Navigating Business and Personal Challenges: A Reflection on May 2024

As we dive into the last month of the first half of 2024, I want to share my business experiences for May.

Much like the end of April, it seems an endless array of challenges has been thrown my way. We returned to the UK and opened up our property here, where we live in a static caravan on a holiday park since we prefer to be based in The Gambia and only holiday in the UK. I’m still classified as a UK resident and pay taxes here, plus I have a daughter in the UK so do make regular visits. During a routine gas safety check, a leak was discovered in the boiler, indicating an urgent need for replacement, a situation I had not anticipated.

Additionally, it was time to renew my car insurance, and I was shocked to find that the cost had doubled. I’ve also had to clear out my old factory unit, which was no small task. Amid these challenges, my father passed away, making this a particularly tough period, resulting in a slowdown in my businesses. However, I’m not complaining. I try to maintain a positive perspective. I feel fortunate that I am in a position to replace the boiler, many around the world don’t have access to fresh water, let alone hot water for showering.

As for the car, despite the unexpected cost increase, I remind myself that owning a car is a luxury many do not have. Losing my dad has been difficult, and there’s little to be thankful for in his passing, but I am grateful for the over 60 years I had with him and all that he did for me.

There HAVE been moments when negativity crept into my mind, and reflecting on those times, I realize that negative thoughts tend to breed negative outcomes. To combat this, I’ve been using the Self Talk Plus positive self-talk app more frequently and listening to self-hypnosis recordings for positive thinking. Keeping a positive mindset is crucial during tough times.

I usually keep a daily planner that also serves as a diary, planner, and a place to jot down goals down to the daily level. I confess I’ve neglected this practice but vow to restart it this weekend, planning my goals for June. I’ll also resume planning my next day the evening before, using Google Calendar to schedule appointments with myself for specific tasks. It’s essential to get back to this system to boost my efficiency. I’m, afraid if I don’t plan like this distractions happen,

It’s not all been bad. Just yesterday, the car passed its yearly MOT. On the way to the testing station, a warning light indicated that a tyre had low pressure. After stopping to add air, the warning light remained on, but I managed to persuade the tester to let me drive a bit to see if it would reset. I remained positive it would, and fortunately, it did, a hopeful sign of better things to come, or perhaps the power of positive thinking?

On the business front, my Facebook lead advertisement continues to bring in leads for less than $1 a day. May has been the most successful month since January, breaking my previous record with 17 leads in one day on a £5 ($6) budget during the final week of the month. This success underscores the value of having a well-structured ad, it consistently attracts new people, even with minimal input from me.

I also finished cleaning my email list in May. I now have over 1,000 people who have engaged with my emails in the last 30 days, meaning they at least open the emails.

I’ve spent considerable time studying email writing and marketing to improve my skills, an area I need to work on. When visiting people’s homes to sell window blinds, I used to sell to up to 90% of people who have expressed an interest and requested a quote. If only I could replicate that success online, I’d be in a great position. It is however a totally different skill and one which I’ve learned from several sources is best perfected by continually writing emails.

So a habit to start in June is to write one email every day.

Looking ahead, it’s about more of the same but getting back to being more organized. I also plan to scale up my Facebook ads agency by taking on more clients and have an idea for my own monthly subscription product.