Archive for Planning
It 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 DailyDoing “Mum Stuff”
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As a business mum, there is a certain amount of “Mum Stuff” I need to do in a day. This could include helping out at school, doing some baking, housework, washing, and tidying, not to mention being “Mums Taxi” taking the kids to extra curricular activities and friends places after school and on the weekend.
So, what do you do, and how do you get it all done?
I aim to get as much business work done while the kids are at school as possible so much of the “Mum Stuff” is done while the kids are home after school or on the weekends. Occasionally there are days like today when I’m not feeling particularly motivated, I’ll do some of the “Mum” tasks.
So far today I have done some baking and changed the sheets on the bed. It’s a beautiful sunny day, so I”m hoping to get all the washing on the line so it will drive before the rains come in the next couple of days.
“Mum Stuff” can also be an effective procrastination tool - if you let it. It can be easy to see the pile of washing or the kids toys around and deal with them before you do any work for your business, especially if you work from home. It can be easier if you work in a shop or office outside home as the constant reminders are not right in front of you.
Schedule in your Mum tasks as you would any other task. You may put aside an hour a day, or whatever works for you, to do these tasks, or even a morning or day a week.
If these tasks are getting too much for you, then outsource. I have a cleaner who comes in on Friday mornings to clean, all we have to do is make sure everything gets tidied. I know of some Mums who outsource their ironing and gardening.
Doing “Mum Stuff” is important, but it can be tempting to let it take over so nothing else gets done.
What are some of your tips to help you get all the Mum Stuff done as well as your business tasks?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyHobby to Business - try something new
Posted by: | CommentsOne thing I’ve found I need to do with my business is try new things, especialy when things aren’t working the way I want them to work.
For example, last year I was putting up a featured member and product each day. This ended up being a lot of work - formatting the entries, following them up so I had content to add, and so on. During January, I thought I’d try doing a Site of the Day instead. This way I pick a site, add a screenshot and some comments & put it up. The software I have running the site is great because I simply write a weeks worth and schedule them to be published during the week. Each morning I log on and change the image on the home page & then promote the days entry through Twitter and Facebook.
So far, this is a lot easier from my end - I’ll keep you updated to how it goes.
So, the lesson for today - when turning your hobby to a business, evaluate what you are doing and if something isn’t working for you as well as you’d like, then try something new.
What new things have you tried in your business? How is it working for you?
Marketing Monday - is your 2010 plan ready?
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In this time between Christmas and New Year, most businesses have a quiet time. This is a great time to work ON rather than IN your business, especially if you can take advantage of all the new toys the kids received at Christmas and are still happy to play with…
One thing that is good to do is your marketing plan.
Get a calendar with the months of the year. Mark on it any special days, such as Mother’s Day and Christmas, and plan your marketing activities around them. Do you want to introduce a new product for Mother’s Day, or have a special on stocking stuffers for Christmas? Do you want to send Christmas cards with a gift voucher to your best customers? Mark all these things on your calendar at the relevant time.
When you have done this, you are ready for the year! You can then work on the budget for each activity, know when you need to send emails or get new products in. Depending on how you go, you can even schedule blog posts at the same time!
Depending on what activities you are planning, you can also plan any media releases you will need written and where to send them.
Creating a plan like this will help you keep on track with your marketing message and keep you going for the year.
If you need help with your plan, get a set of Childsplay Marketing cards. They are a fantastic brainstorming tool and one that I’ve been using quite a bit lately.
Hobby to Business - Set aside time for planning
Posted by: | CommentsThis is something I am starting to get used to myself. As your business grows, you will find most of your work time is taken up with work. There is a danger in getting bogged down in the day to day running of your business and there is no time for planning.
Planning can include reviewing what you have done in the past, implementing new strategies, planning promotions, and many other things.
It can be hard to find the time to do this.
One way this can be done is to join a group coaching session, or even get together with fellow business mums to brainstorm and share ideas. By getting together with others, you are accountable to them to show up and take the time to work ON your business.
I would be interested to hear from other business mums how you make the time to get your planning done. Please share your ideas by adding a comment.
Hobby to Business - review your suppliers
Posted by: | CommentsFor the last 2 years, we have had a very slow Internet that was expensive. I spent most of the day yesterday looking for a new broadband provider. Anything would be better than what we were on. I found one and we are changing over as soon as we can. It will save time and money.
One of the things you should do when moving your hobby to a business is look at your suppliers and make sure they are saving you, not costing you money. Shop around and find the best deals - in many cases, this is not for your stock, rather the other support products and services you use in your business, such as the Internet connection you use.
Remember, though, that price isn’t everything. If you find you are with a cheaper web host, for example, and find your shopping cart doesn’t work all the time, costing you clients, then it may be time to upgrade to a more reliable, though possibly more expensive web host.
Other things to look at are things like your mobile phone, postage and delivery of your products, packaging, post office box, and travel costs. By reviewing these things, you may be able to find a better alternative that will help your business grow.
Getting “stuff” out of your head
Posted by: | CommentsAs business owners, often we start off doing everything. All our systems and proceedures are in our heads and trying to explain them to others can be tough.
One of the best ways I’ve found to get this “stuff” out of my head is to get someone else to help! Carolyn has come on board to help with the magazine, and one of her first tasks is to get everything out of my head and on to paper.
Katerina from Twinkle Lily has video’d herself making her nappies and other products and accompanied this with a proceedure manual to give to her manufacturers so everything is made correctly and she no longer has to do it all.
One of the biggest advantages of getting your work processes written down and out of your head is you can pass it on to someone else to do. You can also sit down and work out what it is that you want to do and what it is you need or want to get someone else to do.
It also frees up a lot of brain space so you are free to concentrate on the things you love to do in your business.
Hobby to Business - Evaluate your plan
Posted by: | CommentsEveryone talks about business plans and having a plan. Did you know that a plan is a living document? That means you CAN change it, in fact, you should regularly evaluate your plan to make sure it’s working for you.
I publish a magazine, the Business Mums Magazine, and had a plan for it. The plan stopped working a while ago and so I have spent time evaluating it and have decided to do a relaunch next year. This has taken a huge amount of stress off me, and it’s giving me time to put a new plan in place.
Melinda Brennan from WAHM Biz Builder spoke about this at the Pamper Your Business day last week. You can order the audio of this from here. Having a plan helps you to stop becoming overwhealmed and helps you to be pro-active in your business.
If you have a plan that is gathering dust on the shelves, it’s time to dust it off and evaluate it to make sure it’s still working for you.
