EXTRACT FOR
No More Worries
(Dianne Herbert)

I came out of my shop a little bit puzzled. No, that wasn't right. I came out of what was now someone else's shop a lot puzzled. I'd signed the sale transfer, and received the correct funds back but, as that was all done online, I'd never met the other person ??" or persons ??" involved and, for the life of me, I couldn't remember who that was. That wasn't right, was it? Surely I should know who it was that I had sold out to?



The bigger issue was the amount of the sale - $1. I'd spent over twelve years building up my business, starting from when I left university. First with one shop, then eventually buying another, and then a third. I'd worked incredibly long hours over most of that time, with very little time for a social life outside the business.



I'd been running everything myself for quite some time before employing anyone other than a few front of shop staff. Now I had good managers and assistants in all three of the locations and, including the part-timers (but not the casual Saturday girls), I had over twenty-five people working for me.



The business had grown steadily from nothing, where I'd had to put everything I had into it to keep afloat, to one where I was now taking out a hundred thousand pounds a year ??" as well as having the perks of using my stock when I wanted. And as that was high-end designer clothing, shoes, handbags, and jewellery, I borrowed a lot.



Why then had I sold the business for $1? Why dollars anyway since we used the pound in the UK? Presumably, it was an international buyer. But for just $1? That was clearly ludicrous! A couple of years ago I'd been made an offer to sell out for £1.2 million, and it was worth far more now as we'd increased sales and even managed to move partially online. $2 million minimum now, and even that would be cheeky. So $1?



As I started to panic about what I'd just done, I knew what I needed to do now. Without really thinking about it, I sat down on a bench nearby and took out my phone. Hitting the first app, the icon for which was oversized, making it impossible to miss, I opened No More Worries. Immediately my stress levels dropped, and I felt myself start to relax.



Going by the clock on the phone it was about two hours later when I became aware of my surroundings again. It had rained in the meantime and, as I was only wearing a light suit jacket, I was soaked through. My hair was hanging down and dripping, all sense of style or glamour gone. None of which mattered though. 



I was aware of the reasons that I'd sold out for what still seemed a ludicrous price. I couldn't quite articulate them ??" even to myself ??" but just knowing that there were perfectly good and valid reasons for what I'd done made all the difference to me. I could now carry on about the rest of my day with No More Worries.