Stand Agency’s New Year’s resolutions

January 8, 2013 Written by Nikki Peters

By Penny Jones

So! It is that time again – an opportunity to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the next; full of good intentions and determination. And we at Stand Agency are no different! Well, maybe we’re a bit different. Why don’t you be the judge of that. Below are our individual and collective resolutions for 2013,  an earnest mixture of achievable goals and hopelessly unrealistic dreams.

Wish us luck! We will keep you updated with our progress…

Start each day with a walk. Having recently been introduced to the fabulous Walkit by Francesca, Penny has decreed that she will no longer endure a minute longer crushed into a tube carriage than is absolutely necessary and will be commuting on foot from now on. Highgate to Kings Cross: 4.2 miles. Great exercise and fresh air a far more appealing way to start the day! (Until it rains…)

Try out some new recipes.  Laura has launched a Supper Club in a monthly attempt to challenge her mid week catering skills for 8 (as well as drink good wine and gossip)

Abstinence – no more beer for Blair. Well, for a month anyway. Blair is Stand Agency’s sole advocate of the dry January tradition this year, making the rest of us feel a mixture of pity, guilt and – in Penny and Nikki’s case at least – absolute incomprehension as to how or why anyone could even attempt such a feat. Good luck with this one, we look forward to toasting your success on 1^st February. With a large beer, of course.

No more Norovirus – poor Rebecca has been struck down by the dreaded bug sweeping the country. Not an ideal way to start the year, we wish her – and anyone else suffering – better.

Diversity in veg. Francesca is determined to eat some different varieties of vegetables this year (rather than her current staple of tomatoes and wilting lettuce) and has some exciting ideas about how to prepare them: mixed with cheese or sprinkled with chilli or submerged in cream or roasted… in fact, she has made this sound so appealing that it may yet be adopted by more of us!

Altruism in business. A collective resolution here: we have been blown away by the support we have received from other small businesses and start-ups since the launch of Stand Agency –

introductions, tips, friendly support… and often from people we had never met before. Big companies have a tendency to be more secretive and less willing to help each other. The small business community is exactly that – a community. We believe that if you help and support other businesses, you never know how they might be able to help you in the future. So this is exactly what we resolve to do!

 Get healthy. Whilst rejecting the idea of completely giving up anything she likes doing, Nikki is on a mission to improve her general fitness and has adopted the cunning approach of hijacking her friends’ more rigid New Year regimes as and when it suits. Getting fit is also a 2013 goal of Blair’s – perhaps a run around Stand Towers at lunch, guys?

Experimenting. Another Stand Agency collective resolution here – this one is all about not being afraid to take risks, and trying different ways of approaching things. We are all committed to an experiment or two in 2013 without being held back by fear of failure. Aren’t we brave?!

New experiences in London. Penny received some great books about exciting things to do in London for Christmas, and is full of inspiration as a result – strangely, quite a few of the activities on her to-do list seem to be based around experiencing pubs. Hmmm….

 Continue the cake. Okay, so it isn’t technically a resolution, and jars somewhat with the ‘get fit’ objectives of some of the team – but Stand Agency simply wouldn’t be the same without its regular injection of baked goods, courtesy of Laura. The Standard was set high early on this year with an exceptional lemon and polenta creation. Keep up the good work!

Yes.  Say yes to more invites, ideas, offers and questions!  Good things happen to those people who put the time in – whether social or professional so let’s see what happens when the people at Stand says “Yes!”…