I know I've moaned about August a lot. But this week I realised that it also has its advantages.

I know I've been whingeing a lot lately. But not this week. This was one of those weeks when lots of things (some big, some small) go right, and you end the week in a much better position than you started it. I think entrepreneurs desperately need that from time to time, because it reinforces your belief that you're on the right track, and it infuses the whole place with a bit of positive momentum - particularly useful after the slower summer months. Anyway, these were my three highlights:

1. Contrary to my expectations, and after a suspiciously slow start, it looks like we've had a really good August. I guess the good thing about everyone going away this month is that some people come back (unlike me, as discussed last week) with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and vigour - determined to make real inroads into the nether regions of their to-do list. And in some cases, that means they'll hire us to do some work for them. We've won three quite chunky projects since I got back from holiday, and although the money won't all show up in the August numbers (since we won't do all the work straight away) it definitely leaves this quarter looking a lot healthier.

2. My new COO (aka Fixer) started on Monday. And I've already managed to dump a load of stuff on him that I've been wanting to do for ages but have never got round to (my general principle is that sales trump everything else, though it's more of a guideline than a rule). The other good thing about August and the summer months, I've realised, is that you have a bit more time on your plate (not a lot, but a bit) to think about these things. And because I knew he was coming, I've been able to concentrate on planning it all in principle, safe in the knowledge that I could foist the nitty-gritty onto him when he arrived. He's only been here a couple of days, so it's a bit early to salute him as my greatest ever hire, but first impressions have been very good - he seems incredibly competent and, in his quiet way, seems to be getting on well with everyone else.

3. And speaking of which... Perhaps the most surprising event of the week came yesterday, when my HR manager dragged me and Fixer into a meeting room and actually apologised - completely unprompted - for her crazily passive-aggressive behaviour at their first meeting the other week. She said her nervousness about her own prospects just got the better of her. Now arguably this was the only sensible thing for her to do, given that she must know that she didn't exactly hit it off with her new boss, and now he's in situ he (theoretically) gets to decide whether or not she has a job. And unfortunately for her, I get the impression that Fixer did indeed see it as little more than a fairly desperate self-preservation measure. But knowing her as I do, I really don't think she's the calculating type; in fact, her big problem is her tendency to go with her heart, not her head. So I believed her apology, and - as I said to Fixer afterwards - I think it earns her the chance for a fresh start with him. If nothing else, it takes the heat out of that situation a bit.

So there you have it: a week of surprises, almost all of them pleasant. Maybe I was wrong about August after all.