Would life be better on a boat?

April 10, 2013

Narrowboat Wife Blogging, Clients , , , , , 3 Comments

BoatshedI’m delighted to introduce my newest client: Boatshed – the international boat and yacht brokers. I’ve begun contributing weekly articles to their blog and am assisting in the development of their Facebook page. You may already know I write for Boatshed Essex and Boatshed Grand Union.  This new client is the Boatshed head office and the idea is to provide interesting content for anyone interested in boating. Whether you already have a boat or dream of becoming a broker the blog covers everything from galley recipes to money saving tips.

Boatshed is one of the worlds largest yacht brokerage groups with services offered across an international network of over 50 offices.

Visit the Boatshed blog to read things like a day in the life of a yacht broker, a book review of a family boating the French canals, how Boatshed registered their 500,000th customer and the night a carbon monoxide alarm saved my life.

If you like anything related to the boating or sailing lifestyle join us on our Facebook page. Their tag-line is “Life’s better on a boat!” Do you agree?

Boaters respond to Trust consultation

March 8, 2013

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Towpath Talk MarchHere’s a taster of a recent article I wrote for Towpath Talk. 

Boaters Respond to CRT Moorings Consultation

On 24th January the Canal and River Trust invited canal users in the south to comment on some proposed changes to the maximum stay times at popular visitor mooring sites. The consultation ended on 1st March and the Trust hope to begin implementing changes in April.

The new board of Trustees and the Trust Council are seeking to improve the chance of boaters being able to find a visitor mooring space. The proposal refers to 22 specific locations on the Oxford Canal and the Grand Union Canal.

Online canal discussion forums and Facebook groups have been busy with debate, particularly from those living aboard without a home mooring. They raise a variety of concerns, such as how much trade might be lost to popular canal side pubs in Berkhamsted.

Read the full story on page 2 of the March issue of Towpath Talk

Waterways World: The Timber Tradition

February 26, 2013

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WW Jem Bates“There is something about boats that have history, individuality and have been worked by the hands of different people over many decades.”

Last year I visited Bates Boatyard traditional sideslip and dry dock facilities and spoke to Jem Bates about the unique services his company provides. It was a fascinating interview and I could have written a book about him and his work, but I managed to condense it into this little article for Waterways World. Grab yourself the March issue for only £3.75 and find out why people are attracted to wooden boats, how can you restore a vessel that is over 100 years old, and is Jem the only person doing this work on the inland waterways?

Do you love traditional boats? Would you take on a wooden restoration project?

Why did you start a business?

February 5, 2013

Narrowboat Wife Blogging, Books to Read, Writing , , , , , 2 Comments

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I seem to read a lot about the importance of finding ‘me time’ as a mumpreneur. The advice is often to schedule in some time to do something you enjoy; read a book, have a bath, or see a friend. The reality is very different. Sadly my default ‘quality time’ is often flopping exhausted in front of the telly with a glass of wine.

Ask yourself what are the important things in your life. Why did you decide to start a business? What were your goals?

I’ve just started reading a great book called I don’t have time to write by Nadine Hill. Quite early on in the book an interesting exercise caught my attention. She suggests playing a little game with yourself called, ‘Why is that important?’ Examine your answers to see if what you think you want is really what you actually want. This helps you to focus on your dreams. Start with:

‘I want to start a business’ (or write a book, create a new product or whatever your goal is.)

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to be my own boss.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to work flexible hours.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to do all the school runs and be there for my children.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to make the most of the time they are young.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because they will always remember their childhood and whether I was there for them or not.’

I started the game thinking about starting a business but it turned out my true desires revolved around being there for my children. This exercise helps you to discover your true aspirations so that you can prioritise how you invest your time. You can then look at your weekly schedule and your business plan while bearing in mind your true goal: the real reason you started your business.

Why did you start yours?

Move your business forward with business blogging and social media marketing.

Be yourself – everyone else is taken

January 2, 2013

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ace-vie-logoMy clients at Ace Inspire, Erica and Antonia, have created a new blog called Ace Vie. It’s about  health and beauty, life changes, big decisions, writing, money and relationships.

It’s right up my street so I’ve written a couple of guest posts for them.

In Abundance Manifesto  I wrote about my friend Star Khechara who wrote a manifesto that gives herself written permission to succeed in business.

In Alternative Lifestyles – life on a boat Erica Douglas interviewed me about my narrowboat home.

The tag line on Ace Vie ‘- everyone else is taken’ is an excellent quote from the gorgeously quotable Oscar Wilde.

If you’d like to contribute check out their submission guidelines here on Ace Vie.

2012 in review

January 1, 2013

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. The visitors to this blog are a very select and special few people so the stats are not that ground breaking; but I am proud to have kept my business blog ticking over this year, and proud that I’ve built my little biz up into something that keeps me very busy and very happy. If you don’t already know; this blog is the sensible side-kick to my super-hero main blog: The Real Life of a Narrowboat Wife.

Happy New Year, and thanks for visiting my little business blog.

Peggy

x

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 4 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

How to manifest a desk

December 18, 2012

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My friend Star is a blogger, business woman and author and is inspirational to me because she runs a successful online business from home. She likes to use visualisation to focus on her goals and wrote herself an Abundance Manifesto to focus her mind on building her business income.

So when she wanted a cute little writing desk for her home office she simply asked the universe. A couple of days later she was able to pick up a gorgeous shabby chic desk with a drawer. She found it in a second hand shop at a bargain price. I loved it, and said if she ever moves to Spain (as she keeps threatening to do) I will buy it from her. She laughed.

“I don’t think I will ever sell my little desk. I love it!”

“I s’pose I’ll have to manifest my own desk then,” I joked. I’ve been wanting a little work-desk in my bedroom for months.

The next day I was in town and I saw this cute little shabby chic desk with drawers at a very affordable price. It was just on a stall in the street market.

I love it when things happen at the right time in the right place but I also think that it’s great to focus on what you need in your business, whether you use images or words for your goal setting. From a vision board to a business plan, what tools do you use to focus on your business targets?

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