Between a rock, some snow and a surreal place
Tuesday, 18 Nov, 2009
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The Independent Mountain’s Olivia Gascoigne’s latest TravelMole update on running a ski holiday company – the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Last Monday was the most surreal day of our personal and business lives to date. It was a day that began with us battling with a scam internet company and ended with us sipping Champagne.
It started like any other normal Monday morning in the Independent Mountain office with us working away on client enquiries and trying to close deals.
However, it soon catapulted us into a mess of Watchdog proportions with us battling with an online business we caught red handed with their fingers in our pockets.
Yes, the day was quickly heading into one of the worst days we’d had in a very long time……however, not for long, as there was also something else of epic proportions brewing.
Yes, it soon transpired that whilst I was busy making plans to contact Watchdog and trading standards and shout this company’s wrong doings from the rooftops, James (my partner) was planning something entirely different and of the more romantic and less aggressive variety.
The quiet walk he suggested in the snow up to one of our favourite hiking spots to clear our heads of office stresses turned into one of the best moments of our lives as he got down on one knee in the snow and asked me to marry him.
Just like that, for the first time since starting the business everything else melted into insignificance and as I shouted “Yes I will” thoughts of fraudsters, 14 hour working days and lost bookings simply no longer existed – Watchdog who?!?
The day made us realise that despite how passionate we are about the business and how hard we are working to make it a success, it does at times like these have to come second. It makes you realise that there is actually life outside of the business and that sometimes your life and by that I mean personal life just has to take the front seat.
It also proved that when running your own company there is never a “right” time for anything, you instead have to seize the day and simply make it the right time.
Poor James after months of planning, never suspected that he would get down on one knee on a day where he was also threatening legal and police action against another company, however, as he pointed out, with the rollercoaster that is our lives at the moment, there was never going to be a quiet time and he wanted us to get engaged and nothing, not even fraudsters and the business were going to get in the way.
So how long did our own lives take the front seat? Well, let’s just say that we back at work the next morning all be it with very sore Champagne fuelled hangovers.
Phil Davies
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