Saturday 9th September 2017 - persistence and self-belief are key

Posted 11:00am

Just reflecting on a very positive week.  We are definitely moving forward with pace, but this has been years in the making - and we have had to go through many pitfalls on the way.

I liked the graphic at the top of this blog posting. That big "confidence" surrounded by negative words sums us up perfectly. We have always believed we had a concept that would work, even if we have adapted it a lot of times along the way. Its format has been fluid and we have changed direction a few times, often because of small conversations when we have been networking.

I do think we have got a good program now - and we are having fun developing the small changes and improvements for this second project with SHP starting in October. But it has taken persistence and self-belief.  There have been numerous occasions where people have told me to drop the project and move on - "it's a great idea but nobody will give you funding as you need to prove your outcomes first" - this, in different ways, has been said to us a lot.  But i have carried on emailing, phoning, and meeting. Always trying to find influential people, top people, people who can affect money and decisions. We are finally emerging into a new era - and are so close to finally getting ourselves going properly.

This week coming I have at least eight meetings organised - all of which will be influential in the direction we are heading. I know I have a further two already booked for the following week, and intend on getting at least another three added to that.

This weekend is a vital one with paperwork. I want to complete at least another two of the funding applications - one is completed already. By next Friday I want to have got five off to their destination. Would be amazing to get two or three of them. Only one of them covers salaries though. That is the biggest issue at the moment. How long can we carry on without earning?

By the end of this week I also want to have a majority of all the handouts prepared - that we will be distributing in the October program. I have a couple of booklets I also want to prepare (an evidence one and a fitness one) but cannot start those until I have got our handouts ready.

I also need to work on the service user evaluation/welcome papers, the contract, and the information papers - all for our SHP meeting on Monday - we have some very exciting additions to this program and I am thrilled to be offering them.