Archive for Looking after YOU
Friday Five - Inspiration
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Inspired by a post over at BusyMum 2010 on inspiration, this weeks Friday Five is some of the things I do when I need inspiration and I’m stuck!
- Take a break - if I can, sometimes taking a break from what I’m doing can help the inspiration come. It can be as quick as making a cuppa and coming back to the computer, or it may be taking the weekend off.
- Read some blogs - depending on what I need inspiration on, sometimes reading some blogs can help. Sites such as Blog Whammy and Business Mums Daily have great blogs to read.
- Music - listening to music can often help too. The sort of music I listen to depends on my mood and what I need inspiration for. Annette talks more about this on her blog.
- Watch TV - yes, sometimes watching TV can provide inspiration! Again, it depends on the sort of mood I’m in, what I need inspiration for and what is on TV at the time. For example, last week I did a post inspired by The Collectors, a show on ABC I don’t normally watch, it just happened to be on at the time. You can read the post here.
- Kids - as business mums, we have kids. There are times when things our kids say or do can provide inspiration, whether it’s for a blog post, new product or service, or even a business idea! Spend some quality time with your kids and pay attention, you never know when inspiration will strike. Just make sure you have a notebook with you to write down your ideas so you can continue having a great time with your kids.
These are just 5 things that help me, especially with blog posts, but also for other things. What things help you with inspiration, especially at times when you really need it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyDo you work through lunch?
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Do you take a break?
Do you take a lunch break or do you madly work through without a break from the time the kids go to school to when they get home?
It can be tempting to work through without a break, suddenly realising that you’re hungry around the time you pick the kids up from school. Or taking your lunch to your desk and work while you eat.
Ask yourself this - in life before children, did you take a lunch break then? When I was working BC (before children), I would make a point of going to the corner shop for my lunch. If I had brought my lunch to work, I’d go and get a hot chocolate. This would give me a change of scenery and short work and a break from work.
Recently I’ve started having a lunch break. Usually I sit and watch Dr Phil or some other trashy thing on TV because it’s been too cold & wet to go for a walk. I wish there was a coffee place near me… Other times I’ll go up to my brother’s cafe or somewhere in between to have lunch or a hot chocolate for a change of scenery and a good break. Sometimes the break is for an hour, other times shorter, other times longer.
Having a break is important. Often great ideas will flow, but more often than not, the break helps me come back in the afternoon refreshed and ready for the next task.
So, do you take a lunch break? If not, it might be time to start.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailySTOP! Being all things to all people
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Stop trying to be all things to all people
This post is as much a reminder to me as it is to you!
I have spent much of today reminding myself to stop being all things to all people. And I know I’m not the only one who falls for this.
If you’re anything like me, you read blogs and follow Facebook pages and read eBooks and any number of other things, and come up with great ideas for business that would be a great idea, especially if you see someone else doing something and thing “I could do that better/differently/as well as….” and then decide to implement it.
Well, it’s time to stop doing that and focus on one or two things, become really good at it, get it humming along and work well BEFORE EVEN THINKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ELSE.
One thing to keep in mind is the saying “You can’t please all of the people all of the time”. You will have some customers go elsewhere because you are not offering what they want. This is one place where strategic alliances come in well. Instead of offering everything, identify gaps in your offerings and find someone else who does it and form a strategic alliance with them.
Another thing to keep in mind is this - if you try and do everything, you will find that nothing gets done well, and you will stress yourself out, and everyone around you. Basically no one wins. You may even find your business starts going backwards because of it.
So, now it’s time to stop trying to be all things to all people and focus on what we are good at. Are you with me?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyIt has to suit YOU!
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Choose a date that suits you!
One issue with social media is you can be too accessible to your customers and their thoughts.
I recently saw some posts on Facebook from a number of different people trying to find a date for a chat and/or an online party plan style sale. The gist of the posts were trying to find a date that suited everyone. It seemed that every customer had an opinion in the date and time, leaving the poor business owner in a tizzy because she was having trouble choosing a date.
Whenever you are trying to choose a date for something, you will always find there are people who can’t come. You can’t please everyone. The best thing to do is make sure the date suits YOU!
It may be that an evening after the kids are in bed is best, or first thing in the morning. There will always be someone who can’t make it, that’s a fact of life.
The best thing to do is to have an alternative available. For example:
- If you are running a webinar, record it for those who can’t attend
- If you are having an online party, give customers the opportunity to order from a catalogue before hand
There will be some things, for example a market night, where you may not be able to offer an alternative that exactly matches what you are doing, however by having an online shop, people can still purchase from you.
One thing to keep in mind - it is your business, it has to suit you and your family.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailySimplify your business with Strategic Alliances
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Doing too much? Simplify with Strategic Alliances
Do you ever find that you are offering too much in your business? Especially if you keep adding on more services in response to your customers needs, or want to keep adding them. As a business mum, this can be an easy trap to fall in to.
One way you can still offer extra services to your customers without creating more work for yourself is to team up with some strategic alliance partners who offer the services your customers are looking for.
This can work in a number of different ways:
- Affiliate Program - if someone is offering an awesome product or service you want to recommend to your customers, see if they have an affiliate program. This is essentially a program where you get a commission on all sales, usually through a unique link added to your website.
- Reciprocal Agreement - if you have a product or service that your alliance partner can use, and they have one that you can use, then have a reciprocal agreement. This doesn’t have to be a formal agreement unless you want to set one up. It can be the sort of thing where, for example, you provide workshops and your alliance partner provides products.
- Reselling - if someone has a product you would like to recommend to your customers that would fill a need, see if you can resell their products instead of re-creating it. For example, if you sell hair accessories for little girls, you may want to resell other products for little girls, or products for Mum.
There are other ideas you can use, these are just a few that can help you provide a wide range of products and services without you having to do all the work!
For more about strategic alliances, join the Strategic Alliance Success club. This is an amazing resource that will help you with all you need to know about creating strategic alliances for your business (and yes, they are a strategic alliance partner of mine).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyTake the weekend off
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Enjoy your weekends
I know I normally have a Marketing Monday tip on a Monday, however today is a public holiday - the Queen’s birthday. I wasn’t going to post, however I spotted something on the weekend that had me shaking my head.
On Facebook, I saw a number of business pages posting apologies that they wouldn’t be around as they were spending time with their families!
I have noticed this a lot - many business mums don’t take the weekends off, instead continue to work frantically in their businesses.
Think about it - if you were working for someone else, you wouldn’t be working on the weekend, instead you’d be spending time with the family, doing housework, or whatever else you do on the weekends.
I know of many husbands complaining about Mums spending the whole weekend working, not to mention kids complaining.
So, the point of this post is to remind all the business mums out there to remember to take time out. Take a weekend and enjoy some quality time with your family.
Oh, and a weekend doesn’t have to be Saturday/Sunday. I know of some business mums who have husbands who do shift work and have Sunday/Monday as their weekend.
Depending on your business, you may need to be at a market or do a party plan presentation on weekends, just don’t let these take up all weekend every weekend. Take some weekends off and enjoy them!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyFriday Five - Craft & Hobbies
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a while since I’ve done a Friday Five promoting some business mums, so I thought I’d do that today. All these businesses are listed in the Business Mums Directory.
As business mums, it is important that we take time out for ourselves. Having a hobby is a great way to relax and unwind, and take time out. Whatever your hobby is, it must be something you enjoy or are interested in.
Here are 5 businesses that sell craft and hobby items.
- Crafty Mamas - not only do they have an online shop that sells a range of patterns and craft supplies, they also have an active community where you can connect with other Mums who love love all things craft.
- Craft Candy - if you love scrapbooking, this is a great site to visit. This is another site that has a message board where you can connect with others who love scrapbooking, as well as having a range of scrapbooking supplies.
- Dreamit-Createit - this is another paper craft site that has an online shop with supplies. They also have some fantastic project ideas for card making, scrapbooking, and other projects. These are available free, so if you are looking for a project, check them out.
- Scrapbook Supplies Online - another scrapbook supplies provider. This site has a wide range of products and you can shop either by type or by brand. They also pride themselves on low prices and fast delivery.
- The Needlework Boutique - for a change in theme, if you are in to needlework then this is the site to visit. They have a wide range of charts and threads as well as an annual stitching retreat.
I hope you find these suppliers useful and can take some time out to look after yourself and do a hobby you enjoy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyGreat tips for business mums
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I love it when others have written some great tips that I can share with you. I’m a big believer in not re-inventing the wheel, so when someone else has written a great article, I want to share it with you.
Over the last couple of days, I’ve had 2 articles sent to me that I thought would be good for you to read too.
The first is 10 Tips for Moms Who Run Businesses. Yes, this is an article from the US. There are 10 great tips here, including making sure you look after yourself, something many of us forget to do.
The second is Avoiding the mumpreneur pitfalls, an article from Flying Solo. There are 5 great tips here, including a warning about putting unrealistic expectations on yourself and what to do with things go wrong.
Both these articles are worth reading and applying the tips that are relevant to you. I found them useful and I’m sure you will too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailySaying thank you
Posted by: | CommentsI know I have blogged about this before, but I just came across a great post by Elena over at EP Designs. Just before Christmas she had a giveaway on her blog, and the winner of the grand prize sent her a wonderful thank you gift. Elena has included details, including photos of the gift on her blog here.
Saying thank you and sending cards and gifts is something we don’t do nearly enough. In this case, the prize winner got some promotion for her business too because not only did Elena include the details of the gift on her blog, she also linked to the senders website. (if you want to check out the winners website, go to Enchanted Quilling)
There are a lot of different ways you can say thank you, including:
- Send a card in the mail
- Send an e-card
- Send an email
- Send a gift
- Post on your blog, website, Facebook or Twitter
- Make a phone call
You can also say thank you for many different things. These are a few ideas for your business:
- placing an order
- unexpected links to your site or blog
- testimonials
- support
- for being a great supplier
Start thinking about who you can say thank you to today and say it to them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyHobby to Business - take the weekend off
Posted by: | CommentsThis may seem like a strange tip to turn your hobby to a business. I have recently started being stricter about taking a break on the weekends. I’ve been doing things like playing with my kids, having an afternoon sleep, catching up with friends, sorting out the toy cupboard before Christmas (not a small job), and many other little things to re connect with family and friends.
Another advantage of taking the weekend off is a chance to recharge and clear my head.
Many business mums I’ve spoken to are worried that if they don’t contact people as soon as they send through an enquiry (including on the weekends) they’ll miss out on a client or a sale.
Think about it this way - if you were working for someone else, would their enquiry get answered at 10pm on a Saturday night? Or, if you had an office outside home, would you be there 7 days a week?
If you have the sort of business where you do markets on the weekend, take another day or two off during the week to spend with family.
By taking this time out for yourself and your family, you will be surprised at how much more refreshed you are and how much more energy you will have to put in to your business.
