The continuing business.... Ride.

I'm still enjoying this continuing business... ride, two and a half years in.

Crazy really.

I love this time of year.. Autumn into winter... and then into party season.

The summer’s great when the weather is good and it’s holiday time, away from work.

But I’ll take Halloween and fireworks, roast dinners and red wine over it any day.

I’m down for cosy soups and porridge for breakfast, dark afternoons and dark mornings.

Especially now that I run my own business, work from home, and don’t have to rush anywhere on those cold, dark mornings.

I like it when the clocks change and there's festive activities to look forward to.

Come January, I’ll be well and truly over the darker days but for now I’m onboard.

And that recent cold snap made it feel so festive as well, especially as it snowed for a few hours.

Yes, I was out on my lunchbreak catching snow flakes in my mouth 😊

I prefer it to this wet, stormy weather. When is the festive frost coming back?

You may not know this about me… I’m a total foodie and my life revolves around food.

What’s next to eat, what’s for dinner tomorrow?

If I’m not eating it, I’m talking about it or reading about it.

It’s pretty much all my husband hears on a daily basis 😂

I used to work in the food industry and travelled to international food shows as part of my role, all that great food - absolute heaven!

Nowadays, we’ve been eating much cleaner food. Nothing too processed and much less added sugar (apart from the odd treat).

Lots of colour, traybakes, vegetables (much to my husband’s annoyance) butternut squash and sweet potato. Yum!

Plus, we’re trying our best not to drink alcohol during the week…

(This was a bad habit that we picked up during the pandemic, and it’s taken a while to shake off).

I’ve been trying my hand at more mocktails, rather than cocktail recipes.

Although the odd one or two cocktails have snuck in.

My discipline for exercising this year has been really good and I've been spending an hour to myself in the mornings before starting work, to set myself up for the day.

Whether that’s for doing weights in the front room, meditation or a bit of yoga.

It really works to spend some time on me, before cracking on with anything else.

On the business front - After finishing my diploma and having had a very busy summer socially, it’s been good to get back to working on the business itself, as well as completing client work.

As a business owner, you have to learn to try new and different things to adapt and grow.

Making sure that you take care of everything can be hard, as well as having to wear so many hats – Sales, Marketing, Finance, New Products.. the list goes on.

Without meaning to sound like a contestant on Strictly, the whole process of being a business owner is such a journey of learning. 

What’s exciting is the fact that there is no restriction for spreading your wings, unlike when you’re an employee.

Hiring managers expect specific skills for a role and then, you’re pigeon holed into performing just those tasks on a daily basis.

There isn’t much room for development and growth.

It’s quite the opposite when you’re running the show…

So in order to grow, and with a sense of business adventure, I’ve been working on some new services and have recently launched them into the world.

They are:

• A bespoke, branded customer review process for my clients to send out to their clients.
• A social media power hour, a 1:1 consultation with me.

And these new services are on an introductory offer until the end of 2024.

I’ve also just been in receipt of a new gadget which is exciting!

I’m hoping to master it over the next few months, which may be the start of another new service further down the line.

Watch this space!

That’s why running my business is so very liberating, even if it can be tough.

Being brave and trying new things is definitely the way to thrive.

Plus, I’ve never been a conformist and being restricted to doing the same things over and over again is.... well.... Boooring!

Having the opportunity to continue to learn new skills and realise how much more I can achieve and grow, is hugely gratifying.

It’s a ride of self-discovery. I won’t use that J word again! Haha 😊

There really are no limitations and we should really all feel like that in life.

It’s time to look towards 2025 and where to go/what to do next.

It's exciting.

And as we approach the end of the year, I’m looking also looking forward to a bit of a break

A time to take stock and be proud of how far this business, and I, have come.

Also some time to watch Christmas films and eat mince pies.

Some old work friends know me for being a mince pie fiend, and I would usually be scoffing them by end of September. 

I've only just started to eat them recently.

That’s absolutely unheard of at this time of year!

Oh, there I go again.. talking about food :)

Enjoy the craziness that is the rest of the festive season.

I’m off to work out some Christmas cocktail recipes - drinking and eating is well and truly back “ON” again over the next few weeks.

And to bask in the glow of the fairy lights when it's dark.

Ooooh I do love a fairy light.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a bright, expansive new year ahead.