Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Exposing All....An uncomfortable state of Being

Evening all,

Yesterday Jamie Dornan, the man set to play Christian Grey, announced to anyone who was interested that he objected to the intrusion into his private life by the Paparazzi. He is by his own account, just an actor doing a job...he never signed up for the media attention....poor, poor Jamie. Didn't anybody tell him that if one takes on the role of the most infamous bad boy lover of modern times, then the media attention is part of the package....hello mega bucks, staring role...bye, bye, privacy....

I may sound a touch unsympathetic, but I'm not really Jamie...I understand, I really do. I've been writing my blog as an account of my life as a small food producer for almost a year now, and I too like you have revealed all, albeit it in a somewhat different manner. I've written about the highs of big contracts won & lows of business lost, the agony of unsold produce & the ecstasy of walking into a store to be greeted with empty shelves. I've written about fear, hopes, worry & excitement all of which are part of being an entrepreneur.Yes, I have drawn attention to myself & our business, but I am a "heart on my sleeve" kinda girl, so I suspect that I have revealed no more than I would have done, if we met for a coffee & a chat.

Today we launch our crowd funding loan with Linked Finance.The aim is to get investment from private/public to enable us grow our business. It's a very exciting & scary time cos just like Dragons Den it's an all or nothing situation, if we don't reach the target, we get nada. The spirit of crowd funding appeals to me on every level. The basic premise is that whilst the banks will give a saver 2% (max) on ones deposits, the investor lends the money to fund a small business any amount from 50 euros & have it repaid at a rate suggested by the lender which can be up to 9%. Check out the video if you get a chance, it's brilliant

 http://www.linkedfinance.com

 Of course it would be great to do this on the  QT, no publicity, no fan fare, but that ain't the gig. If I want the funding I've got to shout The Delicious Food Co achievements out loud, I've got to draw attention to our business, show what an attractive proposition we are for investment, let people know how good we are, make them want to be part of our story.

So you see Jamie, you & I are just the same, at this time our appeal is our currency & we both need to work that
I for one am going to dig deep & court the attention, try to enjoy this scary ride & I think you need to think about doing that too.

Here's to you & me Jamie..

Shirley














Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Desperately seeking ....Attention...

Evening all,

Oh my, what a  funny old  March it's has been.....thus far

Having shared so much of my  demons, my angst, my sleepless nights with you in the past year I have vowed to be a tad more upbeat this year, but I kid thee not it's not easy to be funny all the time. Yesterday was a hell of a day,which started with me, doing a quasi sit in, at Pearse St Garda station, sobbing in my  white delivery coat, pleading for some attention ....(interested...? yeah... bet you are now.....)

Last week Mr Delicious had as accident on the quays which apparently involved a girl playing dodge ball  with the rush hour traffic.She was hurt, but thankfully is okay, and that is what counts, kinda..cos our Mr Delicious was hurt too. I can honestly say that I have never seen him so badly traumatised. He couldn't
speak that evening & to our astonishment, mumbled in a childlike voice..."do ye think you could manage without me tomorrow"

Now that's a first..

The thing about the accident was that because it involved a person, the Gardai take the van  off to be examined, (PSV'ed) which is fair enough. That evening I spoke to the Garda, who showed immense kindness & great concern for Mr Delicious who he said was very shook at the scene. I explained about the van, very small business, need it for work...etc. "I'll see to it straight away, get it on the system, totally understand....blah, blah blah....."

After a week of unanswered calls to Garda A & B, to find out the status of the incarcerated  van, I headed into the station  myself..Apparently the only people who could help were the two amigoes who were off now for 4 days...come back on Friday...

NO I WON'T !.

To cut a long story short the two amigoes hadn't  processed the van. it wasn't even in the system.....

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...well try a foodie with a long client list but without her refrigerated van for a full week,just  cos the boys in blue  didn't do a simple job....

Let's just say that two hours later  that van had been PSV'ed & back in the hands of Mr Delicious..

Hell hath indeed.......

X

Monday, March 3, 2014

Them's the Breaks ..She gets the Manor, I get the gate lodge

Evening all,

One of the things about breaking up is tying up the loose ends and today I had a meeting with Mr Big's new food interest, the lady charged with complete control of his new in store kitchen ....& his margins....in short the lady who has replaced me.  Despite her now being  his number one gal, we got on rather well. In fact, she's willing to concede slightly & give me a little bit of my shelf space back It's okay, I always knew me & Mr Big were  never going to be permanent, so it's not a bad deal  If this was a marriage split I'd  say, she gets to move into the manor , whilst I can  live in the gate lodge.

I might also be able help her out in other ways, there's work she doesn't want to do, 60kg of salads per week for the new deli bar, I might get that too  if I play my cards right..samples going in on Thursday...that's how helpful I'm willing to be...

Me & Mr Big may be technically over, he may have a new muse, but  it just might take a little longer to wash this little foodie right out of his hair. 

I'll keep ya posted 

Shirley
x


Saturday, March 1, 2014

Thems's the Breaks....We're Over !

Evening All,

One of the things about blogging is keeping the momentum going. I've tried to write a blog every week since I started & have been reasonably successful. When I started I had lofty notions about becoming the next   EL James....hoping that the appetite for erotic fiction of 2012 might be replaced with an appetite for a different kind of fiction...that of my life as a small food producer, my beating heart, legging it around Dublin City filling shelves with my Delicious Food Co produce...

I urged my readers to forget Anastasia....that this was my time....I was the heroine

Somewhere along the way I think I got lost...

Feb has been an interesting month, with some endings of previous blogs playing out. Mr Big of the "Them's the Breaks" blogs from last April has finally, almost one year later got his kitchen up & running and is going to start making all his own salads & sandwiches. We've got on very well me & Mr Big.....he's a nice guy...but  we're over....we'll stay pals & if I'm ever in a bind, I'll call him & true to form he'll either help out or tell me to get lost.....he's very direct my Mr Big, an all or nothing kinda Kerry guy.
over
This creates a hole in the work load which I'm working to fill.I told you before I can't cook, that's Mr Delicious forte, but I can sell, and every business needs a sales person. So with a new found energy I'm applying the key principles of the sales function....hit the numbers & the business will follow.....believe & it will come...


"Hi my name is Shirley & I'm calling you from The Delicious Food Co...I'm just wondering if.........."

 sell, sell, sell.....

Shirley