My Mortgage Free Mountain - A 7 year expedition to climb to the top

Baileys_Babe

Good to hear the meeting went well and you have an additional month to get prepared before taking on the cafe.

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

Good to hear the meeting went well and you have an additional month to get prepared before taking on the cafe.

Yes it has certainly made me feel much happier  

Ideally it would be great to complete in February as I am imagining that January will be a quiet month for sales but I don't think I will be able to delay it that long  

craftingmad

Morning all,

Sorry, no time to post yesterday as I was determined to start Christmas in our household. I am feeling much happier now that I have turkey, beef and gammon joints in the freezer and a few bits to put out on the buffet table for boxing day I've still not got any presents but hey ho who needs those anyway  

I am at the cafe today from 11.30pm until about 5pm as the church have their Christmas dinner booked. I've got to be quiz master so I'm feeling pretty nervous but I'm sure it will go ok   At least the ultimate responsibility for it is not mine so I am bound to enjoy it more this year than next   

I should have time for a few little things to help us on our mountain hike though so:-

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - DONE 77 points so far 
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE seven videos watched for total of 28p 
3. Read lease to check there are no hidden surprises
4. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
5. Return dies to Amazon for refund
6. Raise claim with Royal Mail
7. Get business accounts up to date
8. List something on facebook marketplace
9. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few last minute orders
10. Prepare emails, facebook group and samples for cardmaking advent calendar
11. Take a course from a membership 
12. Design something new to sell
13. List something new on Etsy
14. Check freepostcode lottery
15. Complete Prime Opinion survey
16. Create another cardmaking download
17. Tidy more of craft room/office
18. Cafe shift 11.30pm - 5pm - DONE didn't finish until 6pm and I needed a lie down afterwards as I done the front all by myself   
19. No heating on until 5pm - DONE did not get turned on until 7pm
20. NSD - DONE and we got two free beef roast dinners from cafe

daisy_1571

Our local place (more a meal serving place than pure cafe) says they spent a couple of years working out the quiet busy times - they reckon November quiet, December quiet in day, busy at night, January busy, February quiet.  They used to panic but j9w they see the pattern they just plan it in their year now and don't think the business is doomed.

Probably the accounts will show you which months the current owners found to be busy/quiet however if you are changing the 'vibe' (either deliberately or just by change of ownership) you will see how your place works in time

Daisy xx

craftingmad

daisy_1571 said:

Our local place (more a meal serving place than pure cafe) says they spent a couple of years working out the quiet busy times - they reckon November quiet, December quiet in day, busy at night, January busy, February quiet.  They used to panic but j9w they see the pattern they just plan it in their year now and don't think the business is doomed.

Probably the accounts will show you which months the current owners found to be busy/quiet however if you are changing the 'vibe' (either deliberately or just by change of ownership) you will see how your place works in time

Daisy xx

Thanks Daisy, thats really helpful and great advice x

craftingmad

Morning all,

Well the cafe was manic yesterday and I got royally shafted as there were 4 people in the kitchen and only me out the front serving the customers including taking out and clearing away 30 covers To say I was tired when I finished was an understatement! At least it shows me how not to do it for next year  

I feel like I achieved absolutely nothing yesterday and will probably not achieve much more today if I'm honest but progress is progress no matter how small right?

Hubby sets off for his last 6 days working away today so he won't be here when I get back from work. Talk about change happening next year - new job for hubby (well same job just with a different company), a cafe which we have all the responsibility for........ Beginning to think we are mad  

Anyway got to get a wriggle on or I will be late for my 9 hour shift at the cafe so here's my list for today.

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - 27 points so far
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE five videos watched for total of 28p 
3. Open business account so I can get free software for wages etc
4. Transfer wages into OP savings account - DONE £395.95 transferred
5. Read lease to check there are no hidden surprises
6. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
7. Return dies to Amazon for refund
8. Raise claim with Royal Mail
9. Get business accounts up to date
10. List something on facebook marketplace
11. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few last minute orders
12. Prepare emails, facebook group and samples for cardmaking advent calendar
13. Take a course from a membership 
14. Design something new to sell
15. List something new on Etsy
16. Check freepostcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
17. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE three completed for a total of 281 points  
18. Create another cardmaking download
19. Tidy more of craft room/office
20. Cafe shift 9.00am - 6.00pm - DONE and boy was it a busy one - wish it was mine today as we took nearly £700  
21. No heating on until 5pm - DONE 6.30pm and still not on  
22. Order things for son for Christmas - didnt do but meant I had a NSD
23. Chase daughter for her Christmas list - didn't do but meant I had a NSD

Baileys_Babe

Well done for taking the bad organisation yesterday as a learning opportunity.

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

Well done for taking the bad organisation yesterday as a learning opportunity.

Thank you. It definately showed me things I can do much better to not only make it easier for all us staff but also even nicer for our guests. Plus the big one is I saw where we could save money for next year too   

craftingmad

Morning everyone  

I cannot believe that this time next week it will be Christmas Eve. I feel so unorganised but I'm just going to go with the flow. The doggo has presents and we have turkey so those are the main things  

I nearly had to spend a fortune on the doggo last night as she ate some tinsel and after googling it I was convinced she would need an operation. However I managed to calm my anxiety by phoning the vet who said the chances of it causing any problems was very small so I avoided a £205 emergency vet visit which was certainly going to hit the bank account hard!

Another 9 hour shift at the cafe for me today. Including today I only have three more shifts until I am finished for the New Year so although I am looking forward to a little rest (I feel like I have clocked up lots of working hours this year), I will miss the weekly wages I have been able to add into the OP savings pot  

Right onwards with my list as I'm hoping to achieve a couple of bits before I head off to work  

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - 2 points so far
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE sixteen videos watched for a total of 51p  
3. Open business account so I can get free software for wages etc
4. Read lease to check there are no hidden surprises
5. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
6. Return dies to Amazon for refund
7. Raise claim with Royal Mail - DONE £10.40 claimed back - fingers crossed I don't just get sent stamps this time  
8. Get business accounts up to date
9. List something on facebook marketplace
10. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few last minute orders
11. Prepare emails, facebook group and samples for cardmaking advent calendar
12. Take a course from a membership 
13. Design something new to sell
14. List something new on Etsy
15. Check freepostcode lottery
16. Complete Prime Opinion survey
17. Create another cardmaking download
18. Tidy more of craft room/office
19. Cafe shift 9.00am - 6.00pm - DONE  
20. No heating on until 5pm - DONE  
21. Order things for son for Christmas
22. Chase daughter for her Christmas list

craftingmad

Morning all,

Sorry no time to post yesterday as I was feeling really tired so had a little lie in which meant I was running late for work. Managed to get there with one minute to spare I've woken up with a stinky cold today though so that could be why I have felt so knackered these past few days I don't have time to be ill - I have to get Christmas started  

More big news to report too - I'm having serious doubts about buying the cafe. There I've said it. I know that at the moment it does not make a lot of cash (£2k profit last year) and I'm worried that next year the rent will be increasing, staff wages will be rising due to minimum wage going up £1 an hour and employer NI contributions raising, electricity costs are through the roof, coffee prices have just increased and there is a lot of work which needs to be done to the place to get it back to being acceptable to the council (which makes me think they will be just as demanding when I come to leave). It also worries me that working 60 hours a week at my old age of 50 will not only destroy our nice work/life balance and provide no family time at all but also take its toll on my body which is struggling due to perimenopause as it is if I'm honest. Its food for thought - if you excuse the pun! If it was going to give us huge gains then the risk would be worth it but as I see it at the moment it will be a lot of work for very little gain and the stress of worrying about it has kept me up a few nights already. I'm not going to make any hasty decisions - rather I will sit down with hubby over the festive period and work out the figures and then make an informed choice with my head from there.   

I managed to order a couple of bits for son on the internet yesterday so at least he will have something to unwrap and daughters present got ordered by hubby so again something for her to unwrap on 25th other than just the money they wanted. I need to get some more little bits for their stockings and a few presents for my dad as mum has lots to unwrap and he only has one gift so I need to level it up I'm planning on grabbing the veg and final food bits over the weekend (I must be mad) and then what is not done will not be done It's only one day after all  

Right time for my list - here we go:-

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - 7 points so far 
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE sixteen videos watched for a total of 51p 
3. Read lease to see if it helps me make up my mind how to proceed (or not)
4. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
5. Return dies to Amazon for refund
6. Print and cut 70 business cards for Etsy order - printed
7. Get some Christmas gifts - DONE almost done now I think  
8. Wrap said gifts
9. Get business accounts up to date
10. List something on facebook marketplace
11. Prepare emails, facebook group and samples for cardmaking advent calendar
12. Take a course from a membership 
13. Design something new to sell
14. List something new on Etsy
15. Check freepostcode lottery
16. Complete Prime Opinion survey
17. Create another cardmaking download
18. Tidy more of craft room/office
19. No heating on until 5pm - DONE did not go on at all last night  
20. Update shipping dates on Etsy so people are aware they will now not get until after Christmas