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Trampolineman's Running a Small Business Blog
trampolineman.wordpress.com
29
Running a small business manufacturing and selling outdoor toys, trampolines, above ground pools, garden games and table games
#37531 in All , #9 in Entrepreneurship

Girls Favourite Trampoline

Our garden is like an Outdoor Toy display site, and our little girl has the opportunity to try every new toy, every new accessory and even the ones that only make it to prototype stage. Yesterday, de...

01 feb 12

Is rbs a state owned bank?

Is RBS a state-owned bank or a bank that the state owns, temporarily? Is its role to be a state-owned bank, doing good for the state, a department of the government? If so, why? Do we need that we ow...

29 jan 12

Why is GDP going down?

Last quarter of 2011 was -0.2%. those who know me will know that we have been pessimistic since May last year. We expected things to turn down, based on the early indications that our market had slow...

26 jan 12

Are customers stupid? Or is it us?

Sometimes we do things that look silly, but sometimes the reasons are sillier. For example, we sell Trampoline Safety Netting. just the net. It’s for when the wind has mangled the net part of y...

23 jan 12

Snowdrops are out

Whoops. Just published a post and managed to delete all at the same time, leaving just a headline. So, where was I? Well I was telling you that the winter here is like a long dark tunnel. We never re...

23 jan 12

Barcelona best team in the world

In May, at the Champions League final, Barcelona outplayed Manchester United. after the first ten minutes, Man Utd were totally outclassed, and genuinely Barcelona were fabulous. for the next few mon...

06 dec 11

Too Dependant on Google

It amazes me just how dependant we are on the Internet now. We receive orders, even from Trade Customers electronically. We talk in real-time using Skype and email. We send photos of new products in ...

29 nov 11

Discounts at Busy Periods

We don’t supply any of the really big retailer shed style stores anymore, because we made a business decision not to.  Two of the Directors have worked for big Grocery companies in the past, no...

25 nov 11

TP Genius Trampolines Problem

Sometimes suppliers cause you trouble you don’t need, without meaning to. This week the problem supplier is TP. They have told us they have some new ranges for 2012. Next year, there will be 3 ...

17 nov 11

Water Polo – The Toughest Sport in the World

According to this article, Water Polo is the toughest sport there is. It beats Gymnastics, Rugby, Boxing. http://bleacherreport.com/arti cles/832927-what-is-the-worlds -toughest-sport/page/12 You have ...

16 nov 11

Climbing Frames

The Climbing Frame Market is very competitive. And whilst we are busy tidying things ready for next season, we have started a new website for Climbing Frames. www.climbingframes.com is not quite a co...

15 nov 11

New range of dolls houses

We are under pressure in the summer, and it seems to go so quick, but during the winter times seems to drag, and frankly, we don’t have enough for everyone to do. So, it’s imperative that...

06 nov 11

The rules of business (part two)

No one ever wants to make cock-ups, so when they happen there is something else going on. Your business has a system for getting things done. Even if you are a one man band, you have a process and a ...

04 nov 11

The rules of business (part one)

I have many pet sayings which I use everyday, often at some times, prefaced by ‘what’s the first rule of business. But in the last year it’s become certain, there is only one first ...

03 nov 11

Why Business is like Football

For our US readers, we actually mean soccer, the national sport of the UK. We think running a  business is much like running a football club. So, if you think like a football manager can you get bett...

22 sep 11

Why is the Euro so strong?

We make our Climbing Frames with timber from the Ardennes in Belgium. Of course we pay in Euros, so the exchange rate is critical to the profitability of our Climbing Frame business. When we first st...

21 sep 11

How to get Growth in the UK Economy

The worlds financial markets are in a mess again today, with stock markets down, banks taking provisions against National Debt and consumers just stopped spending. Around the world, but importantly h...

05 aug 11

Improved Croquet Sets

There are things that come in to the category ‘should have done earlier’, that once done you wonder why it took so long. I suppose a mistake we made this year is in launching too many new...

02 aug 11

Recovery comes in 2012

We have been quiet this summer on the blog. Truth is we have been busy, not with massive sales unfortunately, but with activities to try to find ways around frankly disappointing sales. So, its been ...

02 aug 11

Recession 2011. Will we have a new recession?

Recession? I hear you say. ‘That has been over for a year and a half’. We don’t think so. We think we are back in a trough and you will come to see later just how bad things are. In...

11 jul 11

How important are warranties?

A debate we have all the time here is how do we communicate important issues with customers? Are we always totally honest, even if it looks uncompetitive? A prime example is warranties. Of course eve...

07 jun 11

Rectangular trampoline or oval trampoline madam?

I don’t get much chance these days to talk direct to customers and to be honest it’s a change I welcome, but every now and again it’s good to spend a day working direct with the peo...

30 may 11

How to become brand leader?

This week we have been doing some work on Rugby Balls. Our new business, SportsBallShop, is building in the sports balls market and has made some headway in the bulk balls sector, especially for cust...

25 may 11

Bin Laden Backs the Euro

Amongst the fascinating things coming known about the hunt for Bin Laden and his final meeting with the Navy Seals, is the news that sewn in to his clothing were two phone numbers and 500 Euros. The ...

19 may 11

Business gets in the way of my Business Blog

I came to write something today, aware that I had taken a long holiday and that the two four day weekends combined with excellent weather had put me under pressure, but I was amazed to see that I had...

18 may 11

Currency Forecast vs the US Dollar on target

Sterling has risen to $1.635 ish today. So, we are on track with our forecast that it will get to $1.85 by October. See: http://trampolineman.wordpress .com/2011/03/03/out-sterling-c urrency-forecast-v...

07 apr 11

Interest Rates Forecast

Today the BOE kept Interest rates at 0.5%. That was expected, but Inflation is raging out of control, and they know they have to do something. An Interest Rate  rise will boost Sterling, keeping fuel...

07 apr 11

Our battle with Planning Permission

Today could be crunch day for our planning battle and our attempts to get planning permission to expand on our farm site. Today, we are expecting a vsisit form the planning officier and his henchman ...

01 apr 11

Tennis Balls for Dogs

Regular readers will know that last summer we started a new business Sportballshop. Its going pretty well too, with some sports proving to be excellent business and others taking longer to crack. Its...

30 mar 11

Biggest Blog Month Ever

Having been writing this blog now for 2 1/2 years, since October 2008, March 2011 has become the biggest month ever in terms of page views. It’s a personal blog. We talk about things we are wor...

28 mar 11

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