Life has been really hectic over the last month or so. Business has been slow this year due to the rise in the cost of living for everyone. It is not just our industry (retail craft) but everywhere. Every business owner you talk to says the same thing and I have noticed some have started closing down. This is a very sad part of small business ownership. We went into business 4 years ago this month knowing that it would not be an easy journey but I have to say that it is far harder than either of us imagined! In case you are wondering who the 'we' is, it is myself and my best friend Kate. We had both been in retail management for many years and both managed successful stores. So we figured that we knew it all! We look back and shake our heads at our own arrogance. Probably the toughest part but also the most rewarding aspect has been the growth in our friendship. It is hard work working with your best friend some days, especially when you think in completely different ways. We had been best friends for 12 years when we went into partnership but over the last four years I have gotten to know her pretty much completely - really it is like a marriage! Running the business together has taught me the value of our friendship, the strength of it and that Kate will always be there for me and love me even on my bad days! It has also taught me about discipline & perserverance. I read once that small business ownership is a true test of character. When you run a small business and things don't go to plan you start to question yourself & your abilities. You don't always do this when you work for someone else.

Now, back to why we are so busy! We sat down about a month or so ago and started to plan ways to bring more customers into the shop. We mapped out a full month of events and also started planning the next two months as well. We are also focusing advertising dollars on the customers we already have. All of this is working and so we are really busy with it all. The interesting thing is that even though I am a little physically tired, I am not mentally tired. But, being so busy at work has led me to lean back into old habits of relying on convenience food (bad me!). I ran out of frozen meals which were keeping us going. It shows me how much I need to keep that up. So, I have most of this weekend off and I will be cooking and freezing and back to planning meals which I have not done over the last week.