish dress Nope
- Workout x 10 I managed about 5
- NSD x 15 10/15
- Final Irish tax return Nope
- Close Irish bank account Nope
- Sort out my LinkedIn account Nope


Luckily, the main reason I haven't accomplished much is I've been busy gigging. I've also purposely made a lot more time for friends and family, managed to put money back into my savings and am back on track financially :j



So. On to May (spoiler alert: it's most of the April list with add-ons):


Solo
- Gain 10 new nursing home clients
- Increase social media followers by 10%
- Book in new promo video
- Write two blog posts
- 10 new pages on website, including set lists
- Order new equipment


Duo
- Put together showreel
- Start contacting agents




Trio
- Learn all lyrics and harmonies




Life
- Finish changing addresses with everything
- Hang pictures on the wall
- Keep selling stuff
- Finish dress
- Workout x 10
- NSD x 15
- Final Irish tax return
- Close Irish bank account
- Sort out my LinkedIn account
- Edit picture book story



Today will be more harmony and lyric learning, sorting out the recycling and running small errands. Tonight I'm out for dinner with the bf


Happy hump day xx

ladymay

Happy May Day!


Bit of a frustrating weekend - Friday night was a fantastic gig, but unfortunately I woke on Saturday with a stonking migraine and spent the morning being 'not very well'. My wonderful local pharmacy screwed up my medication (after I clarified why I needed what I needed. Twice) and of course I didn't notice until I needed them. Long story short, that left me in bed for a full 24 hours in quite a lot of pain and I had to cancel my gig on Saturday so I lost money :mad: snotty phone call will be happening tomorrow...


I did manage to make it to volunteering at the local biker festival on Sunday morning, despite the lingering headache (which I still have now) and the rest of the day was spent eating and relaxing.


Laundry is on, kettle is on and I'm trying to blast through as much of my list as possible before I head away next week!

ladymay

Hey,


I haven't been around for a while. My mental health is kicking my !!!!! right now...


I've been feeling out of sorts for a few weeks - dizzy, foggy, spaced out, sad, numb - and it's affecting every aspect of my life. I'm eating, drinking, and spending too much. I'm procrastinating over everything, both business-related and with life in general. I seem to be mentally and emotionally incapable of doing my best work and have slacked off on most of the business essentials. My sleep pattern is rubbish and I'm permanently exhausted. I've been avoiding friends. I'm not doing what I need to and my self-sabotage train is running at full speed.



In short, I'm pretty sure I'm depressed and need to get myself sorted.


I've been avoiding finding a therapist for a long time because of the financial cost, but it's reached the point where my head space is costing me a lot in terms of potential earnings (the idea of sales calls, while never enticing, currently fill me with dread).


I feel so ridiculous to be struggling like this... from the outside life looks pretty good and I'm constantly guilty about feeling like carp when other people have it worse than me (although I know that's not how it works at all).


Anyway, I just needed to get it out and I'm anonymous here so this is pretty much the only place I can do it. I'm not looking for sympathy or advice, although if any of you have a magic wand please let me know I just want to get my focus and joy back. And if writing it down allows me to sleep better tonight, that'd be wonderful.