Dandy Potential

A friend came round unexpectedly and disrupted my routine to the point of realising how ridiculous that routine had become! He, aided by herbal inducements, left me with a couple of new and exciting ideas for my way forward which I have already begun to explore and plan. I retain an underlying fear of ending up 'having to' work again for someone or some agency incapable of allowing me to fulfill my own potential and take the organisation to its logical point of development. I am completely sick of making people and organisations look good, receiving little acknowledgement for it and then being restricted to achieve the ultimate and obvious aims. It would be nice to be given the opportunity to thrive for myself for a change- even if I ended up failing.

So: I plan a 'blended' income from being a landlord for the council's "Supported Lodgings" scheme to give care-leavers somewhere to live as they transition towards independence... -It annoys me that care-leavers need this support: If i was fostering someone for the money they currently receive I would be embarrassed for any of my charges not to be independent at the end!

Then I have an idea to make money from my hobby of collecting carved African wooden masks; I realise that many people don't know what they own including Ebay sellers and that there are several places where I can sell both physically and online. I have been studying my own collection and realised that the masks to which I am personally attracted are mainly from Senegal, the Fang People and Kenya. I've found that Ghanaian carvers will copy any style they see selling elsewhere. Being able to give cultural provenence to the pieces will make them more saleable. If I can successfully research and 'pin down' the markets I am confident of an average 150% profit on Ebay-bought items.

The big idea for the Community Interest Company is to explore marketing through Flash-mobs. I won't add any detail here for the moment but the people with whom I have discussed both "get it" immediately and can't understand why there isn't more of it happening. There's certainly no direct competition in my region which is a great start. Also; the company has creative contacts across the region willing to participate. There's a lot of work to be c0nfident in the "offer" and then to identify a sustainable number of clients, so that's what I'm trying to focus on.

And then there is the Sanctuary project- formerly The People Centre. It could be the realisation of something I've dreamed about since first visiting Laurieston Hall: to buy a mansion and estate to allow residential activities and gatherings for paying groups and to provide permanent accommodation for a handful of workers and some retirees. A few days ago; a delegation of Albion Faeries who are staying at Featherston Castle met me at a mansion for sale in Shotley Bridge. I was relieved that they were as enthusiastic about the place as I was, it has given me the impetus to continue.

Despite all this potenial, I do find myself feeling deflated and fatigued by being ripped off by the "lodgers" who have blatently stolen from me leaving me vulnerable with no income save bullying people who owe me money and borrowing from friends- at least which is likely not to change for another month. It saps my energies and triggers depression. I will be looking into Air BnB later today to see if I can capitalise on the empty rooms to generate SOME income.