It feels like all I have been doing recently is working. I am in a strange, secondary world of waking up, working, eating and going to bed.

There are still elements of excitement and interest which are usually provided by books, seeing friends, etc, but none of these are stories. I am bumbling along without 'experiences' and this is part of adult life.

I realise that we have to, at some point, fall into a state of work, eat, rest and 'live for the weekend' but it's so dull!

Nothing has had a massive effect, nothing has drawn great emotion. Until now.

Today I was informed that my friends mother had passed away. I knew the mother quite well and have always been happy to see her and talk openly with her.

She has been ill for a while and was now meant to be on the road to recovery. Unfortunately she became very ill during the night and passed away this morning. This has really stumped me and drawn emotions from me that I forgot existed.

Last night I went out for another friends birthday. I had no clue that these events were unfolding and now, to hear the news and to know there is nothing I can do is destroying.

My numbing process of working and living has had a wall thrown up in front of it and has made me draw on reserved emotions to try and process exactly what is going on.

I feel guilty for carrying on with my everyday, boring routine whilst someone I know and care about has had such hardship.

There is nothing I can do to help, nothing I could have done to help but still, I feel bad.

These things come to us all and we have no control over it. The lack of control makes it unfair and has left me and some of my friends in limbo. Unable to do anything, unable to have offered support and now we have to comes to terms with the fact that, with no ability to control or help we have basically sat on the sideline and watched it all.

I am very sorry and very sad.

The Mother was an excellent person. Very kind and fair, very beautiful throughout. She had hardship in the past and always seemed to take everything in her stride with an incredibly level head.

I admired her and respected her..respected what she had become and the opinion she carried alongside her. I wish I could have done more for her. Maybe I could have. There is always the chance that caring is interfering and I think the last thing the family needed was interfering.

With no way to show my respect and no way to express my sorrow. I find myself writing a blog, an ode to my friend, an ode to everyone who has experienced this.

Some people gain notoriety through acts of kindness, saving starving Africans, building churches, jumping into a fire to save a child.

These people deserve medals, and get them.

But what about the person I am writing about?

Some people are inspirational, some people are beautiful, some people are fair and some people are clever. But not many are all of these. I am lucky to have met a person like this and will not forget I did.

The gentlest of touches can leave the biggest impressions

I just wish she had been told, I wish she had got her medal

A fortunate place

I am very privileged to have been brought up in the City of Chichester, West Sussex.

It has everything I could ever need, want or dream of having.

It is located on the South Coast of England and is very close to a wonderful, sandy beach and a small harbour which is all within an Area of outstanding natural beauty. The Town has most of the shops I need and if I need a larger shopping Capital, it is a short drive to Portsmouth or Brighton.

London is an hour if hussle bussle is required.

To the North of the City are acres and acres of farmland and many lovely rural settings with the South Downs protecting us from Northerly (ish) winds.

Chichester is amazingly picturesque and has many beautiful, cobbled streets and Roman Architecture alongside Georgian Town houses.

So, this is presumably, why I am privileged to live here?

NO, There's more!

Chichester is full of brilliant types of people. This is why I consider myself lucky.

Last Friday the Goodwood Estate held an event consisting of horse racing and then a party after with Mark Ronson performing live DJ sets.

I managed to get a 50% discount on the ticket price due to my job and when I got there, me and a friend drank in the private restaurant's bar before wandering down to the Richmond Enclosure to bet and mingle with many local faces.

Once the races had ended, I mingled for a bit longer and then walked towards the main area where Mark Ronson was due to perform. I bought a couple of drinks from the bar whilst watching the back of Ronson (because his DJ area was behind the bar, facing in the other direction) and then went up to one of the private boxes to watch the performance.

All in all, it was an incredible night.

I know some people may be reading this thinking that I am trying to boast, etc

However, here's the (hopefully) slightly endearing part.

Whilst watching from the top floor, my friend and I started chatting about how lucky we were.

We had met people who had travelled a long way for the night and here we were, enjoying this amazing event which had been put on, right on our doorstep.

The reason I managed to attend the event, drink in the posh bit and watch Ronson from a private box was NOT because I have a massive bank balance which I can throw around. It was purely down to where I live.

Living here has enabled me to meet many people who help me have a better time.

I have been lucky enough to use some incredibly nice cars, eat in nice restaurants and these sorts of things all because of the people I know.

I used to think that most people (who had money) were stuck up and wouldn't want to associate themselves with people who had less than £250,000 in their bank accounts but I have been proven wrong, very wrong.

Some of these people are really, genuinely nice guys (and girls) who are just normal people. They don't care how much money you have! Just don't be a dick and they won't mind! I do know some people who are green with envy and try to talk down everything the richer guys have. If they appear with a new car, these people will just talk about how rubbish it is, etc.

This gets you no where. Nobody agrees, nobody is impressed. The only outcome from it is people don't want to hang around with the negative vibe the individual puts across.

Anyway, this is what I mean. How lucky am I? This is all because of Chichester!

This is my fortunate place.

The way I see Chichester is different to everyone else.

There are many reasons to like Chichester and everyone's reasons are different.

I am so very lucky to be here and to have met the people I have.

If you regularly socialise in Chichester at the weekends, you build a small plethora of contacts who are not only fun to be around but are involved in something you can benefit from. I have worried before that I feel the beneficial role between me and certain, other people is un-even. I cannot offer the same 'perks'...but it's not about that. This is why they are perks. We are primarily hanging out with each other because we like the other person and the little benefits are a by-product of this.

Chichester rarely changes. We have one very small, inadequate nightclub (of sorts) and there is no chance a new one will be allowed to open. The bars are mainly pubs which have been converted and and anything considered garish or cutting edge will almost certainly be denied permission to trade within the Roman Walls. But I couldn't care less. The next few weeks are the City's festivities weeks and I am planning to go to as many as possible.

This is a perfect example of fortunate:

I have wanted to see an Orchestra for a long time but have never done anything about it.

Soon, as part of the festivities, Chichester Cathedral will be playing host to the Philharmonic Orchestra. I was desperate to go and began persuading a friend. However, by the time I got him to finally agree to go, the tickets had sold out (apart from the rubbish ones, which means I wouldnt be able to see!). I was a bit sad but my friend suggested we just sat outside and listened in. This is the plan that has developed since then:

We will jump on the Mk1 and Mk2 Raleigh Choppers we have at our disposal, cycle to a local, cool Cafe which is hosting a jazz/coffee evening. Have a coffee and watch for about an hour, then cycle to the Cathedral and sit on the green outside listening to the Orchestra whilst eating some sort of ready made food, sandwiches, sausage rolls, etc.

Once the Orchestra has finished, we will cycle the long way home alongside the canal and stop for a beer before parking up and calling it a day.

This may not be your idea of fun but this to me, is incredible.

Even if it rains, we can sit inside the cloisters and carry on as normal.

The next few weeks contain many events which will make my evenings fun and fulfilled and I couldn't ask to be experiencing it in a better place.

Maybe I should run for Mayor??

A funny old year (maybe)

This is the year for business!

In the past I have had many ideas for businesses and new ways to make money. I have carried out only a handful of these and they have paid off. I have been very lucky to experience it this way so far.

However, I always feel regret for certain ideas I have not followed through on...the regret of missing my 'big chance'.

This year, it's time for a change. I have decided that the gamble is worth taking on each and every one of these opportunities and keep my fingers crossed!

I mean - What's a gamble without a loss?! (Not a gamble!)

So, I am setting a small list of precedants that each idea must meet. A kind of criteria that must be ticked off before it can be continued with.

Once all the boxes have been ticked I will go ahead with the idea and will invest a set amount of funds into marketing, advertising and general business needs.

The interesting thing for me is trying to set appropriate criteria. If it is too strict then I will be cutting myself off from potential risks but may also miss out on some exciting chances that could land me in the right place.

If I set the criteria too loosely I will inevitably end up with a miniature umbrella type set up of small, unsuccessful companies.

Another thing I would really like to investigate is investing. I don't like the stock market, it took a sum of cash from me a few years ago and I will only go back when I can afford 'the game'.

I mean; investing in businesses. Either buying small companies and aiming for a turn around or buying to split and sell.

I will also be investing in companies that need cash injections to achieve full potential and in exchange will take a percentage of the ownership.

So...Will it work?

This is why it's a gamble. I already have a company which was successful and I managed to turn it around, so I know I can do it...sort of.

This company is now my toy and I like to manipulate it to fit the climate's needs but a re-brand is inevitable.

I like to push other peoples companies to see how desperate they are to keep up. Not long ago, I lowered my prices...slashed my prices to gauge what the market's reaction would be.

I had some really interesting results.

The reaction from consumers had some variation to it. I found some people were put off because the price didn't reflect the quality. I still (at my loss) provided top quality service for bottom quality prices. Customers struggled to believe this and some didn't use me, they went for the traditionally priced services. I got new custom from people after a quick, cheap job and I also met a lot of rather cheap people!

The reaction form my rival businesses was extraodinary. Some local companies who claim to be 'friends' began to bad mouth my company name to try and retain business. I know some felt jealous because they were not in a position to compete with my prices and this jealousy turned to a slight hatred.

Another funny and disturbing reaction from local 'rivals' was a competitive price drop to try and keep up. Now I'm no spring chicken. I only bottomed my prices once I was in a good enough position to do so.

I set it up so that when the price drop came, the money I would potentially lose would not outweigh the profits I had made from the previous year.

One company went over the brink and tried to beat my prices. This company is no longer trading and has to start all over again. I have spoken to the Director and he is not worried at all "The old customers will be really happy to know we're trading again and will come back immediately".

Is that so?

OR

Have the previous customers now lost faith in your business and don't want to use your services anymore?

Well - YES.THEY.HAVE

These customers are now my customers and because of the prestige quality of all the work we produce, will not want to leave.

I have been honest with them all and have told them the price drop is only there to encourage new customers to use my services. This is to provide a low risk chance for them to test the market and see if they like it. They know I will be raising charges next year but because of the dramatic drop, the raise should still keep the prices below average. I am not out to make lots of money, this is something I enjoy and I like to keep myself busy with such mundane, boring tasks.

Another very important part of the strategy this year is finding myself a reliable team. I need a bunch of guys/gals who I can always use to rebrand a business within a few days. The important things here are budget, opinion and speed.

A friend of mine is able to build websites for me, he does an incredible job and works quickly and efficiently once the general idea is set.

He is my first team member and will play a crucial role in my future. The reason I hold him so highly is because of his talent and persona. Not only is he good at what he does, he also lets me pitch to him. I get to express my excitement for these new ideas and he offers his opinion back. I know if I told him that I needed a website to sell water to fish, he'd tell me I was being a prat. Another of his talents is creativity. I believe it very important to let a designer run with their own ideas as well as yours. I like to set a vague criteria of needs but generally leave the design to him. I know he will never fail to impress me.

I now need to find some beautiful, intellectual people to help me sell each idea. I know that it's not PC to employ only beautiful people but the unfortunate facts are...more people will buy from a pretty person (in my experience).

I need sales people who won't require PAYE. I can only afford to pay them when they are selling, not waiting for me to come up with another idea!

The problem here is: If I am getting them to sell two different products a month (for example). How can they be excited about the product? I need them to love it....genuinely love it. This will show in their presentation. I want the customer to feel the excitement radiating from them. I don't want it faked, it just makes for a cringeworthy time.

I will also need some maths boffs who can quickly smash out figures for every possible eventuality. So all the figures are there and no rash decisions are made.

I suppose another important thing is the marketing. This is my forte.

I absolutely love creating a brand for a company, getting the look just right and doing it all from a good old bit of research. I sit on the phone for hours, researching companies who are already in the industry. I like to ring them up as a sort of mystery shopper asking LOADS of questions and then 'calling back later'.

I often find a scrabble about on the internet for a couple of hours helps as well.

So, there you have it..

That's the plan..

NOW TO EXECUTE IT IN A SUCCESSFUL AND STYLISH MANNER

Watch this space..

I would like to wish everyone good luck with their plans this year. I'm taking a risk here but I only get one shot and I'm gonna take it...you should too!

PS - Another thing I need is a comfortable chair because my arse goes numb everytime I write this damn blog!

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

It's national thanks day apparently so I would like to take this opportunity to thank my one and only team member (so far)! - I couldn't have asked for anyone better and this is the year we hit it big! With you on my side, this can only go right (and I promise, once we've hit the big time, i'll tell everyone your name! haha). Can you keep an eye out for some beautiful people for the sales team? They're going to be essential!

I look forward to our first 2010 meeting!

Also, thanks to twitterers, facebookers and friends...you help me more than you could realise.