Well that wraps up 2013

So we draw towards the end of an interesting year during which I have totally failed to find time to blog, but hey, that's life...
It started after I had been awarded the Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise's Best Product and Senior Entrepreneur Awards in November 2012. By January 2013 I had been contacted by Dragons' Den, and by March I had recorder the programme. Then, although I was utterly torn to tell everyone about it, I had to keep my mouth firmly shut  (contractually bound) until August when it was shown. Then I had the pleasure of being a "bit of a celebrity" - which is probably the best way to be a celeb! It would be awful to have the world and his wife wanting your autograph, or your photo in a bikini...
My wife and I attended quite a lot of Shows this year, notably BBC Gardeners' World at the NEC and the Royal Welsh Show, both extremely well attended - and the Welsh ran for four sweltering days, without a drop of rain - in Wales this must be a record! We also visited Worcestershire, Surrey and Argyll amongst others. It struck us that it would be a rare treat to pack the van and head for Argyll, then go round the Highlands and over to Northern Ireland, then down to Dublin and thence back from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and back home, thus visiting all four parts of these islands. We could take two or three weeks, doing shows along the way.
The purpose of Ireland would be to publicise our move into export. Today I registered the rotaire.ie website, and by spring I expect to have stock there for sale. Sales to Ireland are good despite the delivery ex-UK being 50% extra on the price, so I am confident that the product will sell extremely well from an Irish site.
So, I wish you all well, and enjoy a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a very prosperous 2014 (don't be surprised if there is considerable centenarial nostalgia!.... ah the good old days!)

The Rotaire Dryline in the Dragons’ Den

The Rotaire Dryline in the Dragons’ Den
I was feeling just like Bilbo Baggins when he met Smaug, but it has reaped huge rewards.Click on the headline and you'll see the sort of thing that's been written since the programme was on air.

Last November I won an Award for Best Product

I failed to tell you that last November I won an Award for Best Product from the Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise! Amazing!! And I was chosen as the supreme winner from the three different categories - Senior Entrepreneur of the Year. Not a bad title, but but would have been so much better if they had left out the "Senior" bit... :)

Apart from the personal kudos I felt, it has opened doors for me already, and in January I was featured twice on Midlands Today, the BBC regional news programme, as a result of the award. Ah well, Onward and Upwards!

On stage at the BT Conference Centre with the other Award winners.

 

Social media is all the rage

Social media is all the rage these days, so I am going to link my website www.rotaire.com to Facebook, Linked In and Twitter just to get the hang of it. As you will have noticed, I have not posted a blog since 2010 - not an auspicious start! The thing is, when I'm busy selling Drylines I do not have time to lay aside for the purpose, and even when I am less busy it isn't top of the agenda of things to do.
I do hope that some people reading this will "like" my Rotaire Dryline page on Facebook, and it gives them a chance to praise or damn the product. I am told that normal sales patter and even testimonials are not adequate for the sophisticated internet user - they want the unvarnished truth.