WiRE Blog

Dear WiRE ladies,

Outsourcing help, PR tips for small business

I trust you are well and working towards some inspiring, big business goals which help you to feel that you are doing something meaningful with your business, but ladies are you keeping yourself and your business a secret and trying to do everything?  If so, then Louise Thornton’s second of three blog posts will help you to look at this more strategically, and start to create a plan which helps you to maximise your time, your skills and to get your business’s name out there into the wider world! Right, now over to Louise….

When you begin working for yourself, the temptation is to work all the hours you can which inevitably means things like seeing friends / family fall by the wayside.  Yet, it is incredibly important to try and strike a happy balance between work and family as far as possible.  No-one appreciates being neglected!
 
However, if you don’t have the budget to outsource projects / tasks from the outset then you need to be particularly tough and focus your time on the tasks that are important and leave the less important tasks to one side until you have time to deal with them.
 
If you need additional help but have a small budget, then one option available to you is to hire a Virtual Assistant.  The beauty of this service is that it is usually completely flexible meaning that you only pay for the hours that you need.  Search online and ensure you pick someone you can work effectively with – there are plenty to choose from.
 
Alternatively, if you have absolutely zero budget for any outside help then something you could consider is a bartering system where you ‘swop’ your skills.  Providing there is trust between both parties then this can be a really good option.
 
Raising the profile of your business is essential for building credibility and awareness of your product / service.  The beauty of public relations is that it is (usually) completely free and once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to incorporate it into your regular marketing strategy.
 
There are many areas that public relations cover – it is no longer the domain of printed media only.  If you properly distribute and tag your press release it can live on indefinitely on the internet and be picked up by a variety of sources including media, bloggers and social media. 
Given that the internet is such a huge presence in our everyday lives it makes much more sense to ensure that you optimise every press release for maximum coverage!
 
Tips to get your press release noticed
 
1.       Planning is key – have the outcome you want in mind as you write.
2.       Know your target audience and distribute to relevant publications.
3.       Post your press releases on your blog / social media pages – viral traffic is good.
4.       You are more likely to get editorial coverage if you offer something for the reader – this could just be specialist advice, not necessarily a product.
5.       Be consistent – issue press releases regularly.

Louise would love to hear from you ladies, with your questions:  info@louisethornton.co.uk

I trust this blog is useful for you ladies, I know it is so easy to feel and think that you have to do everything and especially when your business is like ‘ your baby,’ it can be a little uncomfortable at first, I completely understand but keep going with it and trial out different strategies. Consider, just because you can, does not mean to say you should do something! I know recently, for me, I have been  looking for a Head Coach for my Chocolate Rehab Coaching Programme for 2011, as I have other things that I intend to be doing, and as if by magic,  I have found a lovely lady to do it, which does feel a bit strange but this strangeness is far, far outweighed by the relief of knowing that I do not have to do it! Yep really.

I look forward as ever to your feedback and questions at: carrie@theblondemarketinggoddess.com

Until next time,  I wish you every success in your endeavours

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxxx

Dear WiRE ladies,

Small business support for women in business

I wonder if you are like me planning for Xmas already and looking to plan your business activities to be successful. Well, I have now persuaded Louise Thornton ( www.louisethornton.co.uk) to give your her top tips to help you to do just that. She will be offering her personal business story as well as a few tips in her field of expertise namely: editing, copywriting and PR, for free, which I am sure you will find both inspiring and useful!

As, always I would love to hear your feedback regarding these postings, and any suggestions you might have for future postings. I am thrilled to let you know that I have a wonderful Yoga and relaxation expert who is lined up for next week, for a series of three posts, and quite a few more women in business too, to help you to become even more successful in your rural enterprises no matter what you are selling and no matter what stage in your business you are at.

 Okeydokie ladies, over to the lovely Aberdeenshire  entrepreneur, Louise Thornton!

 When I started my business it was out of necessity. Last October I was made redundant from my job and the economic conditions at the time meant that there was little chance of obtaining similar employment in my area. I also needed the flexibility of being able to work from home – particularly when my daughter was on holiday / ill.

Being both a woman and a mother has probably made me better at what I do – I can work flexibly and this translates into benefitting other working mums as I can easily schedule meetings for early evenings / weekends to fit around everyone’s commitments. The downside of this is that it can be easy to lose track of the hours that you’re working.

 I’m now a bit more focussed on that and keep a running total – if it looks like it’s getting out of hand then I’ll make adjustments. I do what I do mainly because I love to write, I love to see my words help other businesses gain results and also because I think that if you truly do what you love then your job satisfaction is immense, it almost stops feeling like work.

There are plenty of challenges though! One has been breaking the perception that my service will cost the earth and that I’ll charge in line with big agencies. Marketing consistently and developing my own ‘brand’ has also been a challenge – it’s very easy when you start up to want to be all things to all people and you can end up spreading yourself (and your talents) too thinly. However, for every challenge there has been at least one success.

 From a networking point of view, working for yourself forces you to get out there and I’m steadily building a quality network of other business people. Also, having the flexibility to choose my own hours means it’s easy to fit work commitments around my daughter. One thing I would recommend is finding a good support network.

When I started I did everything myself. Now, I have a VA to pick up the phone / answer emails when I can’t manage or I’m really busy and I also have a book keeper to take care of my accounts. It is definitely possible to fit working for yourself alongside your family commitments. Do your research, be realistic about what you can do and take the step into the unknown – you might just surprise yourself!

I trust you find value in this post and are looking forward, as I am, to Louise’s next post!

Until next time,

Any questions do not hesistate to email : carrie@theblondemarketinggoddess.com- remember no question too blonde!

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxx

Dear WiRE  ladies,

Thinking big, dreaming big!!!

I trust you are well and embracing our autumnal months:) Rain, sun, rain.. it’s tricky knowing what to wear hey? So, it’s a matter of carting around a wardrobe and brolly hey?!!

I am busy putting the final blonde touches to my marketing to women course and site, which I am really rather excited about to put it mildly

Anyway, back to seeing how I can help you ladies… Well, I am thrilled to give you the final post featuring Donna on the Beach,’ which frankly showcases her speciality, which is wonderful for you ladies who are keen to think big and dream big, this is different I imagine to anything you have read before and undoubtedly will leave you just a little bit inspired and ready to go for your wildest dreams in both your business and in your life!

Over to Donna on the Beach….

So, Carrie asked me to do a blog post for you guys on “Thinking Big” and “Keeping Moving Towards Your Big Dreams”.  These two subjects are really close to my heart as they are the reason I am a coach!  One of my favourite things in the world is getting to the centre of what drives people, what they are passionate about, what they love and where they want to go…and then helping them to get there.  Delightful. 
 
So let’s start with thinking big.  You may have heard of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely), and although this is sensible and logical, it is also BORING!  When I take my big ideas for my business and run them through this method of goal setting, I lose most of the OOMPH behind them.  Business plans have the same effect.  They take the inspiration out of your ideas and make them tedious.  Thinking big won’t always get you to be Mistress of the Universe, but thinking small DEFINITELY won’t, and being realilstic, logical, sensible cuts your ‘big ideas’ down to a size that has no juice left for you!  Bleurgh.
 
So let’s talk about SMILE goals instead (I just made this up by the way!) – does your vision for your business make you Smile?  Does it have a touch of Magic about it?  Is it Inspiring to you?  Do you have Lots of enthusiasm for this?  Does it give you Energy?  If yes, Woohoo!  Go get em Tiger!  If not, what is your biggest vision for your business?   To find that big vision, try these exercises:
 
Imagine that you have a time machine and you can go 5 years into the future – everything has gone better than you ever expected…what has happened in your business?
 
Sandy Grason of www.sandygrason.com suggests you set a timer and try the writing prompt “Your Perfect Day”  – what would that be like?  What would your perfect business day look like? 
 
What is the best you can imagine for your business and your life?  Don’t worry about the ‘how’ for a moment, just allow yourself to dream big.
 
Spend a bit of time thinking about what your big vision would be.  Most of us only allow ourselves to think about modest goals…and most of us are capable of achieving far greater.  Many people believe that if they don’t have big dreams, they can’t be disappointed.  Unfortunately, when we keep ourselves small that disappoints us more than trying and failing ever could.  And the joy is in the journey – it really is.  If you have a big dream, a big vision, a big idea, you will grow and learn and develop so much you won’t be able to recognise yourself!  Whether you reach that big goal or not.  I was once told to set the goal of being a millionaire.  Not for the money, but for what I’d learn along the way. 
 
Get a vision that excites you!  Get a vision that delights you…in fact, I say ‘get’…but you already have that big vision inside you.  Let it out.  You wouldn’t have it if you couldn’t do it.  Ok, it is possible that you may not reach your ‘big vision’…but you just might!  And you may well get a lot further than if you stay safe, stay small and stay sensible, realistic, timely, blah!  And maybe the reason you don’t reach that big vision is because along the way the big vision changes – mine has changed beyond recognition in the last 5 years.  I’m glad I never got my 2005 version ‘big vision’ because it sucked!  My 2010 big vision however, ROCKS!
 
Now, once you’ve got your ‘big vision’, how do you achieve it?  There are 3 vital parts to achieving a big goal:  1.  Be flexible  2.  Keep a sense of humour  and 3.  Keep moving.  The first two are important – I can guarantee that there will be days you think you’re never going to get there, days when things go horribly wrong, days when every door seems to have shut in your face, days when you doubt yourself, days when you wonder how the beep you’re going to do this.  On those days, you will need flexibility and a sense of humour!
 
Clients often feel there is something wrong with them or their big vision because it’s not as easy as they thought it would be.  Unfortunately in my experience it never is “easy”!  When we see people who have achieved great things, we almost always gloss over the fact that they have worked for 20 years to get where they are, or the sacrifices they had to make to get where they are, or the days they thought they couldn’t do it.  And let me tell you that everyone who has achieved something great had doubts, bad days, crises of confidence and moments (sometimes thousands of them!) of failure.  It is not ‘just you’. 
 
The difference between those who get there and those who don’t is the 3rd vital part.  Keep moving.  Step by step by step by step by step by step.  Breaking your next move down into baby steps and moving.  For example, creating a website might be a next move…but it is more than one baby step!!!!  To break it down, you might say step 1 is brainstorming what you want your website to be – a brochure, a lead-catcher, a force to be reckoned with?  Step 2 might be writing the copy for the home page.  Step 3 might be deciding on the names for the other pages.  Steps 4-12 might be creating the copy for those pages.  Step 13 might be to find a web designer (or this might be step 1, depending on what feels right to you).
 
50 steps later, you have a website.  And you’re ready to take the next step.  Most people get stuck because they try to take those 50 steps in one stride, then fall flat on their face.  An absurd and unrealistic undertaking!  This is one of my achilles’ heels (I have many!) – I try to get way ahead of myself, and then just end up falling behind.  But when I remember to decide the next baby step and do that, then decide the next baby step and do that, I make progress.  I stay flexible, I keep my sense of humour…and every now and again I remind myself of that vision that makes me smile, has a touch of magic, inspires me, gives me lots of enthusiasm and energy – and that big vision pulls me forward into the next steps.
 
You cannot climb a mountain in 2 leaps – it takes thousands of small steps.  This may be disappointing to the impatient among you (like me!) but actually it should be encouraging – you keep putting those small steps together, keep flexible, keep a sense of humour and you will conquer that mountain!
 
Donna offers coaching sessions to help you create your big vision or take the next steps, go to www.donnaonthebeach.com to find out more. 

Thanks again Donna, and ladies do let me know if you have any questions regarding overcoming chocolate addiction and marketing to women which I will happily answer here as a blog post!

Email me at: chocolaterehab@gmail.com

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxxx

Dear WiRE ladies,

Help for women in business..

It’s the start of the term, for many, and often the renewal of a business idea , and indeed start of a business for others in the lead up to Christmas.  For me, I am about to launch the Blonde Marketing Goddess fully, and I must confess that I  have been struggling rather a lot on what to charge.

I happened to chat to Donna recently about this and she came up with the following helpful tools below which I trust will help you ladies as much as it has helped me!  I am sure there are some of you out there who are starting out and are having problems setting your rates and also some of you out there who are already established but have been considering raising your rates in line with your experience, if so here are a couple of marvelous tools to help to to gain crystal clarity on your fees, honouring your skill set and your clients and potential clients

First over to Donna who is going to tell you her story about charging, so that you can understand where she is coming from. Over to you Donna…

Donnaonthebeach:

I have felt the same way – I really struggled with charging for my services when I first started. In my case there were 3 things going on: my confidence in myself, my confidence in my service, and my belief that taking money for services was somehow wrong or slimy. As my confidence in me and what I did grew (partly from doing a great job for low/no cost) it got easier…but there was still that belief that taking money for services was a bit dirty. But when I pay for a coach, or a CD, or some clothes, I don’t feel that it’s dirty at all. I love spending money! I don’t expect other people to work for free. When they do I am so grateful…and then there comes a point where I feel uncomfortable not paying, so why wouldn’t they feel the same?

Unsurprisingly, when I was uncomfortable charging, I attracted people who were uncomfortable paying me! Lol. Now I rarely come across these people – and when I do, I don’t take it to mean I am not worth paying for, I give them what feels comfortable to me and I am clear that if they want more, they will have to pay for it. My experience has also been that when people don’t pay or underpay, they don’t get the same from it than if they make the financial commitment.

So, that’s my story! My first suggestion is to figure out what’s going on underneath – the whys behind the discomfort about charging. Then work on moving those whys forwards so you can feel great about charging for your service. 
 
Pick a number, any number
 
Putting an actual figure on your services or products can be tough – there’s all the advice out there about “charging what you’re worth”, “Sell low, sell lots”, “Price it right”, “imagine the VALUE of what you are selling if they use it to it’s full advantage”…and as usual, all the advice is conflicting and ends up confusing us more!  Lol.  Don’t get me wrong, all these pieces of advice ARE useful to consider in your decision making BUT they are not critical.  What is critical is what you KNOW inside.  You know what price feels right for you.  The only piece of advice I think is absolutely correct is “be able to stand behind your prices”.  This does not mean charging a ridiculously low price and undervaluing your product or service.  It means getting really comfortable with what you charge.  And one last thing to consider:  clients will pay more than you think when they really want something.  Don’t fall into the trap women often fall into of patronising your client – if we women can pay £100 for a pair of shoes, we can pay for other products and services.  This is not to fleece your customers dry, but to trust in their ability to pay for the things they want – a very empowering viewpoint.  I once did a ‘pay what you want’ promotion for my coaching services – MOST people paid ‘just’ under my normal fees – no one really took advantage of the offer to pay a ridiculously low price!
 
Here’s a couple of exercises to try:

To find the “right price” for you.   What is the maximum price you think you could charge for your product/service?  What is the minimum price?  Double your maximum and start playing with the figures.  Try £1, £200, £46, £73, £102.50 – just play around with what you could charge.  What figures are jumping out at you?  (this is an intuitive ‘jump out’, not a logical one!)  Take the 3 figures that are ‘jumping out’ and write them down on a piece of paper.  Leave the piece of paper overnight, then look at it again in the morning.  One of the figures will jump out at you as ‘the right price’ for YOU.  (If it feels a little high, don’t worry, the next exercise will sort that out!)  If no figure ‘jumps out’, play again with the figures and repeat the exercise.  Let it be easy, let it be fun.  You can always change the price later if it’s not working.  Be willing to make a mistake…and be willing to trust your intuitive knowing!!! 

Getting comfortable with your price.  This is great fun!  Take the price you have decided to charge and multiply it by 10.  Now practice saying “My product/service costs £x10”.  For example, if your product/service is £100, you would say “My product/service is £1000”.  If you can get a friend to play along with you, get them to ask “How much?”  and you reply “£1000”.  When you are next talking to a “real” client, you will feel that your £100 product or service is fantastic value and this will come across!!!  If you cannot stand behind your pricing, your customers will sense that and will assume it’s not worth what you’re charging.  Many of my female clients undercharge outrageously and STILL feel they’re charging too much!
 
You can always change your pricing, so for me the most important piece of advice I can give anyone worrying about setting a price is:  RELAX!  Pick a number and run with it.  If it doesn’t work, change it!  Most of the time, your price revisions will be upwards which gives you a great marketing opportunity:  “My prices are going up in January 2011 by 300% – get it now or pay more later!” (by the way, be authentic with this – do put your prices up!).  If you feel the need to revise your prices down, have a ‘sale’!  Again, a great marketing opportunity.  Who doesn’t love a bargain?!  Trust yourself.  You know what price to charge.  Get comfortable with it, and get that amazing product/service of yours out there for the people who need you to buy!

Ladies I trust that you found value in this post by Donna ( www.donnaonthebeach.co.uk) who I met in person again yesterday, such a lovely lady who was every bit as inspiring and lovely in person as when I spoke to her last week, which is always reassuring isn’t it!

Do let me know if you have any questions or any issues you would like me to look at here on this blog regarding marketing  to women and chocolate addiction – email me: carrie@chocolaterehab.com

Wishing you every success with whatever you set your heart on in your business and life, you can do whatever it is you desire, you really can!

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxxx

Dear WiRE ladies,

Long time, no speak, well I must be completely honest with you, this is because…. I have been rather overwhelmed… with strageties…. .. and so I procrastinated and procrastinated and then did a LOT of clutter clearing realising that I have far too many files of information that  no longer resonated with me from courses that I have attended both in person and virtually worldwide…

Then, one day, as if by magic I had quite an ‘aha moment,’ as I just realised that in essence relationships are built on how that other person or product makes u feel, and when you have a heart-felt connection with them and their service or product you find them irresistible!  I know you all know this and so do I, especially as women this is instinctive for us but I had lost touch with this, as I had been very much in overdrive about social media, which resulted in overwhelm!

 I felt that tweeting so much and facebooking was a bit too much like shouting when nobody was really listening, and I was getting annoyed with all the tweets and fb updates from others myself too!!Who really needs to know what everybody is doing ALL the time?! I certainly don’t not everyone, maybe a few people I would like to know some of the time, but not all of the time!!

  Then… I just so happened to..re-connect with the lovely Donnaonthebeach who, for me, is the business discovery of the decade as she’s so much fun, and so talented in quite a humble way! She epitomised heart-felt connections, and her energy makes her positively irresitible, let alone her wonderful business insights ladies, I cannot recommend this lovely lady enough!

I truly understand  about how to systemise and leverage my work!   Really. And,  I know that there are certain steps that would help me to bring in consistent income, ie a membership site, but much of the technical stuff ie structuring my work in autoresponders, building my visibility on facebook, twitter, blogging and linked in was becoming such a headache! Added to my own blonde reality that through learning about the technical bits of driving traffic to my site, with the lovely and talented Nicola Cairncross, ( she’s AMAAZING BTW, i whole-heartedly recommend her!)  I managed to delete my own blog! At the time this was  not funny at the time as I did not back it up, at all though I thankfully have 90% of my blog posts printed out so I just need set it all up again!!!

So, ladies, I asked Donnah if she would kindly share a few words of wisdom to help you feel less overwhelmed with your social media presence. I trust this helps you, it most certainly helped me!

Donna – what are your current feelings on the overwhelm, especially with Social Media that our members might feel?

It is overwhelming when you try to become an overnight expert in something you have no experience with! So here’s my advice: when you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop, breathe, relax, go have some fun and come back to it when you feel better. If you still feel overwhelmed, break it down into a step by step process and just do one step at a time. I find when people are overwhelmed by social media, they are usually trying to do too much too quick, they don’t know what they are doing or they’re confused by the conflicting advice of the “experts”. So taking a step by step approach will help you reduce the overwhelm.  Also, give yourself a chance!  Women in particular have a tendency to be way too hard on themselves – don’t beat yourself up for being overwhelmed by social media!

Donna – how do you cope with it?

I cope with it by doing exactly as I recommend – I stop, breathe, relax and take a ‘time out’ to do something fun – 10 minutes playing with my dog, reading, connecting with friends, dancing round the office, whatever will get me out of the immediate stress. Then when I come back I figure out what the next step is and do that. Sometimes the next step is “figure out what I’m doing” or “make this more fun” – if you don’t know what you’re doing, how can you do it effectively?!  And if it’s not fun, why do it?!  I also make sure I set myself up for success – caring for myself, managing my energy, enjoying life and connected to my vision for my business and to the energy of life.  Most of the time when I am overwhelmed, I notice that I am pushing myself too hard so it’s good to stop and re-connect.

Donna – what strategies have helped you which you would wholeheartedly recommend?

Here are my top five social media strategies:
1. HAVE FUN! Find a way to make your social media activities fun, then you’re more likely to do them in the first instance and keep them up in the second.
2. Experiment. Try things out. Don’t expect to become a social media expert in 2 days flat! Allow yourself to be a beginner for a while…and give the social media experiment time to work, rather than giving up without giving it a good chance. Also make your experiments one at a time – eg try Facebook for a few months, then add twitter. Trying to do everything at once puts too much pressure on you.  Give your experiments some parameters that give you a good chance of success!
3. Trust your instincts. Some experts will tell you that you need to tweet 1000 times an hour…I don’t follow anyone who does this, even if I like their product or service. It’s annoying. And the only ‘followers’ you’ll get are ‘collect-a-friend’ marketing types! Trust yourself to know what your customers will appreciate. (tip: they’ll often be people like you, so what do you like in a Tweet?)
4. Set reasonable expectations and know why you have social media. For example, I tweet, facebook, linkedin and blog because it is a way for me to reach new people who can get to know me. My reason for doing it is to give some fun/useful/inspiring information and entice them to find out more! I don’t expect them to buy from me instantly – I’m still there to build a relationship.
5. Ask for help. Find people you like who are doing the Social Media you want to do well and ask them for advice.  There is a lot of bull written about social media, but if you find someone who is using it effectively, their advice will be more realistic.
 
For more words of wisdom, fun and inspiration from Donnah- visit: www.donnaonthebeach.co.uk

I wonder if any of you are interested in making a difference to 14 horses who live in Wythall, as Sue Gessey &  Richard Keogh have a lovely local charity called: ‘ The Animal Healing Trust,’ and this week-end they are having an open day to raise much-needed funds to build a shelter for their 14 horses, so you could pop along to meet the horses this Sunday from 11-3pm- more information visit: www.animalhealingtrust.org- See you there!

Any questions ladies on overcoming chocolate addiction or how to market to women, just ask chocolaterehab@gmail.com

Namaste, giggles & light,

Carrie Eddinsxx

  There are so many interesting meetings happening in the WiRE network this month; it would be great to go to them all – coming to think of it, if your a member you can! Unlike other networks we don’t limit our members to just one group. 

Here’s what you could get up to at our business network meetings during September 2010…

2nd September, Effective Marketing Strategies for the SME, North Yorkshire

7th September 2010, listen to our speaker from ‘Business buddies’  at  Waveney Valley or go to York and hear from The Press in York – women’s editor Maxine Gordon and business journalist Julie Hayes.

8th September 2010 learn ‘How to write a press release’ in Nottinghamshire

9th September 2010 the topic at our South Northamptonshire meeting is PR and writing a targeted press release

13th September 2010 in Essex find out ‘How social medial can help your business’

14th Septmber 2010 visit a local business- Stonehouse Brewery with  Oswestry network

15th September get to know our businesses in South Warwickshire and find ways we can help each other move forward  or join our members in Cheshire and discover how you learn so you can make the most of your time.

20th September network at your leisure in Grantham or at speed in Norwich!

21st September 2010 Find out the support availble from Business Link in Gloucestershire or hear ‘how to get the right photos for your promotional material’ in Hertfordshire

30th September 2010 Join our North Cotwolds members in the morning, Sharyn Singer and Anna Mason combine their nutritional talents to show you how to take advantage of the variety and bounty of the upcoming autumn harvest. Find out how to optimise your health and vitality, keep to a balanced diet as the weather turns colder and in the evening attend the launch of a new WiRE network in Derbyshire and be inspired by rural business women Gilly Groom.

And if these don’t take your fancy, there are more meetings being added each day – or you could always start your own network!