New Year, clean break
Well....that was 2018. The new year began at 3.30 am on the 1st of January, with my alarm clock buzzing in order to get me out of my pit and onto the road at 4am with Tina and the kids. I'd booked a 6 day trip to London as part of Tina's 50th birthday celebrations, and I decided that driving down during the early hours was the best method of beating the nightmare traffic. It worked, and the start of my year was a great (although occasionally stressful) success story, with lots of stuff seen and done.
The forthcoming year looks like it's going to be the biggest challenge of my photographic career to date, largely due to this ridiculous "Brexit" rubbish that has entirely polarised the nation, and created an economic environment devoid of any optimism. Uncertainty about job security, and personal circumstances has resulted in a complete halt in property transactions, thus leaving me high and dry until some sort of decision is made. The politicians pontificate, squabble, and look after their own interests as usual, while the population that elected them lies prostrate & vulnerable, awaiting whatever fate is deemed necessary to maintain our subservience and their innate wealth. The whole thing is so clear, but as usual, the voting public is unable or unwilling to see through the layers of lies and deceit to the truth below. "Getting rid of the brown man" is the only objective that matters to many, and I'm afraid that the blinkers will remain fitted for many years to come.
I've had downturns in business in the past of course, but nothing quite on this scale. My response is always to cut expenditure, sell anything non-essential, and look for opportunities to secure work at the top-end of the scale. If I'm landed with only 3 jobs a week, I'd prefer those jobs to pay £300 each, rather than £50 like the old-days. With this in mind, I've started a bit of a marketing reach-out to potential customers in my area who are in the higher echelons of property marketing.
Something i really didn't need at the moment was a stupid accident in the house which resulted in a broken wrist.
My daughter's hoverboard required re-calibration, which I duly attended to successfully. The following 3 foot journey to the dining room table wasn't as successful - resulting in me being flung arse over tit onto my outstretched left arm, and a subsequent visit to A&E for an X-Ray etc. A fracture of the Distal Radius was discovered, and now I have to wear a splint for 6 weeks or so. People with jobs would now be sat in front of the TV with a remote control and a couple of weeks of full sick pay, but unfortunately my lot is a triple dose of expired prescription painkillers and back to work. I'm due to drive about 150 miles in a couple of hours, so I've dosed up and will grit my teeth. there's another X-Ray scheduled for Thursday, and I'm hoping that they'll prescribe some more medication to get me through the next month.
So what else does 2019 have in store? I've got some new clients on board who are really lovely to work with, and I'm sure that once some sort of Brexit decisions have been made, there'll be a huge upsurge in transaction volumes. I'd like to end the year with a good surplus of funds, zero personal debt, and maybe have successfully transferred my geographic focus a bit further North than it's current concentration which happens to involve a two-hour return drive.
Better get started eh?
