For some reason, thought out my whole life, whenever things have been tough, something always seems to come along. I guess the most memorable instance of this was when I was running VCAB, the recession had just kicked in and business was bad. I was very close (about a month away) from having to declare bankruptcy , and losing everything, including the house... Then, out of the blue, one of my existing clients offered to buy the business. 

Some people call it luck, but I guess if it keeps happening, then it can't be luck, can it? Someone once said, "I'm a big believer in luck, in fact the harder I work, the more I have", which I couldn't agree with more.

So over the last few weeks, I've been focused on building up the So Easy Brand. It's a lot of work with no immediate reward, but hopefully in the early part of 2015, the sales should start flooding in.

And, again, out of the blue, an existing client just phoned up to enquire about fulfillment.  Now, over the last 5 years, I've been involved in a business selling music and film memorabilia (GreatGearStore.com) and we have a little warehouse where we manage all the picking / packing and posting of hundreds of items per day. A few years ago, we set up So Easy Fulfillment, offering a pick / pack solution for other customers. We've never pursued it as a business venture, as it's never been a priority, but bizarrely, over the last few weeks, this has been in the pipeline to get up and running for next year.

So, with the initial interest of the new Fulfillment client, it's given me that extra boost I needed to crack on with So Easy Fulfillment, and So Easy Commerce, and hopefully we will have some paying clients in the next month or so.

I know I always worry when things get tough, but deep down, I always believe that something will turn up, and it appears that it's happened again.

I'm confident now that in 6 - 12 months, I'll be pulling in a decent income across the So Easy Group from the following:

Exciting times

I've also got a meeting set up next week with a great designer, who will be doing all the designs for So Easy when I get new clients. The design side of the business has never been something I've enjoyed doing, so finding a great designer has, again, lifted my spirits, give me an extra buzz to go out and sell, knowing that the sites will look fantastic.

It's one thing getting the new website live, but it's all pointless if nobody knows about it. So, at the start of November I decided to do a little bit of networking to get the name out there.

I've done a few networking events before, and to be honest, didn't find them that beneficial, but armed with my new business cards and a fresh air of confidence, I decided to give it another bash, and to my surprise, not only did I enjoy it, I made some great contacts.

So, one networking event down, and straight away I was invited to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast networking event the next day.... Get me !!!  Again, this was beneficial, but with it being a breakfast event, it did mean getting up early, which for anyone that knows me, is not my best time of day. And on top of that, the room we were in was like a sauna, so from the outset I felt uncomfortably hot.

Halfway through the breakfast I was told I would need to stand up and talk to the room for a few seconds about my business. Now, I don't mind talking in front of people, but to be honest, only having a few minutes to prepare myself and get "in the zone" isn't my preferred way of public speaking. Ah well, I got a few laughs (at jokes, not just at me stumbling for words) and again, managed to meet some good contacts.

So, it looks like networking could be a regular thing to help promote the business. Watch this space...

Now, I enjoy a drink, and I'm quite partial to a few JD's every now and then, and maybe a glass of wine at dinner, but knowing that I had so much to get through this month, I also decided that I would go a month without drinking, hopefully giving me that focus that I needed.

However, halfway though the month, it was my cousins birthday party, so I knew that I may have to have one night where I broke the drought, and I have to say, it was a great night.

But other than that, I've made the rest of the month without a drop... No hangovers, completely focused, and I have to say, barring a few "panic moments" about my finances, on the whole, I'm feeling really up beat and happy.

Roll on December though, I've got a large bottle of JD waiting to be enojoyed.

There's been a number of times where I have seriously thought "what have I done?" and considered looking for a job, or going back to some of my older clients for work, but I have to stick to the plan. It's only been four weeks, and the amount of work I've managed to get through has been immense.

The hardest part is when I keep looking at my bank balance and reality hits home, that I only have a few months before I run out of cash, but I've been here before, and managed to build up a business, so I just need to commit and go for it. It's always going to feel like a struggle in the early days, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the long run.

The biggest downside so far is that I have had to sacrifice my tennis for a month (only playing once a week) but I can't argue with the results, the progress is certainly visible.

I've managed to get the whole site finished, and I have to say, it's looking great... Check it out  So Easy Design Site

I've also made some great progress on the editor.

Not's not quite time to start marketing it yet, but I have now got a few clients set up on the new system. Lots more work to be done, but I reckon a few more weeks and I'll be close to it been ready for proper launch.

This has been slightly on the back burner for a few weeks, but I've still managed to get loads done. The main bit being the event scheduling.

Pubs / Venues can now set up recurring events, weekly, daily, every other week , monthly etc, and they all show up in the search results just from one database entry. 

The direct debit functionality is also set up and ready to go... Just need a few final touches for the front end, and we could be ready to get out there and sign up some pubs. Rock 'n' Roll...

On top of all that, I've managed to get some mini projects signed off for my recruitment client, and also squeezed in the hours for Great Gear Store.

So all in all, although my personal life has taken a bit of a hit, work wise, I think we can class October as been a massive success.