Many questions ran through my head, Who is she? Why is her photo still in the frame? Did she go through a divorce? Is she no longer with us?

For me it felt strange that such an important photo was discarded in a second hand store.

Maybe it wasn’t a dream wedding but often photos are cherished and saved throughout the generations.

There was a part of me that felt obliged to buy this precious snap shot and preserve this memory online.

I also stumbled across this picture of girls having a laugh; they look like they are having so much fun.

This photograph echoes many drunken hilarious moments that I shared with my friends and there was a part of me that wanted to cherish this little snap shot in time.

Maybe now the girls barely speak or are too busy with families.

There were times when I felt like sending similar letters out!

Its been a while since i’ve been silly with the camera! This is my dog Bunny tuckered out after a long walkie!

Golden Days Images preserves old photos and places them on DVD and CD. They are also branching out into capturing small events involving filming and photographing precious moments to place on DVD. 10 Dec 11 | Flying Solo

Here, we ask the tough questions.
Who, or what, is your biggest inspiration?
My mentor Kelly who runs a successful dog sitting business called L for Dog. She has made me think outside the square and I would like to be as successful as she is one day!

What’s the biggest challenge you face at work?
Golden Days Images is my first business so every day I am learning what it is like to be a small business owner. My major challenge so far is getting the word out that Golden Days Images is up and running and the general account keeping. But I love the creative aspects of the job and one day I would like to become much bigger!

What’s the most enjoyable element of your work? And the least enjoyable?
Every day I am involved in a role I am passionate about, this has been the dream for a long time! Before Golden Days Images every day was like a rejection train, I was constantly applying for jobs I was qualified to do but kept getting knocked back. I’m so happy to have received government support through the NEIS program to start my own business. I think one of my weaknesses is account keeping but I’m gradually getting better at it!

What do you love most about running your own business?
I love the endless possibilities. There are so many opportunities out there, it is just a matter of getting amongst it! I love that I can make on the spot decisions and don’t have to go through meeting after meeting to get one thing done. I love being creative and meeting lots of amazing people. I just love everything about Golden Days Images, its Valentine’s Day all year long!

What would be your advice to aspiring soloists?
Believe in yourself and your abilities, don’t be afraid to give it a shot, there is nothing to lose. If you are passionate and driven then success will follow.

Do you subscribe to any magazines or newspapers?
I love Frankie magazine. I’m constantly inspired by their witty writers and articles.

How would you describe yourself in three adjectives?
Bubbly, driven, passionate.

And now comes the plug!
What do you do? Who for? And how does it benefit them?
Golden Days Images preserves old photos and places them on DVD and CD. We are also branching out from scanning old photographs into capturing small events involving filming and photographing precious moments to place on DVD.

These situations are small but will be memorable in the future such as father and daughter at the beach or your precious pooch hanging out at the dog park.

I care a lot about community work and am currently starting an exhibition starring locals in Frankston.

And where can we find out more?

Flying Solo Directory: www.flyingsolo.com.au/directory/32201/Golden-Days-Images
My website: www.goldendaysimages.com.au
Blog: www.goldendaysimages.com

It was then I realised no one had taken the reins to sort out venues and entertainment.

Obviously the idea was planted and there were a few sketchy comments over dates but somehow planning never got off the ground.

I wanted to start oraganising months ago but I did not want to step on the toes of those who had already begun planning!

It as at 8am Monday 2 January that I decided to kick event organizer Travis out of the hot seat and plunge head on into planning!

At this stage I contacted Travis asking what he had organised to no reply, obviously if this event was going to happen on the 14th of January then some major ass kicking needed to happen!

Some would ask why bother? Well we had three girls who had travelled all the way from Denmark for this event and I know it would be very disappointing for the Dutch chicks if they were not reunited with the great purple posse of 2001-2005!

I was once told if I set my mind to it then I can move mountains…well in this case it was the power to motivate a bunch of Luna graduates to attend a reunion with 2 weeks notice!

Of course my first point of call was Facebook that’s where a majority of the Purple posse are members.

At first I started writing messages on the Luna Park group wall for ideas then went ahead and organised an event page!

I’m sure a lot of people were sick of these three words “Luna Park Reunion” but I wanted to gain a big following!

Slowly but surely the word started to get out and even those not my “friends” got the message the Great Luna Park reunion is going ahead!

I even managed to gain numbers to call up stray Lunatics who were not on Facebook!

Soon I hit St Kilda to find venues that would host the purple posse and stumbled across Big Mouth, which suits the Luna Park theme! They were surprised that a big group would invade their premises but were very accommodating!

Then I realised what would make the event extra special is to organise free rides at Luna Park so we could all experience a little bit of nostalgia.

At first I had no idea who to contact as Luna Park now has new management but thanks to Facebook I soon was in contact with a team leader!

Thanks to Brooke everyone who attends the Luna Park reunion will receive a free ticket to enjoy rides!

Personally I think my little venture into event organising shows if you put your mind to it then you can do anything with A LOT or A Little Notice!

Now I am looking forward to less organising and more enjoying my hard work on Saturday!

When being asked how I have managed to promote Golden Days Images into the real world, people are often surprised a whole posse was not involved!

My motivation may make some feel depressed but I am the proud owner of 100 rejection letters, I don’t want to go back to the words “Thank you for your time” and “We wish you well in the future.”

I know on all the marketing material and website stuff I write “We and our” a lot, its not that I have multiple personalities its just I have a vision that Golden Days Images will be bigger than just me in the future.

What I love about starting a small business is you don’t have to go through many meetings to make a simple decision. If you want something done either do it your self or call a professional!

Of course I’ve already made many mistakes but the beauty of it all is I can learn from them!

At the start one of my major mistakes was trademarking the name “Beyond Time Images” not realising I also had to register the business name with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

While Beyond Time Images was not taken it was similar to Beyond Images, which meant I had to change the name!

It was frustrating because I already had business cards and marketing material but I eventually came up with Golden Days Images.

Personally I think the name change worked in my favour as it embodies the old world glamour my business presents.

I really feel in my gut that I am FINALLY on the right path and I am looking forward to what the New Year will bring for Golden Days Images!

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 28 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Its funny I’ve always been the interviewee and I never realised that maybe one day I’ll be the one asking the questions.

Watching videos of NEIS graduates is very inspiring especially since they started out in similar situations like me.

All them started out with just an idea and with a lot of hard work they made their dream a reality.

Most of them were frustrated that despite how hard they tried they could not score a job complimenting their skills.

I’ve lost count of the number of rejection letters that flood my hard drive and now instead of being depressed when looking at them I feel determined to show those employers I can kick ass.

Maybe I’m placing a lot of hope into Golden Days Images but I truly believe from the reaction so far that I’m going to make it one step at a time!

One of my aims is to be in the position where I can give someone an opportunity to thrive in a position they are passionate about.

Personally I have been to many interviews where I had to compete against others in massive groups.

It was like being in a fast-food outlet, if you did not stand out you were culled and the next order would be yelled out!

While it was not a Happy Meal ending, I did learn that butcher paper, if you were stuck on Mars scenarios and build a tower from paper activities would be banished from any of my future interviews!

What I enjoyed most was the one on one interview while competitive I had a chance to speak to an employer face-to-face.

I felt that I could ask for feedback and wasn’t part of a mass production line.

That’s the type of interview I would like to conduct professional but laid back.

While experience would rate highly I think I would look for a raw jewel that I could mentor and teach.

Personally you could have a ton of experience but if you have passion and a desire to succeed the world is your oyster.

The idea of living online after passing is what got me curious about what happens to our social media networks.

Even though the Internet is relatively new most of us have social media accounts where we store important information.

Without realising it we have said good-bye to writing letters, manually writing diary entries and printing photographs

Instead we have embraced technology and said hello to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, blogging and Linked In.

But what happens to all this information after we hit the pearly gates of Heaven?

With Facebook our profiles remain online even if we are not actively sharing our daily thoughts, someone has to contact Facebook about a person’s passing.

Relatives can memorialise or remove a profile by providing evidence of the users death usually by filling out a form with details including obituary information.

Twitter follows a similar process and there are options to close the account and obtain an archive of all the deceased public tweets.

However Twitter will not disclose account information or passwords to anyone even your relatives.

For those wanting to save their memorable tweets this is a link to some interesting tools: Read Write Web

Personally I am a big fan of Flickr the photo sharing website and I was really interested in what would happen to my treasured memories.

The official response from Flickr was they work with the Yahoo Legal Compliance team in these types of situations and if the relatives would like the account closed they will need to send a copy of the death certificate.

Through trawling forums I discovered there are several accounts on Flickr where the user has died and family members have maintained the site as a tribute.

Of course I won’t forget business professionals concerned about their online contacts with Linked In providing a simple verification of death form.

Some folks may like their blog kept online for future generations, allowing relatives to discover what type of person they were.

In a way a blog is a digital diary where all thoughts, hopes and ambitions are written in intricate detail, unfortunately for WordPress users there is no current procedure in case of death.

However a good idea is to chat with relatives and tell them where you have stored your user names and passwords

While on the topic of storage there are a number of online companies offering encrypted space for people to share passwords and other information.

Legacy Locker, and Asset Lock are just two firms eager to store all your top-secret material.

Founder of Legacy Locker Jeremy Toeman says all the time spent online on social networking, email or even playing World of War craft is considered an asset.

“All those things are digital assets and they represent significant investments in time and a lot of personal value, “ he says

“As we accumulate these digital assets, it is becoming increasingly problematic for people to properly protect them in the event of their passing.”

For those worried they won’t get the chance to tell people how they really feel or want to leave a juicy secret till the end there is a site called Death Switch.

The site gives user options to write farewell emails to friends, relatives and secret lovers.

Imagine discovering your father created a love child through this way?

Even though emails are protected ensuring only intended recipients can see messages, there is one flaw if you become lazy and don’t answer the flock of Death Switch emails, they will assume you are deceased and goodbye messages will be automatically sent!

Personally the best way to protect your online geeky paradise is to plan ahead and write your digital assets into your will.

Detail how you would like your online presence handled after you have joined God’s posse in heaven.

Make sure you leave a friend or relative as a digital beneficiary who knows what to do with the information, there is no point sharing this knowledge with someone who hates computers!

Even though this is a horrible subject maybe some will find peace that their legacy will live on in a digital world.