Rebecca Jones

Could the Welsh shop their way out of the recession

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:34:00 +0000

I visited Cardiff this weekend, and as a born shopper, I took the opportunity to visit the biggest department store in Wales. The new John Lewis store, it's biggest store outside of London we are told, opened for business in the Welsh capital last week.

This new shopping meca is part of a £675m retail development in the centre of the city next to the new library building and only a stones throw from other attractions that the ever developing city has to offer.

And boy was it busy in town, shoppers clutched their smart John Lewis bags as they shunned the more tired and dependable department stores they have visited time and time before. The question is can Cardiff sustain this 280,000 sq four-storey John Lewis store. Already other stores like House of Fraser are discounting lines and running special offers.

Will the nearly 800 staff employed in this clean white shopping palace still be smiling when the shoppers start realising the opening of the queen of all department stores in Wales does not mean that the recession is over. In deed shoppers disposable income is not likely to be any healthier however beautifully laid out the goods are in the aisles.

But the ring of the tills were clear this weekend and whilst bags didn't look overly packed it may be that some Welsh shoppers are trying their very best to raise Wales out of recession through retail therapy alone.

Recession sees sharp increase in demand for women’s enterprise support

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:07:00 +0000

Prowess the UK association of organisations and individuals who support the growth of women's business ownership has reported a sharp rise in demand for business support by women. However it also reports that women are delaying starting businesses until the economy stabilises.

After surveying 130 Prowess members, who provide business support to 180,000 women they reported that those providers also report a significant reduction in the availability of bank finance and that it is having a devastating effect on businesses.

"Prowess members are calling for the female dimensions of the recession to be reflected proportionately in programmes of support. Based on the many roles women have, support networks and long-term holistic support will be key in this economic downturn not just for their businesses but the consequences and effect it will have on families and individuals." says Prowess

This comes after this enterprise model was championed by Germaine Greer as she addressed the Prowess 2009 conference, urging women to avoid taking a masculine approach to business and condemning the reckless behaviours that have led the world into economic crisis.

For more information visit Prowess web site

I always knew I could twitter now it brings me business

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:44:00 +0000

From a very young age I remember being told to stop twittering. I think I used to annoy my family and friends with the constant twittering and jabbering. But now twittering is becoming not only socially acceptable but a useful business tool.

What am I talking about, well the online micro blogging site twitter of course. If you have never seen or heard of it (I wonder were you have been) then its well worth a visit just to discover the world of tweeting and tweets.

I’ve really lost you know haven’t I and you are asking, what is twitter? Well twitter is a simple micro blogging service. This means you can blog as I am doing here in this article, but the blogs are only very short updates or messages, in fact they are a maximum of 140 characters. These messages are sent out as tweets to your followers.

People select to follow you and then receive your tweets, you in turn can follow them or other people to receive their tweets.

You can twitter about anything you like from what you had for breakfast to how to invest in property in the current climate. Some people tweet for fun other for business or self promotion. Many business users like myself do it to raise their profile. I can tweet my followers and let them know about forthcoming events, talks and training and share my expertise in short useful tips. I can also use it to inform about products but this can be off putting to followers.

The main aim of twitter is to forge links, share knowledge and raise awareness of you, your business or your brand. Selling should be a side product from the promotion of your business. For example I may send tweets about starting in business and people may enjoy reading them and so visit my blog or web site and this in turn may lead them to buy from me. That of course is always great.

Research by mashable.com a leading authority in social media states their are currently over 12 million users on twitter and with istrategylabs.com reporting that 46% of twitter users have a degree and 17 % having a post grad degree it shows a mixed bunch of people using it on a regular basis. In fact women account for 53% of the users and 78% of users are aged between 18 and 49. If these include your target demographics then twitter may well work for you.

Remember, twitter is about linking with others, helping them by sharing knowledge and as with most things in business making connections. Businesses of all sizes are using twitter to connect with their target markets and celebrities use it to keep their fans linked to them. Whatever you use it for twitter can be both fun and informative. Go on give it a go follow me on twitter Rebecca Jones
Want to know more about twitter visit twitter marketing

Women rule the world

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I hear tweeting do you

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Well I have spent some time last week and this on twitter. Now all I can hear is tweeting although it could be something to do with the bird feeder outside my office window.

The idea of twitter is a message system using your phone or internet connection to send short messages (140 characters to be exact) to those who have chosen to follow you. What messages you send are entirely up to you. Mine are mainly business related and give you links to great web sites I have found and all that great stuff I just know and I think you may like to.

The difficulty is if you start to follow others you then get their tweets and if you don't control it you can spend all day reading about Aled from Wales campaigning for his local theatre and Stacey from the states who loves food and sharing food ideas with you. All very interesting you may think but the value to me is what. Well from my twittering I have learnt bout projects which can benefit my clients, found a guy who can help me with a commercial mortgage I need and generally been entertained by the antics of others.

Want to join me go to http://twitter.com/Rebecca_Jones and select follow and then you to can enjoy hearing about me and my life.

Want to understand how twitter could help you in your business visit http://www.theresultsacademy.com/75-ways-to-use-twitter/

A step too far – is business start up for you?

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:36:00 +0000

Are you a would be business owner? Always planning, considering business ideas, developing adverts and designing the logo? Yet you haven’t actually given your notice in at work, taken the lease on a shop, or signed that contract for your first business enterprise yet.

It’s hardly surprising in the current economic situation that you are considering your options very carefully, re-planning, re-calculating and generally wondering if going it alone would suit you.

I have learnt that, for some people, their business idea really is only a dream. They have no intentions of ever starting it up, but the dream itself is enough to give them the escapism they crave.

You now need to decide, will you always be the dreamer, or do you want to be the boss? I believe that now is as good a time as any for most business start-ups. At least this way you would be in control of your destiny rather than waiting for the boss to hand you your redundancy package.

Firstly, what you need to do is start looking at the reasons why you want to be your own boss; and you can then concentrate on these reasons when doubts creep into your mind. Look at the benefits of being self-employed; you know there are downsides but concentrating on them won’t help you make this leap from employment to self-employment.

Secondly, review your skills. Concentrate on what you are good at, not potential failures. Most business owners don’t know everything; that’s why they read books, share with each other, employ staff or ‘buy in’ support when they need it.

Thirdly, know your market. Having a brilliant business idea and no market place is a common business error. Find your market, then identify its needs and offer them what they want.

Finally, if you want to run your own successful business you will need to take that decisive step at some point and, if you have done your research and planning, you will need to make the move at some point. Accept that only you will really know when the time is right, don’t ask family and friends as they are likely to answer how they feel about the idea and it’s not them starting a business its you.

Good luck on your enterprise journey.

British Women wealthier than men

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:00:00 +0000

It is estimated that British women will be wealthier than men by 2025, owning 60% of the nation's personal wealth

Go girls

Banks don't consider the people behind a bank account

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:00:00 +0000

It seems almost a weekly occurrence now for me to hear about how another business owner I know of looses the battle to keep their business afloat because of the banks.

In general many of these businesses are not bad they actually could be and often have been successful. Experienced staff, orders and a good customer base isn't enough to keep the bank of your back for many business owners.

If a bank decides almost overnight to call in your overdraft its fairly inevitable that you will loose your business and all it means to you, your family and your staff. Its usual for many business owners to have a business overdraft for times in the year or month when expenditure rises above income. Over the year this often sorts itself out. But without an overdraft it can mean paying staff or suppliers is not possible.

If banks are unwilling to consider supporting your business even with a full order book it seems many businesses will have to go the same way. I wonder just how the government's current schemes for business owners will help in these situations.

Maybe banks need to be a bit more supportive to these business owners and help them by giving them the support and advice they need to make their businesses more stable during this unsettled time. Every time a business ceases to trade their staff loose a job, any suppliers owed money will have an impact on their business and the owner will have the difficulty of coming to terms with the upset and personal loss.

Mind you last week I tried to open a new business account with my business bank of over 10 years and they cant even be bothered to call me back so with customer care like that its no surprise they don't care about the real people behind a business bank account.

When will banks get it right?

Hay girls we have never had it so good says pants man

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Sir Stuart Rose Chairman of Marks and Spencer's tells us how girls have never had it so good. The best thing Marks ever gave me were good quality pants but Sir Rose tells us women in his workplace have no glass ceiling to worry about although they still do moan about it.

Talking of his staff he says one has 2 or 3 children (well its hard to remember actual facts) and has made her way up the ladder. So obviously no glass ceiling then. Telling the Observer newspaper women had it all and what else did we want then, Sir Rose seems to think having one female fighter pilot who has now joined the red arrows shows just how far equality has come.

Gosh maybe he should spend some time in the shoes (sorry pants) of some of the women I work with.

to read more visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8075642.stm

Degrees of seperation still for girls

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:22:00 +0000

The Independent newspaper reported how female university students beat male students in everything. With more women than men studying at university, less of them likely to drop out and more of them leaving with a better degree. Yet despite this the women leaving higher education are likely to earn a lower salary than men who are leaving with the same level of qualification.

Why is this? Well we are being told it could be down to the fact that women choose subject areas which are likely to lead to lower salaried positions. For example teaching or creative industries.

What should be done about this? I wonder who is to blame, do girls tend to choose sectors which pay less or are employers paying less because they know they can. Additionally what can be done to encourage girls into other sectors.

With a daughter planning on entering university this September I know how difficult the decisions can be about the course and career route to take. Our daughter has chosen a non traditional route for a girl yet she has had little encouragement or support for this.

I wonder if we are doing enough to open up the eyes of our young people in general to the opportunities out there and to encourage them in the choices they make.

Employee by day entrepreneur by night.

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:01:00 +0000

There have been reports recently of the increase in 5-9 business ownership. With the increase in on-line businesses which don’t require staff or full time commitment more and more employees are running their business in the evening after completing a day in the office.

Often running their enterprise from a laptop at the kitchen table many of these businesses are not to be laughed at. Often started to earn extra money for treats or from a hobby which has grown, these entrepreneurs can frequently earn a good second income. On-line business support web site Enterprise Nation recently reported that 5 million people work from home outside of their day job.

These part time business owners report their businesses are growing. Many of the 5-9 business owners I know have plans to give up their day jobs once their business has grown sufficiently, others have no intentions of becoming a full time business owner but enjoy the buzz of running a business and the benefits of extra money.

So why are more and more people working in the evening after a long day at the office. Well it is possible that many are doing so as the economic situation in the country has become more worrying. Knowing you can add to your salary by running a small enterprise in the evening and weekend could take off some of the pressure of the mounting bills. Or you could use it as a back up plan if you feel less convinced about long term job security.

How then could you run a part time business? Well first of all many part time businesses grow out of hobbies or interests. Karen started baking wedding cakes for friends who then told others and soon she had a list of customers. Initially able to satisfy requests by working at the weekends and some evenings the business grew and is now a full time enterprise. Rob takes on private tuition classes in the evening for extra money to pay off his student loan, but he has no intention of leaving his full time teaching job. Anyone can find something to do Avon, Betterware, Virgin Vie and other party plan or door to door sales companies offer part time business opportunities . Or you could start an on-line shop, possibly using e-bay to start with or other on-line business ideas. The ideas are endless and you will know what suits you, your skills and the time you have available.

To run a business and go to work you will need to be organised and committed to both, to ensure your employer and your business are both treated fairly. Don’t be unrealistic about what you can take on or how long things will actually take. Plan your business and treat it professionally, it may be a part time business but it has the ability to become something more and setting it up correctly to begin with will save problems in the future.

Don’t forget your employer, your business mustn’t distract you from the day job, if you still need the salary from your employer your commitment to them must remain high. It may also be necessary to check with some employers if your contract allows secondary employment / self employment. It’s also important to remember your tax implications, speak to the tax office and let them know your plans and look into the effect any additional income will have on your tax especially if it takes you into another tax bracket.

Running a business part time whilst still in employment is a great way to try self employment and see if you like it and if your business idea works. Remember don’t over commit and be realistic and above all have fun

BBC could tell Sir Alan - You're fired

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:17:00 +0000

The BBC it seems are nervous about Sir Alan's appointment as the new enterprise tsar and how it could compromise their political impartiality. Following calls from senior conservatives for the entrepreneur to stand down from his programme "The Apprentice" the BBC have said they are speaking to him about his future connection with the show.

The next series due to start in March next year, just weeks before the likely date of the next General Election, assuming Gordon Brown is not forced to step down before then.

The connection between Sir Alan and Gordon Brown is obvious yet Sir Alan has stated he is also loyal to the BBC. No doubt the saga will be played out on our screens, will Sir Alan be fired by the BBC or will Gordon Brown lose yet another powerful person from his team.

From this of course could come the opportunity of a new entrepreneur in the hot seat and speculation will become rife, so for what's its worth I would like to recommend Scot, Michelle Mone of Ultimo Bra success. Unless of course the BBC would consider me, much cheaper option I am sure, but possibly not such an audience puller, ah well a girl can dream.

Business Tip No 3

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:59:00 +0000

Think professionalism from the start

Many women in business let themselves and their business down by not looking and sounding professional right from the beginning. Customers want to feel safe with you, they want to know that you are an expert and you know what you are doing.

Remember customers are handing over their hard earned cash to you – would you give your business your money?

Run your business on a professional level right from the first day. Don't think things are good enough or will do for now. You dont have to spend a fortune to look professional, what image does it portray if you arrive late at a meeting, or have forgotten to bring the right paperwork with you. Do work calls go to the home phone which gets answered by your family answerphone message or your kids.

Clients dont need to know that your new to all this, that you work from the dinning room table or that your nervous in sales pitches, yet we seem to think its acceptable to tell them and then expect them to treat us professionally and pay us accordingly. You should, never lie to clients but think do they really need to know you couldn't get to the phone because the baby was crying or the dog had just escaped from the garden.

Be professional and others will take you and your business with the level of seriousness it deserves.

Business Tip 2

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Know your market before selecting your product

We’ve all seen it, that perfectly good little business idea which never stood a chance because it didn’t meet the needs of those they were trying to sell to.

Too many people that I meet who are struggling in business are in that position because they decided on the business idea first and are now trying to find a market for it. This can work but not without substancial hard work and often costly advertising and marketing.

Successful businesses start out with customers who need something, the business just full fills that need. Inventors see a problem or a poor quality solution and set out to make a better product, and as a business owner you need to take a similar approach. If your town is crying out for after school care and, after asking around you have discovered there is a real need from the parents and they are willing to pay, this could be your business opportunity.

Find out first what people want and then offer a solution

Business Tip 1

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:27:00 +0000

This week I will be posting a new tip every day. They will also be going out via my twitter if you want to follow me on twitter my tweet name is Rebecca_Jones.

Develop a Business that suits you and your lifestyle

Many women I work with start a business because they want to make changes to their life, often they wish to be more in control of their life, the hours they work and the type of work they do. But all to often they forget to consider this when they decide what business to start and soon find themselves running a business which dictates the hours they work and well to be honest they may as well still be employed by someone else.

When changing from employed to self-employed you have a real opportunity to make positive changes in your life to suit you and your family or any other interests you have.

If you like would like to cut out your daily commute you could develop a homeworking business.

If you are fed up of traveling away from home with work, consider if your new business idea will need you to do the same.

Often when developing a business we can get carried away with the excitement of this new venture. That's great and it will help keep you motivated and help others to be motivated by your plans, just keep an eye on how this business will look and how it will be run and make sure this will suit you and what you want.

I love the flexibility of my business it has some travel and I am able to regularly work from home. This means I can be around for my family and it has enabled me to develop my smallholding something I couldn't do if I worked full time for an employer.

Dream big and think what do I want? How do I want to work?

Get the message out that you are good at what you do.

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:33:00 +0000

If you’re like many of the women I meet, I bet you don’t think about telling people how good you are at what you do. You worry what others will think of you if you start shouting out how great you are; or you worry that if you say you’re great and then things go wrong, people will laugh at you. I’m not suggesting you wear a badge saying ‘I’m the best accountant that ever lived’ or ‘I’m an amazing hairdresser and you must be mad not to get me to do your hair’. But you could try something a little bit more subtle.

Have you ever thought about getting your clients to give you feedback and use that to promote yourself? I recently visited a small sandwich shop in a large city which had notes up on the wall from customers and stickers on their sandwiches saying things like ‘These cheese and ham sandwiches are Peter Mitchell’s favourite and he’s eaten a sandwich or two’. Not only did it bring a smile to my face but I knew that others had eaten there and that they had felt it was so good they would go to the effort of telling the owner.

Use testimonials on your web sites, in marketing materials, sales presentations and tenders. We all like to know that someone else has made a purchase from a firm and they were happy with it. Think how e-bay works, with feedback from customers. What would your customers say about you and would that help me decide if I want to buy from you?

So think, what do others want to know about me? How can my current customers help get the message out about how good I am? It can make all the difference when we are all watching how we spend our money, and with whom. Now ham and cheese or cheese and pickle sandwitches for lunch...

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:01:00 +0000

March will see us celebrating International Women’s Day (http://www.internationalwomensday.com/) A day of celebration amongst women who recognise the achievements of - you guessed it - women. I will be at many events including the annual Prowess Conference (http://www.prowess.org.uk/) which will be held this year in Blackpool. Take a look at the Women’s Day web site to find events local to you, join in and take some time to consider what you and other women have achieved over the last 12 months.

What I'm reading this week

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:40:00 +0000

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

What leads to success?

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:37:00 +0000

Following on form my current work around success and being successful I though I would share the following you tube clip. Its only 3 minutes long and covers the 8 areas required for success. Its worth looking at if you are planning to be a success in 2009.

Chicks are doing it for themselves

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Two women Alla and Anna are going from strength to strength with their business Two Chicks which sells pasteurised egg whites. Popular in the states the girls have decided to bring their product to us through supermarkets such as Sainsburys and Waitrose.

The girls were recently quoted by The Times as being relatively unconcerned that they are trying to develop a fledgling (do you like the chick reference) business in such a worrying economic time. Saying food is one of the last things people tend to cut back on and that they have been successful in gaining financial support fro private investors (rumoured to be in the six figure bracket).

For what its worth I think they are right and it is still worth considering starting a business in the current market. The girls hope the UK market will embrace their no yoke eggs which mean you can have omelettes and other egg based meals with lower levels of fat and cholesterol. Well good luck to them both on such an eggscellent start to their enterprise. I’m off now to teach my own chickens to lay eggs without the yoke to see if I can be a bit healthier for 2009.

Lets consider ‘Mystery Meat Marketing’

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Do you remember being in the cue for dinner at school and the lady in the hair net would place on your plate some sloppy mash, bright green peas and a great slap of mystery meat. What was it? Your guess is as good as mine. It didn’t taste all that great, that’s for sure. Yeah maybe it staved off your hunger pains until you got home but that was about it.

Sadly many companies are serving up “mystery meat” all the time. They come up with a marketing idea and just start slopping it on to their customers plates. Ask the company who is marketing “mystery meat” the point of their marketing idea or why they think it will work your likely to get a blank face.

We as staff and owners of businesses are bombarded by marketing ideas from different companies. With everyone going crazy over new marketing tools and everyone jumping on the bandwagon. But when the dust settles we find our business is no better for the free pen or the stress balls or the mail out to 2000 companies of our expensive brochure Why? Because we didn’t ask ‘Why’ in the beginning.

Before you use a marketing tool look at it hard and ask ‘why’ will this work, will my client or potential client understand what I am trying to sell to them and more importantly will it make them buy it, or are you serving up some mystery meat.

New Year New Business

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Are you thinking of starting a new business during 2009?
Do you want to know if now is the right time for you?

I regularly speak to women who wish to start a new business and the question they all ask me is "when is the best time to start".

Well the quick answer is when you are ready.

Do you have the idea, the business plan and know the direction you wish to head in? Then the New Year is as good a time as any if you feel ready to take up the challenge of starting your new business.

You could consider the following ideas to getting your business started early in 2009.

Start your business part time - lots of women decide to start their business part time to try it out and see if they like working for themselves before taking a big leap

Open a shop on e-bay - if you are planning on selling items you could open an e-bay shop first to try selling on line. It will be quicker, easier and cheaper than setting up your own web site

Join local business networks - networking with other business owners prior to starting in business or during the start up process will enable you to make some great connections and gain some support from others.

Do your research - the most important thing you can do when starting up in business is research. Look into your product, market place, customers, competitors and how you will run your business.

If you want to start up a business in 2009 I wish you well. I have run my own business since I was 19. My daughter is nearly 18 and she is now considering her own career and business start up features in it. being in business has been great for me and I hope it will be for you too.

If you are already a female business owner or a woman wishing to start a business I would love to help you. Once a month ladies all over the UK are receiving my FREE newsletter
Packed full of ideas and information to help them make their business a SUCCESS.

Receive my newsletter for free by signing up today by clicking on the subscribe button below.

I look forward to helping as many of you as I can during 2009.
BEST WISHES ALL
Rebecca

Does Santa know we are in a recession?

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:17:00 +0000

It’s only a few days now until Christmas. I hope like me you are ready for the onslaught of family, food and wrapping paper. I feel relaxed and ready this year and less out of control than usual. I’ve done 17 Christmases with children so maybe I’ve sussed it at last. Although I doubt it I’ll let you know when Christmas has passed.

I was planning a quiet week this week, in the mad hope I would get a chapter written of my book. But clients still seem to be working hard and calling me for coaching sessions and consultancy. This is great but I wonder if they know they should be cutting back with the current economic climate. I have spoken about this before that many consultants like me are reporting no real slow down in work. Maybe it just hasn’t hit us yet so I won’t rest on my laurels.

Doing the dreaded Tesco shop this evening I notice Santa also does not seem to be aware of the economic difficulties. The shelves seem striped bare, lego apparently is sold out almost everywhere and people were fitting over the free range bronze turkeys in the fresh meat aisle.

Children are still waiting in anticipation for what Santa will bring, I just hope he understands we need him to cut back this year or the credit card bills will hit us hard.

So for all of you with your shopping left to do, I recommend body protection and a stiff gin before you enter the supermarket. For those of you worried about the bills and uncertainty of next year I send you my best wishes. For those of you contemplating business start up in 2009 I send you my best wishes also and suggest you sign up for my newsletter which I know will help business owners through 2009 whatever it throws at us.
Merry Christmas or in Welsh Nadolig Llawen

It may be carpet to you….

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Wow was I glad to go to bed last night. Yesterday was a day to test my patience, negotiating skills and ability to juggle that’s for sure.

Having promised my editor, on Monday morning, another chapter of my book before the end of this week I decided to clear my diary of anything other than essentials and get on with it. Christmas is coming and the kids will soon be off school and nothing goes quite to plan then does it.

Monday became “one of those days”. I had promised as a last minute thing, to do a short training session in the early evening. I tried to print off the notes for the session, only to find the part for my printer which had been ordered last Wednesday on Next Day Delivery and arrived at lunch time Tuesday, was the wrong bit! I had to set up my old ink jet printer and say a little prayer .

My husband who was due to collect from After School Club, called to say he was running late. A panic call to my mum saw her spring into action, bless her. Then the wiper blade on my car broke and it was raining so the journey there was less than perfect.

The session went well I think but was running late and I had to hot foot it back home, with wiper blades disintegrating more and more, to collect my son from the school disco, I arrived to find he hadn’t gone!!!

In amongst it all a friend of mine had a major disaster (which kind of put my frustrating little problems into perspective whilst I tried to help her out as well).

Tuesday then, you would think, must have been better. All I had planned was to make myself available to accept delivery and laying of a new piece of carpet for the dinning room; affording me writing-time. Perfect, as I had written a grand total of 0 words on Monday - I needed to get on!

However,Tuesday went from bad to worse: everything from the dog emptying the kitchen bin on the floor, the cat going missing, the printer still not working, a thumping headache, rain which meant I had to use my broken wiper blade still; oh yes, and the matter of the carpet.

Let’s just say I have waited a little while for this carpet to be delivered, I chose it ages ago and was waiting for my slot. I had spent Monday evening emptying the dining room. The guys arrived with my carpet late morning (word count then was about 150 – not going great).

They agreed that when pulling up my old carpet they would cut it into strips about 2 foot wide for me to use as a weed suppressor on my veg patch. The strips of old carpet were thrown outside the door in the rain. The new underlay went down and they got the new carpet from the van. This was going too well, they carried it in and rolled it out ready to fit. It was then that horror hit us. It had been the last of this particular carpet on the roll, none left in the shop and, yep it’s damaged! Not a little snag or a small hole, but water damage all up one side.

The cream wool had now become shades of green, pink, yellow and grey mould. The carpet fitters looked at me in horror as I stood there speechless. Looking from me to the carpet and then to the door, with the pile of shredded old carpet outside, they try to calm me by saying: “ It may be ok. I was not in the mood for OK and, as I pointed out to them, certainly not at that price. So there was only one thing for it, it had to go back in the van. I had now just green underlay on the floor, my dining-room furniture stacked up in the lounge, and a pile of ever-wetter shredded carpet outside my front door.

Calling the show room resulted in me having to drive to the store to choose some other carpet, taking a good hour out of my day (yep the word count was still only 150) and the wiper blade is now hanging on by a thread.

The sales guy greeted me with: “How can I help you?” “I’m Mrs Jones”, I replied. “OH… yes... I see”, he added. After much debate, I selected a new bit of carpet. We haggled over the price. I told him: “Round it down, or else! And free -fitting would be good.” Then I was told I’d missed my delivery slot. “I have missed it? I don’t think so” I had no carpet in my dining room, family arriving for Christmas soon and a chapter of a book to write. I was a girl on a mission. “I’ve had a week from hell and it’s only Tuesday” I told him.

The poor sales guy tried to tell me he has also had a bad day. His wife had been involved in an accident that morning and he had been to the hospital with her; she had 2 broken ribs, fractured wrist and bruising. I felt her pain but, I had no carpet, guests were coming for Christmas, and I had a chapter of a book to write. So I said: “That’s as may be but I don’t have a carpet. I mean, get this into some perspective man.” I know I maybe was loosing the plot by now.

Try as he might, saying it wasn’t their fault I was in this predicament, to be honest it was the worst thing he could have said because by now the carpet guys - in my eyes - were to blame for everything: war, famine, global warming and the global economic downturn. “We’ll try our best, but….” wasn’t a phrase I wanted to hear!

To be honest, I was in no mood for sloppy Customer Care. Things got no better at 5.30, just as I was able to leave to drop my daughter off at her sixth form Ball, a lone carpet fitter arrived - he needed help to carry the carpet in from the van. I had heavy furniture to work around so I knew he would require some help, and I needed to get my daughter to the Ball in 20 minutes.

Thank goodness for mobiles - another mum is called and she rescued us, taking her to the Ball and leaving me to deal with the carpet fitter, move the furniture back into place, cook tea and accept the fact that I have still only typed 150 words of the chapter.

I’m glad to say, the carpet looks great, my daughter enjoyed her Ball, the furniture is all back in, and this morning I managed to write some more of my chapter. I’m back on target to getting it finished; just need to sort out those wiper blades because its still raining!!

Kirsty Williams wins election as first female party leader in Wales

rebecca@rebecca-jones.co.uk (Rebecca Jones) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:04:00 +0000

Kirsty Williams has become Wales' first female party leader after winning the Welsh Liberal Democrat leadership election.

Interestingly Kirsty made great use of on-line networking sites to promote herself, a format which I have long since known to be an ideal marketing and promotional tool for women.

Well done Kirsty - we are all watching you now.