I hate to admit it, but you were all right – I am struggling to keep up with my weekly newsletters / blogs! Mind you, I have a good excuse, last week I was in Paris for a long weekend of rugby (more of that later) so apologies for the delay in getting a latest update out but it’s been slightly busy in the world of Zzing.
It’s obviously not helped by the fact that this week we have a Bank Holiday this week AND next week. Oh, how your perception of national holidays change. Four months ago I would have been counting down the days to having a four day weekend and two four days weeks, however, now in the lonely world of self-employment, it can only mean one thing...no work means no jingles in ones bank account. Yup, I officially have two days of not earning any money and two weeks of trying to make up for the two days missed. Honestly, if I ruled the country....
I’m trying to meet up with my old friend Vicki West who runs her own print brokers, Tiger Ink – she’s just launched her new website and it is pretty groovy, even if I do say so myself as I did the copywriting www.tigerink.com (blatant plug there) – anyway, we’re due to meet up for a coffee tomorrow which is great however, I reckon that looking by my diary, I’ll pop in for a quick coffee on my way back from my PR work for the construction company in Alton, but will need to get home pretty soon as I need to get cracking on some trend analysis for some market research I’ve been doing.
Whoever says being your own boss is all about lunches, playing golf and early evening cocktails is living in a different world to me that’s for sure.
I’ve just finished one of my market research contracts and I’m in the last phase of the other market research project on recruitment trends which I’m working on too. It’s hard work but really interesting, especially trying to not laugh when someone answers the phone and says they’ll put you through and the next moment, the person you were being put through to is “in a meeting” – I laugh as that is exactly what I used to ask my team to say when market research calls came through to me. How times change. Still, I’m doing the research for a nice client so I hope that they find the research findings useful.
I’ve done three weeks now working on the retained work I do every month for the construction company, cfes Ltd and I have to say it’s odd going into another office for a couple of days every week as I’ve so got used to working from home. Luckily they have loads of work for me to do so before I know it, my hours are up and it’s time to head back and the 16 hours a week I’m doing is enough to get enough work for them done along with working on other projects for clients so an ideal situation. I’m quite liking juggling different projects and market sectors I’m working for currently, it certainly keeps me on my toes and my brain active which can only be a good thing, I don’t want the early onset of becoming the local strange bag lady with lots of cats who talks to herself.
The break to Paris was amazing, we stayed in a really nice little hotel in Montmarte where we made the most of the cafes and bars (I know have a longing for Pernod and water), we wandered around all of the main tourist sites, watched an excellent game of rugby which England should have won however it was an amazing atmosphere in the stadium, especially as France won the grand slam –
...oh, and the boy and I also got engaged under the Eiffel Tower at night when it was a lit up like a Christmas tree. A very happy trip all in all and one to remember!
So now the month of April is creeping up upon us and apart from the retained contract of work, I’m on the lookout for new contracts and pieces of work. I’ve got a couple of possible copywriting and marketing contracts in the pipeline, but as ever, it is back to the waiting game of getting sign off and the bank holiday period is not going to make it happen any quicker either. I’m also trying to organise the rowing clubs annual regatta but we’ve just found out that on the same day it’s Southampton Football clubs last home match of the season and as our regatta take place 2 mins away from the football stadium we’re struggling to find car parking for 300 rowers and their boat trailers. Doh!
Ah event management, the headaches you give me. I’m thinking that my experience of delivering and managing overseas sales conferences for 300 (mainly drunk) sales people along with organising rowing regatta’s and championships for up to 1,000 people should stand me in good stead for organising a little wedding next year – it can’t be that taxing surely? I’ve started on the draft guest list at the airport when we were delayed, so far we know 250 people and that’s just close family and friends (well, when you add in the Rowing Club, Rugby Club and Hockey Club, it starts to add up...)
Anyway, here’s hoping that April is as busy as March was, I’ve got vol au vents for 250 people to save for.
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Hours in the day? 24? Not enough!
For those astute of you, you will have realised that the weekly Zzing newsletter and blog have not been updated recently. Unlike the previous eight weekly updates, I fell short last week and now we are nearly at the end of another week.
The reason for this? Well, I haven’t won the lottery and therefore I’m not currently in the Seychelles sipping champagne and no, I haven’t managed to upset the Microsoft / O2 Broadband techie-geeks and broken my computer or broadband. The reason for my ‘slacking’ in the newsletter / blog department is simply amount of work – yes, PAID work! Can you believe it? No, I can hardly either...
My last update included the market research tender which I had just won. That was for an evaluation / market research project for se2 Partnership which is a Social Enterprise organisation in the South East. So have been designing online survey’s and telephone interviewing their network organisations – what lovely, lovely people they are in the Social Enterprise Network they are. I guess their name say’s it all, ‘Social’, but they really are. Have had lovely chats with many of them – really didn’t seem much like work at all! However, market research does take up acres of my time with the telephone interviewing and then typing up the interview notes – still, all good stuff.
I also got some great news last week. The specialist construction company which I had a meeting with decided that they liked me (without the bribery of homemade brownies I hasten to add) and I start on a monthly contract for 16 hours each week in Alton next week. Again, perhaps I have been hit with a lucky stick, but they are such nice people (or perhaps I need to change my view that all business people will be really scary and shout lots). They want me to work on their PR and marketing their company profile so really looking forward to getting on with that work. One of the directors also plays rugby (for another team) against the boyfriend, so this made me telling them that I’m going to be in Paris for a few days next week (Oui, oui! J’adore Jonny Wilkinson and all that) a bit easier!
Then today, I got confirmation of some more market research work through an introduction from an old friend Andy Knight who works for Incisive Media. I’m going to be working on some qualitative research which is going to be pretty full-on for the next two weeks. I haven’t got the contact list yet so I’m using this time to write my weekly (albeit a bit late) ramblings.
So all in all, a pretty eventful week or so! Oh yes, I am now the owner of a sparkly new Blackberry as I’ll be out and about more and so what have I been doing for the last few days? Yes, on the phone to the ‘service provider’. Well, for a start, I think it’s a slight infringement to have ‘service’ at the start of their title and if I hear one more automated message telling me that they provide the ‘highest levels of customer service’ I’ll scream (they tell you this after holding and pressing 20 different buttons for options to finally get through to a human). However, when you do, you can already hear them eating their breakfast / lunch whilst flicking through various other internet sites as well as your email account. Yes, I know you are a techie and can multi-task various programmes and internet options whilst making ‘uumph’ noises to me, sorting out your fantasy football team, ordering the new shoot ‘em up PS3 game and tap, tap, tapping on your computer – but please....just talk to me in language that I can decipher and not make me feel like some idiot who has possibly not plugged the computer in.
So in essence, I could really, really do with some additional hours in the day. If anyone has an ‘app’ for obtaining more hours in the day (I got offered some from my ‘service’ provider – I pretended not to hear them as I haven’t got a clue why I would use my phone as a compass, spirit level or want to know how to decipher what bird song I can hear – I live in Southampton, if it’s not a seagull, the bird has got lost), let me know.
On a random note, has anyone else tried the new Marmite Cereal Bars? They were handing them out free in Waterloo yesterday. Tried one. Bit dry and tasteless and I sit in the ‘Love Marmite’ camp too. Apparently, you need to post your comments on the Marmites Facebook page. Seeing they only starting handing them out this week, they have over 2,500 ‘fans’ – what a cost effective way of getting feedback on your product.
Anyway, best go, got some survey results to sift through before hockey training tonight (2 matches at the weekend, still aching slightly when I get up and three large bruises and two astro-turf burns to my left knuckle – can’t complain, one of my team mates snapped her tendon in her ankle and is now on crutches).
A bientot! (practising for Paris next week)
The reason for this? Well, I haven’t won the lottery and therefore I’m not currently in the Seychelles sipping champagne and no, I haven’t managed to upset the Microsoft / O2 Broadband techie-geeks and broken my computer or broadband. The reason for my ‘slacking’ in the newsletter / blog department is simply amount of work – yes, PAID work! Can you believe it? No, I can hardly either...
My last update included the market research tender which I had just won. That was for an evaluation / market research project for se2 Partnership which is a Social Enterprise organisation in the South East. So have been designing online survey’s and telephone interviewing their network organisations – what lovely, lovely people they are in the Social Enterprise Network they are. I guess their name say’s it all, ‘Social’, but they really are. Have had lovely chats with many of them – really didn’t seem much like work at all! However, market research does take up acres of my time with the telephone interviewing and then typing up the interview notes – still, all good stuff.
I also got some great news last week. The specialist construction company which I had a meeting with decided that they liked me (without the bribery of homemade brownies I hasten to add) and I start on a monthly contract for 16 hours each week in Alton next week. Again, perhaps I have been hit with a lucky stick, but they are such nice people (or perhaps I need to change my view that all business people will be really scary and shout lots). They want me to work on their PR and marketing their company profile so really looking forward to getting on with that work. One of the directors also plays rugby (for another team) against the boyfriend, so this made me telling them that I’m going to be in Paris for a few days next week (Oui, oui! J’adore Jonny Wilkinson and all that) a bit easier!
Then today, I got confirmation of some more market research work through an introduction from an old friend Andy Knight who works for Incisive Media. I’m going to be working on some qualitative research which is going to be pretty full-on for the next two weeks. I haven’t got the contact list yet so I’m using this time to write my weekly (albeit a bit late) ramblings.
So all in all, a pretty eventful week or so! Oh yes, I am now the owner of a sparkly new Blackberry as I’ll be out and about more and so what have I been doing for the last few days? Yes, on the phone to the ‘service provider’. Well, for a start, I think it’s a slight infringement to have ‘service’ at the start of their title and if I hear one more automated message telling me that they provide the ‘highest levels of customer service’ I’ll scream (they tell you this after holding and pressing 20 different buttons for options to finally get through to a human). However, when you do, you can already hear them eating their breakfast / lunch whilst flicking through various other internet sites as well as your email account. Yes, I know you are a techie and can multi-task various programmes and internet options whilst making ‘uumph’ noises to me, sorting out your fantasy football team, ordering the new shoot ‘em up PS3 game and tap, tap, tapping on your computer – but please....just talk to me in language that I can decipher and not make me feel like some idiot who has possibly not plugged the computer in.
So in essence, I could really, really do with some additional hours in the day. If anyone has an ‘app’ for obtaining more hours in the day (I got offered some from my ‘service’ provider – I pretended not to hear them as I haven’t got a clue why I would use my phone as a compass, spirit level or want to know how to decipher what bird song I can hear – I live in Southampton, if it’s not a seagull, the bird has got lost), let me know.
On a random note, has anyone else tried the new Marmite Cereal Bars? They were handing them out free in Waterloo yesterday. Tried one. Bit dry and tasteless and I sit in the ‘Love Marmite’ camp too. Apparently, you need to post your comments on the Marmites Facebook page. Seeing they only starting handing them out this week, they have over 2,500 ‘fans’ – what a cost effective way of getting feedback on your product.
Anyway, best go, got some survey results to sift through before hockey training tonight (2 matches at the weekend, still aching slightly when I get up and three large bruises and two astro-turf burns to my left knuckle – can’t complain, one of my team mates snapped her tendon in her ankle and is now on crutches).
A bientot! (practising for Paris next week)
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