So this is my first ever attempt at a blog, hopefully I will do more in the future and hopefully they will be of interest! Consisting of business news, opinions on products as well as personal musings on anything I particularly want to share!

A brief explanation of who we are, how we started and what the plans are for the business I feel would be an appropriate start to this blogging malarkey. I used to work for my Dad at Kendal Camping Centre Ltd until it closed down in January/February 2012, as I was looking for a job my wife and I were talking about options and a few people had said about opening a smaller shop. This seemed to make sense as the only down side to my Dads was that the premises was just too big. So after a few long number crunching sessions and chats to suppliers we decided to have a dab at the business owning world.

So we opened the doors on March 1st 2013, with a (very) small loan and enough stock to get going we were away. As it happens we opened in the worst year the camping and caravanning industry has ever had! With bad weather, the Olympics keeping people in front of TV's as well as other factors, it wasn't an amazing year by any stretch, but we managed and we are here for year two. The way we run the business may not conform to the normal way, and if my tutors from university studied how I operate they would think me mad! This is because the business is not the most important thing in my life! It isn't even 2nd place! I do not live to work, but work to bring in enough income to live on. It was the alternative to getting a job, which at the moment would be tricky, so providing myself with work seemed to make sense. We do not open Sundays as it would interfere with going to church, despite pressure to open as we would make more money if we did. Note, I am not against working on a Sunday, but working 7 days a week is not healthy for the body, the mind, the marriage and especially not for my faith.

As a  Christian, there are many things that I do and don't do in the operating of my business that some may see as strange. I try to operate as honestly and as lawfully as I possibly can (not as common place in the business world as we would hope), and don't take huge risks financially ( partly because I don't have huge numbers on my on line banking screen) , though risk taking is part of business so calculated risks are fine by me,

As far as our customers are concerned, we have quite a wide demographic really. From young teens doing D of E and scouts, to families going camping or caravanning, and retired motor homers to people who live in yurts! It's a great job being able to meet so many people (through summer anyway) and chat to them about where they from or what they are doing. Part of why I love to sell stuff is getting to talk to people, we have a few people who even pop in just for a brew! It's great meeting new people, and hopefully by giving the best service I can, they will be inclined to return. In just one year I have met people who are travelling around the world, doing long distance walks, rides and drives, and people from every corner of the globe! Its great to see so many people getting out and about, exploring and enjoying the beautiful creation we live in (the lake district especially!) and being able to assist people in doing that is a pleasure!

I will end my first blog here, I'm sure there will be more to follow!