Best of 2009: Startup

The prompt for today’s post was a difficult one for me. This is what it said:

Startup: What’s a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

Of course, until a couple of weeks ago this would have been an easy post. Café Modo without a doubt! It was full of hope, full of promise and full of excitement for our family. In reality it was the opposite. Not the best of 2009 then.

So I got thinking about what I could blog about. Running through the year in my head. The year my family has had, the year my friends have had. Then, suddenly there it was!

My sister and my nephew moved here in July. The company that my sister works for have been wanting to open a new office in the North. They do alot of work in Liverpool and the company is growing all the time. Ali moved in with mum and dad for a bit and opened that office for the company in Rochdale. Having her and Michael here is wonderful. On Saturday they moved into their new home just down the road. A new start for our family and a new start up for Ali’s company. There is a chance that Anthony will work for them in the new year. That would be fantastic!

This post is part of  Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 blog challenge

Think Positive

Today has been pretty horrible. Anthony’s job is under threat. For regular readers of my blog you will know he was out of work for over 18mths until September. To say this is bad news is an understatement.

A wise friend of mine told me this: “Try to concentrate on what you want rather than what you don’t want!”.

On the same thinking this evening we have talked about the plus sides of being out of work.

• Anthony will be here to help me with Katie when she is being difficult
• We will be able to go out for some nice walks
• We might not have much money at Christmas but have the chance of being together as a family
• I will be able to go to church again on a Sunday as the time as a family won’t be so precious

If Anthony does keep his job he will probably look for alternative employment anyway. It will buy him some time so he wont be out of work. We have thought about offering to take the lease of the premises but that is something that needs very careful consideration. For it to work he would have to start from scratch with new staff.

Today I am thankful for:

• My family who have been so so supportive today. My sister has offered some ad hoc work for Anthony
• My friends who have tried to take my mind off things and offered hugs
• Katie who has been a little star today. When I cried she said “Mummy doin’ cryin’. Love you mummy”
• Robyn who has made me proud by learning all her lines for the school play
• Anthony who is my rock. Together we will face anything that is thrown at us

“…All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well”: Julian of Norwich

Success!

He has done it! The work trial is just “because they can”. Lets face it, if you could get away with employing a manager for 2 weeks and it costing nothing then you would!

My husband is the Manager of a sandwich shop and café. We have the serious chance in the future to sublet the premises and open a bistro. This could happen very soon… Anthony has plans to have a trial run over the Christmas period for work parties etc.

This is a good day, a bloody fantastic day!

A patience update

Well Anthony has been offered a 2 week work trial which basically means we stay on benefits for the time being and work for free!

The employers can then let Anthony prove himself in the job (which is managing a brand new café with the chance of going into business with them in the future) and then decide to offer him the job. It is like a 2 week long job interview!

Again, I have to trust and believe that this is what is right. This is a step in securing our future but it is also securing the café owners future. If they pick the wrong manager it could be disaster for them. Anthony needs to work his socks off and prove that he is the man for the job.

It’s going to be a long 2 weeks!

Patience is a virtue

We are currently waiting on some potentially very exciting job news for Anthony. If he gets offered this job the last 18 months of unemployment will be all worth it. All the failed interviews and applications will have been for a reason. It is a job that doesn’t come along very often. In fact, it’s not just a job. It’s the chance of securing a future!

Each time the phone rings my stomach does a backward flip. It is taking over my head and it is hard to sit still! Patience, however, is a virtue. We need to be patient and we need to believe & trust that things will work out.

It’s just so very hard!