Granny duty called

So it was off to London for a couple of days as Granny duty called. My daughter has twins of 3 and a baby and my son has 2 teenage step daughters. She has a houseful and my other son and brother and sister in law also joined us yesterday.

Have laptop - will travel and you will find me updating blogs and and working on client fan pages  whenever I can. The Red Funnel crossing suits me better than the Wightlink as they have wifi!!! What else would I do in that hour crossing the water - well pre wifi I  used to find myself networking or making phone calls. How times change.

Now don't get me wrong - I do have times when I am not working -  like taking the children to the park with their new bikes! Quite exhausting for all the accompanying grown ups!

Baby Jennifer is clearly going to be a blog writer! She loves trying to help granny on the laptop!

I enjoyed my two days but it was quite exhausting - Home now for a rest? No not really - I've just set up a new network group (Wightbuzz )for the small businesses on the Isle of Wight.   No rest for the wicked!!  The first meeting is next week and there are more events and publicity to deal with but first - methinks I ought to go and get some lunch - yes it is gone four in the afternoon but I was very busy!!!

Home Alone

Yesterday was a day for being home alone. Now don't get me wrong I like mine own company! but I also connected with friends via facebook and phone. I am very lucky to have made so many lovely friends this year. Where would we all be without facebook? I spent the time learning about blogger and managed to over come a few of the frustrations that presented themselves. Next thing is Youtube - steep learning curve but I am determined to master all these things, especially as I now work on social media for clients now!

Need to be very organised as am running lots of blogs and lots of facebook pages and tweeting well too!
It has to be done.

Why not take a peek at some what I have been up to .

My personal facebook page
My Wikaniko facebook fan page
My Barefoot Book Fan page
My Utility Warehouse Fan page

Wightbuzz Blog
Wightbuzz fanpage

Giant potential


and that is only part of what I do!!!! Busy busy busy but that is just the way I love it! Now I have to get on with some events I am planning in January and beyond. On the first Saturday of every month (except in January its on the second Saturday (8th) I am organising coffee and shop at Ryde Methodist Church. I will have room for 10 stalls every month to be set up while the church coffee morning is on. Hoping to showcase a lot of the Island businesses over the year. I am also arranging a fayre for people running home based businesses. Again they can show case their businesses and invite others to join their teams. With so many redundancies on the Island, people will be looking for other ways of earning. I already have Wikaniko, Utility Warehouse, Barefoot books, Pampered Chef , Phoenix cards booked so plenty of room for lots more. Would love to have Linen at Home, Avon, Virgin Vie etc. Get in touch if you want to know more. Alex Tana, life coach will also be there to help people started up businesses.
This event will be at the Riverside centre in Newport on 15th January so book your stalls now or reserve the date and come and chat about running your own home based business

I have many more plans for 2011 so watch this space..........

Another great day with friends

I was going to work at home yesterday - decluttering etc but friends Maggie and Kelvin Currie invited me over and I thought that would be much more fun - That was until my van decided not to play the game!!!!! Wasn't I pleased I had just sorted out the previously lapsed breakdown cover. An hour later and with a little TLC the van decided to co-operate and I was on my merry way all the way to Freshwater (that's an Island joke!!!!)

It was a very enjoyable day - super food, super company and even the benefit of some good advice from Maggie and Kelvin - after all Maggie is a life coach and has a lot of great advice to give as does Kelvin. I read her book,  What you believe creates your reality when I was on  my holiday. It is an excellent, easy read and well worth the money. Maggie's new courses start soon at Creedence Training  Academy

Maggie and Kelvin also introduced me to Rummikub which we played for hours but I didn't win!!!!!! 

I had a very enjoyable day - much more fun than the decluttering I had planned but guess what?   I have to do that today! 

My van played the game last night so didn't need a jumpstart thank goodness.

It is great to have so many lovely friends. I am very priviledged to have so many friends who look out for me.


Today I need to do the decluttering and some work! Need to start 2011 with a clear working environment!!  Have a great day everyone.

What a lovely day

I spent Christmas with some super friends. It was truly a day for good company, good food and much fun and merriment. My grandchildren's excited chatter on the phone filled my heart with such a warm glow as 3 year old N told me about the pretend makeup Santa had brought her and twin sister C delighted in telling me about the pink bikes they both got and baby J was just content with the wrapping paper.

Having watched the younger members of the family I was with, on the wii - just dance - I was challenged by an older member! I always love to rise to the challenge and guess what ! I not only won but I have lived to tell the tale. Lots of laughter - you just had to be there. Now my daughter knows what I got up to, she is getting the "just dance" for my impending visit!!!! I have a sneaking suspicion she will record it and put it on Youtube!!!!

have a great boxing day x

Jesus is the reason for the Season

Christingle service yesterday, midnight communion last night and a wonderful family service this morning at Ryde Methodist Church in Garfield Road - reminds me what the true meaning of Christmas is.

Christmas Eve

What a perfect start to Christmas eve! I had a long lie in - only broken by the sound of a text coming in from a special friend.  Shortly after that one of my sons rang and it was great to hear his cheerful voice. A few minutes later - the phone rang again  and there was my daughter and her three year old twins - such total excitement in their voices as they told me all that was going on in their world! I have just spoken to my other son and one of his step children (hope to catch up with the other one soon) What more could a granny/mummy want? Family and friends are so important to me and are the best presents ever.

Wednesday is a Rotary day!

It's always an early start on Wednesday, as I am a member of Vectis Sunrise Rotary Club.
7.30 is the time for us to gather at the Riverside club for breakfast. The Rotary motto is service above self and although our main purpose is to raise funds and do good works, we have a lot of fun and lots of friendships are forged through Rotary.

Having enjoyed the camaraderie of breakfast with like minded people it was time to go home for some decluttering!!!! Lot's in fact - it just had to be done. It was a little manic in the house with people coming and going. Mum was going away for Christmas so her bags were all being taken out as workmen were coming in to insulate the loft. A friend arrived for lunch. Mum's cleaner arrived - much coming and going . My brother and sister in law arrived back to collect my brothers car which he left here when he took mum to the ferry! It was something like a Whithall farce especially since in our house you can go round and round! People coming in one door and out another. You actually had to be here. Anyway - all is peaceful now as I am working in my home office home alone!! With Vectis Radio for company I am organising my blogs as they have been sadly neglected. I am trying to get them into some sort of order and am about to set up the Wightbuzz blog ready for Wightbuzz members to tell us what they have on offer.

Networking, networking, networking

As I have always considered networking to be key for my work from home businesses , I have been practising for many years and now have become a networking queen. Also, because I was forced to rebuild my business (through no fault of my own) I have also become a facebook , twitter  and Giant Potential queen! I found that using social media (Lyn Blackledge bookladyofryde Lyn Blackledge) was a wonderful way of building my business for FREE as I had been financially devastated when my previous company moved the goalposts. As a result, my skills have been recognised and with a push from two key people in my life, not only have I started running other peoples fan pages but I have also set up a network - Wightbuzz for the small businesses on the Isle of Wight. If I can do it anyone can. I took  a negative situation and turned it round. Wightbuzz is really taking off now and I only launched on 1st December. It is something that just evolved from seeing the power of networking. My aim is to help the small businesses on the Island survive in these difficult times. I am still in the Early Bird launch period but I ma very encouraged by the response. The Island has already started buzzing. I seem to have become a queen bee now creating hives of activity round the Island. I will report back to let you know how it is progressing. Meanwhile, if you want your business to succeed - follow the three foot rule - anyone who comes within three foot of you - engage them in conversation. I do - in the car park, in the supermarket queue - basically anywhere where there are people!! I have recruited some pretty good people to my multiple businesses seen at Lyn's Biz from car parks! Go on - give it a try. Leave me a comment and tell me some of your best networking successes.

It's celebration time!

Wow what a year it has been!! As I sit looking across the snowy garden and across the Solent to Portsmouth, I am reflecting on the last year. In Summer 2009, the company that I had been loyal to for 7 years moved the goalposts which spelt financial disaster for me! I had spent 7 years building and training a team & suddenly the company I represented decided they didn't want to pay me unless I made the team work harder. I was not prepared to compromise my credibility and so I left! I  had told those team members, who were mostly mums working home based businesses round their children they could work as and when they liked! Suddenly I was expected to change the rules!!! No way! I had ethics and so I and my ethics went to seek pastures new. Well there I was on the bottom rung of the ladder and with ethics but no income! I became a distributor for Utility Warehouse and continue to be so. (Lyn's Utility Biz)

 I love helping people save money (even more crucial in these current difficult times) and although long term the financial outlook is very good (given time and effort)- it is not a get rich quick scheme but it is building. 

As people knew me as a book lady and as I loved selling children's books, I decided to become an ambassador for Barefoot Books. (Lyn's Barefoot Books) I love the ethos of the company, the books are beautiful and so easy to sell!

Then a year ago today, and this is the cause of today's celebration,  I was browsing Giant Potential , a social networking site for ladies in business, created by entrepreneur Roberta Jerram. My eyes lit on a post from Paula Pomeroy. She was (and still is) a distributor with Wikaniko (pronounced we can eco!) I left her a message and within and hour she had called me! I loved what she told me - I could build a business helping people to take small green steps to save the Earth without costing the Earth. I would get paid for it!!! Amazing I thought! I am sure this is something that other people would like and so I scraped together the starter fee and bought myself a business in a box. That was my Christmas present to me!!! I couldn't really afford it but decided I couldn't afford NOT to!

 It was a very wise decision. I have now grown quite a team for Lyn's Green Biz and there is continual interest in my business both from ptoential distributors and customers. Paula and I have become the best of friends. Paula and I attended the Mumpreneurs awards in September where I was presented with the Best Saleswoman award 2010 (having entered myself when someone criticised me for running multiple businesses.  I have also recently become a Phoenix trader  and all businesses are combined as  Lyn's Biz) 

 I was delighted that Paula and Roberta were with me when I won. Roberta was responsible for connecting us via Giant Potential and Paula has helped me to build the business I have achieved in this my first year. This is only the beginning!!!! Wikaniko is still a relatively new company but it too has Giant Potential. Karen and Trevor (who set up Wikaniko) are great people with great vision and great ethics. They have set the company up as a co-operative and they have to work as distributors like us to achieve their income. The profits are shared out. I am so proud to be part of this as indeed I am for all my current businesses. In celebration of my first Wikaniko birthday, I am running a competition. All current subscribers to my newsletter will be entered as will any new newsletter subscribers who sign up between now and Christmas Eve. Anyone who recommends another person who then signs up to the newsletter will get an extra ticket in the draw! The prize will be either a business starter box (In other words I will pay for you to join Wikaniko as a distributor) or you may choose the equivalent price (£48) in product from the Wikaniko range. To enter you will need to visit my Wikaniko fan page. If you are recommending others to the site then leave me a message . I have had an excellent year. Now its onwards and upwards!! 

So go ahead and enter my competition. That's right just sign up to my Wikaniko newsletter. The competition closes at midnight on Christmas Eve.  Tell all your friends to subscribe (don't forget to message me  and you will get an entry for every one. Have fun and I hope Santa brings you lots of lovely goodies!

Lyn's Biz

Helping another good cause

I just loving helping others to benefit while I run my business. This morning I set up a display of beautiful children's books as I so often do after church. I have some regular customers who browse while having their coffee. No hassle round the shops as they can shop in a hassle free environment and they get the benefit of an ex teachers advice. Then I donate a percentage of the takings to the church funds. I help other good causes and even have some virtual events set up on Lyn's Barefoot Book site
If you would like a virtual event set up for your good cause then just let me know. Hope you had a superb Sunday like I did.

http://www.fabafterfifty.com/Fab-Women/New-business-new-location-and-new-book-after-50!.aspx

Great to see this article about my great friend Maggie!
http://www.fabafterfifty.com/Fab-Women/New-business-new-location-and-new-book-after-50!.aspx

Helping good causes.

As a Rotarian, I love helping good causes and as an ex teacher, I love to get good books into children's hands. Therefore it makes good sense to combine the two. I am delighted that we can run virtual book events on our Barefoot websites and I have several running at Lyn's Barefoot Book Biz I am delighted to have just added one to help swell the "Help Gracie MAy funds". Gracie May is a little girl living on the Isle of Wight who suffers from cerebal palsy. Her mother, Many Fuller , raised money to get her to America for treatment and she has just started walking BUT she needs to return to America for further treatment so a lot more funds need to be raised.
Please let others know so we can raise LOTS of funds.

Another project I am working on is "Pictures tell stories" set up by fellow Rotarian, Maire Reeves, an ex teacher like me.

She is very concerned that children of illiterate parents will miss out on sharing beautiful books with their children and so she has set up a project to address this.

There is no funding and so we are working together. I am a business woman on the Isle of Wight and network with so many of the other small businesses. They are wonderful people and many of them have very kindly donated a book for the project. I am using the discounts to increase the donations and all the kind sponsors will be listed on my Lyn's Barefoot Book Fan Page under the Book donors tab. They will also be listed on Maire's Picture tell stories fan page when she has made it live. Maire ran a competition in the summer for people to find the Pictures Tell stories logo and is picture here with the winner

The people of the Isle of Wight have been very generous with their donations so far. Natalie King of Pampered Chef has donated the Giant Turnip and Maggie Currie 

has sponsored Driving my Tractor and Animal Boogie

Martin Simpson of the Dinsoaur Farm is sponsoring I dreamt I was a dinosaur and Thesaurus Rex.









Alex Tana has also made a donation and so has Linda Tilson - HR consultant. She chose My Granny's gone to Market
The list is growing and I will post more books and sponsors later.
Paula Pomeroy has donated a bag of Barefoot books.

These parents and children are going to be so lucky to have these beautiful books so generously donated!
And the list goes on! More donations coming in! If anyonw else would like to donate then please get in touch - if we can get together a bigger order very soon then we can benefit from an offer that allows us to claim an extra £60 of books FREE for our good cause.

Why not come and join my Barefoot book team?

I am really enjoying my Barefoot Book journey. I have been an ambassador for Barefoot for about 10 months and am having a fantastic time promoting these wonderful books. I love being amongst others in the Barefoot community and have met some of them at the conference earlier this year. I was fortunate enough to meet Tessa and Nancy who run the company an also some of the staff who help to run it. We were really spoilt at the conference and came away very inspired, complete with our Barefoot goodie bags containing some wonderful items including the newly published "Ruby's school walk"

about Ruby conquering her fears on her first day at school. We were incredibly fortunate to listen to Miriam Latimer who illustrated Kathryn White's story about Ruby! You can hear them too

I am looking for more people who would love to work from home with hours to suit, so please contact me if you know of anyone .(there will be a gift for anyone who refers a new recruit) New ambassadors can get started straight away for FREE and can also have their own website and all the support they want. Not only can they get a free business but if they join now they could also win an ipad!

Let me show you how!

There are so many opportunities and places to present opportunities and as we approach the best selling time of the year - what have you got to lose?

Would you like to be in the draw to win £50 of free Barefoot books of your choice? Then share this with your friends. Then email me at lyn@lynsbiz.co.uk to tell me where you have shared this blog (put shared blog post as the email subject ) and I will enter you in the draw! Winner will be announced in Early October. Good luck!

Lyn's Biz

http://twitter.com/bookladyofryde

http://www.facebook.com/#!/lynsbookbiz.co.uk

http://giantpotential.ning.com/profile/LynBlackledge157

Lyn's Barefoot Books Facebook page

Blogger: Fairy Photo Portraits - Post a Comment

Blogger: Fairy Photo Portraits - Post a Comment

HONESTY OPENS THE DOOR TO SUCCESS

The first challenge of the day

It got to 9.50 before the first challenge of the day!!!! You would think putting £2.30 into a parking metre was easy enough. Well you would wouldn't you? Hey ho what a silly assumption! Instead of a ticket for 2 hours parking it issued me with a 90p ticket for 30 mins! At least there is a phone number on the metre to ring - then second challenge of day - mobile phone hasn't charged properly overnight - will it have enough juice to report said parking metre problem! Lyn is in luck. Having reported said problem Lyn is off on her merry way. On returning to deposit purchases - I noticed a civil law enforcement gentleman at the machine! Engaging him in conversation -as I do (following the 3 foot rule as ever!) I find that the machine was issuing the first persons ticket to the second person so the person who came after me would have had my ticket and if they had only paid 90p it would have been their lucky day! What prompt service - strange then that the said enforcement officer didn't want to tell me his name even though he was a happy chappy and solved the problem. I told him I wanted to praise him to the world - well thank you mr 71 of Isle of Wight council enforcement brigade. The problem had now been sorted (well for now anyway) - I say that as it wasn't long ago I was running round in the rain trying to find a metre that would take my money!!!! seems the metres are far from trouble free. Never mind - I didn't get a parking fine which was my main worry. Of course I used to have a resident parking pass for the car parks but when they went up from £50 to I think £200 it was a bit of a no no!! Wonder why the car parks are often empty!

That problem solved - I then went on to solve David's problem (one of my wikki team!) he had run out of wikki washing up liquid. Lyn saves the day as I had some in the van so David drove by and the said item was passed in quickly through the window - no excuses now David for not doing the dishes (but at least there will be no naughty chemicals going down the drain!!!) and hands that do dishes will be as soft as your face (for those of us old enough to remember!)

Lyn's Biz

Barefoot Books Help your child learn to love reading

Barefoot Books Help your child learn to love reading

Time to get blogging again!

It has been quite sometime since I blogged on this site. Life has been quite manic with running several home businesses. My fathers ill health meant it was much more difficult to keep up with the blogging. It was far more important to make my father's last days much more comfortable and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. He finally slipped away from us on 15th June very quietly having put his house in order. He was 89 and was a fantastic husband/father/grandfather/great-grandfather/friend/local preacher/ Rotarian . So many people loved him that when he passed away the tributes started pouring in - so many cards, letters, texts, facebook messages etc - It was so uplifting for us as a family to know our dad had been such a popular man . We planned a service of thanksgiving for his wonderful life. On my mum's and nieces birthday - 1st July and what a celebration it was! The church was packed with people from home and abroad and from every part of his life. The memories of that day will live for a very long time. He had always told me it had to be bright clothes and very cheerful hymns/songs and so it was.

Today I was in church for the first time since the service of thanksgiving (and none of the immediate family were there today) and was a little apprehensive but then realised I was surrounded by the wider church family and as it is such a friendly congregation at Ryde Methodist church I needn't have worried.

As I write, I sit looking out of my home office and have a beautiful view across the Solent to Portsmouth. The sun is shining and there are lots of boats out . - It is such a pretty picture -

It is now time to plan for the future. I have to decide what to do next. With several home businesses to promote (all fairly new!) there is much work to be done. As my sons teach me more about the world of facebook and twitter - I am making many more connections on the world wide web and catching up with many past friends.

I look forward to making many more connections -

Lyns Barefoot Books

Lyns Green Biz

Lyns Utility Biz

Lyns Book Biz

Networking, networking, networking

What a busy week! Not that most of them aren't but this week I have been particularly busy as so many networking opportunities have presented themselves and I have grabbed each opportunity with both hands! I have networked at breakfast, at coffee, at lunch and at supper! I have connected with so many other small businesses this week and now see a brilliant chance to link businesses with other businesses on the Island. Some of the people I have met this week are working towards a greener Island and this has been superb . I myself have become the first Wikaniko distributor on the Isle of Wight and am helping people to take small steps to save the earth without costing the earth. I have also found others who might want to join my team. Together, with the many other "green" business owners that I have met this week I am sure we CAN make a difference. Someone even suggested that we may even make it the Isle of GREEN!!! We can at least start to make a difference

My quote for today is:-

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Motivation and inspiration

Life is so full of up and downs and so many difficult situations present themselves. Over the years I have leaned to deal with life's challenges by looking for the good in every situataion rather than the bad. When life begins to get me down, I merely think of people who are far worse off than me and usually that lifts my mood. I like to think my glass is half full rather than half empty. I have found many motivational and inspirational people via the world wide web and I love to follow them passing on any of their hints and tips. I have found many quotes and inspirational sayings.

Over the coming days and months I would like to share these in the hope that others might find help from them.

Today's quote is "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...

it's about learning to dance in the rain!"
-Vivian Greene

Have a great day and see you soon.

Granny Lyn is loving life.

Although life has been very tough at times - I always try to look on the bright side. It is better to look forward than backwards and I always like to consider my glass half full.

I am blessed with 3 wonderful grown up children and twin grandaughters aged two and a half. They are shortly to be joined by a baby sister -and Granny duty calls. I have a background of 30 years teaching (21 running my own nursery school) so it is great fun to get out the play dough, glitter and sticking or to drink endless cups of tea from the play kitchen or read endless stories (just as well that one of my home based businesses is Lyn's Book Biz.co.uk)

I am not far off drawing my pension so lots of friends and aquaintances found it hilarious when I moved back in with my octoganarian parents. I hasten to add that it is as a carer. So when I am not on granny duty - I find myself at the other end of the scale helping caring for my parents.

On Wednesday morning I am usually up and out early as I am a member of the Vectis Sunrise Rotary club and breakfast starts at 7.30. I am a recent past president of the club and enjoy the friends I have mader through the club. The motto of Rotary, a world wide organisation is service above self. We are volunteers and get involved with as many things as our busy lives will allow. We run the Youth Speaks competition for school children and then Chef of the Year for children and adults. We undertake fundraising for lots of good causes but we have a lot of fun while we do. We also raise funds for projects aboard include shelter boxes which are sent abroad in times of disaster. We are always looking for new members both in our club and others nationally and globally.

I am a member of my local methodist church and recently joined the drama group - that was a first!!! The Christmas entertainment was very well received! There were various sketches etc and I am delighted to say that the directors had such faith in me that they wouldn't let me give up on Joyce Grenfell's Nursery School nativity play. I was really struggling - but I couldn't let them down and managed to pull it off - I even surprised myself!!!!

I have been known as a book lady for about 17 years. Firstly, I was a distributor for Dorling Kindersley Books running this alongside my teaching. This came to an abrupt halt when Peter Kindersley sold the company and the new owners decided to dispense with the direct selling arm. Having enjoyed this way of working - I tried various other educational sales opportunities and eventually ran a 7 year Usborne book business. Last year, I left Usborne for pastures new and decided it was best not to have all my eggs in one basket and so I branched out. I decided to take on a business whereby I can help people and businesses to save money on their essential bills and so Lyn's Utility Biz was born. I am building up a history of satisfied customers and am pleased that I have been able to help and shall continue to seek out people who want to save (or earn). As if this wasn't enough - I decided to take on a third home based business. Just before Christmas I became a distributor for Wikaniko (pronounced we-can-eco) and Lyn's Green Biz came into being. I am not a great eco - warrior but I do believe I can play my part in helping others to become a little greener but I was keen to make sure that the products were not going to cost them more. I was delighted to find Wikaniko and find that I can help people save money as they take steps to go greener.

As I say, life has been tough but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I am looking forward to finding what the future has in store. I am looking forward to the arrival of my new grandaughter and granny duty. The new businesses are all beginning to build. So what does 2010 hold in store for Granny Lyn? I have my plans but only time will tell! Whatever happens I intend to have fun in whatever I do or wherever life takes me. When I am having a bad day - I just think of all those worse off than me and suddenly my lot doesn't seem so bad.