How quick moods can change.
Gotta love DH.
I spoke with him this afternoon about my concerns regarding the biz, budget blowout etc.
Talk about a pep talk!
He really lifted me up and affirmed what I was doing which made me feel great.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Negative
Negative bank balance, negative physical space, negative head space.
Get the idea?
Just finished a FFC meeting where we nutted out our budget for CHA ... scary. Budget has pretty much doubled what we initially thought it would be. All those incidentals like electricity, floor coverings etc that you (or at least I) would think would be included in the cost of a booth at a large convention hall add up. I'm not sure how I will explain this to DH as I beg and grovel for more money to finance this whole exploit. I'm feeling the pressure to return to "real work" ie one that has regular income so as to fund this biz. I don't want to do that, but I know our family budget is facing a squeeze as it is. I don't want to bail from FFC either, so I'm not sure what to do ... maybe I can become minority partner instead of equal partner ... I think it's that or I'll have to seriously consider terminating our arrangement all together.
The squeeze is on in terms of floorspace at home too. DH started "cleaning up" which involved taking things out of the wardrobe and piling them in the storeroom. That would not normally be a bad thing except that the storeroom will any day become home to a pallet load of cardstock. We had talked about finding warehouse space but decided against it as it would be yet another "regular outgoing" without having seen ANY incoming, regular or not!
All this is putting me in a pretty black mood. I had been very excited as we had finally decided to make CHA into a family trip, but now I don't know if we can afford it. The alternative would be to fly either one of our parents over to babysit while Dean works. Oh, and of course our lease expires at that time too, and with the market the way it is we expect a HEFTY increase.
Sigh.
Get the idea?
Just finished a FFC meeting where we nutted out our budget for CHA ... scary. Budget has pretty much doubled what we initially thought it would be. All those incidentals like electricity, floor coverings etc that you (or at least I) would think would be included in the cost of a booth at a large convention hall add up. I'm not sure how I will explain this to DH as I beg and grovel for more money to finance this whole exploit. I'm feeling the pressure to return to "real work" ie one that has regular income so as to fund this biz. I don't want to do that, but I know our family budget is facing a squeeze as it is. I don't want to bail from FFC either, so I'm not sure what to do ... maybe I can become minority partner instead of equal partner ... I think it's that or I'll have to seriously consider terminating our arrangement all together.
The squeeze is on in terms of floorspace at home too. DH started "cleaning up" which involved taking things out of the wardrobe and piling them in the storeroom. That would not normally be a bad thing except that the storeroom will any day become home to a pallet load of cardstock. We had talked about finding warehouse space but decided against it as it would be yet another "regular outgoing" without having seen ANY incoming, regular or not!
All this is putting me in a pretty black mood. I had been very excited as we had finally decided to make CHA into a family trip, but now I don't know if we can afford it. The alternative would be to fly either one of our parents over to babysit while Dean works. Oh, and of course our lease expires at that time too, and with the market the way it is we expect a HEFTY increase.
Sigh.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Right brain - Left brain
Clockwise or anti clockwise? Creative or logical?
For explanation see this article
Hmmm ... graphic seems to have uploaded with a fault. Hope you can see the effect.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Learning as I go ...
It was 8mths ago that Kristy asked me to join her at Far Flung Craft
I guess she wisely caught me at a weak moment, only hours after the birth of MrM. Perhaps the endorphins were still surging, so that I accepted her business proposal without proper consideration :) However that being said, we took a long time to get things going, and joining her in the biz didn't seem a big deal, particually I think because I didn't have a real sense of the what lay ahead fo us. FFC was Kristy's baby and she has had dreams for its expansion for years, I just felt like I was on for the ride!
That was until money had been invested and deadlines started approaching. I'm paying attention on this ride now - and even offering my own navigation tips. For the longest time I felt very much the backseat passenger, because I had no idea what the vision for the company was, or have any ideas how to take steps to achieve it. I'm edging closer to the front seat now.
I have learnt so much, and learn with each task I do. I had absolutely no business experience, no retail or sales experience, no industry experience. Makes you wonder why she asked me to join her!
I am finding my way around Photoshop, and am becoming frustrated that I don't have the technical skills to do the fine adjustments that I want (however also happy that I'm in this situation as it means I am coming up with clear creative designs - my muse is back!) I am thinking about things like budget, advertising, marketing, customer relations, packaging, shipping, pricing, product development ...all for the first time in my life.
It's overwhelming at times, and I know I'm not going to become a millionaire from this. I don't even know how long this partnership will last (who knows when/where one of us might move on). However long this journey lasts, and however many ups and downs we encounter, I'm glad that I'm along for the ride.
I have no idea where the "ride" analogy came from, but I thought I should stick with it all the way through!
I guess she wisely caught me at a weak moment, only hours after the birth of MrM. Perhaps the endorphins were still surging, so that I accepted her business proposal without proper consideration :) However that being said, we took a long time to get things going, and joining her in the biz didn't seem a big deal, particually I think because I didn't have a real sense of the what lay ahead fo us. FFC was Kristy's baby and she has had dreams for its expansion for years, I just felt like I was on for the ride!
That was until money had been invested and deadlines started approaching. I'm paying attention on this ride now - and even offering my own navigation tips. For the longest time I felt very much the backseat passenger, because I had no idea what the vision for the company was, or have any ideas how to take steps to achieve it. I'm edging closer to the front seat now.
I have learnt so much, and learn with each task I do. I had absolutely no business experience, no retail or sales experience, no industry experience. Makes you wonder why she asked me to join her!
I am finding my way around Photoshop, and am becoming frustrated that I don't have the technical skills to do the fine adjustments that I want (however also happy that I'm in this situation as it means I am coming up with clear creative designs - my muse is back!) I am thinking about things like budget, advertising, marketing, customer relations, packaging, shipping, pricing, product development ...all for the first time in my life.
It's overwhelming at times, and I know I'm not going to become a millionaire from this. I don't even know how long this partnership will last (who knows when/where one of us might move on). However long this journey lasts, and however many ups and downs we encounter, I'm glad that I'm along for the ride.
I have no idea where the "ride" analogy came from, but I thought I should stick with it all the way through!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
A rolling stone
...gathers no moss.
Things have been BUSY!
September has come and gone (phew, my birthday glossed over. Too much other stuff happening to worry about that!)
On the home front, it took DH MUCH longer than anticipated to get his new passport which caused a few issues for him at work. Once it finally arrived he was out of the country straight away, and after extending his trip he is now on his way home. Yay! I've been going stir crazy as the kids have been home on holidays and have taken great joy in pushing mummy's buttons and trying to kill each other.
The big kids have completed the first term at school and we have had teacher meetings with each. Same old story for MsA: attention, task completion, immaturity. MrT had an excellent meeting. No areas of concern, and in fact exceeding expecations in a number of areas.
Baby M is now 8mths old. He still doesn't have any teeth, much to my surprise. It seems like he has been teething forever. You can see the tooth buds and he chews like crazy, but still not out yet. He is crawling though - and getting into so much mischief. He loves all DH's electrical gear ... cables are so much fun to play with. There will be some major "babyproofing" going on when DH gets home.
On the work front .... BUSY ....learning so much. will post later with details.
Things have been BUSY!
September has come and gone (phew, my birthday glossed over. Too much other stuff happening to worry about that!)
On the home front, it took DH MUCH longer than anticipated to get his new passport which caused a few issues for him at work. Once it finally arrived he was out of the country straight away, and after extending his trip he is now on his way home. Yay! I've been going stir crazy as the kids have been home on holidays and have taken great joy in pushing mummy's buttons and trying to kill each other.
The big kids have completed the first term at school and we have had teacher meetings with each. Same old story for MsA: attention, task completion, immaturity. MrT had an excellent meeting. No areas of concern, and in fact exceeding expecations in a number of areas.
Baby M is now 8mths old. He still doesn't have any teeth, much to my surprise. It seems like he has been teething forever. You can see the tooth buds and he chews like crazy, but still not out yet. He is crawling though - and getting into so much mischief. He loves all DH's electrical gear ... cables are so much fun to play with. There will be some major "babyproofing" going on when DH gets home.
On the work front .... BUSY ....learning so much. will post later with details.
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