Welcome back to this week’s Karen’s Corner! Join me here each week to catch up with what I’ve been up to both in and out of work and what I’ve been loving and connect with me on Instagram www.instagram.com/karen.anderson.fossoway
Karen xx
WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK
Another Sunday, another Karen’s Corner update!
Fossoway Stables continues to be a busy place this week with progress being made around The Potting Shed Farm Shop & Cafe. The shed itself is now painted, the area for tables and chairs is now ready for them to arrive, our cut flower beds are being prepared for planting and the electrician is booked in for next week to get us all hooked up. We’re getting closer to being able to open and that’s making us all feel excited and hopeful - you’ll be the first to know when we’re ready to open and I really can’t wait to meet you all.
More than any of us, our wonderful staff team on the yard and up at FossoPLAY have really appreciated the break in the rain and their working lives have become infinitely more manageable without the storms coming in from all directions and a foot of mud underfoot. It’s sparked a bit of a spring clean vibe with everything getting deep cleaned and tidied and you’ll know by now that I love a bit of organisation in my life so I’m really enjoying the big tidy up.
The nicer weather has also meant that most of the horses are now enjoying being out in the fields overnight. It’s really heartening to see how much calmer they all are as a result and a reminder to us all why we prioritise maximised grazing for all horses stabled with us. it’s been so lovely to see them with their rugs off sunbathing and I’ve found a few gorgeous wee moments this week to sit with them in the sunshine.
Taking those moments to stop and just be with the animals felt especially important this week after our lovely wee sheep, Schweetie died on Monday. It wasn’t wholly unexpected but the animals in our lives are all part of the family and the loss is really felt. I don’t think that’s something I’ll ever get used to but I guess the sadness we feel when we lose them is the balance to all the love and fun and connection we get to have with them when they’re alive and well.
It’s been an admin and paperwork heavy week for me too but I feel like I’m kinda on top of it again now that my workload on the yard has eased a little. I’ve been working on designing a newsletter that will deliver real value to our subscribers so I did a little market research on social media this week to learn more about what you’d be looking for from us. All of the insights were really useful and will help me design and deliver something I think could help promote everything that we do, as well as share as much of our learning about every aspect of the business as possible.
Running any business teaches you more than you’d ever imagined there was to learn when you started out, well, it does if you’re doing it right, but this one in particular is such a huge education every day. With so many aspects to Fossoway Stables, we find ourselves operating in a number of completely diverse industries with their own unique set of regulations and best practices. FossoPLAY sits within childcare and education, The Lodge within hospitality, KA Equestrian is part of equestrianism, growing food - horticulture, then there’s general land management and land ownership matters to stay abreast of. With the soon to open Farm Shop & Cafe, retail and food & beverage industries will soon be part of our lives too. There’s a lot to keep up with and of lots of learning going on. I’ll gladly share whatever I’ve learned about building small businesses over the years with anyone who’s interested, in the hope that I can save someone else some time and prevent them from having to make the same mistakes I’ve made but also understanding that the true learning and growth, unfortunately, often comes from making those very mistakes.
I’ve wrapped up my work week today with a taking a table at a local Small Business Showcase event and chatting with people about everything we’re doing here at Fossoway Stables. These things are always a hit or a miss in terms of footfall but today was good and also a lovely opportunity to meet and connect with other local business owners. I made a few new connections today that I think could potentially be useful for both our businesses.
I hope you’ve all had a good week and are having time to rest too. Tonight, I’m away through to Edinburgh for dinner with John in one of our favourite restaurants which is a lovely way to end the week.
Until next week,
K xx
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