Countless job applications and 7 rejections later.. I HAVE A JOB!

Applying for  jobs was becoming a hobby, the end result of actually getting a job started to become less important. The first thing i would do and the last thing at night was to apply or search for a jobs.  The majority of interviews and the job i got was found on Gumtree. A lot if people don't give it a chance but i would recommend it. Also Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter each found me a potential job to apply for.
 We all have experienced in our lifetime the sheer prep there is in applying for job. From filling out an application form, writing a covering letter, researching the company, preparing for the interview. It's a lot of work in itself. After the seventh rejection i was certainly feeling down and out. I stopped telling people i had interviews for places, as my superstition kicked in.


With only £20 left of my overdraft, the heavens opened and the sun shone and i finally heard those words. 'We would like to offer you the job'. Relief, disbelief and happiness was the first things i felt all rolled up into one. My insomnia sleeping pattern suddenly had a rude awaking to the early bedtime routines. It replaced a 40 hours week with weekends to appreciate.

Where I work....

I would at a printing company, based in Ancoats who's main focus are B2B. My role within the company comes under the title of  Customer Service Representative. Don't underestimate the job title, there is a lot more than meets the eye. I will revised this blog in due course with some of my duties.


Everyone is really friendly and helpful, the whole team are professional and produce quality products for their clients. I've only been there a week today so I can't tell you much at the moment but i will definitely will keep you informed. I feel i will be happy there for a number of years and excited of where i could go within the company.



Some advice i can give to people who are looking for a job is just to keep going. I'm not saying i didn't have weeks of having meltdowns, doubting my abilities or secluding myself from the world. When i snapped out of the mode it was full steam ahead for the next couple of weeks. It's been two years since leaving university and i finally got my foot in the door. I can safely say that my experience on my cv, not having to many gaps it in really helped. Be proactive.  Did i mention i cant wait for pay day!!

An online store to sell your beauties: BigCartel

Well from my previous post you all know that I want to set up a small business. I am still in the research parts.  One of the questions were how am i going to be selling the products? Online of course is the best option. But what platform. The obvious choices that are well known are websites like Esty and Ebay.  I wanted something smaller, more intimate and having a feeling of creativity. Plus commission charges and costings of uploading where a big turn off from the websites i've mentioned.


Then i came across Bigcartel, as soon as I seen the homepage i knew this was a real contender. Flicking through all the different categories i got the impression that these the sellers were mainly self employed creatives' that  were selling their passion.

They're sellers from all around the world and every store has their own personality. Don't get me wrong Bigcartel isn't like Esty where the possibilities are endless in terms of plugins, translating languages, converting currencies.  However I like it. It;s a work in progress, just like the majority of small businesses that use this platform. It has everything you need to set up a very nice online store and sell your trinkets!

All the stores are split up into categories relating to what their store is selling. There's a store directory toolbar where u can search for stores as long as you know the name. I wish the went a step further and extended their search options by adding country and maybe price range. It can be laborious just clicking through numerous stores.

What also appealed to me was the pricing structure.  These are very very reasonable the best i've seen so far. If you were doing a soft launch for example you could sign up for a free account add a maximum of 5 products, use their theme (look of the website) as they're is only basic customisation, your url would have '.bigcartel.com' at the end.  You could test the waters and get selling just like that. 

As you start paying to use the service, you get more freedom with your store. From the just the platinum package you get everything that the titanium package does except from the  amount of products you are allowed to upload.  You are now able to track your inventory, use your own url, full customisation on your website, enable discount codes and most of all receive statics on the performance of your store.  You can use their own analytical software or use a plugin and use something like Google analytics.

All the stores are very unique, even the ones that use bigcatels' themes and just change font,colour back ground.

  The photography, is almost a part of the product very creative, professional and gives the sense of credibility to the store.

Everours.co.uk is the first online store that i purchased products from and now i'm hooked. I've lost a friend because of this, my bank balance. Although i think my bank balance should be grateful as the accessories i buy jazzes up an old shirt  making it look ive bought a new top.










All in all i love bigcartel I love the individuality of each store. I love to see so many passionate entrepreneurs becoming business owners and selling their craft.


I can't wait to upload and become live!

I need YOUR participation!! : Questionnaire

Hope all is well.  As you well know from the previous blog i posted, i am on the market research stage of my idea.  This is where you come in. A lot people i know an have idea, set it up as a business and can't understand why it wasn't successful.  No research, no feedback, no trial run. Just because you have an idea doesn't mean the masses will agree with you. 

Think of it like the evolution of man. There are stages, planning and all that jazz.

I would greatly appreciate you answering this questionnaire:

If you are a small business please answer this.

If you are an individual please answer this.

Thank you in advance! 

Entrepreneurial spirit is in full force: Cheeky little project up my sleeve

Being an entrepreneur you are constantly coming up with ideas and solutions for a problems, sometimes they even creep up in you're sleeping! As Richard Branson wrote in one of his many blog post right down every single idea that creeps into your brain! Before he said this of course i was writing them down, I even have a notebook and pen in my drawer next to my bed. You never know when that eureka moment will come to you. Having an idea is the easy bit, it's all the graft in-between before you produce your service/product which is the hardest thing.  I'm working with a graphic designer who is a naturally talented when it comes to designing on the computer, she plans to go to university this year to get fully 'qualified'. I mention the word research and the response was 'can you do the research bit and i'll just design' Not the answer i was looking for and certainly not a way to run or start a business research before design is key. In our case even more so because one of us believes our target audience would be B2C and the other B2B (sme's).

Here a snippet of the idea:beautifully produced artwork that is displayed on different substrates that is appreciated.



So i am building questionnaires at the moment which i would really appreciate you guys answering when done. Also if anyone is interesting in hearing more and wanting to get involved (pref living in manchester) dont hesitate to get in contact!



Watch this space for more info!

The Outcome: Interviews

A couple of blogs ago i mentioned going on my first interview of 2013. Well a couple days after that I had another one. This blog i will talk about the outcome of them and a brief detail of the job role I applied for.


Social Media Assistant- I applied for a part time position at a charity run sports gym based in Manchester. The job description was extensive, so you can imagine my face when i started hyperventilating when I scrolled down and realised there was two pages. I decided to print it out and highlight the key information and tailor my cover letting to the requirement! (Always save a copy you never know you might be able to use it again or the ingenious might come back to quickly).
Within 2 days of applying i received a phone call to be brought in for an interview. Preparation commenced I learned the ins and outs of the company, everything they offered to their customers, how many other clubs they had, what their vision and mission was. Everything i could possibly learn so i would be prepared for the interview. As i was googling whereabouts the gym was it dawned on me this distance it was. This was the OUTSKIRTS of manchester, like motorway. Luckily my friend to offered to take me, i could of got public transport, leave 2 hours before and get two buses. Even in the car it was 30 mins. The interview went well i was really nervous, which usually i am ok in a interview enviroment. When it was my turn to ask questions, the pay was minimum wage, it was only 12 hours a week and the social media aspect of the business was none exist even though the company was over 10 years old and this particular site was open a couple months. When I asked their objectives for the next 12 months for the gym site it wasn't really in-line with their companys mission. To cut the long story short I didn't get the job, on reflection i'm glad financial the money would of just covered my travel to get there.



Digital Trainee Support - The dreaded moment when you realise they don't want your cv, they don't want a cover letter it's an application form!! It's safe to say it took me two days with breaks in between to complete. It was another charity based company and this one was actually based in the city centre. This interview came in three parts. 1. 45 digital test (creating a poster in a program that  I personally never used, never heard of and don't know anyone who uses it)  2. 5/10 minute presentation on a product, project or blog i was involved in. 3. Questions from the interviewers.

They were very impressed on the project i mentioned, they were astonished how much i accomplished, how i got a team together, free publicity and artwork done without costing a thing. After the interview i felt very confident and started spending the monthly wage on getting rid of debts and starting living life again.  Two days later i received the phonecall...... my heart dropped. I didn't get the job. I haven't been upset about not getting a before but her reasons were like a dagger to my heart and a character assaisnation. I took it out on the people closest to me or who came  i into contact with that day. In a nutshell she said ' You were really good, however we feel you're not much of a team player and more of an independent in a good way that probably doesn't make sense. The girl we chose we could just see she would really just fit in perfectly (in a very enthusiastic voice). Don't give up your ambition and drive is great. It was very close you came second though. '
 I pride myself on being a team player and for that not to come across was really upsetting. Telling me I came second and mentioning how great the other candidate was didn't make me feel any better. I kind of got what she was trying to say but how she was put it across wasn't the correct way to do it.


A couple of days after i was in a state of ' cant be bothered to try and get into the field I want to work in, i'm just going to apply for normal jobs' mode. You cant help but imagine yourself in a company you're applied for because of all the background research you've do on a company before you even apply. It takes a lot out of you.  I've got back on the saddle, however with only £70 in my account dream job vs survival job is now kicking in.

ARS: Insight on how to make your presentation more interactive & gain feedback

Another Tuesday is upon which means another piece of technology I have to spiel about. Today it's the very clever iml connector device. 

Twitter is a beautiful thing and this is how i found out this device by a retweet from a person I follow. Rachel Klien  posted an article about this genius bit of technology. The article was about how to get the most feedback out of an event you put on. This would work well for a person who teaches, if you were putting on a debate or doing workshops.

Know who said what in real time! This is great when looking back at your invite you can pinpoint peoples reaction to the exact statement who you're presenting.  The user can also take a picture of themselves, so there's a face to the comments which is great for networking afterwards.


'IML's smartcards provide a simple and efficient way to identify and track individual's responses. 100% accurate and secure, smartcards are personal ID cards that automatically link audience members to their keypad activity.

Individuals simply insert their smartcard into the IML Connector and the system will automatically identify their responses.'








The iml connector has a wireless microphone. No more running around to pass around the microphones to the audience. All the do when chosen to speak ( I dont know how that works but I'm guessing theres a button the people press giving their interest to speak and then the speakers choses a name, which in turn the person uses their individual connector to speak into)

There is a texting option, where the audience can participant in the conversation or ask a questions. Everyone's responses would be projected onto a screen an the front of the stage.





Now this feature is where the majority of the crucial feedback comes from. I love this feature sooooo much!

"including multiple choice, value, rating, prioritisation, text response, XY matrix and resolution voting. Receive greater audience participation and honesty through anonymity or track individuals' responses via smartcards - perfect for auditing, training and certification."


Like I said before this piece of kit doesn't have to be for an event this could be used anywhere!







They've thought of everything! You can even have your logo or sponsors information imbedded onto the device, just to give it that special touch!

Other feature including recording the seminar and listening to the seminar in a different language. This is a nifty piece of kit and I don't doubt it pretty expensive for one! I don't whether there is an option to buy as i've been searching and nothing! Maybe they only offer on a rent basis?  I hope there is an option that yo can print out transcripts of your event and the polling results.

All in all if i was a millionaire with my own company or teaching workshop I would grabs these!

Hope you enjoyed this Tech Tuesday!

#Hashtag Twitter Chats

I've been on twitter for almost 3 years and has never followed and be involved in a 'hash tag twitter chat' until now!  A couple weeks ago I followed chat, it was all about how to market your business around holiday events to drive sales. i.e valentines day, christmas, easter. The main focus was around Valentines day as it was approaching. It was sponsored by Amazon and had people who were experts in marketing, business owners, graduates, students and ordinary folk from around the world answering 9 questions that were put to the participants.  If you want to look back at the chat the hash tag used was '#smbvalentine'

Anita Campbell,  a Forbes Top Influential Woman for Entrepreneurs had some great answers as did the other participants; so much i downloaded the whole transcript. Whether I set up my own business, a consultant to a start up or working in a agency these tips and tricks would going to come in handy. 


As I didn't major in marketing, it has been a learning curve and the chat pointed out some things i would of never thought about, for instance a marketing calendar. Here's one i found displayed as an infographic. Note that when you make a generic calendar and list all the holidays doesn't mean you should use them all some may not compliment your business. Another tip I learnt, you don't have to be so obvious marketing ideas around Valentines day doing a ' love your customer event'  'Wrap your purchase with love', realtors using Valentine’s Day theme “Fall in love again … with a new home.”

. If you were using location based strategy you could collaborate with a restaurant or flowers shop ' Spend over £30 and get 20% off at Fiona's flower shop' 

I never knew that Facebook allows targeting based on relationship status for laser-focused ads. All in all i really enjoyed the chat and best of all it was free and I didn't have to leave my house or change out of my pajamas! 

This got me thinking also if you were a small business getting feedback from customers and potential customers would be key. I have in the past have started a blog on projects, however as a really small team it was very time consuming but hold a tweet chat every month on different fun topics that would entice them and in turn get you get feedback you can analyse is a win win. Plus you would be creating a community through social media.


As this blog is called Get a life I would love to host a twitter chat on a hot topics so we can all bounce and learn of each other.