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Where are you located?

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do people know where you are?

I know I have  blogged about this before, but this is a topic well worth revisiting.

It’s not always obvious from a URL where you are. I know of a lot of websites, Facebook pages and blogs that want to support and promote fellow business mums, however they want them to be local, at the very least in the same country they are in.

Will your visitors, potential customers and readers be able to easily find out where you are located?

Including your location is easy – simply add an About Me or Contact Me page that has your location, and include this information in the information on your Facebook page. If you don’t want to give away too much, you could simply include your state and/or country. For most people, that is enough.

I know I prefer to support Australian businesses, especially when buying. If I’m looking at a website or Facebook page, one of the first things I look for is a location. If I can’t find one, I will think twice before liking their page on Facebook or spending too much time on their site.

Another advantage for letting people know where you are located is simple – you may be giving information that is correct in your country but different elsewhere in the world. Also, if you are selling products from your website, people like to know what currency the prices are in and an idea of shipping costs. In general, it is cheaper to send something in the same country than sending it overseas.

So, do you have a place on your website, Facebook page or blog so people can find your location?

Filed Under: General

Keep on your path

October 5, 2011 By 2 Comments

Keep on your path

I see a lot of new businesses start and change. There are a lot of great ideas out there, business mums are a clever bunch.

One thing I’ve seen happening more and more is businesses changing and moving off their original path, and not always for the better.

The biggest effect I’ve seen (from an outsiders point of view) is businesses changing and being more like everyone else. Essentially they lose what has made them special and stand out in the first place.

To keep yourself standing out from the crowd, focus on what makes you special in the first place. Do you make amazing clothes for girls? Then you may want to stick with that rather than bring in a boys range. Do you provide a great promotion opportunity for WAHMs? Then you may not want to go in to general business or parenting information. These are just a couple of examples, there are so many other examples.

Often changing course can leave you feeling overwhelmed and with too much to do, and the feeling you are not doing anything very well. How do I know? Simple, I’ve been there.

If you find you’ve gone away from your original course, there is nothing wrong with going back to basics. It’s always worth spending regular time having a good look at your business and seeing what works & what isn’t working any more – but that’s another post.

Filed Under: Business Mum, General, Growing your business

Do you know what licences you need?

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you need any licences?

Many business mums start their business, doing their thing, only to find out down the track that they needed to have licences to operate. Sometimes they find that compliance will cost too much, so they close.

There are a number of ways you can find out about any licences you may need, but the easiest way is to go to the Business Licence Information Service.

This is a free service that provides you links to your state to find out all the licences you may need. Each state has their own site, and this one will give you the details to find out about the licences in your state.

Once you have found the site for your state, follow the prompts. Describe your business, and the website will tell you what licences you need. It will even give you the links so you can get those licences so your business meets all its obligations.

Not all businesses will need a licence, but there are many that do. When you are researching your business, and/or in the start up phase, take some time to visit the Business Licence Information Service in your state so you make sure you are starting your business right.

Filed Under: General, Organisation, Planning, Starting Out

Can your business run without you?

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Can your business still run when you are sick?

Last week I was sick. At first I thought it was just a cold, but it got so bad that I was having dizzy spells & ended up on some strong anti-biotics. My kids also ended up having a day off school because I couldn’t drive them!

Thankfully, all my blog posts for the week had been done & scheduled, so I could just relax and work on getting better.

But this brings the question – if you were sick, could your business run without you?

For some business mums, the answer is No, mostly because they do all the work, so if they aren’t doing the activity in their business, nothing happens.

The down side to this is that if you’re sick or go on holiday, your business grinds to a standstill.

So, what can you do to get your business running without you?

One of the first things to do is to have a procedures manual that outlines how things are done. This way someone else can come in and send out orders or update your Facebook page, or any number of other tasks that are required in your business.

Another thing you can do is to outsource some of your day to day tasks. This could be your bookkeeping, house cleaning, posting orders, general administration, or other tasks you have on your list, leaving you free to do the things you love doing, and ensuring that your business can run without you.

So, can your business run without you?

Filed Under: Business Mum, General

Check the date

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Check the date of a blog post

If you’re anything like me, you read a lot of blogs. You also do research using Google and other search engines.

Blog posts generally rank quite highly in search engines for many reasons, as a result when you are searching for something, chances are blog posts will be among the top search results.

One thing with blog posts, you need to check the date the post was written before using the information.

For example, I wrote a post back in 2009 about Facebook Fan Pages. The information there is now out of date. Now, they are no longer called fan pages and you don’t need 100 likers to get your URL. So, if someone finds that post in a Google search, the information is out of date.

Most bloggers don’t spend time updating their old posts to make sure they are still current. That can take a lot of time, and time that many bloggers don’t have.

I admit, the most updating I do is with a broken link checker to make sure that old links are removed. However with nearly 500 blog posts, it’s hard to go through and make sure all posts are current to today’s information.

So, when you come across blog posts in searches, or even with a tool like “Link Within” recommendations, check the date the post was published to see how current the information is.

Filed Under: Blogging, General

My Blog is Back!

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A bit of a celebration

I’m so excited, this afternoon my new look blog went live!

I’ve missed this blog over the last few months, but I haven’t been idle! I’ve been spending the time getting the blog redesigned as well as writing a number of posts in Word ready to post.

As well as new posts, I have been revamping some old posts – did you know this blog has been going since 2008? Some of the information posted is now out-dated, or simply needs refreshing, so I’ve done that too.

The popular Marketing Monday and Friday Five posts will continue, as well as other posts aimed at business mums. I also have a few friends who will pop in from time to time to share some tips on their area of expertise with you.

I have also set up a new Facebook page for this blog, as well as a Twitter ID. If you haven’t already done so, you may want to follow it so you make sure you don’t miss a post.

I hope you enjoy this blog and the tips shared.

Filed Under: General

Do you have a back up?

January 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Do you have a back up of your data?

Do you have a back up of your data?

Do you have a back up of your data? The reason I’m asking is because I didn’t, at least, I didn’t have all of it. For a while I’d do a back up, but then got out of the habit.

The consequence? My computer hard drive died over Christmas. I was without a computer for over 3 weeks! I got a new laptop yesterday, and am now getting ready to get my old computer fixed with a new hard drive and a computer doctor to do their job and recover as much data as possible off my old hard drive.

So, back to the original question – do you have a back up of your data?

This can be done in a number of ways. You could save things to a disc, or burn them to a CD. You could print things out and file them, or you could get an external hard drive. There are also a lot of options for online back up services.

For starters, I’m going to be using my CD writer to burn regular, weekly backups of my data. The goal is to upgrade to an external hard drive.

Backing up is an important thing that all business mums should do. Your data is gold and should be protected.

If you’re looking for online back up, check out Backup 247 and The Data Hero.

Filed Under: General, Organisation, Outsourcing, Technology

Setting a Challenge

November 29, 2010 By 2 Comments
I'm setting you a challenge

I'm setting you a challenge

Over the weekend, I noticed a lot of Facebook pages had been closed down. Some had disappeared, others had been hacked so the admins could no longer access them. I don’t know the reasons behind this, I just saw that a lot of pages had sent out requests for people to join their new pages.

One of the problems with a Facebook page is that people can lose their fans very quickly. Many people don’t have their fans on their newsletter list or any other database other than Facebook.

I know it’s Monday, and I should be posting a Marketing Monday post, but what I saw over the weekend has prompted me to do something a bit different today.

My challenge to you this week is to go through the business pages on Facebook that you are a fan of (or the pages that you like) and sign up to their newsletter lists, or, even better, buy something from them. This is so you are on their database and if anything happens to their page, you will be told about it and be able to join up again.

Many newsletters also have other great information and resources as well as details of any sales they may have. Joining their newsletter lists is also a great way to support the businesses you like on Facebook.

This is a spur of the moment challenge, however I would like to hear about your progress and how many businesses you’ve signed up to. I’m planning to contact some of my alliance partners to see about getting some prizes for this challenge.

So, get subscribing and supporting those businesses you like! (Also, this would be a great time to finish your Christmas shopping with some of these businesses!)

Filed Under: Business Mum, Competitions, e-Newsletters, General, Growing your business

Why? A question about websites

November 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Yet another question!

A question about websites

I’ve noticed a lot of new businesses lately that set up a free website, either through a free web provider or WordPress or Blogspot. They also use a gmail or similar as their email address. Then I see them spend a lot of money on getting a custom template, flyers and banners designed and also on advertising.

For me, seeing these businesses makes me reluctant to buy. Why? Simple, URLs are very cheap, you can get a .com domain from around $10 a year. You can also find hosting providers who charge around $5 a month. With many of these hosts, you can install a WordPress blog to run your site for free. They also include using your domain as your email as part of the package.

Another option is to get a domain name and point it to your free webspace and use the domain as your email forwarding to your gmail account. Again, this doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Having your own domain gives credibility to your business and website. It can also bring more confidence in your business and people are more likely to part with their money.

I can understand people who are starting out and dabbling to use a free space while they are working out what to do, however once you start running your business as a business rather than a hobby, it is worth investing in your domain name. This will also protect your name from others who may want to buy “your” domain. Maybe it’s on their list to upgrade and they haven’t got around to it…

If this is you, please let me know your thoughts behind using a free web space for your business and then spending a lot of money on advertising, banners, and so on. I am curious.

Filed Under: Branding, Business Mum, General, Growing your business

Friday Five – Your Favourite Cafe

October 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

OK, so this may seem like an odd topic for a business tips blog, however this is something I’ve found very helpful – find a favourite cafe (or two).

Why? you ask, well the answer is simple. A cafe is a great place to meet if you are meeting with a client, supplier or other business contact and you don’t want them to come to your home or hire a meeting room somewhere. It is also a great place to get some time out from the computer and day to day running of business and the household to do some thinking and brainstorming or even just for some time out to read the paper or a trashy magazine.

If you don’t already have a favourite cafe, here are five things to look for when you’re choosing one:

  1. Location - you don’t want the cafe to be too far from home. Depending on where you live, you may choose a couple of different cafe’s to put on your favourites list.
  2. Food & Coffee - make sure the quality of food and coffee is up to your standards. Different people look for different things in taste, time to prepare, variety and so on, so I won’t tell you what to look for. Set your own criteria and make sure your favourite cafe is up to standard.
  3. Atmosphere & noise level – what is the atmosphere like? Is it warm and friendly, casual, formal? The most important point is – do you feel comfortable there? Are you able to hear yourself talking with the person next to you? If you fell comfortable in the cafe and the noise level is good, then you’ll want to go back there.
  4. Staff - what are the staff like? Are they well presented and friendly? Do they recognise their regulars? Do they clear tables in good time? Are they pushy? Again, different people have different expectations here. One common thing I’ve heard when talking with friends about cafe’s is they like staff who are friendly but not pushy. Again, make sure you feel comfortable around them.
  5. Bookings & crowds - how busy is your favourite cafe? This may not be an issue if you can always walk in and find a table, however it is worth checking if you can book. There are some cafe’s that don’t take bookings. If you have an important meeting and you can’t get a table, this could be an issue.

If you are meeting clients at a cafe, you will want the cafe to give your business a good impression, so it is worth doing your research.

In case you’re interested, one of my favourite cafe’s is the Station Street Cafe & Wine Bar in Nunawading.

What is your favourite cafe for meetings? Please give them a plug by adding a comment, also let us know why you like them so much.

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Filed Under: Customer Service, Friday Five, General, Growing your business
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