Another Year...

Where do I begin… so much to say too little time. I will begin where I think I left off.

In December I saw divine favour and the glory of God made manifest. God continues to embarrass me with his mercy and grace.

When the work did not come to me I had to find it. In November I decided to organise a training program for 2 reasons; it is something I can do and secondly revenue assurance for December. I figured that training programs required direct marketing efforts because of the fee charged thus I would need to market to heads of departments and MDs to approve spending on employees. That would take a while to market and a lot of effort persuading senior executives to invest in their employees. I had planned to do a seminar in the course of the year so I changed the initial plan a little to accommodate that plan. I figured that an inexpensive seminar targeted at individuals would be cheaper and quicker to market and conclude. If I set a price that people didn’t have to think too much about, keep my costs low, I might be able to achieve my goal and earn a little income. What started as an idea on paper became a harsh reality the minute I sent out the first set of emails announcing the seminar.

The experience was one I will always remember. Emotionally draining yet highly exhilarating. Anxiety and tears of joy. I jumped for joy when I received email notifications of the first 2 payments then I cried because I was overwhelmed that I could send out emails on a seminar planned from my bedroom and people would PAY to attend. It was an honour. The days and weeks after were amazing and encouraging, the numbers went up steadily, and even my dad would call everyday for an update on the numbers. The final number was 75 participants; I can only give God all the praise and glory because what happened was not fathomable in my mind’s eye. That it was a success is still a dream and that the goodwill and support from special individuals I still find amazing. Help comes in mysterious forms from unexpected and surprising people and circumstances. I experienced kindness and support from unlikely folk. Again I say thank you, you know who you are.


Then I went on holiday. The coldest and whitest Christmas I have ever experienced. I travelled with my dad, it just so happened that our dates coincided. When we got to London it was freezing, we both had a few days in London before we were off to Maryland to spend Christmas. It was an unusual experience, as this was the first time in a very long while that 6 of the 7 members of my immediate family would spend Christmas together. It is a Christmas I will remember for many reasons but most especially that it was freezing and that there were 3 children present and I can’t remember spending that much time with small children so it was something new. Maryland was colder and windier and the snow was deep, approximately 16 inches deep before we arrived on Christmas Eve. Once it was over it was back to the UK and then back to the grind stone.

January, another interesting experience. It was time to organise the actual training program that the seminar ought to have publicised. As expected because of the price of the program it was not going to be one that individuals would be likely to sponsor themselves, hence the marketing efforts this time were different and required targeted and direct efforts. Something I am not used to doing. It was so much easier just sending out bulk messages from my laptop, this required relationship management and much more. I had to follow up mails with phone calls but still where help came from was the most unusual places. In the end we had 7 bookings, 2 of which were from the seminar. We had 1 last minute cancellation which was really more of a carry over to the next available month. So I am pleased to say I have 1 booking for the February class.

It’s not been easy, revenue's unpredictable because things don’t always happen as planned. Costs are more predictable although based on the environment there are unforeseen circumstances but so far they have not been as volatile as revenue.

Everyday is still exciting. I never know who’s going to call and for what purpose. Leads come in from different sources, like I said before, the most unlikely places. So I am expectant.

February is my birth month, a year older and wiser. 2009 was good because it ended well. I found love of a far more lasting kind. So for 2010 I am full of grand expectations. Jesus remains Lord and I am truly, deeply and madly happy. And I am looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.