Every year, Business Mums Network run a special promotion for the entire month of May. These offers - some products heavily discounted, others with great bonuses - are not just from Business Mums. There are a whole series of businesses who have joined in the promotions.
Business Mums are offering a huge saving on subscriptions to The Business Mums Magazine (a fantastic magazine, full of practical information for parents running a business, and edited by Yours Truly).
Plus, there’s plenty more offers such as:
Nuvo Maternity will give free express delivery AND a discount on purchases
I recently found out that one of my long-term clients nominated me for Australia’s prestigious 2008 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Awards.
When I look back over some of the amazing women who have won this award in previous years, I can’t begin to imagine that I would win it. However I am over the moon by the fact that someone else thinks I deserve it.
I am truly honoured to be nominated. This, to me, is a reassurance that I’m doing things right and an encouragement for me to continue helping others to successfully establish and manage their own business.
Throughout life, and particularly when you’re starting out in business, there will be numerous people who try to steal your dreams. I call these people Dreamtakers. Sometimes they are cleverly disguised as people who love you and care about you. Well, maybe they’re not disguised… they really do care about you and are often only acting out of concern.
These are the people who try to tell you why you can’t do something, or they only see all the problems you may encounter.
When I was writing my first book, Ready, Set, Go For It! (the complete women’s guide to operating a small business in Australia), there was one day that I remember so clearly. I was visiting one of my relatives and one of her friends was visiting too. My relative was telling her about the book I was writing and this friend then went on to tell me how hard it is to get a book published… how everybody has that dream and most people never succeed… and how there was no way I would get mine published. She carried on for nearly an hour, asking me questions then telling me why that wouldn’t work.
I went home quite disappointed and had almost given up. My son, then aged 11, came home from school and wondered why I wasn’t tapping away on the keyboard writing the next chapter, like every other day! When I explained why, his reply was: “So how many books has this woman written?” (None). “And how long has she worked in the publishing industry?” (She doesn’t). “So why on Earth would you listen to her?” He then pointed to my desk and demanded that I get back to work. (Yeah, I sometimes wonder who the parent is too).
The Dreamtakers tried to tell me I couldn’t run a successful small business… my business is almost 10 years old and has supported us this whole time.
The Dreamtakers tried to tell me I couldn’t publish a book… my first book came out in 2004 and that was just the beginning!
Now the Dreamtakers are telling me another project I’m working on won’t work… and I thank them for their words - that’s just the incentive I need to prove them wrong, yet again.
So, next time the Dreamtakers try to steal your dreams, hold on tight. If you’re truly passionate about something, by all means listen to their advice as there may be something useful in it… but do what you believe is right for you. And if your idea doesn’t work, at least you know you tried.
Here’s an inspirational video that I thought you might like, all about dreams.
So dream on… and here’s to your success in business…
This is a fantastic site for those who enjoy craft (I enjoy thinking about it, but whatever I make never ends up looking as good as it did in my head! I think I’ll stick to writing).
What particularly caught my attention about this site is their innovative way of encouraging other sites to link to them. In addition to some great competitions, anyone who links to them goes into a draw to win an advertising package worth $5,000AUD! How good is that?
If you’re into craft, that’s got to be worth checking out. For everyone else, could you use a competition to encourage visitors or links to your site?
I just received 13 emails from an associate… all in a row… one after another. And I was so grateful she sent each one separately!
Some people may prefer to get one email with all the information, but these 13 emails, while on the same project, were each on a different section. When you have so much information like this, it’s actually easier to receive - and store - the different sections in different emails, rather than trying to search one endless email for that little snippet of information you may want at any time.
Tash at Word Constructions mentions this on one of her posts - email subjects - that’s worth reading. Plus, she shares several other great tips for constructing a good subject heading to help get your emails read.
Annette Piper has a post on her blog where she talks about planning to attend the upcoming Ironfest which got me thinking about expos.
Displays at expos and trade shows can be a great way to promote your business, products or services and to meet new customers and potential customers. They can also be a good way of meeting fellow industry professionals.
Many of these expos don’t come cheap so if you’re going to pay to be involved, you want to make sure you get the most for your dollar.
Before you start packing your display products, first decide what you want to achieve from the event. Do you want to sell lots of products? Maybe your aim is to gather contact details for leads… possible customers. Or do you want to educate the public about your products or industry? Knowing this will help you plan your display.
Here are a few tips for next time you have a display:
If your main aim is to collect contact details of leads, consider holding a competition for people to enter, then ask if they would like to be added to your mailing list (always ask permission before adding people to your marketing list).
Make sure your stand is clean, uncluttered and attractive to your target market.
Have something on your stand to encourage people to come over to you - a bowl of lollies, giveaways, lots of colour and excitement.
Don’t just sit behind your table and wait for people to come and speak with you… go to them, stand to the side of or in front of your display and smile while greeting people walking by.
Check with the organisers as to whether they will supply quality covers for display tables. If not, make sure you take your own.
Product samples or ‘Special Expo Discounts’ are a good idea too.
Don’t forget to take a camera so you can get some great pics of your display - you never know when these might come in handy.
“Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more.” A. Lou Vickery, Writer
I like that advice. When you think you’ve finished your work for today, or your training or learning or whatever… what is that little bit more that you can do to help you to rise above the crowd?
Are you eligible for Government funding? How can you export your products to Asia?
Join us at the May Business Growth Session in Brisbane, Australia, for all the answers.
Terrena Burrows, Principal Regional Development Officer at the Northside Centre, Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, will talk about the various resources available to assist small businesses - including general advice, funding, exporting and where to go for guidance. You might be surprised at some of the resources that are waiting for you!
Click here for full details. If you come along, make sure you say hello to me.
For anyone whose business caters to Mother’s Day, I’m sure you are all set for this special day by now, having planned your promotions and special offers some time ago.
Did you ever wonder when the concept of Mother’s Day began? Apparently this day originates from Britain during the 17th Century. It was a day when servants and apprentices were allowed to travel home to see their mothers, usually taking a gift with them. The day became known as Mothering Day. If you would like to know more, read all about The Meaning of Mother’s Day at My New Shiny Shoes - it gives you all the facts and makes for an interesting read.
On Melissa Khalinsky’s blog she includes a post about Links to Your Site, talking about five ways of attracting traffic to your site. I love a comment she includes in her first tip:
“…there are many sites who are happy to do a link exchange. Before requesting an exchange, look at the site closely to see if they do exchange links.”
Great tip Melissa. I would like to add to that by encouraging people to request to link only with RELEVANT sites. I have received so many requests from people to be linked to my site, either a reciprocal link or one-way. Unfortunately, most of these requests come from businesses that have absolutely no relevance to my sites - totally different products/services, totally different markets.
To get your hands on this, you can download it now for free from one of my sites - Jacaranda Business Support Services. It’s on the left hand side, under the heading Who wants some free stuff?
It contains great articles from various authors on a wide range of topics about running a business, including one by Yours Truly, explaining the basic differences between PR, Advertising and Marketing… and which is best for you.
I received a wonderful phone call from one of my clients yesterday. I recently wrote a media release for her and she was ringing to tell me that shortly after sending it out, she received a phone call from one of the major, prime-time TV shows to say that they would like to interview her live next Tuesday.
How exciting for her!
I quickly sent her a few tips to help her prepare but I would love to hear more. I know there are a lot of experienced business people who read this blog… have you ever been interviewed live on prime-time TV? Can you offer any real life tips and suggestions, particularly ways to appear confident - including how to remember your name and what your business does - when you have 1,000,001 butterflies doing a jig in your stomach?
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.”
William Feather 1889-1981, Writer
Sometimes our lives get so busy, often working more to earn more money to spend on things to make us happy. Yet we are so busy, we don’t actually stop and enjoy being happy.
Remember… happiness is a state of mind, not a place of being.
I’m very grateful that I love my work. I enjoy (almost!) every moment of it, so it doesn’t feel like work or like a chore. While this is good, it’s also very easy to get caught up working long hours, including working through my weekends. Now and then I stop myself and ask why I’m doing this in the first place. I think it’s okay to work long hours if I’m happy doing that, so long as other areas of my life aren’t missing out.
Today, make sure you take some time to stop and smell the flowers, so to speak… stop and enjoy your happiness.
I just read a post on the Tonic Gifts blog about how their trademark application for their logo was recently approved, prompting me to write about the topic.
Did you know that it’s not only names and logos that can be protected by trademarks, but you can also trademark things such as colours?
There has been a huge landmark case in Australia in recent years where two different chocolate companies use the same shade of purple in their marketing. One company successfully trademarked this shade as apparently, it is distinctively used by them. The other smaller company, who had also been using this shade of purple for some years, was required to change to another colour.
Trademarks can be words, images, colours, shapes, sounds or a combination of these.
No matter what type of business you run, it’s vitally important to define clear boundaries - things such as your hours of operation, how you provide your service… there are even boundaries between your work and family life or perhaps issues with employees.
On the Tilda Virtual Services blog, Kylie talks about setting her boundaries when it comes to clients and their expectations.
This is a topic a lot of people don’t give a lot of thought to when new to the business-world. Often, new business owners are eager to please everyone and in the end, they run themselves ragged and that doesn’t help anybody. I know - I used to do it too!
If you haven’t already done so, I urge you to give consideration to where your boundaries lie. What are your hours of operation? What do you do if a client wants work done urgently of an evening or weekend? What if two clients what your attention at the same time? What about potential clients who try to negotiate a lower hourly rate or project fee - do you negotiate?
Then, once you’ve set your boundaries, it’s important to stick to them!
Did you ever wonder how much of a contribution small businesses (incorporating micro buisnesses) make to the economy?
There is an interesting post at Modern Goddess Online - Women in Business - that includes some statistics on small businesses across the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
Guys, don’t let the name of the post deter you - I believe the figures are interesting for all small business owners.
This post goes on to say that no matter what type of business you operate, the key factors to success are:
your suitability as a small business owner
your business idea or concept
preparation of a feasibility study
development of a business plan, including a marketing plan, financial plan and operational plan
seek outside help
develop basic management skills
develop entepreneurial skills
By being aware of these factors you can hopefully see where you might be lacking and learn the necessary skills or employ/contract others with these skills.
Almost every day I receive some sort of email from a well-meaning relative, friend or colleague, warning me about the latest ’shocking danger’. These warnings range from health issues, scams, computer viruses, safety issues… I’m sure you know the ones I am referring to. What’s more, these emails almost always ask you to forward the warning to everyone in your address book to make sure they’re aware of the potential dangers too.
Do you automatically forward on these warnings?
I don’t.
I go to a fantastic website - Truth or Fiction. You can look up the general topic of the warning email you’ve been sent and nine times out of ten, it will have the exact email in its files. It will tell you a little bit about the email and whether it’s true, fiction or a combination.
Before you automatically forward those ‘urgent warnings’, have a quick look on Truth or Fiction.
