Recipe: Tomato and Lentil Soup

Simple, tasty and warming on those cold winter nights

This soup is really filling and is great for a pick me up on the cold dark evenings through the winter. For that extra warmth and flavour you could try a drop or two of tabasco sauce just before blending/serving.

Delivery of First Products

Great news! This week Ginger Sky received delivery of our first stock. Thanks to the guys at Molecule-R there are now some great products ready and waiting for the website and will be available on launch day.

The Cocktail R-Evolution by Molecule-r
- part of Ginger Sky's launch products

When I started out with Ginger Sky I had a particular vision in mind for the types of products I wanted to offer. The Molecule-R product lines stood out from the start as being interesting, unique and adding that extra dimension to the kitchen experience. That is why I have focussed a lot of my attention over the past couple of weeks in securing a range of their products for the Ginger Sky website.

Recipe: Five-Spice Chicken Wings

 Delicious chicken wings, great as part of a main or part of a party

This chicken wing recipe is really simple to put together and tastes great either with rice or a bed of salad. If I’m throwing a party I like to put the wings in a bowl and sprinkle some chopped spring onions and red chilli over them.

GEW: Review

Global Entrepreneurship Week is over for another year and what a week it was. Loads of great events, not just here in the UK, but all over the world, and loads of great advice being passed on. There is still time for you to leave your feedback on the week here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GEW2012

 

Sharing my experiences with you all has really helped me see how far I have gone on my journey already with Ginger Sky. Reflecting on past challenges and how I have overcome them has given me a new perspective on current and future challenges. Knowing that I have achieved so much in a short period gives me even greater confidence to make a success out of Ginger Sky. I hope you can take as much away from this week as I have been able to and that you have been inspired to embark on your own enterprising journey.

GEW: Interview with Owl & Pussycat Creative

If you're thinking of starting your own company I hope that this week has helped you gain an insight into what it takes. As you know, Ginger Sky is still in the setting up phase so I wanted to end the week with a different perspective. I got together with my friends at Owl & Pussycat Creative, a growing business based in Hull, and asked them a few questions about their experiences.

So, what is Owl & Pussycat Creative all about / what do you sell?

Owl & Pussycat Creative was born out of a mutual love for both great design and original prints on t-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags and other garments. Taking some money and plenty of honey we decided to sail our pea green boat into setting up our very own design and printing studio – in order to bring our designs to the masses... well…a few individuals with a passion for great tees at least!

GEW: Thursday

I want to start today with a big thank you to my employers, Esteem (@TheExchangeHull) They have been really supportive through my quest to establish my own business and as much as I have been working on Ginger Sky in my spare time, being with Esteem it has given me a great contact network within the business community of Hull.

While setting up the company I’ve been working full time, putting less pressure on Ginger Sky finances but putting more pressure on my time and resources. This has created challenges, such as finding storage facilities. I required one which would be able to take deliveries for me whilst I am at work and that I could access out of hours, especially when I start trading. Another challenge this has created is how I’m going to handle customer contact in the early days of the business.

Recipe: Spicy Moroccan Lamb

 A real tasty dish that utilises some great Moroccan flavours that brings the lamb to life.

This dish takes minutes to prepare and 2 hours to cook making it the perfect dinner party main. Prepare it before your guests arrive, stick it in the oven and you can concentrate on entertaining your friends. Like a lot of people I had a tagine in the kitchen but didn’t get as much use out of it as I liked, that was until this dish came along.

GEW: Wednesday

We’re half way through Global Entrepreneurship week, time is just flying by at the moment! I hope there is something you’re able to take away with you, whether it be from this blog or from many of the great events at www.gew.org.uk .

Today I have been looking into alternative marketing channels I can utilise for Ginger Sky. Traditionally the theory behind marketing is that the more you spend the more customers you’ll reach and more opportunities you can create. However, with the rise of social media networks it has become easier and more cost effective to market your potential customer base (although keep in mind that you still want to target your marketing effectively and tailor it to your specific audience).

GEW: Tuesday

So, the arrival of my first lot of stock is imminent, and I have to say that I am getting a little excited, beacuase the order is full of amazing things like this….




The Cuisine R-Evolution Kit

The next task of the day is to work out with my web designer (@GetExtra) how these are going to look on the website. Being an online retailer it's important to remember that the website is the shop window and needs to look just right. I had to do my research and do some digging around before I found a designer who not only understood what I wanted for my website but also who shared my passion for creating something fun and unique. I found Get Extra who have been brilliant and, now that I've got some promotional material, can really make progress towards the finished site.

GEW: Monday

My first lot of stock is in the UK! Okay, so it has to make its way from the East Midlands to Hull, but it is in the country. I’ve ordered from Molecule-R, which is based in Canada, and as this is my first import it is taking time to complete the paperwork and red tape for HMRC. It is now only a matter of hours before I get my hands on the first set of amazing products.

The Siphon R-Evolution Kit by Molecule-R

While I’m waiting for this to be delivered I have been working on developing some of my own ideas. My vision for Ginger Sky is to stock the most unique quirky products currently on the market along with some of my own designs. With that in mind I have been fine-tuning my blueprint for the first of my ideas and have been looking for companies who can help me produce a prototype – if you have any ideas or know about who/what I can make use of to help me produce some products using plastics please let me know via the comments section.

GEW: A Week in the Life of a Startup Entrepreneur

Welcome to my blog for those of you reading this for Global Entrepreneurship Week. I thought I’d use this blog entry to give you a bit of background and a bit about why I’m doing this. 

First of all, I’m currently in the process of setting up my own retail business called Ginger Sky Ltd. This business is focussing on kitchenware, particularly the fun, quirky and unique (if you have any ideas for things you would like me to sell/things you may have struggled to buy elsewhere, please let me know via the comments section). The official launch of Ginger Sky is set for Easter 2013 so I’m spending the next couple of months getting everything ready, adding the finishing touches to the website and finding out all about my products. For more background into me and Ginger Sky check out earlier blog entries and the About Me page.

Exciting Week Ahead

Before I get onto what I have planned for the week ahead I want to mention some things that have happened this week, just to keep you up to date with how things are going.

This week has seen the arrival into the country of Ginger Sky’s first stock delivery. Unfortunately this has not arrived here at Ginger Sky Towers just yet as it is awaiting customs clearance before it can be forwarded to me, but it is only a matter of time. That gets me onto the main activity I’ve been doing this week, sorting out paperwork. The first was the invoicing with my suppliers, with them being based in Canada the only way to do this was via email, but with time differences it also meant this process was stretched out. As with all of these things, a bit of perseverance managed to sort it.

Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pork

  A quick and easy taste of China, beats a takeaway any day

I love this dish, it’s so simple to make and not only tastes better than the takeaway version but it’s so much cheaper as well (and, in my experience, almost as quick). I do like my Chinese food and this is a staple in my cooking rotation and, while my preference is to do this with pork, the same recipe can be followed with chicken as well.

It's All About The Wednesdays

Everything is so up and down at the moment, after the disappointing announcement last week, I have made so much progress this week but I can also see difficult weeks ahead.

I’ll start with a quick reminder about last week. It was with a tinge of sadness that last week I announced that my original plan to start trading in November was not going to happen. Following a meeting with the web designers it became clear that for the type of site I wanted it was going to take more time. Now, the earliest that this is going to be available is January, my own fault for wanting something different and special. However, this does not mean that I have stopped the hard work and in fact this week has seen some of the biggest strides so far in making my vision happen.