I heard Andy Hill speak recently….extolling the virtues of being a small business owner and how it varies SOOOO much from working in a big corporate.  And he was right – it’s very different, and different in a really good way.  I worked in the world of big business before starting Breckland Orchard and the [...]

Setting up a new business is a bit like heading off into the unknown. Much like going on a travel trip you can do lots of planning and set a course and destination…but until you actually get started you really have no idea what it will actually be like when you are on the way! [...]

I was with a big group of small business owners yesterday and we got asked if we were ‘entrepreneurs’ – of course not came back the unanimous reply, we’re just small business owners. Entrepreneurs are ‘famous’ folk like Anita Roddick or Alan Sugar. I can categorically state that I would NEVER introduce myself, as ‘an [...]

Yes, I’m the founder of Breckland Orchard……..but I am also Mum to the mini-Martinsens.  I’m always mega-busy, juggle lots of balls – but quite honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way. This week is half term, and for the past few days the mini’s have been in Wales visiting my mum [aka Ma Breckland]. [...]

Few hiccups in the Martinsen household this past week or so.  I’m a small business owner, a mum and this week have stepped up to my latest role – being Florence Nightingale. My seven-year-old had some day surgery last week at hospital under general anaesthetic…….he needed a day or so to get over it.  Luckily [...]

I love December and all that build up to Christmas.  My children have just turned 5 and 7, and are VERY excited about the whole thing.  The tree is up, decorations all through the house, letters to Father Christmas written……..this year we also have an ‘elf’ who has moved in with us [aka Elf on [...]

I got a letter through from the bank on Friday asking if I’d like to borrow some money for the business……and assuring me that loans up to £25,000 could be approved over the phone without being referred upwards. I figured they must be desperate to lend! There’s so much debate  in the media about bank [...]

I’ve been asked to do a speech at the end of the month.  Before I started Breckland Orchard I’d not done much public speaking at all……..but have done quite a few since I started up.  It’s part of the territory of being an entrepreneur – people are interested in how you started out and what [...]

I love running a small business, after having worked in the corporate world for many years, it feels really refreshing. Three years in it continues to thrill [sad but true!].  No office politics, no diary full of internal meetings and a real ability to be quick, nimble and do the right thing.  And that’s good [...]

I heard the lovely Celia Imrie being interviewed a few days ago – she was counting her blessings about being an actor.  She said how lucky she felt to be doing a job she loved, to be following her dreams.  She also talked about never having a ‘monday morning moment’ of fearing going to work.  [...]

Another of my misconceptions before I started my own business was that I’d be ‘on my own’ and learning on the hoof.  I thought somehow that training was the domain of big companies not small micro-enterprises! I was lucky to spend 13 years at Mars, who have an unrivalled reputation for great training.  Training and [...]

  Corporate and Social responsiblity [CSR] is oft bandied about in the world of big business. It’s just one of the things that occupies the mind of big business – how can they impact the wider community in which they operate.  The picture above is of the Boots CSR Scorecard whereby they consider 19 elements [...]

This week was sportsday at my son’s school.  He’s just in reception, so it wasn’t the Olympics……obstacle race, relay, balancing of a beanbag on the head etc….all things that require real focus and precision when you are five years old(!!)  He loved it, and his competitive streak was coming out [must have some of my [...]

Ah isn’t running a micro-business fab!  It’s just like living a dozen lives all at once……constantly swapping hats and being a bit of a jill of all trades! A day catching up on paperwork today and these are the hats I’ve worn so far……… Purchasing Director…………finding a new supplier for one particular part of my [...]

I love running my own business – the sheer breadth of things that I get involved with are really interesting, but at times it all feels just a tad crazy!  Yesterday was a ‘typical’ day in so far as there is no typical First job of the day was to call at LaHogue Farm Shop [...]

I like millions of others watched the Apprentice last night – Sir Alan as ever in sparkling form, and as dour as ever!  He really does tell it as it is, and takes no prisoners – I admire that quality. I read an excerpt today from Startups who had seen Sir Alan speaking.  Here’s what [...]

I’m planning to enter a new market segment from January – and just going through the stages of how to go about doing that.  Initial googling and desk research is proving to be really hard and I am hitting a bit of brick wall.  For a small business such as mine, the answer is a [...]

Gosh I love running my own business! No two days are the same, things happen that you don’t expect, sometimes wonderful surprises, sometimes issues that need sorting immediately! Life is never dull that’s for sure. Corporate life had a pattern of regularity [team meetings, forecasting deadlines, reporting, appraisals etc], whereas a start-up business has none [...]