2 blogs ago I listed my plans for the early part of 2010. Well, this year is about tackling my paperwork and systems demons. I’m determined to implement good systems for solid financial management and credit control. It may sound really simple but now I’ve hired a book keeper, I don’t have to be tied up doing this time-consuming task which is best left to the expert. We are devising a financial control system, it’s developing really well and I feel much more on top of things.

My desk was nothing short of a bombsite. I decided that if I were to develop a solid financial system, the office systems needed to dramatically improve too, just like a tall building needs good foundations. Paperwork has been a weakness that I needed to tackle head on, improve, and move forward. Now the trick will be to maintain it.

This year is also about improving sales and breaking even. I have had my head down, chopping, mixing, potting, sending samples and selling. I will keep an update about my progress towards breaking even, but for now, my mantra is sales, sales and sales. Now that Christmas has long gone, shops are looking for new things to stock, I’m keeping focused... if you have any suggestions to help me on my quest to break even, do contact me through twitter... and wish me luck!

P.s. in case you wondered, I AM going to the gym! (but not every day)

Labels: 2010 plans, break even, financial management, fishbowl2, marcela, sales

I love having my own business. I love the fact that I develop my own products, I meet people who are really good at their jobs and generous with their advise who can help me with aspects I haven’t got specialist knowledge on- for example, testing my products in a lab for shelf life, or how to design a website. I love the opportunity, the dream that I can bring a new product to market and that hopefully people will love it too.

I also like the feeling that I can contribute to helping improve other people’s lives through generating jobs and purchasing goods at fair prices to all, and be a positive role model to my children.

There is no denying that this keeps me busy. I sometimes have to be away from home a lot and work very long hours. Yesterday, my husband and I were stuck at the Belfast airport as our flight back from some friends’ wedding was delayed, we set up camp at the comfy sofa at the coffee shop and started planning next steps for 2010. We talked business strategy, learning needs, project management tools etc... and the fact that it looks like I’ll have to work away from home a lot. “Do you think the children feel that I am not around enough? I asked him. Conflicting thoughts... I have heard them speaking about the fact that their mum is an entrepreneur and has a business, and that I sometimes appear on the paper and on websites. But then they are growing up really quickly and I say to them that though I may not be physically at home, they can contact me and I am around to talk to them.

Can you work really hard, be away from home sometimes and still be a good mum? I ask my children. They both say “yes” and I sigh with relief. They tell me that they know that I care for them and this is, I think, the bottom line. I ask them what they are learning, if anything, about the fact that I have to put a lot of time into my work. “It’s a lot of time, but hopefully if I try really hard at something I really want to do, I can be successful”, my daughter says, and well, I think this is a good lesson...

Labels: family, fears, fishbowl2, marcela, mum

Labels: 2009 review, 2010 plans, fishbowl2, marcela