I can’t believe that it has been 7, yes 7, months since my last blog…

Wow, how things have changed.

This week I have been thinking more and more about blogging and how much I enjoy it. I want to do more though…

I have so many thoughts and ideas, but I am supposed to be studying for my dentistry certificate!

I think I want to start a new blog…

In celebration of my 100th post, I would like to reflect on a few posts. But, firstly I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this journey. I look forward to writing posts and the whole blogging process has been greatly beneficial.

1. My a-block-a-week project has been put on hold, due to us moving to the UK and wanting to take a little as possible with us, but as soon as we are settled I will be back to my obsessive knitting habits…
2. In June I made some birthday resolutions and this is how I have been doing…

• I have not been going to yoga and I feel terrible about it! I know that I should have been more strict on myself with this one… In England I will make a conserted effort to get back on track.
• I did not enrol in the magazine journalism course for a few reasons, but I will be doing a freelance writing course in London from 10 January 2009.
• I have dramatically increased my water intake and this was confirmed yesterday by my homeopath.
• I have worked on my Orangebloom brand as promised and plan to start a handmade range once settled in England.

So all in all I didn’t do very well, but at least it’s on my radar and I have a plan to get back on track.

3. My sewing machine is now fixed, I am giving it to my sister, as it is not practical to take it with me to.

4. Pay it forward, I still have 8 months to complete this task, so watch this space…

5. Handmade network – I did a few chalenges and then stopped, it wasn’t for me, I didn’t enjoy it…

• Photography – even though I have a keen interest and my Dad is a photographer, I just can’t seem to get my shots perfect. I have built a light box (note to self: do a post on this) and have really been trying!
• Etsy Shop – I would love to have a beautiful and successful Etsy shop. I have done some planning, but when we are settled in England, this will become a main focus area.

I have acheived quite a bit with this blog, but I have some big plans for the future, thank you for reading my ramblings…

Ps. I love to hear from you, so leave a comment, if you’d like…

Okay, for fear of sounding like a hypocrite. I am just going to come out and say it…

I TWITTER!!!!!

I was quite sceptical in a previous post, but I thought that I couldn’t knock it, until I’ve tried it.

But, I promise not to tweet about what I am having for lunch or my every move, it’s strictly for marketing purposes only.

So, if you’d like you can follow me, just click on the badge below:

I have never been a social butterfly. The mere thought of having to go to functions, where everyone in attendance is dipping stale biscuits into bad coffee and filling the room with their schmoozing sales pitch, is definitely ‘cringe-worthy’. Oh, and don’t forget about the lame exercise of collecting business cards from companies that you’ll never use…

I’m sure the sign on my forehead that says “I’d rather be knitting”, must be a dead giveaway as to how much I enjoy ‘networking’ – which puts me in a predicament.

I am not a natural sales person and find it difficult to network, but I need to promote my new freelance copywriting business to gain contacts and potential business leads. Because after all, it’s not only what you know, it’s, more importantly, who you know, that makes the difference between success and failure.

So, maybe I am looking at this whole networking thing the wrong way? Where do I go to find answers? Google, of course! She knows everything, because after all only a woman could be that clever.

During my research I found that it seems that the secret to networking success is:

Engage in conversations that lead to mutually beneficial business relationships.

Okay, so now that I know the secret, how do I find unique ways to start conversations? Well, firstly I need a story. How did I get into copywriting? What lit the fire? How did my business start?

My Story

Without going into too much detail, here it goes:

Being curious (a polite word for nosey) in nature I read a lot. Anything from books to blogs will do. While studying and working in marketing, I was bestowed with the task of writing press releases and articles for the company I worked for. Soon I was proof reading for others and editing the internal magazine (for which I received an international award).

People were always asking, “Kerry, how do you spell…” “Kerry, what’s the best way to say…”

I then began writing for the web and I quickly learnt Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques that enhance a website’s ranking on search engines. During this process my personal blog was born. I write for Orangebloom almost daily and without even realising it, I found my passion. I love to write!

My husband and I decided to relocate to the UK. So, I took the opportunity to start freelancing and the journey began…

Starting Conversations

One of the best ways to engage in debate and get a conversation started is to blog. Content is king, so write valuable posts that people will want to read. Try to blog as often as possible, but make sure that it is valuable information that people will want to read.

Write articles that share your expertise and add value for the reader. Submit these articles to websites for publication, usually they offer a footer where you could display your contact details and website. Giving of your knowledge will definitely prove to be beneficial to you and the reader. It’s an excellent way to get your name ‘out there’ – so to speak.

Live your brand by telling everyone you know about what you do and how you could add value. You may be surprised by the way ‘word of mouth’ works. It’s the most trusted form of advertising and what’s best of all, it’s free. So, talk the talk.

Social networks can be great, if used correctly. So, get LinkedIn, start a Facebook page, Twitter, and many more. They can be great places to get your message across, but be careful not to spam people, it will cause more harm than good.

Conclusion

• I need to put a plan in place, which will help me find the right people to start conversations with. A plan will produce results more quickly.

• Networking is about systematically & patiently cultivating relationships that grow into business opportunities. It takes time.

Share your business networking ideas with me…

Here are another 5 Etsy items I would love to have in my Christmas stocking…

This beautiful metal-lace ring is by christyannebestwick. It’s too gorgeous for words…

Reids Reserves makes the cutest hair accessories, this is my favourite.

Ssshhh, but I bought myself an early Christmas present. This stunning cosmetic bag, from The Wren Design. I have had my eye on this for a while, but the sold out quickly. This time when The Wren announced that they were in stock, I just couldn’t resist…

Cotton & Cloud is another England Etsy shop. I need a portable knitting bag, for taking my knitting on the tube and where ever else life may take me. This is my favourite knitting bag, but it is sold, so I may have to look for another one…

LAMdesigns has the cutest ‘I Love Tea’ tissue holder.

I may need this sooner rather than later… Going to cry a lot when we leave sunny South Africa…

Wow! I have seen so many things that I would like from Etsy.

Money is a little tight, what with the move (we fly on 3 Nov ‘08), so I will have to wait until Christmas time to purchase what I would like…

My favourite at the moment is this Bourbon Organic Coffee Sling Bag made by The Wren Design. If it wasn’t out of my price range at the moment, I would have already bought one…

This Love Letters (customised trinket box) is one of the most romantic gifts I have seen in a while. It is made by The Gift Shed.

Keep Calm ad Carry On in based in Surrey, UK (where I will soon be living). I love this Red Retro Flight Bag.

I just love this Christmas Luau SANTA Rubber Duck Glycerin SOAP by Ducky Soaps. It’s just too cute!

I need a holder for all my bamboo needles. So, a Oriental Gorgeous Knitting needle Roll CASE Green Bamboo, will be perfect. Is is made by 8 Season Knitting. Love it!

I will add another 5 items tomorrow…

I still can’t understand the need to document every second of your life and follow every second of someone else’s. Also the ethics of Twitter should be questioned. I recently read about a journalist who twittered the death of a 3 year old before the memorial service and then twittered the funeral… Where do we draw the line?

I understand its relevance for business, where one could tweet a conference, but otherwise I don’t see the point yet?

Anything you tweet can and will be used against you…

While I work on my project, here is another article, similar in style to Effective Goal Setting. Let me know what you think…

Richard Bandler - “There are no failures — only feedback.”

Once your business starts to gain momentum, you will begin to receive feedback regarding the performance of your business. Customers, colleagues, business partners, friends and family, etc. will give you advice, help, suggestions, direction and even criticism. The feedback that you receive will all contribute to the constant fine-tuning and growth needed to adapt to a changing business environment. This will progress you towards increasing your knowledge, product range, abilities, the service to your customers, point of view and business relationships.

Positive and Negative

Positive feedback is probably what you prefer. It could come in the form of, for example, increase in sales, media exposure, happy customers, awards, job satisfaction, etc. It feel good, it proves that you are on the right track and that you are successful at what you are doing.

Nobody likes negative feedback, for example, lack of results, little or no sales, criticism, complaints, unhappy customers, product returns, etc. However, negative feedback can be just as valuable as positive feedback. It lets you know that you are on the wrong track and you need to change direction or make adjustments. You could use this negative feedback to your advantage and see them as opportunities for improvement. Negative feedback can most definitely be used to your advantage and nudge you on to the fast lane to achieving your business goals more rapidly.

Ask for feedback

The easiest way to collect market intelligence (information about your market) is to ask for feedback. Connect with your target market by asking questions such as;
•    How would you rate the quality of our product?
•    How would you rate our level of customer service?
•    What can we do to improve our product and service offering?

These questions will give very valuable information and insight into the minds of your customers. Knowing that a customer is dissatisfied is not enough. Knowing in detail what will satisfy them will give you the information needed to create an unbeatable product and service.

Make it a habit to regularly ask your customers the following question:

“What can be done to improve your experience with my business?”

Ways to ask for feedback

• Casual conversation (verbal and written) – casually drop this question into a conversation. “By the way, how do you think I can do a better job?”
• Formal survey – compile a survey form that can be sent to your customer base. The survey may be conducted via email, telephonically, in person (survey interview or focus group) or via post (low response rate).
• Repeat purchases – if your customers keep coming back to purchase, they are most probably satisfied customers that identify with your brand. You should ask these valuable customers what makes them repeat purchasers and look after them, as the old adage goes 20% of your customers are 80% of your business.

How to cope with feedback that says “you have failed”

When the feedback that you receive says that your business has failed in an area, there are a few things that you can do to respond aptly and keep growing:

1. Write down everything that you have learnt from the experience and think of a better approach for next time.
2. Complete experience apologies and never hide from the customer. Your customers will appreciate your honesty, so always explain the situation honestly and offer to rectify the situation by offering to replace the product, offer a discount, or reimburse the customer completely. Ducking and diving from the customer will never work; remember when a customer is dissatisfied they will tell everyone they know.
3. Re-examine successes. What better way to perk yourself up after a slump in customer satisfaction then a glance at your successful past. This will renew your enthusiasm and allow you to be ready for another successful customer interaction. Regrouping and focusing on your vision will definitely give your spirits a boost.
4. Thanks. Always thank your customer for the feedback, even when it is negative. They did, after all, take the time to give you the feedback, which, mind you, means that they actually care. If they didn’t care, they would simply move on to another supplier and you would never know that they were dissatisfied. So, always be forthcoming with your thank-you’s.

Never take feedback personally, feedback is simply information. Welcome it and use it to your advantage. Remember the person took the time to give you feedback, whether positive or negative, always thank them.

I am not really into politics, but the recent political upheaval has really got me interested.

Today our New President will be sworn in, as Thabo Mbeki resigned last week.  Kgalema Motlanthe, will probably be the next president, a man many South Africans know very little about.

The utter lack of leadership, not only in South Africa, but worldwide is a huge worry. Maybe it is the beginning of the end of an era, making way for a new form of leadership. Now that the average man on the street has more say and power, perhaps it is time to re-look the way in which countries are governed.

Well, at least South Africa is not as bad as Zimbabwe, with Robert Mogabe being the main instigator. But Political unrest is not reserved for African Countries only.

The Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, resigned from his post in early September after less than a year in office. Taro Aso has been appointed as country’s new prime minister.

With America basically influencing every countries performance, the importance of a great US leader can not be over emphasised. The damage that George W. Bush inflicted not only on the country’s reputation, but on the economic front, will take years to repair. With 40 days to go until the elections in the USA, time will only tell. Let’s just hope for the best and may the best candidate win.

The UK has such an influence on Commonwealth Countries, such as South Africa, and the recent ‘beating’ the Prime Minister Gordon Brown has received from his critics and the British public, has had an influence. He may be on his way out as well…

Which brings me to the title of this post, ‘Will the real World Leaders, please stand up?’. The world is in despirate need of your services. Moral decay, economic hardships, the threat of nuclear war, rife corruption, public service delivery, and the list can go on and on… These factors can be blamed on the lack of leadership.

Who can you trust these days?

I have been eating much healthier and on the weekend I cooked organic Beetroot. I have seen others dye wool with natural ingredients, such as tumeric, and thouth that the water that the beetroot was cooked in would make a delightful dye, so I popped in some Elle Homespun wool and let it soke over night.

Well, the colour that appeared was delightful! I love It.

My camera’s battery is flat, but once I have bought a new one I will take a photo of the ball of wool. The pink is so unique.

I will be knitting a beanie (click here for the pattern) with this wool, especially for our mover to Surrey in England. We will be arriving there on 3 November 2008, from a hot South African Summer into a cold England Winter…