R is for......

rest and relaxation.
 
I write this post on my day off, well a day off is never a true day off as you are always thinking and planning ahead as an entrepreneur.  It is important however, to have time away from work, especially if you a significant other or children.

Having a day off might be just what you need or for some, a complete nightmare but you have to detach yourself from you work regularly as in fact it is of great benefit to you idea.  If you take a step back from time to time you'll find that you return to your work with more enthusiasm and a fresh pair of eyes.

As a business person who works for themselves, at this early stage there is no one else to take any weight off of you, so time out is vital to you sustaining your momentum.

I speak with self employed business people all the time and the one thing that every single one tells me, is that being in business for themselves is wonderful but the pressure and responsibility is jolly hard work.

I am going with my family today to make a teddy bear, have lunch, find shelves for my new office (oops work!) at ikea (OK not such a bad place for work) and then off to see a film.  There you go total relaxation! (well almost!)

Let me know what you plan to do to relax

A bit of light relief for you

I thought I'd share with you some great songs that are work related . Enjoy!

A personal favourite:



One for the monday morning blues:



A bit of rock:

Q is for.....

Questions

There are two parts of this post today...

1) Asking questions and 2) taking questions

Lets deal with asking questions first.

When starting a business or simply turning a great idea into something that makes money, I would advise you to ask lots of questions.  For years I was afraid to ask questions, because I felt that asking questions showed me to be the inexperienced person that I obviously was.

The thing about asking questions, is that you need to make sure you ask the right people questions.  Think about this, if you are at an event with people who are already in business and have done what you want to do, then you have nothing to lose.  They aren't going to worry if you are inexperienced in business. 

On the other hand if you have a room full of people who are wanting to know more about you, don't just blurt out that you are a complete novice at business, simply share your idea and then open up the floor for feedback/ reviews rather than leave yourself completely vulnerable.

With regards to taking questions about your idea, you need to be able to tell people easily and simply about it.  You need to practice how to explain it in a short space of time.

If you follow this scenario then you will have the tools you need to answer questions about your idea.

 I like to use the example of staying at a hotel

Scenario Number 1: You are in a lift and someone says hi and asks what you do (not that likely to happen that way but just roll with it) You then have until they get to their floor to share your idea. 

I want you to think about writing your idea down in one sentence. Narrow down what you do into one sentence. So mine is: I run a confectionery and gift company.

Scenario Number 2: You then meet the same person at the bar in the evening and they ask you to explain more about what you do.

Think now about writing a few sentences. I would say: I make personalised wrappers for confectionery, gift baskets for special occasions. We also make favours and candy buffets for weddings and events.

Scenario Number 3: The person you have met at in the lift and later at the bar asks you to attend an event where you have 5 minutes to share about your business.

Now you think about how to lay out the structure of presenting your idea to a room of people.
I have laid out headings for your presentation:

A little about yourself
What is your idea
How did you come up with your idea
Who is your idea for
Break down the exact idea if there is more than one element

In this scenario it is possible to have questions afterwards and then you need to be prepared for anything and everything.  REMEMBER however, that no one knows your business like you do, so just sell it. 

If you have any questions for me then send them my way.

P is for.....

people.

No matter what you do in business, I can guarantee that you will not be able to do it without other people. Whether it be the support of family, outside companies to help your business grow, or customers. All of these people are important to you and its important to treat these people the way you would want to be treated.  You may think that this is a very simple post but treating people correctly, will have a massive effect on your business, likewise treating people badly when in business, will also have an effect on your business, and not for the better.

I recently had first hand experience of this.  I had booked to use a local facility for two business related events. The first event was great business for the company and they jumped at the chance to work with us. As a result of getting this great response from them, I booked another event for something different but still work related.  They were once again as helpful and attentive as they could be, and so I spoke to them about using their facility for a new venture I am launching in the spring.  I was told that the lady behind the desk could not make the decision and that the sales manager would get in touch within 24 hours. 

The sales manager did in fact call be back within 12 but did not handle my request with a level of professionalism I had come to expect. Instead of telling me that they could not take my regular booking as they would want to keep themselves open for bigger better bookings, they should have said that they were more than happy to take my booking but would it be possible for me to book monthly rather than book up the rest of 2011 with them.  As I was made to feel that my business was not as worthwhile as bigger orders, I felt a slight distaste for working with them, and now as a result I am looking at other options.

I am more than happy to be honest in my work, in fact I demand honesty, but how you deliver that honesty is vital to your working relationships.  So think about how you speak to people and be honest in your working relationships but do consider the other persons feelings at the same time.

The launch

Well dear followers the event went so well last night, I have to quickly tell you that the a to z business start up guide will resume on Monday.  Can you believe that we are already on P!!! Have no fear, once we get to z we will start again as there is far more for me to tell you than just 26 letters of the alphabet.  Soon the a to z guide will be available as an e book and e course so if you want to grab hold of this teaching on a permanent basis then just subscribe to the blog and we'll make sure you get the offers first.

Ok so we are officially in business. I have been working towards this day for a long time and I can't tell you the relief I now have that I am finally a business woman. I have so many skills (excuse the trumpet blowing) and felt them all locked up in a box until I started to follow the Mumpreneur course  I have found it to be so refreshing to have two lovely ladies help me to put my ideas into motion.  Now don't let the title put you off, really it should be called How to make money course and they already have dads, single ladies and people who don't even live in this country signed up as their first batch of students.  There will be new intake shortly so keep you eyes peeled on my blog for further details.

So what is stopping you from getting your ideas off the ground?  Why not msg me over the weekend and I'll run a clinic answering and hopefully solving your problems.

Have a great weekend, and if you haven't already taken the leap into self employment no matter how

Tomorrow Tomorrow I love ya....

tomorrow your only a day away!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH the launch is here, and tomorrow we will officially be trading!!!! arghhhhhhh

I am currently updating final bits and pieces on the website whilst listening to a webinar on building your business. (just shows women can multi task).

So far this week I have added 50 products to the website, printed 70 lollipop covers, 40 favour covers, 100 choc bite covers, sent out 100 invites, fallen and badly damaged my knee and ankle (read all about it) created a great chocolate quiz, found 320 freebie items for the gift bags and created a candy buffet. Not bad hey for 3 days!!!

So Friday I'll be back to blog a little bit about the launch. see you back here then.

O is for.....

Opporunity.

How are you getting on with your business idea?  This week I am giving you the oppoutunity to have some one to one email contact with me.  You can ask my anything you need to know in relation to your business.  So this is how it will work, comment below with your question and then I will get in touch with you with some advice. Simples

N is for........

Networking

Networking is simply defined as 
an association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like.

Now many people don't like networking and in the way of professional networking, I don't like it either!  My experience of business networks are a bunch of people wanting to see you their product or service, without giving a space of breath to the product or service you may have.  I want you to think of it this way..... networking is simply telling anyone and everyone about your business.  Now I am going to get you a challenge this weekend, tell 5 people about your business idea, or the business you already have. You'll be surprised how easy it really is.  Listen carefully to conversations and see if there is ever an opportunity to mention what you do. When meeting someone new, always ask what they do, as they will return the same question as you begin to break the ice.


So let me know how many people you managed to tell about your business. I'll send a prize for the person with the most people told about their business. Have fun and post a comment.

M is for.....

mentoring

Mentoring is vital to a business person starting out.  My advice is to find your own mentor as 8 out of 10 of my mentors have never worked out due to very different views on my business ideas. My two mentors are MRS SMITH and marketing genius and MR WELSH BUSY BEE who has started a business from nothing and is now so successful, he has gone back to uni full time and left the business in the hands of three managers.

My mentors are there when I need them at the end of an email or phone call, any query I have I just send it their way and that second opinion really makes the difference.  Why not send me a message if you don't have a mentor and I can try and help find you one.

Any mums out there would do well to have these ladies as their mentors 
Mention my name and they'll let you in lol!

K is for.......

kick.

What a random word to choose! you are probably thinking right now, and you would be totally right. K must have been the hardest letter of this course to find a word for. Each post that I write has flowed very easy until now and I did panic for a nano second thinking that I wouldn't have a post for you today.  Panicked until I found the word kick!  I like a good strong word and kick has to be up there with some of the best.  

why  kick? and why business you are wondering.  firstly if you haven't gone any further than having a great thought in your head, you need a kick in the behind to get you going again.  today you need to go back your original idea and then decide what is holding you back, why not leave me a comment if you want to talk through it or get a second opinion.

the second type of kick is to kick yourself. If you are not reaching your full potential with your business idea, then you will sometime in the future be kicking yourself if you don't make the most of what you have planned,. You need to sit down and create a plan of action as to what you need to do to get to where you want to be.

The third type of kick, is to kick down the barriers that are in your way.  You may have a great idea and be working really hard to make it happen but you keep coming across opposition in one form of another. Don't let anything hold you back. You need to sit down and identify what the problem is and why it keeps happening then make an action plan to prevent it happening again.

If you have lost your enthusiasm for your idea then find some KICK.  write down why you came up with the idea and what it is about your idea that appeals to you so much. Don't be afraid to share your idea with the people you trust as this may just be the kick you need to get started again.

I'm happy to give you a kick if you need one, just leave the problem in a comment and I'll help you out.