Positive Attitude.Me

I have been very busy the past week or so and had a great time with friends and colleagues. Today was almost a rest day and as I thought about it, I realised that I hadn’t thanked everyone for there support and encouragement. Therefore I decided this was my first ‘appreciation day’ and I shall attempt to have at least one each month in future.

It is not often that we take time to thank those around us who enhance our life and extend our skills, as well as providing us with opportunities to achieve more.

www.aarandee.com would not exist if my friends had not told me to gather all my ideas and thoughts and strive to share them in a business environment, whereby either I or some other entrepreneur could take the idea forward and earn a suitable living from providing the product or service.

I have altered some of the information in other areas of the site, to show that I have developed a more structured outlook to what I wish to achieve. If you find some of the blog posts enthuse you to consider being involved, drop me a line and we can communicate.

After yesterdays ‘appreciation day’, I started to think about those that I need to work with in the future to take projects forward. Therefore the title above in the www.aarandee.com blog post is part of my strategy to do just that.

Enthuse, I have to get folk talking about the projects and wanting to hear more about each one. What exactly the product or service is and what it will do.

Engage, by providing this greater insight, that will lead to them wanting to know more, then they will become engaged in the process of development.

Educate, as people participate they will learn more about each product or service, they will also have some ownership as the contribute to the development, the action of participating is a major step for all concerned.

Empower, the more they know, the more they will understand and as a result will be in a stronger position to share and teach others about the products and services.

I will then be in a position to appreciate them too, for all the work done, by being enthused; engaged; educated and empowered.

One of the projects being worked on within www.aarandee.com is the ’10-TWO Sport Inspiration’ range of jewellery. There are pendants; necklaces; charms; cuff links; earrings; phone charms; zip pulls; key fob/rings; lapel pins.

They are available in 3 qualities – Cast Solid Silver (Assayed & Hallmark stamped); as these are all individually cast and hand finished, they are all unique. Sterling Silver, photo etched and hand finished; Stainless Steel, photo etched and hand finished. Each range can be enhanced by adding either precious stones or semi-precious stones of your choice (if available), making them ‘bespoke’ items.

All products are Designed and Made in Scotland.

The tag line for 10-TWO is ‘if it is to be it is up to me’ – a quote from a golfer prior to his final session at a championship, when asked if he was going to win. These ten two letter words have been used to inspire people for many years, now you can wear an item of jewellery promoting your sport or hobby and inspiring you to be the best you can be.

What a great event with the club Presidents for next year, superb open discussion on communication and using current social media.

So often we assume that the silver surfers are behind the times, when in fact they are setting the trend in a lot of cases, Rotary is one of the worlds largest ‘voluntary community service organisations’ each members and friend of Rotary has a heart as big as a ‘basketball’ when giving to support the lives of others.

There are 1.2M members worldwide, a fascinating statistic, which as an organisation is starting to realise its potential for engaging all sectors of society, young and old – as within each sector there are those who give a ‘service above self’ to help others – at home; in school; in work and in life.

Today we heard some great stories from individual clubs about the stunning range of activities being done, locally; nationally and internationally – all relying on collaboration – within the club working together, or with partner clubs in the same district or in another part of the world.

We heard about sharing skills, so often we ignore the talents of those in clubs or friends who support club activities – well today we had an opportunity to contribute to a Rotary inspired project, which we hope will engage and enthuse all ages and perhaps have them seeking to find out more about how they can make a difference.

Thank you everyone for a tremendous day, thank you for your open frank remarks, thank you for your honest feedback and most of all, thank you for being there and sharing – you made a difference.

As one of the projects under www.aarandee.com Martin and I pitched ‘MyRentals’ to the business mentors at Entrepreneurial Spark in Glasgow, we had hoped to gain a place in the hatchery for 6 months to help us consolidate ‘MyRentals’. As chicklets we would be given guidance and support to build the business.

Imagine our surprise and shock, when after the 3 and a half day bootcamp, which was quite intense, we were accepted in to the program, as nestlings, that is stage two, where we are supported to grow the business over the next 12 months. This was a phenomenal boost to us and the focus to succeed has gone up exponentially as a result.

After the intense bootcamp, I have relocated to the ‘FREE’ office space provided by the ‘entrepreneurial spark’ program and getting back into a daytime work routine has been a rapid upward curve to take in, especially as there were two days that required me to stay later from 5pm to 7pm. Both of these events were so worthwhile, as the information shared was invaluable.

During the first week in the new office I was able to rationalise our ‘MyRentals’ outlook to ‘the business canvas’ being promoted by the ‘entrepreneurial spark’ program. I will focus on doing the same rationalisation with the ‘MyRentals’ financial plans and forecasts.

The bonus which has come through being in the ‘nest’ program has been the interaction with so many other entrepreneurs, all willing to provide support and share hints and tips, to help take our work forward. We have also been encouraged by offers from the others in the program, to help build our site content.

It must be stated that ‘MyRentals’ has also shared information and ideas in return, creating two way traffic of support and encouragement. I look forward to the next few months, which appear to forecast a lot of work and opportunities.

As a single person participating in setting up and running a business, it became obvious in the past few days that some sort of fail-safe system has to be in place to support you should circumstances affect your business LIFE.

Locate, a strong link with either a family member or close friend, who will be able to support you, should ill health impact on your ability to run your business. They have to have an understanding of the structure of the business and have access to key documents and diaries, to ensure that those who require to be notified, can be – with ease.

Involve, these individuals as much as they can possibly commit, to ensure that they are comfortable to take the reins and steer the business, while managing to continue with their own plans and activities. The task should be made as simple and straightforward as possible, thereby allowing them to take charge with minimal disruption to all concerned.

Fever, struck me last week and it was impossible to complete any task I had, it is important that I record sincere thanks to all who called and also apologise to those that I have still to contact – for their patience and understanding, as well as recognising the tremendous work done on my behalf by my very close friends.

Emergency, plans are essential, a simple ‘to do’ list and ‘check sheet’ can be designed and displayed, so that anyone can step in and understand what is needed within a few minutes. Keep it sufficiently simple, clear and concise.

The worst appears to have passed and I don’t think anyone is aware that I was unable to function, that is a testament to my friends and their skill.

Gosh, what a few days it has been, the Rotary Scottish School Athletics event ‘over-ran’, to top it all I caught some sort of bug and had a real bad fever, I hope I am on top of it.

To continue the vowel alliteration in www.aarandee.com we are on the final one, as indicated above:

Understand, the project or service that is being undertaken, ensure that all the initial elements are recorded and that all the related influencing factors are also considered. Some of these will lead you to ‘think out of the box’.

Unexplored, avenues are generally more fruitful as others seem to dismiss these as not being relevant, indeed it is these very elements that tend to bring out a special viewpoint of the product or service, indicating a new market worth considering.

Underestimate, the potential share of the market and the initial sales, this will help provide a more reasonable cost and recommended retail price for the product or service, if it grows faster than estimated, then special deals can be considered more readily for strong customers.

Unique, selling points are key, to bring in your market share – think carefully on these as you may be overstepping the mark if you have not examined or understood the market. The unique aspect could be the country of design or manufacture; of materials or processes used; of enhancements available; or range of product or service. These are only a few thoughts to get you started.

Let us know how you get on and provide feedback, so that you can share your journey too.

What another tremendous day, very busy with Rotary duties as we sponsor the Scottish Schools Indoor Athletics Championships and promote all the great work that Rotary does around the world for young folk.

The blog post in www.aarandee.com will continue to promote support materials for taking ideas to market. To do this we will strive to explore the various avenues open to small businesses and suggest methods to help them achieve their goal.

Observe, all the elements around the business including all the possible factors that can influence design and manufacture. As these are examined the pathways to production will become clear.

Obtain, skilled individuals who can enhance work being done on the products or services, by bringing in these individuals as part of the team to collaborate together, then the services or products will be greatly enhanced.

Opportunity, will appear to provide a route to consider sharing any potential profits, this will add to the contributions made and ensure a first class outcome.

Outstanding, results could be the final aspect that turns the project or service into a stunning business, which will create jobs and generate the economy, locally; nationally and internationally.

By striving to include suitable training and support, the business will be seen as a model to copy. As such, a pioneer leading others to success.