Inspiring Women

New Year’s Resolutions for your Small Business?

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:51:02 PST

You small business owners are an optimistic lot!

No matter how difficult the previous year has been there is always a renewed optimism at the beginning of each year that THIS year will be better, bigger, and more profitable and so on.

You’ve managed to relax, wind down over the Christmas break (if you’re lucky) and now the ideas for your business are rushing in!

Congratulations on getting reinvigorated again-that means you have a fabulous break and are ready to make some changes.

So what did you decide to do?

Redesign your website?
Get more involved in Social Media?
Concentrate on SEO so people can find your website?
Write more blogs?
Write that book?
Put on more workshops?
Work ON your business instead of IN your business?

As well as the above I can guarantee you that one of the things that many small business owners decide to do is more face to face networking.

But are you a sprinter or a long distance runner?

As someone who has organised events for 15 years for different organisations I will tell you a little secret......

The first event of each year is always well attended for just about any organisation.

Why?

Because everyone decides that they will make more of an effort to attend face to face events (seems to be a common resolution).

However; as the year winds on life gets hectic, busy, family issues and coordinating events to attend become a challenge. Many small business people drop out and their attendance becomes a memory. If this is you, I have privately been calling you “the sprinter”- quick out of the gate but no stamina and forward planning as these distracting events in life seem so much more challenging as the year progresses than it does at the beginning of the year. Yes, things pop up to challenge you and make it difficult to attend but you know what?

Usually if you make the effort, there is someone at the meeting you were supposed to meet and you missed out! How can I know?

Let's just say that for every person that has said they have a problem at home and can't attend, there is someone at the event with the same problem and looking for someone to share about it or has already worked out a way of handling it.

One day when I am brave enough I will write a blog of the funniest excuses I have been given as to "why I can't attend this event now".

Why do I have to be brave? For fear that some of you may recognise yourselves and I will be hunted down for revealing the excuses!

The long distance networkers make the distance over the year. They know they cannot attend everything, so they measure out their time and pick and choose and keep up attendances all year. They have learned how not to burn out. Networking burn out? Yes it does exist – I have seen it plenty of times, especially those small business owners who are hungry to soak up everything on offer. It often takes a couple of years, but it does happen.

So what can you do about it?

Take some time out now and plan your events. If you are a new small business owner you will probably need at least 2 types of regular networking events – one where you find and network where your clients/customers are and another for yourself, to reinvigorate your enthusiasm for your business or learn from other more experienced business owners.

If you have owned your business for a while and know your clients and have a strong client/customer database you probably need a networking event to give you more ideas or find out what is new for small business.

There are several benefits to networking as a small business owner. Overall, networking can help you build your knowledge and skills from others in order to increase to overall performance of your small business. The thing is, many small business owners will face the same issues. With networking, you can talk to someone who may have faced the same challenge or at least get suggestions on solutions.

The extent of the benefit will largely depend on how much you get involved. Remember, it’s a great way to meet other local business owners and share stories!

So don’t be a sprinter in 2012, when you have your ideas book out (collecting and writing down all your new ideas for your business) don’t forget to plan your networking events you plan to attend and I’m sure I will see you at one soon!

May 2012 be everything for your small business that you plan it to be!

Need inspiration for your biz for 2012? Check out these amazing business women from 2011.

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:08:41 PST

Need inspiration for your small biz?

Looking for some role models to keep you motivated when you are feeling overwhelmed?

Who says that women are not capable of establishing careers in business and balancing home life at the same time?

Women, for the record, may still learn a lot from their male counterparts in the business world but they have now gained a very solid foothold in making their own names all by their often nderestimated “girl power”.

Less egotistical, intuitive and compassionate are just some of the qualities that Australian businesswomen possess, making their presence a threat to male Aussies in the entrepreneurial world. So, move over blokes because the sheilas are here to teach you some tips on how to step up your game.

Here are Australia’s top 10 female entrepreneurs to inspire you:

10. Diana Williams

Photo source: theage.com.au

Founder of Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs

Who would have thought that her self-experience drawn motivation to engage women into weight training at a time when the fitness industry was losing ground would lead to the creation of one of the most successful business franchise models in Australia. Williams’ revenue is estimated at $88.2 million to date. Thanks to her vision of operating the business on a national scale with 77 health clubs and having more than 80,000 members across the country.

Making this concept a concrete reality in the business world is not only bounded by her desire of making money but also with the passion for giving women of all walks of life the chance to empower themselves by taking care of their health. This she expresses in the Venus Program which she has developed in her Fernwood Foundation. The program supports the company’s mantra “We exist to empower women to shine!” which aims to help women boost their physical image as well as their self-esteem.

9. Gina Rinehart

Photo source: news.com.au

Chairman of Hancock Prospecting

Entering Hancock Prospecting after the death of her father, Lang Hancock, founder of the said company, with cash-flow problems and a 14-year legal battle over Hancock’s assets, Gina’s determination to bring back Hancock Prospecting back to its feet paved the way for making the company the leader in the iron ore industry in West Australia.

One of her accomplishments as a businesswoman is naming a mountain range (Hancock Range) after her family in 1999 as a form of commemoration for their contribution to the pastoral and mining industry in the Pilbara region. Not only that, she even has acquired 10% stake in Network Ten, aka Channel Ten, which is one of the major television networks in Australia. Soon afterwards, she did the same thing with Fairfax Media Limited which is a big departure from her previous corporate transactions.

8. Therese Rein

Photo Source: thepunch.com.au

Founder of Ingeus

Before she became the first wife of Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Prime Minister from 2007-2010, she already has gained prominence being the founder of the international employment agency Ingeus. This company has become the major provider of employment in Australia since its birth in 1989 as an, initially, a small rehabilitation company called Work Directions. However, she was forced to sell the company in 2007 after her husband became Prime Minister. Her revenue is worth more than $120 million.

Therese’s accomplishments is not only limited to establishing an employment provider that has more than 70 offices in 8 countries including Australia. She was bestowed by the Australian Human Rights Commission in December 2010 with the Human Rights Medal for her dedication to protecting human rights and providing proper equal employment to people of different social and historical backgrounds, especially those with physical disability.

7. Janine Allis

Photo source: saxton.com.au

Founder and CEO of Boost Juice

Boost Juice was inspired by the smart observation of Janine Allis who noticed the widespread of juice bars in the United States. Having thought of this together with her husband, Janine decided to bring this idea of opening a juice bar in Adelaide in 2000. This move led to an estimated revenue of Janine at $143.7 million based on 1,850 stores established across Australia and in UK, Ireland, Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia, Macau and South Africa.

Based on reports, Janine’s idea of putting a juice bar in Adelaide sparked a craze among Australians over juice bars that after two years of the operation of the first store, a new store was opened every four days. This has established Boost Juice to be the fastest growing franchise chain in Australia.

6. Iris Lustig-Mar

Photo source: lustigmoar.com

Co-owner of Lustig & Moar

Founded by the late Ted Lustig and his then son-in-law, Max Moar, Lustig & Moar is one of the most prestigious property developers in Melbourne. This company is known for having developed Park Hyatt in East Melbourne and Grand Hyatt on Collins Street. After the death of Ted Lustig in 2003, Iris took over his position and took control of the company together with her former husband Max. She also inherited the office building and other property assets of the company. Iris’s revenue amounts to $154 million.

5. Charlotte Vidor

Photo source: news.com.au

Co-owner of Toga Group

Having established Toga Group with husband Ervin Vidor, Charlotte Vidor is another successful female entrepreneur who has made a name in the property development industry in New South Wales. The growth and success of this company can be attested by its 1,800 employees as well as its interests in funds management and aquaculture. Charlotte Vidor’s net worth is estimated at $285 million.

4. Maxine Horne

Photo source: vitagroup.com.au

Co-founder of Vita Group

Together with her husband David McMahon, Maxine Horne established Fone Zone in Brisbane with its first store on the Gold Coast in 1995. Fone Zone is considered to be Australia’s most successful specialist mobile communications retailer which is largely independently owned by the couple. This company specializes in mobile communications and leads in advancement in mobile technologies.

The growth of the company is attributed to the hard work and and unique business skills of Maxine who leads a staff of almost 800. This even led to the creation of 123 company-owned stores and 22 dealers across the country. Maxine Horne’s net worth is estimated at $ 297.8 million.

3. Julia Ross

Photo source: smh.com.au

Founder of Ross Human Directions

Julia Ross founded Ross Human Directions in 1989 in the midst of the most undesirable circumstances in her life: breakdown of her marriage, getting pregnant and a limited opportunity for a senior corporate position especially for a single pregnant woman like her. Instead of getting torn by this situation and giving up on her ambition, she went on her own in establishing one of the most successful and largest recruitment and HR services providers in Australia. The company has expanded its operations in other countries Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

At present, Julia is the managing director as well as a major shareholder of the company having a market capitalization of $32 million. Her revenue is estimated at $392.9 million which lands her the number 3 spot among the most successful female entrepreneurs in Australia.

2. Naomi Milgrom

Photo source: vogue.com.au

Owner of Sussan Group

Bestowed with the Ernst & Young Champion of Entrepreneurship Award, Naomi Milgrom has established her name in the business of fashion successfully as she continued to take control of Sussan Group after buying it out from her parents Marc and Eva Besen and siblings in 2003. Naomi’s responsibilities include looking after 550 stores and 4,500 employees around Australia with the House of Sussan, Suzanne Grae and Sportsgirl under the company. Holding the 2nd spot as one of the richest and most powerful Australian businesswoman, Naomi’s net worth is estimated at $496 million.

1. Jan Cameron

Photo source: themercury.com.au

This Tasmanian business powerhouse has gained fame in founding outdoor wear chain Kathmandu which she later sold at about $300 million in 2006 to a private equity company. But this move just led to her buying and restructuring Australian Discount Retail in April 2009 which is now Retail Adventures. This company manages operations of the chains for Chickenfeed, Sam’s Warehouse, Crazy Clark’s, Go-Lo and my place It’s Home, with 8,000 employees and over 330 stores and annual sales revenue nearing $1 billion. She leads the female pack being the number one entrepreneur in Australia. – International Business Development Australia

Reference: www.smartcompany.com.au/entrepreneurs/20100304-female-entrepreneurs.html

Do you feel someone was missed in this list? Then send in your suggestions by posting below.

What's in a name?

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:43:21 PST

My job is a little like a walking/talking directory....

Being well connected in the business community over a long period of time means there's many business people I know and have met over the past 15 years when I was getting my own business off the ground and when I became involved in various business organisations.

The great thing about it is that when people contact me looking for someones expertise 99.8% I do know who to refer them to- and usually try to refer to more than one business as of course there are lots of businesses who do similar things.
Sometimes I ask extra questions so I can get the right information to get them connected with the right type of business for them as getting the right type of businesses to work together is what works out well for everyone.

Of course this also means I get a lot of newsletters in my inbox from many different businesses.

Most of the newsletters I am OK with, some have not asked my permission to put me of their mailing list-which is why I have now added the Spam Act on the home page of our website.

Some business people think that just by meeting someone they have automatically got the right to put them on their mailing list (not true) please read the Act as you can easily damage your marketing reputation by doing this.

As I do get lots of newsletters I try to read all the ones from people I know so I know what is happening in their businesses...and what is planned for the future.

Funnily enough - there seems to be about 4 business that have a very similar theme for their projects for 2012, with very similar wording....with almost the same message.

I am pretty sure that none of these people know each other and this phenomenon is very similar to when your phone rings after being quiet for a long time and 2 other people try to phone you at the same time!

A collective thought has struck these people....all with a wonderful message coming from a well meaning heart.

I ask that if you are about to launch a new program, workshop, subject for 2012 - be very specific about who you are targeting and have a couple of different ways of wording your new product/item as I fear there may be a battle of similar sounding marketing messages for 2012 that may confuse the general public.

If you find someone else is saying the same thing about their product using the same words - make sure you have a backup plan of some marketing messages worded very differently in case your message is already taken.
The holiday period which is about to start maybe a good time to think of creative ways of getting your message across.

Maybe a Thesaurus will become a girls best friend in 2012?

Women in Business Mentoring Program for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:29:59 PST

The Women in Business Mentoring Program run by the NSW Department of Trade and Investment has helped more than 7,000 women business owners to grow their business since its launch in 1995.
The Program brings fundamental knowledge to achieve business success with the aid of co-operative learning and mentor guidance.

Its proven methodology offers a combination of five business education workshops, two networking events and 10 hours of mentoring by an experienced business owner over five months, to assist you with your business growth. The Program offers an empowering environment where women feel comfortable to discuss their business issues and offer solutions to each other.

Come and join other business women who want to get ahead in their business, work on strategies together with each other as well as with your business Mentor.
These programs have been tried and tested and are known to work well for those who put in the effort required to make change and be guided out of your comfort zone by experienced Mentors.

Here's just one testimonial from a Mentee who finished the program in 2011.

"The program has exceeded my expectations. Great to have a mentor with a strong management consultancy background, experience in working in a partnership and practical understanding of growth models and how these could apply to our business. My mentor's ability to listen, support and nurture has been so useful at this stage of my business partnership. I have gained many useful insights from my mentor and enjoy his exploratory approach – delving into issues and exploring options in a very lateral way. Has helped me make some very important strategic decisions and assisted me and my partner work through some sensitive issues and develop a shared future vision for the company."
Andrea from Appetite Communications

Don't miss out and find out more at our website here or look at the NSW Trade and Investment website here.

A common saying that is heard during these programs are "I didn't know what I didn't know", so why not find out for yourself?

Business Grants for Women

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:00:58 PST

See the title to this blog?
This is a commonly used term to search for business grants online or Australian Grants and Loans - but THINK AGAIN!

I have heard that at least 2 different networking groups are putting up links to a website that promises business grants for women as the website will do all the online research for you.
It's called Australia Business Financing Centre, based in Canberra so it must be involved with the government, or is it?

Interestingly in small text at the bottom of their website it says
"The ABFC is an independent research organisation not affiliated with any government agency."

Oh , a research organisation....of a for profit research organisation...
But they have all these winners of grants all over their website, so they MUST be successful, right???

WRONG!

They know most business people looking for grants don't have any time, so who's going to read everything on their website.

However in their FAQ's is the following:

Has the Centre helped fund the Recipients and Success Stories on this site?

We make no claim that any recipients listed or success story profiled received funding as a result of Australia Business Financing Centre services and products unless specifically stated. We provide both resources to the public to show that monies are available for those who qualify and that its much easier than most people think to get funding if you understand the process and take action to apply.

Hmm, so all those stories about who got grants aren't necessarily from these people!

Any business or organisation who gets a grant is listed publicly for a period of time as being the successful organisation that received assistance - this is public information for anyone to read (or put on a website). So they are just showing you everyone that has won a grant that is publicly listed, NOT the ones that they have been successful in applying.

Interestingly one of the recent "success stories" is a business that was recommended to go to their local BEC and apply for a Mentoring program. Anyone can do this without paying the charges asked from this website of:

The tax-deductible fee for this service, is $374 for the first installment and $277 for the second installment, in 30 days.

A local business last year paid $600 for a book that listed every single local, State and Federal grant for all over Australia. The book was huge- it listed winners of previous grants listed by States and she dilligently went through it, phoned the receipients of grants and then realised there was nothing suitable for her new product.
She phoned the research centre and every suggestion that was made to her, she already tried... much to their surprise.
She ended up getting her money back.

The sad thing was that the book was already out of date as many grants are only open for a short period of time and had closed by the time she had received the book.

I actually could point her in the right direction and she did receive some assistance.

So where do you go? Where do you look?

The following are the websites that the researchers are using to find if you are eligible.

They are all free- they are from different Government departments and they are up to date!

Save yourself over $600.00 and just look at the following websites that the researchers use to find if there are is grant for you.

Check out
http://www.business.gov.au/Grantfinder/Grantfinder.aspx ( a bit slow to load up the website but it gets there)

http://www.grantslink.gov.au/ On this website you will see they have a warning about people claiming to get government grants for your business…..

http://www.ausindustry.gov.au/FindAusIndustryGrantsandAssistance/Pages/FindAusIndustryGrantsAssistance.aspx

http://www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/Grantsandassistance/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx This is great for manufacturers!

http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/assistance-and-support/grants for NSW grants.

And by the way, if you have a not for profit group or charity, I highly recommend Our Community who have all kinds of wonderful resources and recently got themselves a grant as they were helping other organisations receive grants. So they started up the Australian Institute of Grants Management.

http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/best_practice/best_practice_main.jsp

This community is set up to assist charities and other not for profit groups and their information is always clear and concise, though you do have to pay for some of their information.

And just a last word on grants, most new small businesses do not qualify for a grant.
The most common mistake I hear is people saying there should be a grant for a new start up businesses.

My question to you is " why should there be?"

If you are not prepared to take a risk, take a bank loan, mortgage your house- then why should the goverment risk their money on you? Especially if you are not prepared to do the same!
Some grants involve going 50/50 with your money as well as theirs, some involve paying for training, assistance with imports and exports, manufacturing, green energy, tax refunds for Research & Development plus so much more.

All these websites have departments who are friendly and will assist you for free!

Do you normally have a Cash Flow crisis over Xmas?

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:09:02 PST

Just as I was about to start this blog I did some quick research, only to find a fabulous article on the same thing, so why reinvent the wheel?

Read the fabulous article here

I'll just reinforce this important message, as small business owners normally start getting busy tying up loose ends before the Christmas break or dealing with the sudden rush of clients and customers who want things done before Christmas.

Whilst some businesses do very well over the Xmas period, others suffer dramatically due to their customers all being away, especially manufacturers, some service providers, some finance sectors etc.
So those types of businesses tend to close over the Christmas period.

What many small business owners forget about is following up their debtors ( people who owe you money, if you invoice). This obviously applies less to retailers who collect money before they release their goods however as a retailer it's important you remember to pay your suppliers before you close your business over the holiday period.

In November and December, chase your debtors and send out those invoices as early as you can.

If you are one of the ones that closes over January, remember you will reopen a whole lot of envelopes when you get back asking YOU to pay your invoices.
If you have not got your outstanding invoices collected you will have a cash flow problem that will spoil any Christmas cheer, especially when those credit card statements start coming in January!

Get busy sending those invoices out now so you will have a very Merry Christmas after all!

An Important time to put forward your views in NSW

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:51:07 PDT

Recently I had the occasion to listen to the new Small Business Commissioner (what is a Small Business Commissioner) recently appointed by the new State government who is on a listening tour starting in Metropolitan Sydney and going out to the regional areas of NSW.

What happens when governments change is that each new incoming government wants to hear about how they can do things better and a listening tour is a great start.
What most people don't seem to realise though is that everything is under review...the good as well as the bad.

Unless small business people speak up and say what they actually liked, it may not continue.

This was clear to me as the session ended as 4 small business people came up to me asking when I was putting on more small business training events in the area.

I explained to these owners that the mentoring programs they want to enlist for are also "under review" and may not continue if people don't speak out about what they want.

It suddenly dawned on them what this review actually meant to them.

So if you have ever attended a:

Small Business September event
Microbiz Week event
Manufacturing Week event
Small Business Mentoring program
Attended or joined a Cluster ( eg: Fashion, Manufacturing, Natural Health etc)
Attended a Business Enterprise Centre for information
Contacted anyone regarding the Business Advisory Services
Participated in Young Entrepreneurs
Participated in Women in Business
Participated in any mentoring program supported by the State Government
Business MasterClass

Then PLEASE fill in this survey to let the Small Business Commissioner know what you want and where you are (by filling in the postcode!) We need your votes & your opinions!

START SURVEY

Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise. ~Author Unknown

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:40:47 PDT

The headline to this blog should be constantly reminded to businesses on "How to Deliver Customer Service 101."

In previous blogs I have lamented about the lack of insight by businesses who have "bricks and mortar" premises (in other words, buildings) who don't check what their customers are saying about them online.

It comes as no surprise to me that Australian retailers who are doing it tough lately from the GFC (yes, it still is hurting people) are complaining about the added pain of business who are selling online.

However I think they are really missing the point.

Recently at a seminar, listening to the new Minister and new Commisioner for the Department of Fair Trading there was an open floor for the small business owners to say what was on their minds.

To my surprise, one small business owner was complaining about customers buying online; saying it wasn't fair that the consumer didn't have to pay GST on purchases under $1000.00 and what was the NSW government going to do about it?

I shouldn't have been surprised but what does surprise me is how short sighted some of these business owners are about what is causing so much trouble in their businesses.
It's definitely not just online buyers!

Many shops are just not offering good or great customer service anymore!

Just standing by a cash register looking disinterested just doesn't cut it.

By meeting customers face to face you have the opportunity to make a lasting impression, people are so busy these days but if you make their life easier- it will be memorable.

Being honest about when stock is expected to arrive and then contacting you to let you know if it is running late used to be good manners. Not any more! Now some retailers just wait for the customer to chase them up to find out when their order is arriving....this just makes for a bad customer experience.

When you order online, you are sent an email telling you when it is leaving the premises, how long the parcel will take to arrive... and finally an email asking if it was up to your expectations.
This is more customer service than many of the larger stores both to offer their customers, it used to be called manners and not just "customer service".

Two recent experiences of mine are with 2 entirely different types of stores.
One involved buying a television only to be told after looking on the computer "that's our last one so we have to order in more- there is an order pending and should arrive in 3-5 working days".
Fine. But was this the case? No.
After waiting 8 days we phoned; "The order isn't in yet...we think about another 10 days"...

This was a big store and finally when the stock arrived after 21 days, there was a queue of customers all picking up the same item. All of us knowing that we'd been had in the false promise of when the item would arrive. Why get our expectations up when only to be dissappointed?
Why do we have to continually phone to find out when a paid for item is going to arrive?

This is not a good buying experience!

The 2nd case just happened recently- this time I did research online to find out what others thought of the business. It was a worry- customer feedback was old and said they had waited 6 months for delivery!
A look around the store had an old customer testimonial (about 5 years old) but nothing recent..( I was fearful).
I walked away thinking maybe they have improved...
We were buying a front door and screen door- the front door was to be the one on the floor (great, so no stock to order) however there were signs saying they were looking for installers....

Was told 3-4 weeks wait with another 2 weeks for the screen door once the front door was installed.
So what happened?
3 months later the doors have been installed.
The job is beautiful however the wait yet again was an issue.
However this time I was sent an SMS asking for feedback- great! Here's my chance- however their message had an incorrect email to send to. Coincidence? Possibly- but I made sure they knew their feedback had the wrong email address on it -if they really wanted to know what their customers were thinking they would correct it.

What latest customer service experiences have you had?
Am I just expecting too much???

Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story Channel 7!

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:05:14 PDT

Last night I received a phone call from a friend saying she had seen a snippet on the Channel 7 news for Monday night about a local female bank manager, saying she was out to con a family out of the "poor old mums" inheritance.

"What the????"

This female bank manager has been in our area for years, I have known her for 10 years or more and is "one of the good guys"!

I knew something was amiss as too frequently I see stories in our own local newspaper that have 1/2 truths and one sided stories where only the barest of facts are reported and someones one sided opinion used to fill out the rest of the story

As soon as I heard this, my thoughts were "I bet this is about the elderly woman she has been looking after for years".
So I contacted the bank manager and asked about the story snippet that was seen on Channel 7 on Friday night and sure enough, it was about the elderly woman....

So now for some facts.

Christine Frankham is been the bank manager of Bendigo Bank, Dee Why for many years.
She is a quiet, compassionate woman from a country background that knows good service, how to listen and help people within her bank and within the community around her.

She knows how to listen and always is always enthusiastic about helping the business community as well as others, which is how I first got to know Christine.

She has known the elderly lady for over 20 years and has been visiting her almost daily for 15.
The lady is now 91 years old and as I used to pop in and see Christine late in the afternoons at the bank, Christine would be getting ready for her daily visit to her elderly friend.
Christine was usually picking up shopping, giving her company and being a true friend.

Why is Christine this way you ask?

Well Christine's mum used to look after the elderly and it was always the "country thing" to do!

In 2006, the elderly friend wanted Christine & her carer to become Enduring Guardians for her, the elderly friend had virtually no contact with her family, and made it clear she did not get on with her family.
The lady had no photos of her family up in her house and went to the Guardianship Court and gave her reasons as to why she picked Christine and her other friend (her carer) to share the role.
The transcripts of these court proceedings along with the elderly friends words are all there for the public to see. It is all above board and what her friend had dearly wanted.

The elderly friend had a fall in May 2011 and went to hospital....and in hospital had another fall.

Now the family have suddenly turned up.

Now the family are angry.....since May Christine has been threatened, forks produced twice with threats to stab Christine in the face, her car blocked by a human barricade plus more.

Have Channel 7 really tried to get to the truth (other than chase her 3 times through the streets with cameras???)
Does Channel 7 bother to investigate- under section 57 of the Guardianship Act, a person under guardianship cannot be identified, discussed without approval from the Guardianship board- there is a prison sentence if this is contravened.
Christine cannot comment publicly at all under this Act - however information can be accessed with permission by the board.

No, of course not!

Those of us who know Christine, know that she always try to do whatever is asked of her as she is a woman of true heart and spirit.

Channel 7, you are crucifying one of the good guys here!

Christine is someone who has deep roots in the area and is one of the last of the selfless givers left. She selfishly gives her time to people who have asked for help and companionship.

Christine has always been like this and is what makes her special and so loved!

Yes, she has helped others in the same way before- yes, she is in her friends will, but never has asked or wanted it that way -

but what do people do when they are stuck with family they don't like?

Reading about Neville Wran's challenges about changing his will and enduring guardianship who has cut his wife out of these documents has been covering the headlines in the Herald lately.
Personally I am appalled that someone who has retired from public life has his family squabbles splashed all over the papers.

Christine and her elderly friend (&her family) are not in the public eye- never have been!

So why do we have to endure a story on Channel 7 news that have a one-sided story from a family that were missing in action for 15 years?

What about a balanced story with the transcripts from the Guardianship Board from the elderly woman herself?

Oh, and why did she want the guardianship in the first place?
Wasn't it to avoid her family putting her in a nursing home?

And where is the elderly friend now?

In a nursing home....

There will always be families angry about guardianship's and wills but isn't it the right of the person to choose what they want??

Isn't that why guardianships were brought in in the first place????

Fast Track Your Business Success With Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:55:24 PDT

This blog was supplied by Gaynor Parke from Social Media Mamma- check out the offer at the end!

Fast Track Your Business Success With Facebook

You spend a lifetime honing and crafting your skill but are you making the money to match your skills? So many artists concentrate so much of their time on perfecting what they really love to do, that their marketing skills are less than ideal.

Social Media has provided the tools to change all that. Set up correctly and used wisely it can help you create those all important relationships with people that will lead to commissions and business expansion. No matter what business you’re in it’s the client relationships that lead to paying clients.

You all know how powerful an image can be. How it can create intense emotion and stir a wide range responses. In my opinion Facebook is King of the Social Media tools as it provides an enormous platform to connect to your audience in a myriad of ways.

Over 750,000,000 people have joined Facebook and half of them log in everyday! Not only that they stay on the platform much longer than just doing a Google search. What does that mean to you as a business owner? It means you have a greater opportunity to market to this gigantic audience over a greater length of time. Plus 68% of Fans publicly endorse and/or recommended their favorite companies on Facebook, resulting in other people joining and buying your products or services.

So having established Facebook is a huge platform lets look at some myths surrounding it and why you need to be using it as a marketing tool.

# MYTH 1

Facebook is just for kids or people who don’t have anything important to say.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The average age of Facebook users is between 24-34 years who have some college education and are predominantly women. Most people make buying decisions way before they ever leave their homes. They research the internet, pay close attention to what their piers are buying and recommending and a large proportion of buying decisions are made by women! This fits the social profile of the Facebook user very closely wouldn’t you say?

Business has always realized that you need to go to where your audience is and at the moment Facebook is that place! This graph of the number of visits to the Google (blue), Facebook (green) and Youtube(orange) sites shows Facebook actually surpassing Google as the most visited site on the web back in July 2010 and is continually holding that position. Facebook is searched not only for social interaction but also to find products and services.

As of 11^th August 2011 when you search a list of the most searched websites the following results appear:-

Google is ranked number 1

Facebook is ranked number 2

Youtube is ranked number 3

Twitter is ranked number 9

Linkedin is ranked number 13^th in the world

When companies such as Starbucks have over 24,000,000, Optus has around 51,000, philanthropists Maya Angelou has over 3,000,000 and President Obama has over 22,306,000 there is a obvious interest in a wide variety of topics that it is easy to see it is not all youngsters talking about trivia.

Furthermore, 80% of female Internet users have become fans of a product or brand on a social network site and 72% said they learned about a new product through social media.

#MYTH 2

If you do something great, people will find it.

This has never been the case. Even if you are the best at what you do, people still need to know about you, to buy from you. So what’s the best advertising? It’s always been recommendation, the old word of mouth. In this case it’s “word of mouse”!

People love to share links, photos and videos on Social Media. The more interactive it is the more people respond. Facebook is the biggest conversation around the water cooler of people sharing what they love, what they’ve tried and what they think. Get in on the conversation and tell them how brilliant you are!

This is an actual comment on a Facebook Page “ Wedding Dance and DJ” .
As you can see “word of mouse” works!

# MYTH 3

I don’t have time for Social Media

You don’t have time NOT to do Social Media. Remember the old days when websites were introduced? Who needs a website so many people declared. Well if you don’t have an internet presence now how are people going to find you? The Yellow Pages that gets delivered to me is getting smaller and smaller and I know I haven’t used it for anything but a foot rest in years.

Once your Facebook Page is set up correctly you can set up systems and strategies that make the entire engagement fun, effective and it need not take up that much of your time. Consistency and real conversations is the key. Yes I observe a lot of people haven’t got their Pages set up correctly but the main key to success with Social Media is the way you communicate. Think of it as virtual networking combined with marketing. You wouldn’t walk up to someone you don’t know and start talking about your latest sales would you? Social Media is the same, you need to create connections.

I hope I have encouraged you to at least consider looking at using Facebook as an important part of your overall marketing strategy. In my next article I will share with you some essential insights about how to use this amazing platform. Like anything there are some tricks of the trade, some absolute must and must not behaviours to creating an effective Facebook presence.

Can’t wait that long? For those of you who enjoy learning through easy to follow how-to videos my fabulous “Fast Track to Facebook Success” video coaching series is ideal. Save time and money with a virtual seminar in your own home. With 50 videos to take you from the very first things you need to know before you even set up your Page, right through to how to promote your Page and create a great following.

I also have a general workshop that covers Facebook Twitter, Blogging and LinkedIn in Crows Nest on Friday October 14^th that I will be co-hosting with Empower Social Media if you want to spend the day finding out how to integrate these powerful platforms into your marketing. The first 10 Inspiring Women Network members to book receive $60 off the price of your workshop ticket so be quick to book.

Don’t be left behind Social Media is here to stay. Contact me at gaynor@socialmediamamma.com for workshop bookings or to find out how I can help you grow your business with Facebook

Melbourne is not a Mystery for small business, or is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:46:47 PDT

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being in Melbourne for an exhibition.
This was to be my first time in ages that I had a whole 36 hours to myself- bliss!

So as I settled into my hotel I got busy on my phone looking up restaurant and cafe recommendations to see where I could get breakfast, dinner etc.

I was pleasantly surprised to find there is a thriving community of online reviewers who aren't afraid to comment on the good, the bad and the downright ugly when it came to local businesses. The comments were made recently which meant I knew that someone had been to these places not long ago.

As I was staying near universities, it made sense that many of the eateries had comments & reviews- even as far as saying things like "this may be good enough for students but not to take the family".

And as I suspected, the older generation of hospitality owners did not seem to be aware of the comments-to the detriment of their own businesses.

I read about the Greek restaurant closest to my hotel- a review caught my eye with the headline "awful place, dont visit if you're a young woman" with the comments from a young lady that she had tried the place twice and was not only harassed by the drunks in there late at night but by the owner the 2nd time as well.
I decided to stay clear of that place for sure!

There were many places that had fabulous reviews and people certainly had their favourites, so it made it fun to see if these places lived up to their reputations (and they did!).

Not only were there many restaurants reviewed by those who had eaten there but so there were many retail shops that had reviews as well. With so many tourists descending on this city on weekends, it was not uncommon to be stopped in the street to be asked where certain shops were. After being asked the 3rd time about a certain shop, I thought, "wow, something must be happening there", so of course I was straight onto my phone to see what comments had been made.

I found a sale that was on that weekend so, of course I had to check it out!

This all confirms what I have thought before- that small businesses must be keeping an eye on what is being written about them and keep writing themselves to show that you are in touch with your customers. I have seen plenty of business Facebook pages that have comments and questions by customers, with no comment back by the business itself.

Does it mean the business owner doesn't answer questions? Probably not, however when you look for the first time at a business Facebook page, if the owner is never commenting back to the customers questions- it gives you the impression they don't care. What if I had the same question and see that 3 months later the question still isn't answered??

We all want to know a real live person is at the end of that page, who can solve our question!

Paul Wallbank has written a wonderful blog recently lamenting the fact that small businesses aren't proudly showing their addresses on the outside of their businesses.

He says,
Why hide your address?
There’s a lot of concern about businesses not having a website with estimates that between 40 and 60% of all enterprises simply don’t have a website and most aren’t using social media.
Businesses who haven’t bothered setting up a site, or at least a free Facebook or Google Places listing are missing out on customers, but even many organisations with an online presence aren’t publicising them well.

Read the entire blog here

So the moral to this story? Set yourself up in Google Places (it's free) and start sharing your site with others because as retail is hurting, you can offer your customers a real face behind your business to show that you care!

What's so "Social" about Social Media anyway?

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:25:13 PDT

Now to the human side of Facebook.....

We've all had posts on our Facebook walls of irrelevant stuff (which is irrelevant to you perhaps but not to the person posting it)...

For businesses out there- you know you should have a Business Facebook page (attached to your personal page- but that's another story...) and use the Business Page to talk about business and your personal page to chat with friends.

However in our days of running businesses we forget about the real human stories out there- unless it shows up on your Facebook feed, you just don't have time to think about these things.

I saw a post on Pittwater Council's facebook page about a homeless man who had lost his wordly possessions (a backpack) from Mona Vale library, someone had stolen it.
His backpack contained everything he owned in the world including his medications for diabetes, small amount of money, clothes etc.

Local businesses in Mona Vale came to his rescue, the local chemist not only tested his blood sugar, but gave him a free supply of medications, including a blood glucose testing kit, other businesses gave him clothing, and a local bank gave him a free bank account to keep his money safe in the future.

Then I saw others asking questions, which businesses were they? The locals wanted to support those business when suddenly the homeless man himself was answering all the questions!

My cynical side said to myself
"If he's homeless, how can he afford to be online? Where does he keep his computer, or can he afford a smartphone?"

The homeless man posted that he uses the free computer services in Mona Vale library to access online and he personally wanted to thank each and every person and that the locals had been so amazing. He also posted that he was now looking for accomodation... he had hope for human nature again.

This is the human side of online media, that sometimes gets easily forgotten, it is accessable to everyone which makes a community stronger.

Some of you write funny and fantastic posts, normally when dealing with stress. There is a huge human side, that in all honesty, I sometimes use to show others that they are not alone in a challenge.
Thank you for sharing these sometimes personal insights into your lives as I do use them when others come to me and say they are not coping. Laughter always helps put things back into perspective!

A little bit of knowledge can always be a dangerous thing.....as they say.

Yesterday was interesting as Social Media raised it's head in our local papers (The Manly Daily) and sadly, what sometimes happens is people use this paper to sometimes spread misinformation.

The article had a misleading headline "Warringah Council funds for free forum"
Followed by

"WARRINGAH Council has defended its $500,000 spending on “social networking”, claiming the funds would also be used to upgrade the organisation’s outdated IT infrastructure."
To read the article in full visit the page here

The article went on to say that certain people are saying this money is being used to fund free things like Facebook, Twitter etc.
As we all know, these platforms are free, however someone's wage has to be paid to run it. The fact they are not using extra money but utilising monies from other areas to update the outdated IT systems and online facilities is long overdue.

The fact that all the other Councils have been doing online media for quite awhile is interesting, no comments in the paper about these Councils updating their systems, only positive news. In fact Sydney's smallest Council (Mosman) is way ahead of Warringah-embarrassing actually.

Over the years I have had local charities phone me asking how to book parks, put up banners about their events- all because there was no online way of doing it.

I have followed Pittwater Coucil, Manly Council & Mosman Council for some time and have found the information sent out relevant to their local area, informative and unlike newspapers, without someone's opinion on them. Just the facts, like what sports grounds are open, who is having recycling or eco gardening workshops, Red Cross blood collections etc. dogs found, markets on and all the things that a community uses. This is because it is run by the Communications Department, whose job it is to get the message out about what events etc are happening.

No spruiking of policies or politicians agendas, just plain simple information about what's on, what's open etc.

In fact I particularly like Pittwater Council posts- why?

Because they post all weekend as well.
Whoever is running their feeds really has their finger on the pulse because they are posting about the surf, which beaches are open, which markets are on & I don't know about you...but I like the fact that the Council are actually tweeting when I'm still trying to wake myself up on the weekend and can see what's already happening and what options there are for the weekend!

One last thing to mention specifically about Facebook, if you are finding your Facebook feeds are getting out of control then this may help you!
A member of Inspiring Women Leonie Smith from Digital Breezes is one of our lady techno geeks who has posted up a small video tip if your Facebook feeds are getting out of control.

How To Mute Friends Posts On Facebook (Video)

How to mute friends posts on Facebook without hurting their feelings. If your Facebook News Feed is looking a little cluttered, you might want to clean up your News Feed on Facebook and not have to see all the posts from all your Facebook Freinds

Get your dose of Joy this Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:40:58 PDT

The latest newsletter is out and usually when I press the "send" button a cold feeling comes over me as I realise I have missed mentioning someone's workshop, event, plea!

Even as I write this I just remembered someone's request that I forgot to mention (ARGGHHH!)

It is always interesting that no matter who hard you try to "remember" it all you usually cannot and that's even using lists, reminders and all the other useful tools that are available these days.

But sometimes I find it useful to just remember we all have 24 hours in the day. Sometimes everything falls into place and other days you just KNOW that nothing is going to go as planned and it is better to just let go and go with the flow!

Usually when things are flowing not quite the way you thought they should I find that life is usually trying to tell you something....something to take notice of, to let go of, remember something....

I am being reminded of some important things to do with life lately; friends gravely ill, older family members becoming frailer, reconnecting with old friends that have been "missing" due to personal ordeals.

We can take ourselves and our businesses sometimes too seriously and reminders come to let you know that life is short- remember to breathe and let loose and have some fun!

That's whay I highly recommend any and every women to see Breast Wishes, it is and extraordinarily funny show with painful & poignant reminders about growing up, mature age and everything in between! Local producer Anne Looby wrote this originally as breast cancer had hit her family, it has had many writers contribute to the show including Wendy Harmer, Richard Glover and many more who all had a personal view and experience about breasts. (Who hasn't?)

Considering over 50% of the population have them-why not celebrate them with a song and a laugh!

This show has been travelling around Australia since 2009 and is still going strong. The cast may change but the story can only get better!

Book at Glen Street as the show is here for 1 week only from August 31 to September 4.

To book go to http://www.glenstreet.com.au/events/breast-wishes

The secret of joy in work in contained in one word - excellence

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:26:25 PDT

Our latest newsletter headline is about joy in your work...
When you know how to do something well, you really enjoy it - and it shows!

When you are enjoying what you do, everyone enjoys being around you- your customers, your employees (if you have them) and your family!

The responsibility of being an employer is not letting it show when things are not going your way and you are feeling down. As with anything, most employees can understand one day or two when you may feel down but if it continues, it affects the morale and productivity of the whole business.

Why am I mentioning this?

Well our next guest speaker is all about activating joy inside you and those around you.
18 months ago I had a chat with a local business owner, who said he finally realised the reason why his staff looked and acted sad most of the time. It was because he (the owner) was!
He decided to change his whole attitude to his business, including posting up new motivational sayings everyday in his workplace, talking about the future of the business with his employees and not letting his general disposition affect others working for him-especially as his business was in the hospitality industry!

He said it had an immediate affect on his business- his customers seemed happier, his staff certainly were and he said he felt happier in his business too.

Quite often when you start something new you are full of enthusiasm and endless possibilities and then things don't always go to plan....and it starts to wear you down...

This is quite normal however remember to not stay "down" otherwise you can become your own worst nightmare to work with. Noone wants to be around a "sad sack" all the time and quite often the poor business owner is the last to realise that their state of mind has changed from positivie to negative.

When you start to lose enthusiasm sometimes it's a good time to check back as to why you started your business. If you wrote a business plan, read it. Does it remind you why you wanted to be in the industry? If that is fine, maybe something else in your life is not working well and is affecting your attitude?..Maybe you've tucked it away in your mind to deal with later?

It may be time to bring it out and take a good look at what is really bothering you and actually deal with it. You may be procrastinating (but that is anther guest speaker we have lined up later in the month).

Enjoy our latest newsletter here

"Whenever you see a successful business

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:01:22 PDT

Check out our latest newsletter to hit the stands!

Our next meeting is next week Friday for Moonlighting with the delightful Diane Craig from Travelmanager, come & join us for some drinks and chilli at Diane's home in Balgowlah!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/-Whenever-you-see-a-successful-business------.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=rjEeckUPlRQ

"Opportunity is missed by most people"

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:45:47 PDT

What an amazing week last week was here on the Northern Beaches for Microbiz.

Sadly the wild & wet weather affected attendances on the Tuesday morning event with Robert Gerrish as guest speaker. Robert's new talk was well worth listening to, his topic was 'How to attract your Ideal Client'.

I have had the pleasure of listening to Robert on a number of occasions-his sense of humour and laid back style really sits well with me. He can get the message across simply and effectively and if you get a chance to listen to him, please do!
Last year, both he & I were guest speakers for Microbiz week on the topic of networking and I admit I was a bit thrown by the fact I had to speak after him....however whenever you get to speak about a topic that is close to your heart (I was asked to speak about Inspiring Women)- the words are so easy so say! Robert again was his usual relaxed and funny self!

Wednesday was a big day for one of our participants in the Women in Business program- she had to speak for the Mumpreneur event- and did a brilliant job!

Thursday was a bit of fun with networking at Cheeky Monkeys Playhouse, a play centre for kids in Warriewood. Our guest speaker spoke about Networking potentials and how to utilise them.

Friday was a breakfast with Caroline Loton from Juntos Marketing had some great insights and reminders about marketing....all these events were free thanks to the good people at NSW Industry & Investment (name about to change).

One lady who is a participant in the Women in Business program was at every session I went to- I was impressed with her stamina and her dedication to improving her business knowledge- what a champion!

Why such a big deal over Microbusinesses & what is a Micro business?

A micro business is classified as one that operates with four people or
less. Micro business is one of the fastest growing sectors in the NSW economy,
making up 88% of the State's small businesses. (Source:Counts of Australian Businesses, Jun 2003 to Jun 2007).
Micro businesses may operate as a single operator or multiple employee
business from either home, mobile, shared offices or commercial premises.
Operating a business from home has become increasingly common because of of
the digital revolution, outsourcing, the trend to self-employment and the growth
of service industries.
On the Northern Beaches we have one of the highest ownership of Micro & Small businesses compared to anywhere else in Sydney, with 88% of us employing staff as well.
Is it because we are insular (as in the insular peninsula) or is it because our roads here are so congested we prefer to start our own business than travel outside for 1-1.5hours each way? Or is it because we have more entrepreneurs in the area???
What do you think? Love to know your thoughts, feel free to post them up!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/-Opportunity-is-missed-by-most-people-.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=Nr1OO2vP2i8

The cold winds are blowing here- there is plenty of learning for small biz to keep you warm!

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:26:01 PDT

If you haven't had a chance, please read our newsletter below.

In it is some exciting news for small business owners and self employed- you can finally get a paper qualification that is recognised...

Not just experience from the University of Hard Knocks- a real qualification!

Many small business owners go back to working for larger organisations, sometimes for a short time and sometimes even longer.

Many find to their dismay that their experience for running a business isn't recognised- in fact some employers don't want to employ small business owners
- they can be considered a difficult employee for many different reasons- not a team player, haven't kept up with the latest in organisations and business practices, think they know it all and many don't transition well back into the workforce.

Training has been available for many employees for quite awhile now but nothing really for a small business owner and a self employed person.

Well now there is!

A Diploma of Management is easily achievable using your own business as a case study and in 6 months you will be the proud owner of a recognisable qualification that will impress organisations that you have kept up to date with your own training.

Find out more at our website at http://www.inspiringwomen.org.au/SmallBizMentoring/DiplomaofManagementBSB51107.aspx

Where Vision Meets Success- love to know your thoughts on this....

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-cold-winds-are-blowing-here-plenty-of-learning-for-small-biz-to-keep-you-warm-.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=Vo4kQKh-13c

Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children-Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:42:11 PDT

What lucky lady I am!

My newsletter went out late yesterday afternoon, a day late but I knew it didn't matter as more importantly the newsletter was sent before I rushed off to a meeting...not giving it another thought. Then the phone calls started...but let me go back to explain.

I was thinking about my week yesterday and was grumbling about the fact I had 4 late night meetings in a row + 1 very early morning meeting and then stopped to think about it - I'm a lucky lady!

On Monday:I have been honoured to watch the women in the Women in Business program progress and grow in their knowledge and push past their challenges -they had learnt about Online Marketing on Monday night which was facilitated by the wonderful Clodagh Higgins. That morning I was working with amazingly passionate people in the Natural Health & Wellness industry on the Northern Beaches and am constantly amazed at their gratitude for this networking sessions(watch out for us at the Northern Beaches Expo!) How lucky am I to witness this?

Tuesday was spent mainly returning messages and phone calls from people needing information for their businesses + I have been training in learning a speed reading technique. It was great to see some of our Women in Business suddenly becoming lively online (obviously the Training was getting through). How wonderful it to see learning turned into reality?

Wednesday was meetings most of the day including meeting a bank who are keen to really make a difference & help small businesses & went to a training seminar for the Expo that gave me some great ideas for the Natural Health group. How lucky am I that people want to meet to offer back something useful to the small business community?

Thursday morning was a meeting for Manufacturers that had such a unique group of government groups that were explaining funding and assistance that no one normally finds out about (I'll be posting something about this soon- so excited!)
Thursday night- at our local Council-discussing and opening people's minds to the reality of what small business actually means to the Economic growth of the Northern Beaches (I'll need some help on this shortly and will be sending out a request on this soon...)

Then as I raced to he meeting the phone calls started...Happy Mother's Day cried some of the members- How wonderful to hear joy from mothers!
Last night, I posted that I was at Warringah Council via Foursquare which feeds into my Facebook page-I don't know why I did it- it was naughty and I actually did it during the meeting whilst a discussion was taking place between 2 parties...I didn't think anyone would take much notice- boy was I wrong!
Not only were people on Facebook commenting or poking fun but suddenly I was getting direct messages from some other business owners who were online having challenges and could I advise! (Which I promptly did). I couldn't believe people were still online- they obviously saw I was online too.

This was at 10pm last night mind you.
So why am I lucky?

I love the variety and I love the fact that no matter what time it is or even where you are-if you are in small business there is always someone who is out there either wanting to chat, solve a problem or look for a solution as small biz owners are the ones that choose to work unusual hours (just like mums with small kids) as these are the hours that suit them (& when things are quiet..)

I love what I do and what I am honoured to observe around me.....do you love what you do?

If you get a chance, read our latest Inspiring women newsletter below- packed full of info what's on, our next meeting and much more!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Insanity-is-hereditary--you-get-it-from-your-children--Happy-Mothers-Day-Ladies-.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=UXz_wMOzzGE

And finally, if you want to think about your message that your small business sends, have a look at this small 6 minute award winning film that gives a great example of thinking and sending your message differently! This film was made using mainly doctors & nurses as actors...a gentle way to make sure you get the message. Happy Mothers Day!

Who needs a royal wedding when we have Moonlighting on tonight?

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:46:46 PDT

Read out latest newsletter to find out what's happening in our local area for small business.

A few extra comments to make with this newsletter.

After our March lunch which celebrated International Womens Day we donated monies raised to our local Women's crisi centre, the Manly Warringah Women's Resource Centre.

This centre is exclusively for women and their children who need crisis accomodation. The Centre provides an invaluable service and we have had the honour in the past of having one of their directors speaking to our group a couple of years back, the lovely Barbara Kilpatrick.

After our luncheon, some of our members contacted me with offering for the Centre, some which they could use and others (due to a lack of space) they couldn't accept.
The Centre was so grateful.

Now the Centre has phoned looking for some old computers (6 of them) to be donated to them. They have been trialling some software that assists schizophrenic sufferers and amazing results and would like to now offer these to some of their clients. However they need computers that have a screen, keyboard and space on the hard drive.

If you know of anyone getting rid of their computer or an organisation who is upgrading their computers, please contact me at sue@inspiringwomen.org.au or phone my mobile on 0423 379 934.

Have a wonderful day!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Who-needs-a-royal-wedding-when-you-have-Moonlighting-.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=d73ehu_Ch2M

-Never-iron-a-four-leaf-clover--because-you-don-t-want-to-press-your-luck---Anon

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:44:44 PDT

Please read our latest newsletter for some up to date information on training plus more!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/-Never-iron-a-four-leaf-clover--because-you-don-t-want-to-press-your-luck---Anon.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=lUMTZ3ZRAyA

to open a shop is easy - to keep it open is an art "Chinese Proverb"

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:30:06 PST

This chinese proverb really hits the nail on the head about running a small business.
Sadly I am attending a "closing down" event soon at a popular cafe in Dee Why.

People start their small businesses for many reasons the most popular are normally, to make money, to have more time with the family, sick of working for someone and being independent and in control of their destiny.

However many people start their businesses for the wrong reasons.

Here's a short list of some of the don'ts.

You think you are going to have an easy life with someone else doing all the work.

You have a hobby or interest and you think it would be a fun way to earn a living.
You just feel you need a change in your employment.
You are unemployed and feel you have to buy yourself a job.
Somebody else said you would be good at it.

The above mays seem like a good reason to start your own business but none of them are sufficient to guarantee your success.

Do consider starting out in business for yourself if you have any or all of the following attributes:

You are a high achiever and feel you could do better for yourself.
You are a hard worker and are prepared to work long and hard to make it succeed.
You are a positive, entrepreneurial type with lots of energy and bright ideas and feel you are being stifled by your present employers
You have a strong desire to build yourself a better future for yourself and your family.

Stay tuned for my next blog that will discuss finding which business is right for you....

Love to hear your thoughts and experiences about what you had to put in to start your business- feel free to post your feedback!

Meamwhile enjoy our latest newsletter by clicking on the link below....

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/-To-open-a-shop-is-easy--to-keep-it-open-is-an-art--Chinese-Proverb.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=NkAfl7VJT7g

Start celebrating International Women's Day starting this Sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:22:44 PST

There are celebrations for the 100 year anniversary of International Women's Day all next week.
Every day there is something on to go to- if you want to sit back and chill out, then start by coming down to Dee Why beach this Sunday March 6 as the Music in March kick off with "Songbirds".

This event runs from 2pm -5pm at Dee Why Beach, bring a picnic blanket and some bubbly to listen to the 3 incredible female outfits- Zoe Elliiott, the Charlotts Jane Trio and Ella Freestone as well as an aditional performance by Ausdance.

Ella has just turned 18 and is an acoustic pop,singer,songwriter from Manly with a newly released album.
Zoe is also a Northern Beaches girl whose voice is perfectly suited for big ballads & bluesy songs.
The Charlotte Jane Trio is a smooth jazz outfit with Charlotte on vocals and violin, Shami on guitar and they are backed by one of sydney's finest on bass.

Some of Inspiring Women will be down at the beach showing their wares- come down and say hello!

I will be MC on the stage as well as manning the Inspiring Women stall-visit us and enjoy the music.
Celebrate with lunch at our International Women's Day lunch at Brookvale TAFE on Friday March 11 from 12pm -2pm, book now and don't miss our amazing guest speaker-Jan Burnes.
Visit https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e3cmq666e8b65b5a to book!

Mentoring program helps women expand their businesses - Business - News - The Manly Daily

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:41:32 PST

Great article about the Women in Business program on the Nrothern Beaches.

Inspiring Women is very grateful to NSW Industry & Investment and Warringah Council for their support in bringing the program to the Northern Beaches.

Read below!

Mentoring program helps women expand their businesses - Business - News - The Manly Daily

Next week is our Business Breakfast-BOOK-NOW!

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:04:51 PST

Our latest newsletter for your reading pleasure is now available online.
Just click on the link below to read!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Next-week-is-our-Business-Breakfast-BOOK-NOW-.html?soid=1102093017394&aid=foEvgUjy7u4

There is some fun happening with Speed Networking at Frenchs Forest with a great guest speaker as well, so join in the fun! This is open to both men and women to expand your networking connections and an opportunity to spread the word about what you do.

Don't be shy, join the fun.

Another Inspiring Woman moves on

noreply@blogger.com (Inspiring Women) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:00:20 PST

I just received an email from one of our members, Susan Storm from Mayagems to say goodbye before she's off overseas - time to spread her wings and rediscover herself after 2 difficult years.

Please read her blog when you have time, it is well written and from the heart, some of her words had me thinking....

When you get a chance visit http://www.travellingbead.blogspot.com/

"Tomorrow I close my shop forever. I inherited this shop as an STB - a Sexually Transmitted Business - D had a framing shop, I was a photographer, I fell madly in love with his fabulous biceps and smooth brown skin, and that he was funny, and so different from the powerful movers and shakers I'd been involved with previously. So he moved in with his ironing board and his David Bowie music, and we started making our own history. In hindsight, I could say he mounted, and I was framed, but ... well ... c'est la vie! We had some great times together."

Her story is well told and had me reminiscing about my own experiences in my previous business....

I started and owned a gas appliance repair business in Brookvale, we also had some retail items at our factory which provided much needed parts to technicians in our industry as well as to the "weekend warriors" who came in on the weekends trying to do their own repairs without paying for a trained service person to repair their items.
These weekend warriors usually rushed in with a plastic bag full of parts hoping that you had just the thing they needed to repair their item. They were normally in a hurry, embarrassed they really didn't know what they were looking for and usually in a bad mood. (Probably because they couldn't remember how to put it all back together again)

Susan's comments reminded me of some of these customers.

"But being in retail was a whole different ball game. No matter my degrees, my world experiences, my background, for a lot of first time customers I was just a probably-illiterate someone to pander to their spare time. A while ago, someone asked what I did for a living, and I began to explain that I had a bead gallery and I made .... I'd already lost his interest. A mere shopkeeper, he sniffed, not much between the ears here"

My business had begun stocking a very particular style of brass fitting for a different type of gas-these items were something I felt passionate about as we were a very seasonal business that made money 4-5 months of the year in winter.
These special parts were something I sourced to be able to have income all year round, vital for cash flow.
My service men were upset with me, as they didn't want to learn about these brass fittings, they already knew enough they told me and didn't want to learn any thing else!

So, I told my servicemen I would become the expert on these parts, and teach the women in the office about them so they could sell them over the counter, as these parts were what people asked for at the factory not in the field.

It worked a treat!

We started to sell lots of these fittings and all was well with the world, cash flow started to even out.

One time, a customer walked in when a service technician had also come in to pick up his paperwork.
The customer asked the technician for help with brass fittings, the technician was now embarrassed as he couldn't help the customer as said to him " wait, I'll get the expert"- you should have seen the customers face when he saw the technician asking me to help him!

Not only did I understand what he was looking for, I had the part already in my hand and showed him how to put it all together.

Not that amazing really but it was to the customer- and to many others as well.

It's wrong to make snap judgements about those over the counter from you, regardless of their sex, education and so many other levels we judge from. We as consumers also know we can get judged as soon as we walk into a store- the judging goes sadly both ways....

I'll leave the last words to Susan...

"When I enter a shop now, I greet the owner, and I make chatty small talk, and I say thanks, and bye, when I leave."