Another month is in the books and our first quarter in business is complete!

Ecology is already tracking at a rate very comparable if not ahead of our busiest times over the past couple of years, so we're feeling very thankful for our supporters and proud of our efforts so far in this journey.

November felt a little more 'under control' than our two previous months, yet still had plenty of fun times and challenges involved. Seven new sale contracts were negotiated; it felt really great to get some negotiations across the line for some of our clients who have had to be a little more 'patient' than maybe they had initially hoped - I've found that sometimes it's a sprint, sometimes it's a half marathon; I always just want to be sure everyone's smiling at the end of the process, regardless of the challenges we're faced with.

Office renovations have been in full swing this month with Tom Haydock and his team at Lavish Constructions (free plug) doing a sensational job of the works and improvements there. They've stripped the old kitchenette, flooring, lighting & fittings out - and then proceeded to add in three walls to give us a small meeting room and a dedicated front reception area. We also wanted to replace the generic smooth sign writing board that was on the facade with VJ texture fibre cement sheet to add a little appeal; upon starting these works we found the roof of the front awning wasn't in great shape after dealing with a fair few years of weather, so we elected to work in with the building owner to replace the roof and add some extra fall plus a new down pipe to hopefully eliminate any future issues (Lavish Constructions even arranged custom flashings, pretty flashy!). New custom cabinetry has been created by Focus on Kitchens and is now also installed; they've created a custom two person reception desk and kitchenette for us. Mahon Decorating got the call up to do all the painting and finishing, inside & out - for an old building that was showing some 'character' they've really excelled and made it shine again, we're so proud of how it's looking now. We are on the home stretch now with the renovation; with TMEC Electrical due to come back for the final fit-off just as soon as my lighting fixtures arrive (sorry for slowness Justin) and then Floorworld Toowoomba will be in to install our new flooring - can't wait to see it all completed and get some photos taken.

On a staffing front; our original choice for our administration & sales support role didn't work out as originally planned (it's a long story, but we're all smiling still - I promise) which gave me the opportunity to meet with another standout person who was a clear favourite for next in line... she's excited to start with us in the new year. We've also appointed our first sales agent, I'm really looking forward to helping him get up to speed, putting together some cool marketing and having plenty of fun while doing so - he starts late 2018 and will be ready to set up a desk in the new office as soon as I've had a chance to purchase one (which I'll do really soon!).

Personally; our first baby (the human type, not the business type) is getting very close to making it's way into the world. Due in January 2019, baby De Maid (for those who don't already know) was the main catalyst for starting this business in the first place; being a dad is something that will without a doubt encourage me to grow, as he/she grows over the years to come. I'm extremely thankful and proud of what this business has become over the last three months and I'm even more excited about what's to come in life and in business as we start to surround ourselves with like-minded, great people for the year ahead.