Archive for May, 2009
Friday Five - Getting Links to Your Site
Posted by: | CommentsGetting links to your site will help you with the search engines, but how do you get them?
This weeks Friday Five report will give you some ideas on how to get incoming links to your site. Available for only $5 through PayPal.
To receive notification of when the next Friday Five report is available, click here.
To see what previous reports have been and purchase them, click here.
When you’re not feeling fabulous…
Posted by: | CommentsOK, we all have bad days. You know the ones, you’re tired and stressed, the kids are playing up, nothing seems to be going right. Yet, you need to attend a networking event, do a blog post, twitter, and all the other things us business mums do day to day.
When people ask how you are, you wish you could say “I’m having a really bad day, business really isn’t going as well as you think it is”, but you can’t!
What do you do? Do you just grin and bare it and hope tomorrow is better? Do you hide under the doona or lose yourself in a box of chocolates?
I’ve started using these times to either take a day off, or take a critical look at what I’m doing. It was one of these days I finally bit the bullet and hired Kylie from Tilda Virtual Services to take over my bookkeeping - it was getting me down, stressing me out, and driving me around the bend, and I really didn’t need the extra stress of bookkeeping on top of everything else.
How do you cope with bad days and your business? Post comments with your best tips. The best tip will win a copy of Real Songs for Real Mums from RealMums.com.au.
Problem Solving
Posted by: | CommentsFor most business mums, there will come a time when you need to solve a problem.
Over at The Tall Poppy Blog, Anne has posted a great problem solving technique called SCAMPER. Each letter of the word stands for something that will help you solve the problem:
S = Substitute
C = Combine
A = Adapt
M = Magnify
P = Put to Other Uses
E = Eliminate (or Minify)
R = Rearrange (or Reverse)
Give it a try.
Marketing Monday - Twitter Tips
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve only been on Twitter for a short time - if you’re there too, you can follow me on www.twitter.com/MissieK
Here are some tips I’ve learned from my time on Twitter:
- Fill in your profile, including where you are. I like to follow people in Australia and also people who have interesting sites. I’ve already found I’ve had traffic from my link in my profile.
- Don’t just post your URL or promotions for your business. These posts are boring to read and are likely to get people removing you from their follow list.
- Post a mix of business and personal. This helps people get to know you. The personal ones don’t need to be too personal, just share a little bit of your day.
- Reply to other people’s posts. This will help you build a relationship with them, as well as the other people you are following.
- Retweet interesting posts. Again, this helps you build a relationship, especially when the things you retweet are relevant to your target followers. People appreciate the retweet and will do the same for you.
These are just a few things I’ve picked up. There are many more tips on the Internet if you go looking.
Happy tweeting!
Norlin Mustapha of Baubles, Bubbles & Bags and Just Us Kids Online
Posted by: | CommentsNumber of children & their ages:
Three – 7, 5 & 3
URL:
www.baublesbubblesbags.com & www.justuskids.com.au
How people can contact you?
e:contact@baublesbubblesbags.com / contact@justuskids.com.au
T: 9013 4055 / 0403860005
When did you start your business?
Baubles, Bubbles & Bags was in November 2006 and Just Us Kids Online was in August 2008
Where are you based?
Melbourne
Background information:
I studied fashion design after high school, worked in sales in the fashion industry for few years after that. I’ve also got a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies. So I have a pretty diverse background. I am what you could call a bag junkie and have a huge passion for uniquely designed items, so I decided to start Baubles, Bubbles & Bags – combining my love for fashion and shopping! Also, I saw a gap in the party plan market that offers the customers the ability to bring their purchases home right away. As for Just Us Kids Online, I’ve always believed in high quality and educational toys for children and wanted to provide something that does not end up in landfill after a short time.
What products/services do you sell?
Baubles, Bubbles & Bags carries a pretty unique and affordable range of bags, jewellery & accessories, which can be purchased through parties, E-Parties or online. We also provide a personal service whereby you can contact us when you need suggestions on gifts or even if you need help on what to match your outfit with. Just Us Kids Online provides unique and quality toys and gifts for children of all ages.
What advice would you give to other Mums who wanted to start their own business?
Research! That’s the first vital step. This is from the type of business you want to start, to the type of support and also research on the time you can have to run your business and still having time for the family.
What has been your biggest challenge so far, and how have you overcome it?
Time management and keeping up with the changes in technology, especially since I run my businesses purely online. As well as trying to keep up with what’s going on in the fashion world.
What is the best thing about being a Business Mum?
The flexibility of being able to be there for my children. I am lucky to be able to attend the functions or presentations that my children might be involved in, which if I was working would be quite hard. At the same time, I am able to be myself and not just a mum, the business gives me an identity and a function outside of being a mum and wife.
Friday Five - Compiling an eBook
Posted by: | CommentseBooks are a great way to grow your email list or as an information product to sell. One way you can easily create an eBook is using submissions from your customers and network.
This weeks Friday Five report will give you some tips on how to compile an eBook. Reports are available for only $5 through PayPal.
Marketing Monday - Share the news
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s exciting when you get publicity for your business - anything from a feature article to a tiny reference in a magazine article.
When you get publicity, share the news!
Post about it on your blog, facebook page or Twitter update. Write about it in your regular newsletter and post on forums.
One of the best ways to share your publicity is on a media page. Where possible, include a link to the article or news item if it is also published online so people can check it out. Also on your media page include any media releases you may have sent out.
Remember, publicity brings more publicity.
Friday Five - Goody Bag Tips
Posted by: | CommentsGoody bags can be a great way to introduce your business to a new audience, or remind an audience already familiar with your business that you exist.
Many events have goody bag promotion on offer, including the Business Mums Conference. This weeks report will give you some tips on how to make your insert and your business stand out from the crowd.
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Just for fun… What office supply are you?
Posted by: | CommentsI came across this fun quiz on the EP Designs blog:
You Are a Whiteboard |
 You are a dreamer, a visionary, and a straight up idea person. You are very creative. Even if the things you think up are a bit wacky, they often are brilliant.You are an adept problem solver. You are always tossing around dozens of ideas. You would make a good artist, designer, or architect. You do best when work feels like play. |
Marketing Monday - lessons from Mother’s Day Stall
Posted by: | CommentsLast Friday, there was a Mother’s Day stall at school. All the kids came in and purchased gifts for their Mums, ranging from jewellery to soaps to notebooks to candles.
Another Mum and myself make jewellery and we both brought in some pieces we had made to add to the range. There was also some fashion jewellery available. The Mums on the stall loved the fashion jewellery, however it was the “pretty” jewellery made by mums that nearly sold out!
There were also some pretty candles in the shape of flowers that nearly sold out, however the soaps (4 heart shaped in a bag) were relatively untouched.
It turns out that the kids like buying “pretty” things for Mum, and the things the kids thought were pretty sold out first, leaving some of the more fashionable things on the stand unsold.
The lesson here is to work out what the people who would buy from you like. You may find something you think is fabulous that remains unsold while the things you don’t like quite as much sells out every time.
The easiest way to work out what your customers want is to do a survey to find out their likes and dislikes as well as analyse your sales and work out what sells. Then you can either change your product range to suit your customers, or aim to position your business in a new market to sell to those who will buy your products.
