Journal 16/04/2024

Posted byThe Autistic ComposterPosted inBusiness JournalTags:, , ,

16/04/2024

TSTs

I have been feeling exhausted lately, especially now that the spring months are in full swing. I have been working flat out with the improved weather these last two weeks.

With both the gardening business expanding monthly and the allotment nearing planting time, I know I am about to get even busier. I am still waiting to hear from the hospital about my eye surgeries, but I have a pre-surgery appointment scheduled for next month.

Unlike this time last year, when the business Earthly Comforts was in its infancy, and I was discovering my true love for gardening, and Suze was thinking of working in the property sector, I had more time to dedicate to composting, allotmenteering and blog content creation. Suze and I took our plot into the first sowing and growing season after taking it on as a rental in September 2022.

But that was last year, 2023

Things are very different today.

Free Time is shorter.

Plot 17 is nearing its second official growing season, which will thankfully be smoother than last year.

Why?

Well, we have been working on TSTs – time-saving tweakings. Neither Suze nor I will have the same free time in 2024 as last year, so we must continually tweak systems to make them more functional and time-efficient.

While we endeavour to introduce more TSTs in other areas of our lives, that sometimes proves more challenging than down on the allotment. We have no intention of giving up the latter, considering the amount of hard work we have awarded it in the last twenty months and how well it will produce for us now.

No.

We have to make time to do the things we love and enjoy even if, at times, we are shattered, which invariably we both are.

Eye issues aside, my targets for the gardening business this year are to 1] build up to thirty gardens by December 2024 and 2] continue establishing my brand and particular niche in Sandwich.

Both are admirable intentions but equally tiring.

There is no perhaps or maybe about my eyes and the business. It’s straightforward. As long as my eye pressures don’t build to alarming levels and the NHS does deliver on its promise of quick glaucoma removal surgery, aside from a combined period of a week off with both eyes recovery, l am promising to continue as far as business expansion is concerned.

With today’s efficient eye surgery, there should be no reason to take too long to recover each eye separately. The financial reality is that l don’t have the luxury of taking too much time out anyway.

Thirty gardens may seem like a lot for one month, but it’s not; it is achievable, especially given that l will only be trading in my home town for the next year eighteen months, so l’ll not have considerable distances to cover between gardens.

Thirty slots over the average of a typical month are doable, especially during the spring-to-autumn period. It might prove more problematic during the winter months.

Still, if I am going to expand my business and look at expansion staffing, the probability of recruiting my first sixteen hours a week part-time gardener will be during the winter of 2024/25, when, due to the reduced daylight hours, I will not be able to cover the gardens I have to work in.

This makes logical business sense. Gardening businesses take on more gardens during the spring to autumn windows than during the winter ones. If I manage to secure thirty gardens during 2024, doubling that number for 2025, increasing the part-timers’ hours and recruiting a second part-timer will not be impossible.

Gardens are split into time slot categories: early morning, mid-morning, early afternoon, mid-afternoon, and late afternoon, weekly, fortnightly, and monthly.

Some gardens are accessible outside the typical working hours, which proves invaluable when longer days are present. This means that your working day can start earlier than the standard time. Even at the time of writing, l have two gardens l could quickly start work in from 6 am and one that l could begin at 7 am.

Today, I have five weekly gardens: one fortnightly, four monthly, and one quarter yearly. I am already starting my first gardens at 8 am, and from next month, I can start at six and finish at 6. So today, April 2024, I have ten gardens monthly. I need to take on board another twenty, and l will have hit the target. All of my gardens came via word-of-mouth advertising.

If I do not hit the 30 target by the end of this year, it will only be a short time into the new year when I do, so I am not unduly concerned. By the end of this year, Suze will become a part-time business manager for Earthly Comforts, cutting a lot of my administration down and allowing me to do the thing I enjoy the most—gardening.

I am applying for a small business loan from my bank in the next six weeks, as I need to expand my business and brand into a progression position. I have been surviving off domestic tools, and I now need to upgrade to commercial ones to allow for more robustness from the
regularly used kit. Gardening Tool Upgrades are also TSTs—improving my professional conduct is critical to moving my business forward.

Improving any systems down on Plot 17 – again, TSTs and there have been many ranging from introducing new composting methods to reducing sowing times and purchasing plugs, crowns and slips instead of sowing seeds. Supportive frames, fertiliser bins, watering systems, polytunnel shelving and improved shredding are all functions that have been worked on with the prime motivator of saving time.

Surprisingly enough, my post-dated schedule pot for the blog is empty. I had written content in January to cover ten weeks’ worth of structured content, but it has all been posted out. Now, I am dry, so I must find a time when I can write a few blocks either again or write a post a week until I can write more content again. I have posts in various draft forms, so I need free time to schedule them for publication…

As much as I enjoy my blog, it’s not a priority at present—it’s not a money maker or income earner, and it doesn’t pay any bills to support the gardening business directly or grow vegetables for the table.

It doesn’t have a vast following, nor does it follow thousands; it is a journal for me, so as much as I love to write, the blog has to take the proverbial backseat for a while.

As long as minimal content is published, which l can produce on the day of publishing, it can creep along at its own pace until l can write content blocks again without worrying.

The blog is, in essence, a version of a TST, too. Just as well, considering …

Designs – Earthly Comforts – Inspired by Nature – see collection here

Published by The Autistic Composter

Earthly Comforts is a journal supporting my gardening business, focusing on flora and fauna, gardening, composting, vermiculture and photography.

24 thoughts on “Journal 16/04/2024”

  1. Admirable intentions indeed Rory with everything that is going on with your health too! A very hard work but I’m sure is well worth it! Good luck with all your plans! And hopefully everything will go smooth with the surgeries!

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  2. Thank you for taking the time to keep us posted on your progress, Rory. It is always a pleasure to hear from you, whatever you’re doing. I continue to hold you in my Heart, wishing you well. 💞

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  6. You always amaze me with your organization and planning. I hope the eye treatment get done soon and without any more hassle. All the best with gaining new clients for your business.

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