Hello my friends.
I was thinking today about people that I know and people I have met since I started this business. When I left work I thought the main thing I would miss would be the cameraderie (spelling?) and general tomfoolery! The fact is that you spend a long time with colleagues and as such, by and large, you have to get on with them. I have made some very good friends at my place of work who I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life.
Now I'm working on my own (well with my dog!) and I thought that it would be a very lonely place to be. However, as with most new businesses, I have been getting out there, raising my profile in my local networks andusing the excellent services of the support mechanisms that are in place (which have been fab btw - you know who you are!!) and I am genuinely surprised at how many lovely people I have met in such a short space of time.
Some of these I would even consider as friends!
I have some very exciting plans for my business which I am hoping to announce within the next couple of months or so and I know that all of the things that I want to put into place would not be possible without the support and friendship from some of the people I have met on this journey (I sound like I should be on a reality TV programme!).
So let's all celebrate our friends and throw them a huge party to tell them we love them. Obviously using Personalised Parties to provide you with a party in a box!
If you want to get on touch with me then please do so. I'm always happy to chat with people. Don't forget that for a lot of the day it's just me and my dog Daisy so I'm always pleased when people stop by and say hi. You can reach me on maxine@personalisedparties.co.uk You never know we might even strike up a friendship!
See you soon people
x
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Thursday, 18 August 2011
When life throws you a curveball
Well hello there my lovelies,It's Thursday night (I think - the school holidays have me totally confused as to what day it is) and my daughter is watching a Smurfs DVD so I thought I would sit down and put my thoughts down on the page.
Well I've finally finished work and despite the fact that I've known for almost a year that my job would go, when the moment actually arrives and you find yourself walking out of work for the last time, it's quite an anticlimax! So now the rest of my life beckons and that means my new business www.personalisedparties.co.uk Since the website was launched in May the response to my product has been phenomenal and I'm really proud of how far I've come in such a short space of time.
The original plan was to enter the kids party market and test the water for a year or so before moving into other directions but I've been approached by so many people wanting so many things that I have launched loads of new products already and no matter where I am I'm constantly thinking of the next (today it was the new Hen Parties in a Box which I found myself thinking about in the frozen pizza aisle in Tesco!).
So far our portfolio now consists of kids parties in a box, girls sleepovers in a box (I love these!), milestone parties (complete with Swag Bags for the guests to take home), wedding activity bags, activity bags for long journeys, pre wedding slumber parties. The new products have not been added to the website yet because I have plans in that department, which I will be revealing very soon. So if you want to find out more just pop me an email on maxine@personalisedparties.co.uk
I know it's early days and I don't want to count my chickens and all that but I feel very positive about the business and life in general.
So my advice is that when life throws you a curveball, grab it and run with it because it might just be a good thing.
Speak soon friends (pop across and say hi on Twitter @maxine_johnston or Personalised Parties on FB - I love to chat and alway happy to discuss your party needs!)
Well I've finally finished work and despite the fact that I've known for almost a year that my job would go, when the moment actually arrives and you find yourself walking out of work for the last time, it's quite an anticlimax! So now the rest of my life beckons and that means my new business www.personalisedparties.co.uk Since the website was launched in May the response to my product has been phenomenal and I'm really proud of how far I've come in such a short space of time.
The original plan was to enter the kids party market and test the water for a year or so before moving into other directions but I've been approached by so many people wanting so many things that I have launched loads of new products already and no matter where I am I'm constantly thinking of the next (today it was the new Hen Parties in a Box which I found myself thinking about in the frozen pizza aisle in Tesco!).
So far our portfolio now consists of kids parties in a box, girls sleepovers in a box (I love these!), milestone parties (complete with Swag Bags for the guests to take home), wedding activity bags, activity bags for long journeys, pre wedding slumber parties. The new products have not been added to the website yet because I have plans in that department, which I will be revealing very soon. So if you want to find out more just pop me an email on maxine@personalisedparties.co.uk
I know it's early days and I don't want to count my chickens and all that but I feel very positive about the business and life in general.
So my advice is that when life throws you a curveball, grab it and run with it because it might just be a good thing.
Speak soon friends (pop across and say hi on Twitter @maxine_johnston or Personalised Parties on FB - I love to chat and alway happy to discuss your party needs!)
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Why It's Important To Celebrate
Why is it important to celebrate? Well it's a chance to join with loved ones and have a jolly good knees up. Whether you're celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, a birth, a life or anything really, there should always be an excuse to join with family and friends, enjoy ourselves and be thankful for the things we've got. There's far too many things in life that can get you down (especially at the moment) but if we sit back and reflect, as somebody far more eloquent than I am put it, there are lots of "reasons to be cheerful".
So here I am 3 days left at work and looking out into what the future holds for me and my little girl. The business is taking off far quicker than I ever would have hoped for (for which I am cheerful) and I can genuinely say I am loving every minute of getting to know potential customers, suppliers, networks.
I am currently running a competition to win 10 free party bags. All that entrants need to do is email me with their favourite party game and tomorrow I will randomly pick a winner (by the way you can enter by emailing me - just go to www.personalisedparties.co.uk and click on the 'get in touch' page - it would again make me cheerful if you did this!). I have been completely taken aback by the volume of entrants and some of the brilliant party games that have been put forward.
There are lots of reasons to be cheerful and lots of reasons to celebrate. In fact we don't need to have a reason - lets just all be cheerful and celebrate that fact that we are!!!
See you all very soon
The Ever Cheerful (well occasionally grumpy!) Maxine
So here I am 3 days left at work and looking out into what the future holds for me and my little girl. The business is taking off far quicker than I ever would have hoped for (for which I am cheerful) and I can genuinely say I am loving every minute of getting to know potential customers, suppliers, networks.
I am currently running a competition to win 10 free party bags. All that entrants need to do is email me with their favourite party game and tomorrow I will randomly pick a winner (by the way you can enter by emailing me - just go to www.personalisedparties.co.uk and click on the 'get in touch' page - it would again make me cheerful if you did this!). I have been completely taken aback by the volume of entrants and some of the brilliant party games that have been put forward.
There are lots of reasons to be cheerful and lots of reasons to celebrate. In fact we don't need to have a reason - lets just all be cheerful and celebrate that fact that we are!!!
See you all very soon
The Ever Cheerful (well occasionally grumpy!) Maxine
Friday, 5 August 2011
New beginnings and having "The Fear"
Hello my lovelies,
I have one week left before I get made redundant and have established my own business providing parties in a box that get delivered to your door. Having worked at the same place for many years I was very much enjoying a comfort zone. I knew the job, I knew the people and, probably more importantly if I'm honest, they knew me. But now I've got "The Fear". That is, a sense of the unknown that stretches before me and that I am the maker of my own destiny (or something like that anyway!) and this fills me with complete dread.
Starting my own business has been quite a learning curve but I can honestly say I've enjoyed every minute. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when things have annoyed me or something has happened that didn't quite go to plan but knowing that ultimately you are creating your own path is really quite uplifting.
My website launched in May www.personalisedparties.co.uk and over the course of the last 6 weeks things have really started to happen. Having sampled life self employed (albeit for just a short time) I can honestly say it is the hardest work I have ever done. I rarely get to bed before 12 because I'm packing party boxes or filling activity bags or doing paperwork but I absolutely LOVE IT. There's something that feels very good about doing it for yourself.
Don't get me wrong people, deciding to take the redundancy at work was not an easy decision (especially because I have a small mouth to feed) and I still worry about the fact that I won't have that reliable cheque every month but not once have I ever thought I was making the wrong decision.
So c'mon people let's all fill our lives with "The Fear". However failing that or you don't want to, don't forget about our fabulous parties and then we can all celebrate the fear together!!
See you soon
Maxine
I have one week left before I get made redundant and have established my own business providing parties in a box that get delivered to your door. Having worked at the same place for many years I was very much enjoying a comfort zone. I knew the job, I knew the people and, probably more importantly if I'm honest, they knew me. But now I've got "The Fear". That is, a sense of the unknown that stretches before me and that I am the maker of my own destiny (or something like that anyway!) and this fills me with complete dread.
Starting my own business has been quite a learning curve but I can honestly say I've enjoyed every minute. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when things have annoyed me or something has happened that didn't quite go to plan but knowing that ultimately you are creating your own path is really quite uplifting.
My website launched in May www.personalisedparties.co.uk and over the course of the last 6 weeks things have really started to happen. Having sampled life self employed (albeit for just a short time) I can honestly say it is the hardest work I have ever done. I rarely get to bed before 12 because I'm packing party boxes or filling activity bags or doing paperwork but I absolutely LOVE IT. There's something that feels very good about doing it for yourself.
Don't get me wrong people, deciding to take the redundancy at work was not an easy decision (especially because I have a small mouth to feed) and I still worry about the fact that I won't have that reliable cheque every month but not once have I ever thought I was making the wrong decision.
So c'mon people let's all fill our lives with "The Fear". However failing that or you don't want to, don't forget about our fabulous parties and then we can all celebrate the fear together!!
See you soon
Maxine
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