Evening all,
Yes it's blogging time...let me see what I have to tell you..
Actually have loads of news. But the thing is when you are blogging about your business, you can't just tell all...you have to.try to balance the bad stuff whilst keeping it real and if I do nothing else in this blog I want to keep it real...
The Mr Big story has been a distraction...( and we are still free falling...if his parachute doesn't open, it wasn't me ...I swear...not this time anyway.......), but the other side of things has been tough..We have been so busy, but the cash flow has simply not matched the effort. It's hard to stay positive when you are working 60 hour weeks...yet a haircut & colour with Olive in Style Club just isn't in the budget.
This week I am finally moving out of my office. On Tuesday I threw caution to the wind & went to see my 12 year old Rosie,jump hurdles in the national schools athletics finals in Santry.....to hell with work. She is the youngest of four & I've never been to Santry School Finals..I've even coached under tens athletics for two years, but never saw my teams run...one work commitment after another.
On Wednesday I threw caution to the wind again & went to see a motivational speaker, Declan Coyle at 7.30am...he may well have changed my working life. He was inspirational. His message was simple..you have a choice..there are two platforms in life...a red one & green one The red is negative & the green is positive....we decide ourselves which one we are going to be on. My natural place is on the green one, but I sometimes slip on to the red one...& that's a hard one to move off. He went around the room asking everybody about the challenges they face in their business/life. When it came to me I said fear was my biggest challenge...making that leap from where I am to where I need to be...the fear of not getting paid in time to pay my suppliers, of over extending myself & my business...more sleepless nights of worry....
Believe.... he said & it will happen. I know he's right. I have three kids in private school & I never doubt that I will cover the fees....but a haircut & colour with Olive for me...well that is always always challenge....Without making a choice I've made a choice.....I'm no longer on the red platform...I'm on the green....it's so much easier to leap from one place to another when you know where you are leaping to...
And so, before I sign off ...I want you to know, that, tomorrow at 11am, I'll be sitting in Style Club, tin foil in my hair, whilst Olive updates me on the latest shenanigans in her truly eventful life whilst applying my American tailoring signature look...
Shirley
xx
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Reality....it's a tough old game
Evening all,
It's a tough game this food production gig....sometimes I love it & sometimes I just think..what on earth am I doing. There must be 100s of easier ways to work a sixty hour week. A few blogs ago I wrote about moving out of my office & setting up at home...eating raw carrots ....jogging down the canal...living life at a slower pace. It's a month later & whilst I have dumped everything that's not coming with me, the new office is not coming together as I hoped.
It's a tough game this food production gig....sometimes I love it & sometimes I just think..what on earth am I doing. There must be 100s of easier ways to work a sixty hour week. A few blogs ago I wrote about moving out of my office & setting up at home...eating raw carrots ....jogging down the canal...living life at a slower pace. It's a month later & whilst I have dumped everything that's not coming with me, the new office is not coming together as I hoped.
The utility room which I planned to resemble a double page spread in Elle Deco...which would be entitled
"How she does it in the Utility Room
one super woman's approach to maximising space... ".
is not looking good.....
Yes everything has been binned in the office, but the utility room is still full of washing, camping gear...wellies...and the kind of stuff I will never ever use again but which I will never throw out. I feel like I'm in free fall & I'm not talking about the one with Mr Big. I'm free falling between my current office & my utility room, I'm free falling between getting more sales in & working more hours, my head is like a full sponge...it can't fit in another thought....and there is so much time to think as I lie awake all from 2.30am til just before the alarm goes off at 5.30am....
Last week we were so tired we almost messed up big time... A lunch for 100 to be served at noon in an office building with no kitchen. (same day as Mr Bigs first order....) .the previous evening at about 7pm I called Mr Delicious from my office offering to help him out (I had been in work since 6am he had been in since five)..."no", he insisted "you go home to the kids...the Beef Bourguignon will take another few hours"....."Beef Bourguignon"....I replied in horror..."it's Beef Stroganoff .... wait I'll call the client see if she'll run with that".....no way it had to be Stroganoff.....
So... we went with the only option open to us in a crisis & carefully drained the kilos of beef of it's red wine broth , cut the individual pieces of beef into strips, added required amount of sour cream....simmered.
Oh yes...the Broganoff was to die for...
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Them's the breaks Part 5...SPAR Troika...are coming to town
Evening all,
I promise not to write about my big break after today, except to let you know, how me & Mr Big are getting along. Monday which was D day...was moved to Tuesday....I'd bought all the bread ready to start but Mr Big isn't interested in those petty little issues..he's only interested in bar codes & margins.
He's not even that interested in the fabulous new packaging design that myself & my Creative Goddess Orla had created for him..but the new packaging does look amazing. On Tuesday morning I rolled up before 7 am in my little van with over 250 sandwiches, wraps & salads, made exclusively for his flagship store under the new brand identity I had created for him. He was in the store but left without saying hello....but he did call me half an hour later...there was a problem with the bar codes ...get it sorted... & quick...
Ya see, he does care.....
Mr Big is a a bit of an enigma..I'm trying to work him out..I like him & I suppose as long as he needs me, we'll be fine...so, yes we've finally bungee jumped off the edge of the cliff, we're both in free fall and both hoping to God that we make it out alive....
This is a big week for all my SPAR clients....the SPAR Troika are coming to town. SPAR is the biggest retail franchise in the world and there is a massive delegation of SPAR VIPs arriving in town on Monday, everybody is under pressure.
Consider the pressure in the Dept of Finance, before the arrival of the Troika and their symbolic walk form through town to The Central Bank a few years ago..and that will give you some sense of what's going on in my shops...
That's why Mr Big is so stressed and I really want him & his store to look great.
Other clients don't need my help, everything is under control. Mr Mmmmm, of the super posh SPAR in Dublin 2 (he has 4 shops in Dublin 2), had his gold front signage removed & re polished a few weeks ago, he's the SPAR godfather/son.....a Fergal Quinn protege....There will be no pictures of the SPAR Troika walking from his shop with a homeless person in the background....no sir. Mr Mmmmm will have all the homeless to Milano's where they will be munching posh pizza...after he has carefully worked out the margin....negative publicity minus cost of lunch divided by neg publicity......60% plus....no returns...
Oh yeah...
Shirley x
I promise not to write about my big break after today, except to let you know, how me & Mr Big are getting along. Monday which was D day...was moved to Tuesday....I'd bought all the bread ready to start but Mr Big isn't interested in those petty little issues..he's only interested in bar codes & margins.
He's not even that interested in the fabulous new packaging design that myself & my Creative Goddess Orla had created for him..but the new packaging does look amazing. On Tuesday morning I rolled up before 7 am in my little van with over 250 sandwiches, wraps & salads, made exclusively for his flagship store under the new brand identity I had created for him. He was in the store but left without saying hello....but he did call me half an hour later...there was a problem with the bar codes ...get it sorted... & quick...
Ya see, he does care.....
Mr Big is a a bit of an enigma..I'm trying to work him out..I like him & I suppose as long as he needs me, we'll be fine...so, yes we've finally bungee jumped off the edge of the cliff, we're both in free fall and both hoping to God that we make it out alive....
This is a big week for all my SPAR clients....the SPAR Troika are coming to town. SPAR is the biggest retail franchise in the world and there is a massive delegation of SPAR VIPs arriving in town on Monday, everybody is under pressure.
Consider the pressure in the Dept of Finance, before the arrival of the Troika and their symbolic walk form through town to The Central Bank a few years ago..and that will give you some sense of what's going on in my shops...
That's why Mr Big is so stressed and I really want him & his store to look great.
Other clients don't need my help, everything is under control. Mr Mmmmm, of the super posh SPAR in Dublin 2 (he has 4 shops in Dublin 2), had his gold front signage removed & re polished a few weeks ago, he's the SPAR godfather/son.....a Fergal Quinn protege....There will be no pictures of the SPAR Troika walking from his shop with a homeless person in the background....no sir. Mr Mmmmm will have all the homeless to Milano's where they will be munching posh pizza...after he has carefully worked out the margin....negative publicity minus cost of lunch divided by neg publicity......60% plus....no returns...
Oh yeah...
Shirley x
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Them's the breaks ...Part 4
Hi there,
Sorry I haven't been in touch for the past few weeks. I've been very busy & mentally exhausted, there is always so much to do and trying to get myself & Mr Bigs new working relationship off the ground has been quite a challenge. Mr Big takes some managing....After agreeing to do something really funky with the packaging...."it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" he told me in response to my concern about tinkering with a well established logo...."don't you worry about that....." reality kicked in & suddenly my creative goddess & myself were left with a situation where he wanted to merge our fab funky colourful graphics with a long established traditional logo.......DISASTER. Frankly it looked awful and having started the ball rolling on this one..I had no doubt where the finger would point, when Mr Big realised the same.
Mr Big doesn't answer his phone, his mail box is always full....Today I needed to talk to him, get some decisions...A quick text.."Can you call me URGENTLY" worked a treat. As I said before at this stage we need each other....I need to learn as much as I can about mass market volume production....he needs his fridges full on Monday morning...with produce produced under his brand....Today, I found a solution to the packaging design, I will use his existing labelling with the traditional logo intact, but will have our graphics printed separately & apply them to the packaging....we will merge the old & the new....it will look great....
This is a risky venture for us @ The Delicious Food Co....all our sandwiches are made on gorgeous breads from artisan bakeries, Arun & Bretzel on the morning of delivery. But the reality is that the majority of people who buy prepacked sandwiches buy them in wedge boxes, and they buy thousands of them....this client sells up to 1,000 sandwiches a week, from Monday I'll be making them...I'll also be making all his salads. It's a different market, but our core philosophy of making all our food with love & care will continue...it's just that the bread will be....em...a tad more robust with the help a preservative or two. The margins are really tight on this one, so it's all about volume. It's really exciting and challenging...we're nearly there, tomorrow Mr Big will get samples of everything....as well as a letter outlining my terms & conditions of sale which he has agreed to, but which I don't think he heard...
This will be a match made in heaven or will all end in tears....We're still in our bungee jumping gear Mr Big & me...but there's no going back now...
on Monday we go to the edge of the cliff and we JUMP.....
Shirley
Sorry I haven't been in touch for the past few weeks. I've been very busy & mentally exhausted, there is always so much to do and trying to get myself & Mr Bigs new working relationship off the ground has been quite a challenge. Mr Big takes some managing....After agreeing to do something really funky with the packaging...."it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" he told me in response to my concern about tinkering with a well established logo...."don't you worry about that....." reality kicked in & suddenly my creative goddess & myself were left with a situation where he wanted to merge our fab funky colourful graphics with a long established traditional logo.......DISASTER. Frankly it looked awful and having started the ball rolling on this one..I had no doubt where the finger would point, when Mr Big realised the same.
Mr Big doesn't answer his phone, his mail box is always full....Today I needed to talk to him, get some decisions...A quick text.."Can you call me URGENTLY" worked a treat. As I said before at this stage we need each other....I need to learn as much as I can about mass market volume production....he needs his fridges full on Monday morning...with produce produced under his brand....Today, I found a solution to the packaging design, I will use his existing labelling with the traditional logo intact, but will have our graphics printed separately & apply them to the packaging....we will merge the old & the new....it will look great....
This is a risky venture for us @ The Delicious Food Co....all our sandwiches are made on gorgeous breads from artisan bakeries, Arun & Bretzel on the morning of delivery. But the reality is that the majority of people who buy prepacked sandwiches buy them in wedge boxes, and they buy thousands of them....this client sells up to 1,000 sandwiches a week, from Monday I'll be making them...I'll also be making all his salads. It's a different market, but our core philosophy of making all our food with love & care will continue...it's just that the bread will be....em...a tad more robust with the help a preservative or two. The margins are really tight on this one, so it's all about volume. It's really exciting and challenging...we're nearly there, tomorrow Mr Big will get samples of everything....as well as a letter outlining my terms & conditions of sale which he has agreed to, but which I don't think he heard...
This will be a match made in heaven or will all end in tears....We're still in our bungee jumping gear Mr Big & me...but there's no going back now...
on Monday we go to the edge of the cliff and we JUMP.....
Shirley
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Them's the breaks.....Part 3
Evening all,
I suppose this is a bit of a sub blog...the blog within the main blog.....but it is important and we don't know where this might end up, so sit down beside me & let's see where we go.
OK, today I had another meeting with the client, Mr Big (that's what I've decided to call him)...to present the concepts for the packaging design
I'm not sure yet quite what to make of him....my gut instinct tells me he's okay....I think we are just sussing each other...but how we will get on long term.....
well it is too early to say, we both know that... Mr Big & me.
What Mr Big wants from me is to produce all his salads & sandwiches...agree a decent margin (for him), roll up & stock the fridges...what I am getting are lots of promises from him about volume, dollar signs, more big contracts...
When I suggested a packaging design that would be exclusive to his empire, which I would organise , Mr Big was hooked because......that, as the Spice Girls once sang...
that was, what he really, really wanted.
Inside.....Mr Big wants much more than just sandwiches & salads in generic branded packaging.
Mr Big, has big ideas, he has massive footfall, he also has, not just money to invest, but that generous spirit that means, he doesn't expect me to take the fall if it doesn't work out....not for the first month, at least.....
Yes, myself ( aka The Delicious Food Co) & Mr Big are standing at the top of the cliff all decked out in our bungee jumping gear and we are ready to jump.
Watch this space.....
Shirley x
I suppose this is a bit of a sub blog...the blog within the main blog.....but it is important and we don't know where this might end up, so sit down beside me & let's see where we go.
OK, today I had another meeting with the client, Mr Big (that's what I've decided to call him)...to present the concepts for the packaging design
I'm not sure yet quite what to make of him....my gut instinct tells me he's okay....I think we are just sussing each other...but how we will get on long term.....
well it is too early to say, we both know that... Mr Big & me.
What Mr Big wants from me is to produce all his salads & sandwiches...agree a decent margin (for him), roll up & stock the fridges...what I am getting are lots of promises from him about volume, dollar signs, more big contracts...
When I suggested a packaging design that would be exclusive to his empire, which I would organise , Mr Big was hooked because......that, as the Spice Girls once sang...
that was, what he really, really wanted.
Inside.....Mr Big wants much more than just sandwiches & salads in generic branded packaging.
Mr Big, has big ideas, he has massive footfall, he also has, not just money to invest, but that generous spirit that means, he doesn't expect me to take the fall if it doesn't work out....not for the first month, at least.....
Yes, myself ( aka The Delicious Food Co) & Mr Big are standing at the top of the cliff all decked out in our bungee jumping gear and we are ready to jump.
Watch this space.....
Shirley x
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Them's the breaks.....Part 2
Hello again,
After posting my blog on lucky breaks I started getting very nervous.What if it doesn't happen....what if the client changed his mind..I'm a firm believer that "one in the hand is worth two in the bush" and this one was very much still in the bush. A few unanswered voice messages & I started to feel very jittery....had he changed his mind...had a change of heart ...had he brought me to the top of the cliff to show me the view only to push me off....(that's happened to me before & it wasn't pretty....) I need this bit of business.....I need the challenge....
I'll text him I thought....be assertive...assumptive....use the word "when we start" rather than "if you still want to to ahead"...... "when" is the language of winners...".if" is not ...The good news is that it looks like this is going ahead....we've had a meeting...he's been emailing me the stuff I asked from him....he's tackled a potential stumbling block head on.....
I've met my designer, Creative Goddess, Orla Brosnan & we're putting together some concepts for the packaging....
The client is getting very excited....and therein I've just learned something very important.....
at this stage, the client needs me as much as I need him...he's counting on me...as much as I am counting on him.... We are at the top of the cliff , looking at the view side by side....there has been a shift in the balance of power...
I might well just have the edge.....
Fingers crossed !
Shirley x
After posting my blog on lucky breaks I started getting very nervous.What if it doesn't happen....what if the client changed his mind..I'm a firm believer that "one in the hand is worth two in the bush" and this one was very much still in the bush. A few unanswered voice messages & I started to feel very jittery....had he changed his mind...had a change of heart ...had he brought me to the top of the cliff to show me the view only to push me off....(that's happened to me before & it wasn't pretty....) I need this bit of business.....I need the challenge....
I'll text him I thought....be assertive...assumptive....use the word "when we start" rather than "if you still want to to ahead"...... "when" is the language of winners...".if" is not ...The good news is that it looks like this is going ahead....we've had a meeting...he's been emailing me the stuff I asked from him....he's tackled a potential stumbling block head on.....
I've met my designer, Creative Goddess, Orla Brosnan & we're putting together some concepts for the packaging....
The client is getting very excited....and therein I've just learned something very important.....
at this stage, the client needs me as much as I need him...he's counting on me...as much as I am counting on him.... We are at the top of the cliff , looking at the view side by side....there has been a shift in the balance of power...
I might well just have the edge.....
Fingers crossed !
Shirley x
Monday, April 15, 2013
Moving Out....
Evening all,
I'm moving out.....actually it's probably more correct to say I'm moving in....
Since September 2008 I've been renting an office, just around the corner from the kitchen...my own private little oasis of heaven..... somewhere that is just mine.....somewhere to escape to.... my bolt hole..my potting shed.....
It's also where I have done a phenomenal amount work, accounts, sales, quality audits and of course 100,000's of labels. It's where I have received great news & bad news, in relation to business accounts won & lost...Where I have order docket books with over 12,000 invoices all recorded in neat monthly sales reports by me...
It's also where I keep my personal diary of the highs & lows of my life as a person rather than as a food producer... the contents of which would make quite a movie.....
But things are changing, my lovely landlady is planning change & needs my office & I have no option but to surrender my bolt hole and rather than look for another office, I've decided to move back home.....Strangely I am really excited about this.....I've just realised how much I've missed being at home....I'm often in my little van from 6.30am gone before anybody gets up, home after Mr Delicious has cooked dinner.
I miss home....
My office will be in the tiny utility room, which will be made over like a centre spread in Elle Deco.
It will be the control centre of The Delicious Food Co's planned expansion.....in between closing deals, I'll go jogging down the canal, I'll go for coffee with my neighbourhood friends... I'll take the dog for walks.....I'll snack on raw carrots & eat nuts...I'll probably take up yoga...the frantic pace that I lived my life for the past number of years will stop
I will never again wonder at 5.30am, what the hell am I going to wear today..
I'll be one of those super organised business women I've read about in magazines....I'll be a new me, a different me, a more relaxed me...
The problem is.....where the hell will I hide my diary....
Shirley x
I'm moving out.....actually it's probably more correct to say I'm moving in....
Since September 2008 I've been renting an office, just around the corner from the kitchen...my own private little oasis of heaven..... somewhere that is just mine.....somewhere to escape to.... my bolt hole..my potting shed.....
It's also where I have done a phenomenal amount work, accounts, sales, quality audits and of course 100,000's of labels. It's where I have received great news & bad news, in relation to business accounts won & lost...Where I have order docket books with over 12,000 invoices all recorded in neat monthly sales reports by me...
It's also where I keep my personal diary of the highs & lows of my life as a person rather than as a food producer... the contents of which would make quite a movie.....
But things are changing, my lovely landlady is planning change & needs my office & I have no option but to surrender my bolt hole and rather than look for another office, I've decided to move back home.....Strangely I am really excited about this.....I've just realised how much I've missed being at home....I'm often in my little van from 6.30am gone before anybody gets up, home after Mr Delicious has cooked dinner.
I miss home....
My office will be in the tiny utility room, which will be made over like a centre spread in Elle Deco.
It will be the control centre of The Delicious Food Co's planned expansion.....in between closing deals, I'll go jogging down the canal, I'll go for coffee with my neighbourhood friends... I'll take the dog for walks.....I'll snack on raw carrots & eat nuts...I'll probably take up yoga...the frantic pace that I lived my life for the past number of years will stop
I will never again wonder at 5.30am, what the hell am I going to wear today..
I'll be one of those super organised business women I've read about in magazines....I'll be a new me, a different me, a more relaxed me...
The problem is.....where the hell will I hide my diary....
Shirley x
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