Spending a week in ski school is also a good reminder that you can always learn something new, you just need the right guidance and the determination to practice until you get it right – a philosophy to apply to some areas of running a business that I struggle with.  Need to face up to those tricky tasks, dedicate some time to them and things will become easier.  In the long run that will leave more time available for the fun stuff.

5 goals for the Spring:

• Book in some sales events for the rest of the year
• Review product range and engage with new suppliers
• Attend a networking event (sounds terrifying but must give it a go!)
• Blog and Tweet more
• Get that marketing plan done

There, I’ve said them out loud so am committed.  Will report back on progress…

First order has already been received!  I’m just in time for Christmas shopping, so hopefully lots more to come soon.  I feel so excited about sharing my baby with the wider world, and full of ideas for expanding the range and promoting the website next year.  There’s so much to do and never enough hours in the day, but it’s just brilliant to be spending time working on something that I love so much.

I hope you’ll like the site and the products as much as I do.  Whatever you think, I’d love to hear hear it.  Either leave me a comment here, or contact me via www.emmiejay.co.uk .

The tax man has a bad image, but it’s not deserved - he’s a very nice man.

I approached the whole day as a learning experience, happy just to come away having covered my costs and learnt a few things ready for next time.  I achieved all that and more, heading home having had a fun day and with reasonable sales for a first time out.  Other stall-holders were friendly and helpful, and the turn out was better than I’d been expecting.

Now I just need to re-stock a few items, work on some display ideas taken away from Saturday and get ready for next time.  I’ve got four more events before Christmas, two public sales and two shopping parties – last week that felt quite scary, now I can’t wait!

Not a great picture, but here's a snap of the stall

I still didn’t have time to meet everybody, but having splashed out a fiver on the show directory I have all the contact details to follow those I missed up over the coming weeks.

For those I did get to meet it was a lovely opportunity to discuss my fledgeling outfit with people in the business.  Looking at items up close is essential in order to assess quality, and I found I was instantly drawn to some brands as being a perfect fit for EmmieJay.  Unfortunately, cash-flow doesn’t allow me to run wild and buy everything I liked, but I will certainly be placing a few orders, and feel I have made contacts that I’ll be able to pick up with in the future as my business grows.

Anyone starting out in an industry new to them should definitely get themselves along to a relevant trade fair.  It may seem a bit intimidanting from the outside but it’s a brilliant source of information and contacts.  I found everybody friendly even though I wasn’t in a position to place orders that day, and it’s incredibly motivating to be submerged in the world you want to be in.

Pure seemed to cover a broad range of brands and is certainly worth going to pick up on emerging trends and see what everybody is doing.  It’s run twice a year to tie in to the coming forward order seasons and I’m already looking forward to seeing more ethical brands at the next show.

It’s also a great excuse for a weekend away in London, which is always good fun even when it’s raining.