VOMblog by Claire Lydia Ray

Qype: Bean & Brush Family Art Cafe in Sale

2012-01-27T08:35:00.001-08:00

Sale - Eating & Drinking - Cafes & Coffee Shops - Coffee Shops

We had a great day on Monday letting our creative juices flow with encouragement from our host.

The choice of colours was good and molds on which to paint and we have some ideas to make our own collections.

In addition, there is a lovely choice of food and coffees to refresh yourself after a good afternoon of crafting.

Fantastic opportunity, and what a great idea, we loved it ... !!!!

Check out my review of Bean & Brush Family Art Cafe - I am VOMnet-UK - on Qype

Qype: Claire Colours in MANCHESTER

2011-07-08T04:29:00.001-07:00

MANCHESTER - Health & Beauty - Shopping - Fashion - Fashion Consultants - Shopping - Online Shopping

Claire Colours offers an online service whereby you can have an image consultation, get a personalised seasonal palette to fit in your bag for your next shopping trip, a wardrobe planner and body shape style tricks.

Colourful manicures to finish your look can be provided from the Laserina Clinic in Sale from which Claire Colours can be found on Monday's and Wednesday's.

Check out my review of Claire Colours - I am VOMnet-UK - on Qype

Qype: Lydia Knits in ECCLES

2011-07-08T04:06:00.001-07:00

ECCLES - Shopping - Arts & Crafts - Shopping - Fashion - Knitwear

I have been knitting since I was a child and in recent years have stretched my talents into designing patterns and working with beautiful yarns.

As the creator of Lydia Knits, I have met some interesting people and joined a global community of handknitting enthusiasts.

I would recommend this small business, because of its attention to detail, keeps in step with current trends and just loves to knit.

Check out my review of Lydia Knits - I am VOMnet-UK - on Qype

Qype: Elena Burrows, Counsellor at the Laserina Clinic in Manchester

2011-06-10T11:59:00.001-07:00

Manchester - Health & Beauty - Health - Counselling

I loved reading Elena's story and have spent some time with her, she is kind and very intuitive about situations and I think this is because her life experience and training has developed an understanding spirit and an ability to look beyond the obvious. I really think she will do well as a counsellor.

Check out my review of Elena Burrows, Counsellor at the Laserina Clinic - I am VOMnet-UK - on Qype

Qype: Floors-4u in Manchester

2011-01-18T11:07:00.001-08:00

Manchester

I am looking for a piece of flooring for my kitchen. Floors-4u are friendly and helpful and what I feel is an excellent service is that they will measure up for free and help you choose your new carpet in the comfort of your own home.

Domestic clients, like myself, even get the chance to pay for their flooring weekly and on a 0% finance, and I have never heard of that before. They have a small stock to takeaway but promise a next day delivery from their suppliers.

I live locally, but they cover all of Manchester and supply to businesses also. So I am going to be booking my free measure and quote shortly.

Check out my review of Floors-4u - I am VOMnet-UK - on Qype

Qype: eccles market hall in Manchester

2010-12-10T09:10:00.001-08:00

Manchester - Shopping - Markets

I have been visiting Eccles Market Hall, locally known as Eccles Old Indoor Market, regularly for the last 6 months. The stall holders are friendly and willing to help you and offer a wide range of fabulous fancy goods, local produce, fashion and accessories, crafts and computer games, and tools and furnishings for your home and motor car, and a large area dedicated to all types of carpeting, laminates and wood flooring. It also has a cafe which supplies a simple but quite extensive menu.

I have bought free range chicken from the small butcher and knitting wools, cakes and of course had a coffee in the cafe.

There is so much to discover here, and the market has been looking after the community for over 50 years, that must say something.

Check out my review of eccles market hall - I am VOMnet-UK - on Qype

LONG-TERM PERSONAL GOALS

2010-07-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

I am tidying out the office over the next few days, and just had to blog this. Today, I found an index book in which I had started to log my personal goals and where I would like to be in 5 years time.

Date

2005

Position

Writer / publisher : well yes you could say that I do a little bit of blogging and in 2006 / 7 started writing my historical novel, with one chapter to finish, called "Flandrina's Conquest". Also if you stay tuned you will see my serialisation of another long lost treasure here on VOMblog called "Steak and Oyster Pie". I also know how to publish my own work without having to pay for it and going through the process of trying to find a publisher even if they would accept my style of writing and inflict the world with it. So on the whole we are getting there ...

Income

£20,000 per annum : sorry but I would love at least 10% of that at the moment, it would certainly solve a few financial questions.

Leisure

Visits to holiday home : yeh, but mainly someone else's.

Family

More time with the grandchildren : well they are growing up now and have their own friends.

Community

Give more back : now this I can wholeheartedly say I am doing, as I have organised a class locally for Eastern European neighbours to teach them my own language for free and learn theirs, along with some voluntary work, and an appearance as a Calendar Girl for the Bramhall Village Calendar in aid of St Ann's Hospice.

Possessions

Second home abroad for family and friends : well what do you think?

Relationships

Improved marriage : I think, even though we still don't always see eye to eye on all subjects, we are friends and have learned to give each other space, and I think that is crucial to a successful marriage.

So be careful for what you wish. It doesn't always turn out the way you would like it too, but you know along the way you learn new skills, discover the real you, and even if you do not reach your goals, you always achieve something. It is not a crushing blow to know that I did not achieve all my goals, but I am proud of the ones that I have, and yes, there is always the next 5 years isn't there! I suppose the lesson in all this, is never give up!

CLAIRE LYDIA RAY

T/as VOMnet-UK

Author of VOMblog
Tel: 0844 884 2867

SUCCESS IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR ...

2010-05-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

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Have you ever had to 'start over' when you needed all your emotional and mental strength to push a project through to its end and it seems that everything is doing its best to impede your progress?

Then "Fight for this Love" and 'when it gets rough you have got to fight some more' because being successful is 'worth fighting for'.

Ring any bells? Well I am going to help you 'fight for what is right' and see it through with 10 ways to test an idea before starting to build your project and how to develop it when you take the plunge. "Simples!"

COUNT THE COST FIRST

It actually doesn't cost much to research and develop an idea as there are a lot of FREE facilities out there to help you, for instance:

1. Get the honest view of a friend

2. Involve a potential customer in your development work

3. Run a Twitter / Facebook campaign to ascertain response

4. Write an editorial using free press release websites

5. Talk to a marketing colleague for ideas to pitch your project

6. Create a market research form for your website

7. Join a group or facilitate one in places such as LinkedIn or Ecademy

8. Find out who else is promoting a similar idea and learn from it

9. Google it and research it

10. Just do it but limit your risk

DEVELOPMENT

Use a spreadsheet to calculate how much a project is going to cost.
Investigate your market and build a database of contacts.
Research funding and how much you need to sell to break even.
Keep it simple.
Just know that you are not in this alone.

Most of all enjoy the process and when things get rough, work harder to achieve your goal.

*An idea based on "The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists" by Robert Ashton.

CLAIRE LYDIA RAY

T/as VOMnet-UK
Author of VOMblog
Tel: 0844 884 2867

A PERSONAL CLIMB TO SUCCESS ...

2009-12-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

As per the Terms and Conditions of You Tube click here to view online...

This is a note to say thank you to all my business colleagues, friends and family who have helped me over the past couple of years. There are no words to express how much I have appreciated your support. It has been an uphill struggle having to overcome serious health problems, which brings along with it grief of a kind, and still perform a service. You have all made me a strong person, whatever your contribution to this 'climb' to create a successful business.

In life there will always be mountains to climb, obstacles to overcome, and this is what makes you stronger, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. We all have to take responsibility for our actions and the decisions we make whether they are good or bad. I believe though that you must go with your gut feeling, have faith in your own ability, and be determined to hold a positive outlook whatever 'is on the other side'. Sometimes we will lose, but isn't that what makes us who we really are? Isn't it a privelege to be someone who knows the dizzy heights of joy and the depths of sorrow and disappointment? To feel is to experience. What is life and love without experience?

I know that 2010 will bring more challenges, but I wish you abundance and every success in the coming year and hopefully we will endure it all together as we have until now.

CLAIRE LYDIA RAY
T/as VOMnet-UK
Author of VOMblog
Tel: 0844 884 2867

TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH...

2009-12-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I hate most of all are lies, and people lying to me.

""Those who learn that they have been lied to,” says the book Lying—Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, “are wary of new overtures. And they look back on their past beliefs and actions in the new light of the discovered lies.” After deception has been exposed, a relationship that once flourished with open communication and trust may be stifled by suspicion and doubt."

Unwittingly giving incorrect information, is not the same as telling a lie. It does however show that care needs to be taken before speaking.

Stop and think about what you are doing, even before uttering what some people call a "white lie", whatever colour it is, it is still a LIE!

The results of Lies can be devastating:

Mistrust between marital partners and family members

Damaging to a person's reputation

Increases operating costs and leading to more expensive products

Robs governments of taxes to provide public services

Ruins promising careers and tarnishes reputations

Divests investors of their life savings

So how can you improve the potential of your business, when you cannot be sure whether someone is going to lie to you and possibly cause damage to your livelihood? No matter what, ALWAYS be the one to work honestly and truthfully, making every effort not to fall into a trap of lying, even in small matters, to protect yourself or others against potential harm or loss of business. Why?

We owe it to ourselves and to the global community to encourage strong trusting relationships within business. Some have lied so much that they have begun to believe what they are saying. For them it will be hard to change old habits but think of the positive results of turning around the devastating effects of dishonesty.

For some of us, we are related to our business partners, so this means that honesty is no less mandatory in such a relationship. In my daily working life, I have seen the results of dishonesty in business, and family relationships, and it can be ugly casting suspicion and doubt on a once open and trusting relationship.

It would be easy to think that the liars are the ones that succeed when the truth sayers do not! Yes, maybe so! However, I do believe that even when the worst happens, that you can turn a bad situation into a successful experience by continuing to tell the truth. Lying causes damage not only to individuals but to the community as a whole and more so to the person telling them. They do not win, really! Think of the energy and resourcefulness they use to maintain a false story, including the sleepless nights. Even when they believe they are right, a person has to continue to announce their honesty to keep their own belief systems alive.

So to heal the community, each one doing their best to speak truth can begin the process of covering over the sins of the past.

The results of Truth :

Strong, abiding family relationships

A good reputation and feelings of self worth

Reasonably priced products and cheaper trading costs

Fully operating well funded public services

Respected institutions promoting promising careers

Investment schemes with proper returns

Now tell me, which would you rather have?

"The man of faithful acts will get many blessings, but he that is hastening to gain riches will not remain innocent." - Proverbs 28:20

CLAIRE LYDIA RAY
T/as VOMnet-UK
Author of VOMblog