Its not all about the highlight reel by Jodie Fraser

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE HIGHLIGHT REEL

As 2021 comes to a close, and we move into another year of uncertainty, I wanted to take a moment to not only reflect on the past year, but to really think about how everything has affected me as a person, a business owner, a mother, a wife, a daughter and granddaughter.

Firstly, I think it’s fair to say that this time last year, we all wanted 2021 to be a fresh start more so than any other year. 2020 had been awful for so many as thousands of people lost their lives, lost their loved ones, and lost their businesses. And then – Christmas was cancelled. 2021 had to be better, right? But it wasn’t.  Covid cases continued to soar and we immediately went into a lockdown. There never seemed to be an end in sight and we were all just expected to keep going. 

For me personally, the mental toll of the various lockdowns was only evident when my 90 year old grandmother forgot who I was. Alongside my mother, I had been her carer for 5 years. When she forgot me, that hit me harder than anything else.  I am an only child of an only child, so our little family have always been incredibly close. I always knew that she may forget me one day, but because I was forced to stay away from her it was even harder to accept. I think we forget that by keeping our loved ones safe from Covid, our mental health suffers beyond repair. 

On the upside, she absolutely adores my 2 year old daughter so even if I have to watch their relationship blossom from the side lines, I will cherish those moments forever. 

I wonder though, will 2022 be any different? What will this year bring, and how ‘normal’ will it be? 

Business wise, I couldn’t be more grateful. We started the year as a very small business, managing only 10 blocks of flats and I’m really proud to say that we’re ending the year managing 36 developments across Bristol, Cheltenham, London, Bath, Wiltshire and the West Midlands. This has been our best year yet and the team has grown to accommodate the growth. Building the team hasn't been an easy ride and I've come up against some difficult people, but as we end the year, I couldn't be happier with the team I have around me, which includes our amazing freelancers as well as in house staff.

There were difficulties along the way as I didn’t make the changes I needed quickly enough to keep up with the business growth and I tried to do it all myself.  I’ve made some mistakes along the way but I don’t believe in hiding from that. I believe in being honest and working through it. That includes being honest with clients, contractors, family and friends.

The difference with me, is that I genuinely care about the consequences of making those mistakes. I work late, I get up early, I work weekends and spend time away from my family to put those mistakes right. Of course, no one knows that. To anyone I have annoyed or to anyone that I have let down, all they see is that they are not getting the service they expect. They are not getting their needs met. My issues are not their problem. They don’t see the sleepless nights, all the hours worked, they just want the job done and I completely understand that! 

So many of my clients are so kind and so lovely. They are understanding, they appreciate everything that I do and everything that I am trying to achieve. Unfortunately, there are some that are not so kind, and this year I have experienced horrendous trolling online that I now have a solicitor involved, and the police needed to be informed. The trolling wasn’t just a few nasty comments. It was a campaign. A campaign to do all they could to discredit me and tear down all of my hard work. No adult conversation, just straight for the jugular. I realise though that this sort of behaviour says so much more about them than me.

Some of our social media posts, where we have taken pride in our achievements during a very difficult year have been ‘hijacked’ by people who have their own agenda. Of course, comments posted online leave out a lot of the truth or make crazy exaggerations.  

It has always been important to me to be honest. I write about mental health a lot on LinkedIn and always want to speak out if something isn’t right. I recently posted a video about the online trolling I had suffered and how you don’t know what is going on in someone’s life when you make these spiteful comments. How someone could be at breaking point and then a comment knocks you down even further.  

I wonder how many people think before writing these comments. I wonder how many people think “is what I am saying 100% true”. I have recently come up against someone claiming not to have heard from us in 7 weeks and commented about this on a public forum. Was this comment true – no it wasn’t. Did he have an issue – yes. However, his issue wasn’t something that I could resolve. His issue revolved around the fact that his flat sale wasn’t going to go through before the stamp duty holiday came to an end. This wasn’t anything to do with me or the company, but he still needed someone to blame.

Was there more to his aggression than the flat not selling in time? Most likely! He may have been in financial difficulty and his anger had to go somewhere. 

In the grand scheme of things, I try and look beyond the problem and try and understand underlying issues. Unfortunately, I don’t always get treated in the same way. 

Fraser Allen isn’t a huge national business. It is a local company, run by a mother of a toddler who puts blood, sweat and tears into every day to make the company the best it can be.  I am so proud of what has been achieved. The award wins, the national and local press, the charity work and the business expansion and I’m going to share that on my social media channels, because it’s been a 15-year journey to get here. This is what I have always wanted. 

What will 2022 bring? All I hope is that we can continue to do all we can to help our clients. To draw a line under any mistakes we have made and move forward with pride and dignity in this crazy world we live in. 

Sending our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me and the company this year and let’s go and have an amazing year in 2022.