The things you do. Or I do, in this case.

I wrote a few months ago about how I was leaving our businesses behind to work on my own income stream. I know you’ve seen evidence of it and I’m sorry if it can be annoying at times. I’m doing my best to make it manageable and I’m very grateful to people who reliably comment even on the additional, not so much me, posts (special shout out to Sarah there!)

Let’s just say, if I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t.

I’ve had a really interesting couple of months working for Imajo, a doll supplier I love and have worked with as part of PlayMerrily Toys over the years. Lots of people have been introduced to the Bonikka Dolls over the last few months and I think they’ve gone down well 😉 And there there is the surprising turn of events that has found me learning about plumbing as I rebuild the Contract Equipment site and help them build and online presence. To say that has jumped me out of my comfort zone is to put it mildly since it is mostly about building local trade and enticing a set of people who do not yet habitually use social media to do so, but we’ve made a start.

And another interesting job has turned out to be doing some work for the unit building that our own businesses are inside. We’ve been there since 2008 although it is generally somewhere people just use to start up and then move on out. For us it has been a lifesaver and I’m now interviewing and promoting some of the small businesses that I work along side. I suspect, because I’m finding it incredibly interesting, that you’ll be hearing more about them here and on MerrilyMe. If you are interested, you can read about them on the Peterborough Workspace Facebook page. That is still the other thing I’m doing, trying to move ‘myself’ across there – but it is taking some time and I’m still working out what and why things go where. I’m liking having that alternative space though.

On a Monday I go into one of our local senior schools to help them as a business advisor to their Young Enterprise group. They’ve come up with a fabulous product, some of which are being posted out to friendly purchasing bloggers this week and I’m really proud of them. They’ve already picked up some prizes and it is great to have an opportunity to give something back to young entrepreneurs.

So all that is running along side having Josie at home one day a week and getting ready for a change in Bene’s nursery days once the Xmas rush is over. And then there is the gymnastics club, where as well as doing committee work I’m also now coaching (and utterly loving it!). Typically of course, finding time for the social media of our own business is proving tricky, as is remembering to say hello to each other but PlayMerrily Toys and CraftMerrily are having a good selling period. I do believe that we are benefiting from the choices people are making to shop locally and independently rather from money sucking faceless corporations and I both applaud that and thank people for it. I’ve barely done any shopping yet, but I think I’m going to achieve going Amazon free in all but Kindle and a couple of vouchers I need to get.

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. Both our businesses and the ones I now help to promote would much appreciate your trade.

And so, this year it is proving harder to do the creative blogging and making and doing that I love, even without 5 kids and a non sleeping toddler to deal with. But my little agency has made a start and I’m proud of it. I’m properly contributing to my family money pot again and I feel good for that, even though it comes at a cost.

You might wonder about the name and the (probably temporary!) mouse. Well, at the front of our set of units, we had a little tiny storeroom which I moved myself and a desk into. Within a week, it being Autumn and at the front next to the big lorry doors, a tiny fieldmouse moved in with me.

I screamed and climbed on a chair.

Max failed to remove it.

We learned to live together for a few days and then he moved out. (The mouse, not Max).

But in the meantime, my little office became known as the mouse hole and it stuck. Since I do the whole job, I thought I would keep it.