Every time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must really do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming.

a lover’s tears on a wet cheek

Then this morning I woke up thinking of him and wondering where he went and why.  Knowing more as an adult I now believe that my parents did not like me spending time with this ‘strange’ man.  He was about my dad’s age so he would be long gone but I would like to apologise. I did not realise I was putting his job in jeopardy – I just wanted information . I can’t remember his name but I can still see him putting his skillet on the stove and preparing  himself for the onslaught of questions.     He was totally a gentle man. He didn’t deride me for stupidity and he didn’t touch me.  He gave me my first experience with a foreign accent, the patience of a grand father and a wonderful memory to keep. Thank you kind sir.

I have set a deadline to have the manuscript to the publisher by 30th June so the pressure is really on now.  I will come on here to announce  the release and also let my Facebook friends. Stand by

Well it would seem that the universe has conspired to delay the book.  My friend got sick and had to have an angiogram and now we are waiting on ‘open heart’ surgery.  None the less – proof reading has continued and this week I get the manuscript back so I can incorporate the changes.  So we are partly on track again.

Walk with Maggie Richardson through the pages of this practical handbook for running a successful business.  Maggie guides you through the hazardous exercise of start up and helps you to compile the essential business tool to obtain finance and maximise growth – the business plan

this is the second edition and includes new material such as B-Pay and changes to Superannuation and WorkCover law have been included.  There is also a special section at the end that is designed to h elp you stay out of trouble once you are in business.  It is not enough to have a good idea, it is also necessary to have business skills.  Most books focus on the theory of business, this one tells you how to apply that theory.  you won’t learn this at school.

Filled with useful information to save you time, frustration and costly mistakes, Starting a Business in Australia provides an easy to read guide to making your business idea a reality and then moving it on.

“A GOOD CHOICE for anyone who is SERIOUS about making SURE their new BUSINESS SURVIVES and GROWS”  “My Business” magazine – January 2003

Starting and Surviving in Business in Australia  Published by New Holland 2006 ISBN 1 921024 03 8

Maggie Richardson, the author of Starting a Business in Australia is at it again.

Starting and Surviving in Business in Australia is more than a simple guide on how to register for the GST and create a business Plan.  It outlines strategies for analysing the market place, finding a niche for your business idea and works through the steps required to establish a successful enterprise in Australia.

Set out your goals, discover your strengths and avoid pitfalls.  From finding financial services and insurance to registering trademarks and selling your business  – it’s all here.

A comprehensive list of Australian Business contacts and agencies rounds off this complete instruction manual for the budding entrepreneur.

Maggie Richardson has ovr 40 years exprience as a business coach.  She is a personal mentor and facilitatio of ovr 1000 successful business plans.

Let her experience launch you into the business of your dreams.

The Dance Goes On  Poems by Margaret Richardson ISBN0 646 107194 4 1992

All three books are out of print but can be viewed at State  and m any local libraries.

Change of scene – I am now living on a farm and farm dogs more than any others need a job.  So  we needed to train them for that job.   We were new to farming and an old farmer down the road offered his old bitch to work with us.  We should have taken up the offer.  Dogs learn from others in the pack and having someone older to copy would have helped.  As it was the dogs had to follow us around and learn as we learned – the hard way.  We had one bitch in particular (yes we preferred bitches) called Lucky . We were trying to hold some cows and load them into a trailer.  One broke free and we had to let it go – well YOU try catching a cow in full flight.    The next thing it ran back into the herd and there was Lucky  right on its heels.  From that day on she was right on the job and helping. Unfortunately Lucky was not so Lucky.  There was talk of a rogue dog killing sheep.  We hadn’t lost any but one day we were in the bush collecting firewood and the dogs were running around enjoying themselves.  Then it was quiet.  We called and called and eventually Didi (Lucky’s daughter ) came but she was whimpering.  I thought that strange but I think that she already knew.  We  rang the neighbors and drove the roads calling Lucky but nothing.  A full day went past and then on the morning of the second day we were out feeding the chooks when we heard a gunshot and we knew then that Lucky had been found.    She had gone with the rogue dog and they had rounded up the neighbors sheep  and had them penned in a corner.  The neighbor had seen them and yelled Hey.  That would sound like ‘Stay’ to Lucky so while the rogue dog ran for cover, Lucky stayed for the inevitable bullet.    Even though we were very sad, the neighbor was within his rights – she was on his property, rounding up HIS sheep.

But we weren’t finished with the rogue dog.  He came the next morning to call Didi.  Luckily she was on her chain.  My husband spotted the dog who was high on the hill by the pigsty – that is roughly 300  metres from the house.  He picked up his gun and moved slowly off into the bush and away from the dog.   The dog thought he was safe.  He didn’t know Colin.  It was a slow journey to the top of the hill through the bush to see the dog from the side.  He was focused on Didi and once Colin was in bush he shifted his focus back to our other bitch.   Colin was about 10 feet from the rogue dog when he stepped on a twig.  Colin froze; the dog turned and looked in his general direction. All was quiet –  and then he returned his focus to Didi.  The rogue  was a beautiful dog with possible links to Dingo but with one shot it was over.   Colin did not walk all that extra metres to miss.   There was no way that ‘bastard’ was getting TWO of our dogs.

In a way I was the dog trainer but the dogs had to go to work with Colin.   We had a little black and tan called Jessie.  I got her at a clearing sale.  I went along to buy a Ram but they were only selling them in lots of five. I had talked to another farmer  and we agreed to join forces on a bid and I would take two and he would take three but the bid got too high.  I did buy 130 old ewes.  They had fine wool which is what I wanted and I felt that if they had gotten to this age then they were also bearers – I only had to get lambs from half of them and I would be well on the way to  having a good flock.    As we followed the auctioneer he came to a red Kelpie bitch and her litter who were around 6 weeks.  There were three dogs and one bitch.  The mother was passed in at $200 and I figured that if the mother was worth $200 the pups would be good too.  Then the gift ! The auctioneer said – the pups can just go for free.  The three dogs were snapped up quickly and the crowd moved off.  I was left there looking at the only one I would take – the bitch – I didn’t want a dog. This baby was mine.  I called her Jessie and braved my husbands anger when I got her home.  Jessie knew and became my guardian.   Colin would call all the dogs and they would jump on the trailer but before he was in the cab Jessie would be home standing on the Besser block we called a step , knocking at the door with her wagging tail.

Oh he made friends with the dogs.  They loved him.  We had an outside toilet and he would sit out there with the door open and call each dog with a special signal.  The dog would go to him and he would pat it and rub its back – generally show lots of love and then he’d say “OK’ , they would move away and  he would call the next.  When it was Jessies’ turn she wouldn’t initially go to him so he gave her a special signal – he rubbed his hands together and patted his knee.

I took Jessie out for a training session.  It took an hour.  She walked on the lead, stopped when I did, sat, stayed,  came to me, dropped.  She knew it all but both she and Didi would not work when my husband got angry at the sheep or whatever.  I trained them with almost a whisper and the minute the voices were raised they said to themselves – ‘I’m out of here’     Sometime I would go out and work the dogs for him but he didn’t like that especially as it was just after they had refused to work for him.    I remember walking across the paddock with a visitor and telling them that I had trained Didi with a soft voice and all I would say is ‘Sit Dee’ and she would.  When we got to the other side of the paddock I looked around and there she was sitting way back where we had come from waiting for her next order.

Our farm was in Coonabarabran which is a fairly hot area of Australia.  I like to go naked or with little clothing on such hot days and as our house was over a l km from our front gate.  I figured that it would be a good idea to get the dogs to warn me when people were approaching so I had time to get decent.   So each night when my husband was coming home I would hear his truck at the front gate and I would rev Didi up.  ‘Who’s that? Is this dad?’ and she would bark.  I thought I was very clever until one day that a stranger was right at the gate way to the house when I spotted them.  Didi had not given warning.  She only barked when my husband came just as I taught her.

My last encounter with a dog in the training situation was after I left the country and moved to Sydney.  I was about to go out on stress leave and one of my students could see what was happening.  He asked me if I wanted to join him and some Japanese students who were here to learn English.  They were going to his sister’s farm for three or four days.  I think the idea was to give the sister a break as that particular sister was not there.  There were  seven women and Bob.  He did the cooking.   There was an absolutely beautiful black and tan pup of perfect training  age who had not been taught anything.   There was no collar and the dog ran in and around the house as he pleased.   He sniffed at the hands of the Japanese girls and they immediately raised them in horror.  I had to teach them not to do that as they were telling the dog to jump up.   I was frustrated as although I walked with the dog he would race after the cows in the next paddock. – I had  no collar to restrain him and train him to walk at my heels.  In spite of that – time with him helped my healing.   About three months later  Bob had a birthday party and the sister tackled me about what I had done to her dog.  I asked her what the problem was.  ‘He won’t come in the house’.   I said ‘ Do you want him to?’  and she said ‘No but I couldn’t stop him’  .  While I was there I had taught him to get permission before he came in. I just lifted my hand and said NO and he would just settle down at the door.   At the end I just lifted my hand – open palm meant NO.  The boundaries had been set.  I  didn’t teach what I could have but I did make a difference.

We purchased umbrellas and went in search of the lost Berth, only to have someone run after us to let us know that it was just there.  We noticed the company logo on a flag so joined the long queue standing hunched under umbrellas in the rain.  the boat was 3/4 hour late. My legs were folding so put hubbies cardigan on the wet step and rested for a few minutes.  Stood up as the boat came in but it was still another 20 minutes while two incompetent workers put together the steps and stairs to disembark .   I should have left then.

We finally boarded and too many people for inside seats so some had to stand.   There was supposed to be finger food and yes there was.  Sandwiches made with THICK bread, quiches with horrible pastry and tasteless filling and carrot cake.(That was lovely)   I heard there was also prawns and chicken pieces but it was all being served on trays brought around and I understand that some grabbed more than their share. We didn’t get any of that.  Typical ! Drinks were included, wine, soft drinks.  But if one was a diabetic and wanted just water , one had to pay for that.

There was  no commentary as we sailed out of the bay or back.  Not even a pointer to where to look for a sight of the tall ships.   Yes we saw three – before we left the berth and on returning to the berth.

The confusing part was that when booking, there were lots of pictures of war ships and I understood that we were going on a navy vessel as we had to put the correct names on our vouchers.  I expected to have to show ID as a consequence of that but no, they just grabbed the vouchers and gave us a ticket to get a drink.  We had one ticket for friend who couldn’t attend but didn’t give it to another because of that belief (and with no way to check what else would we believe).  We had to book via a site that was filled with naval images so to find ourselves on a local charter boat completed my disappointment in the day.

As I am from a business background I was observing the lack of systems and felt that the crew would all be back in training after that days work.  Perhaps it doesn’t matter – after all customers only do ONE cruise of the harbour – they are not coming back so why would we bother.  The lack of systems was accentuated by the link to the naval event and their pristine uniforms and strict drills.  There is a certain amount of dust in the corner on this event but I’m not sure who is responsible – if someone in the navy assigned this task (and it could be assumed by the internationalfleetreview website where one had to book), then they forgot to check quality.  I enjoyed watching it all on the TV news and saw much more than I had on the cruise.  Often the case isn’t it.