Last month, I shared five little secrets for being organised at work, one of which was that the more you do it, the more you’ll do it. When you clear your desk and floor, file those papers that have been gathering dust for months, get everything relating to each project into a single file, and convert your piles of piles into a single to-do list, you feel so energised and positive, your productivity levels go through the roof.

Next thing you know you’re powering through that to-do list, ticking stuff off faster than you dreamed possible. You can lay your hand on anything you need. You’ve got plenty of clear space to spread out the project you’re working on that moment. You’re not distracted by things lying around demanding your attention.

You’re getting your work done, doing it well, developing new business opportunities, creating, creating, creating…

And it’s automatic to put away each piece of paperwork or file when you’re done with it.

You’re in a virtuous circle of decluttering and organising.

It can go the other way too.

Last week, I worked with a female entrepreneur whose business isn’t making as much money as it once did. Times are tough. We’re in the deepest recession since the second world war and, despite the undoubted quality of her products, she’s struggling.

When you run your own business, it’s easy to take such setbacks personally: to feel that a downturn in your bottom line is a reflection of your worth as a human being.

I could see how low she felt about her business (and her life) in her posture and hear it in the tone of her voice. She was feeling low about her work and low about herself. She felt like a failure and pessimistic about her chances of reviving her business.

Her home-office was a mess. We could hardly find her desk under the overlapping piles of paperwork (some of which related to her business, some to her personal life). In fact, we could hardly get to the desk through the piles of paperwork on the floor. Bulging files were spilling their contents. Boxes of index cards stood open, with cards turned upright and lying beside them. There was no room to cram any more papers in her stackable trays. She couldn’t shut her desk drawers. Dirty plates and cups lay under some of the papers and everything was covered in dust.

The environment she worked in was an external expression of her internal mental and emotional state.

We spent five hours decluttering and organising the space. We cleared the floor and desk, shredded and recycled bags of paper, filed what she needed to keep, creating new files as necessary, and re-homed various objects from her office to elsewhere in her house. Whenever we found something that needed action, we added the action to her to-do list and put the object away.

Then we vacuumed the floor, dusted the surfaces and had a well-deserved cuppa.

By the end of the day, though we were both tired, her posture was more upright, her face was brighter and I could hear in her voice that she felt ready to tackle her work again.

Rather than piles of clutter competing for her attention, she had a simple to-do list, which she could prioritise by urgency and importance. She’d moved from feeling overwhelmed to knowing exactly what actions she needed to take and when she would take them.

She felt positive and inspired and had come up with new ideas for ways to promote her products and win new business.

By working on her external space, we’d transformed her internal space.

Which came first, the disempowerment or the clutter?

Had her home-office become cluttered because she felt disempowered about her work, or did she feel disempowered about her work because she’d got cluttered? Did she get her power back by decluttering or did she feel able to declutter because she’d already begun the process of empowering herself?

Sometimes, the trigger that shifts you from a virtuous circle of decluttering, organising and empowerment to a vicious circle of clutter, disorganisation and disempowerment, or back the other way, can be external.

You lose a contract, or get some negative feedback, you can’t be bothered to put your papers away at the end of the day and the clutter starts to build up. You win a new piece of business, or simply have a positive conversation with someone, you’re motivated to put away those files that have been glaring at you for weeks and your office looks great.

You’re not the kind of woman who lets her circumstances dictate her mood, much less your productivity though, are you?

If you’re reading Women Unlimited, chances are you’re the kind of woman who takes charge of her own destiny and chooses for herself how her life is going to go.

Treat your office getting messy as a wake-up call. Notice how you’re feeling about your work. Consider why you don’t feel motivated to keep your workspace clear. And look for actions you could take to tackle any disempowerment you’re experiencing.

If you can’t immediately put your finger on what’s going on psychologically, just start decluttering and organising. As you do, watch out for the files and bits of paper that make your heart sink. Which are the ones you’re least motivated to tidy away? What action do they require? Are you nervous about taking this action? Why? What are you telling yourself about it?

What can you do to shift the way you feel about that action? Could you get help with it? Could you break it down into smaller steps? Is there something you could do right away to make progress around it?

Pushing yourself to declutter and organise ensures you address the things you’ve been hiding from. You circumvent your subconscious desire to avoid actions that scare you. You make a decision about every piece of paper lying about.

It’s by going beyond your comfort zone to deal head-on with even the scary stuff that you make your business a success.

Are you currently in a vicious cycle of clutter and disempowerment or a virtuous circle of decluttering, organising and empowerment?

If you’ve recently shifted from a vicious to a virtuous circle, how did you  make it happen?

Rachel Papworth runs Green and Tidy. She helps people with way too much stuff declutter and create homes they love – homes that support them to live the lives of their dreams. A trained coach with a Psychology degree, and a self-confessed decluttering and organising geek, Rachel loves the way decluttering your stuff declutters your mind, and the contribution decluttering and organising makes to living a low impact life. For more tips on having a home that supports the life you want, join the Green and Tidy community at http://www.mygreenandtidylife.co.uk, follow her on Twitter @greenandtidy and Like http://www.facebook.com/GreenAndTidy.

So you’ve been there done that and you’ve managed to find the courage to do it all over again.  One of the first steps would be to put together a business plan.  There are various views on whether or not a business plan is helpful for new businesses.  Whatever side of the argument you stand, some level of planning is absolutely necessary and non-negotiable if you want to give your business a good fighting chance.

Most times, business plans are prepared in a perfunctory manner; treated as a ‘fill in the blanks’ puzzle as opposed to an investigative exercise; whose results are unknown at the start.  Strategies that are not based on facts will get you nowhere.  The business plan cannot be largely based on assumptions and here lies the key.  Even if you do not feel a business plan is necessary, the elements of the plan will take you through exercises and thought processes which will either validate or nullify your business ambition.  It would simply be a poor decision not to do one.  Successful businesses who claim not to have had a business plan at the start are exceptions and not the rule.

There are key elements of a business plan which once answered, should give a good indication whether or not you should proceed with your idea.

Do you have the right product/service?

Everyone thinks they have a good idea when starting a business.  Whilst passion is a great ingredient to have, if it’s not tempered, it’s also the one thing that is responsible for making businesses veer off course.  You only have the right product or service if people will pay for it.  It is therefore imperative that before you go any further you prove that people want it; otherwise it’s not a good idea.  Conduct surveys, show buyers and potential customers your product, speak to professionals, etc.  Make sure you have compelling evidence to take things further.

Do you know your market intimately?

Before you think about selling your product or service, you must know your target market.  Who is going to pay for your product?  It is not good enough to say, for example, that your product is for women.  You must be specific.  You’ll need to know how old they are; where they eat; what type of coffee they like; how much they earn; their marital status; do they have children; where do they shop and so on and so forth.   The more you know your market, the easier it is to find the customer as well as determine the qualities required of the product, the price, where you are going to distribute it and how to promote it.  It is obviously no good have a great product if it is out the reach of the customer.

What is your unique selling point? 

It is important to know your competition and understand the industry you are in.  It is quite possible to have a great product/service that people are willing to buy but there are many competitors in the industry offering the same thing.  All you have is a great plan and no means of executing it as you are not offering consumers anything different.  By understanding the environment of your potential business (employing a SWOT and PEST analysis) you will know whether or not your product will thrive in the environment or be squeezed out.  If you don’t have enough of a ‘uniqueness’ to your product/service, your business won’t kick off talk less of survive.

Is your product/service priced right?

Before considering a pricing strategy i.e. whether to price for the mass market or luxury market; you’ll need to find the balance between making a decent profit and what the target market customer is willing to pay.  Frankly, the customer dictates how much the product should be; unless, of course, you have a niche product with unique attributes that are exclusive to you.  However, with pressure from other competitors and possible substitutes for your product, it’s imperative that the price is right.  Once again, this is one aspect that you can’t afford to base on assumptions.  You must know the actual costs associated with your product and ensure that you are able to cover your costs.  If facts reveal that you will not meet the cost of your overheads at a certain price and to increase it would mean to price yourself out of the market, STOP.  If you are unable to bring the costs down, then it simply won’t be worth your time and effort to continue.

Have you tested the market?

Prove that your plan works by starting out on a small scale. To all intents and purposes, you’ve got a good plan.  However you don’t know whether it’ll work or not.  The best way to build confidence in your plan is to test the market by starting small before investing loads of money into the business.  For example before you open up a patisserie, take some cupcakes to the local farmers market or fair and sell them there.  Assess people’s interest in them; get their feedback; analyse your pricing and costs.  If it works, then you’ve got the basis for starting this business.

Good luck

If you have learnt anything from the failure of your previous business it would be not to rush the process.  It’s not unheard of to find that some people spent two to three years putting together a business plan.  Sometimes we sabotage our progress by not taking the time to plan properly.  With hard work and a little bit of luck, it should work out.

We invest so much time, money and effort in our websites as they are (quite rightly) a showcase for our business offering.  But how well do we measure this investment?  Do we make the most of the analytics available and do we really understand the role and value our site has in our customers’ purchasing processes? Is the money we’ve invested generating the stream of quality sales and new business leads we’d hoped for?

What are you measuring?

It’s tempting, when trying to measure our website, to focus too much on traffic volumes and not enough about the next step – the generation of quality business leads and profitable sales.  There’s an assumption that one must lead to the other, but that’s not always the case.

Website analytics tools give fabulous insight about our site’s new visitors, repeat visits, which sites referred people to us etc but that’s only part of the puzzle.  We also need to track:

a) How many people went on to contact us because of our site and

b) What volume eventually purchased from us

This is easier if we’re selling products over an e-commerce platform, but for those businesses where customers want a more face-to-face sales approach this information is harder to gather.

Are you really using your analytics to their full potential?

Whilst there are numerous website analytics tools out there, most people I talk to use Google Analytics largely because it’s free and easy to use.  It gives a mine of valuable insight in how people are coming to your site and using it.  For the novices out there, I do recommend spending time getting to grips with the wide range of reports your analytics tool gives.

Beyond your traffic and visitors totals in a given period, delve down deeper to find out where your visitors are coming  from.  This can help you formulate strategies to attract more of your ‘ideal’ business leads.  For example, are there any interesting referral sources that perhaps have a synergy with you and which you can get closer to – perhaps cross-promoting each other?

Make more of search terms

And what search terms are people putting in to get to you? Variations of your business name may well dominate the top section of the ranking, so drill down further to the search terms put in by people who don’t know you.  What  words have they put in their searches?  These prompt two courses of action:

1. If the words reflect your business offering, can you make more of them in your site’s content or online promotions to drive more people your way? Remember these keywords guide you, not only on what potential customers are looking for, but how they describe it. So adopt their language and phrases to appeal to them.  Can you build in calls to action around the words/terms to motivate the visitor to get in touch and become a tangible business lead?
2. If you feel the key words you expected to see aren’t showing in your analytics then question why.  Perhaps you need to rethink the content and search engine optimisation of your site? Perhaps you need to opt for other words that customers prefer.

Also, do take stock of which pages in your site are resonating with people and which are not.  What is it about the popular pages that work well? Again, can you build in more calls to action on these pages to motivate people to get in touch?

Don’t forget to track your efforts to drive leads to your site

It’s likely you’ll be investing in promotional activity to drive people to your site and it’s important to measure this too.  For offline advertising if you can promote a particular offer or page on your site, that will help you assess the interest generated from that campaign. Take a snapshot of the popularity of the page(s) before you run the campaign to make it easier to assess its effectiveness when the ads run.

For e-marketing campaigns then do use something like Google url builder so that when people click on that link to your site, Google Analytics (if you’re using it) is tracking the traffic from that specific source.  Remember to also monitor visitors from your social media or blogs too to see how worthwhile all the time and energy has been in that area.

But where are the sales leads?

If you’re not operating an e-commerce operation, you’ll need to find other ways to assess your site’s role in bringing in new sales to your business. Completed ‘Contact us’ forms on your site give one indicator, but not all customers will come via this route.  Some will opt to ring using the number shown on your site or send an email to the address promoted there.

A potential customer may experience a number of events which promote you before actually getting in contact – they may have seen your ad in the press, seen your site via a search in Google, heard something good about you etc.  When sales staff ask ‘so how did you hear of us?’ the customer often selects the most recent instance in their mind.  If you want to see what part your website has played in all this then why not ask a secondary question – ‘have you seen our website?’  and,  if they’re amenable, explore what they viewed and even what they thought of that.

What is your site being used for?

This leads us on to another key area of measurement.  What are your potential and existing customers using your site for?  Is it simply to get your phone number and address?  Are they using it to find out more about your products and services?  Is it a resource of valuable information and guidance for them post sale? Do they buy from it?  Do they use it to refer others to you?

And how does this differ from the purpose you originally intended the site to have?

Each of those customer motives suggests a different emphasis in your site’s content and design.  If your site needs to be just a big signpost for your phone number and email address (and your customers are never going to use it beyond that) then create the design of the site around your contact details.  Don’t invest loads of money in a multi-page, ‘all singing and dancing’ site where the information that’s really wanted is buried.

Talk to your customers, track the analytics and assess how the site is being used.  Explore with your best customers if they think the site should have more functionality and resources.  Look at the nature of your product/service offering and assess whether customers would or wouldn’t utilise additional features. Even go so far as to calculate the potential positive or negative impact on sales.   Is your investment here likely to pay off?

Is the web delivering the right sort of customer to you?

I know a company who over a period of time found that the customers they generated from the web were very price sensitive and the revenue value from this source was lower than other channels.  So don’t lose sight of your business’s best customer profile.  Yes there is a bigger market available via the web but if it will demand discounts that aren’t financially viable for you, should you go there?   Be careful about moving into a market where your business can’t compete well on price or against the variables being offered by competitors in that arena.

Summary

Most businesses accept they have to have a web presence to be visible to their existing and future customers. The trick is to invest time understanding the customers you’re best suited to supplying, both now and in the future.  Adapt your site to appeal to them:

1. Invest time finding out what other sites they like for products/services similar to yours.  Also ask their opinions about what they do and don’t like about your site in comparison.
2. Monitor your site’s analytics and your sales leads sources. Keep tweaking and fine-tuning content and campaigns to make the site perform better in this regard.
3. Remember your target market’s online activity is unlikely to remain static and you’ll need to move and adapt with them – that is if you want to continue winning their business.

You can hire the best web designer in town and add on every bell and whistle known to man; but if your web site lacks a compelling, client-magnetic messaging, it will not make you much money. In fact, it may not make you any money at all!

So what, you may be thinking, makes for compelling, client-magnetic messaging? I shall return the question to you: What would grab and hold your attention on a website?
What would make you keep coming back and telling others about it?

From years of helping others develop client-attractive messaging, I can tell you, if your website includes the following 8 messages, for the reasons given, it will get the attention of your intended audience.

1. Your audience

The message:  The intended audience is clearly identified, so they recognise themselves or their friends as soon as they land on any page of your web site! Ambiguity leads to indifference and inactivity; two things you do not want!

The why: Your audience is clearly defined, so they know you are talking to them. When your audience is not clear, no one takes notice! Have you ever had experience leading people where you said, “Somebody, do this,” and nobody did it? The same principle applies to your web copy. This is one occasion when you want people to take things personally. So, name them to gain them!

2. What’s the Problem?

The message: The problems your audience grapples with are clearly identified in your web copy, together with reassurance that you are able to help solve them;

The why: The problems you solve are evident in your message, so that those with this problem know you can help them with what keeps them up at night! And people can refer others to you because they know what specific problems you solve.

3. Your speciality

The message: The outcomes you deliver are exactly what they are looking for, and clearly spelt out on your site. This is where your sharp definition of your ideal client and thorough market research comes in handy!

The why: Your unique difference is expressed, so that your audience knows why they should contact you, and not any of the other gazillion people who offer what you do. Note that your unique difference will resonate with some and not others. However, you cannot delight everyone, so those who resonate with you are your best targets. Your difference will attract these people and make your work more pleasant as well as more profitable!

4. The outcome

The message: There is evidence that you have helped other people just like them get what they are looking for, in the form of testimonials and recommendations;

The why: You show what outcomes you facilitate and if that is what someone is looking for, they are more likely to contact you. For example in the case of two wealth coaches; Wealth Coach A helps you get out of debt and Wealth Coach B helps you become a millionaire! Those who are struggling with debt will be attracted to Wealth Coach A. Those who have no debt issues but want to make their first million will be attracted to Wealth Coach B. But if they did not specify the outcomes they facilitate they would end up looking like every other “generic wealth coach,” appealing to no one in particular. And when there is such a wide, generic pool to choose from people tend not to make any choice at all! So get them choosing you by telling them what outcomes you facilitate. And provide social proof in the form of testimonials and recommendations!

5. Simplicity

The message: Your copy is simple enough for a ten year old to read and understand, and is jargon free, considering that the average adult has a primary school reading ability level;

The why: Your message is easy enough for even a 10 year old to understand! Jargon and catchy-coined phrases may sound great to you, but if “outsiders” do not understand them, or need an encyclopaedia to understand your techno-speak, then you will lose confused prospects with your message.

6. Targeting

The message: Your presentation grabs attention, inspires trust and incites action! False modesty does not pay here. Get used to self-promotion and calls to action!

The why: Your message grabs the attention of those you want to attract. I have 4 children who, thankfully, are all past the diaper stage! So an advert about diapers that keep baby feeling dry and fresh will not stand out for me, though it would have a few years ago. However, an advert that features quality trainers for less than five pounds will have me tapping away on my computer to find out more immediately! If you are a caterer, what specific segment of the market are you aiming for? What problems are they grappling with, that you could solve? We certainly do not all have the same catering and dietary requirements! So, tailor your message to grab the attention of a specific audience to give it pulling power. If it is generic it might get a read but it will certainly not start a barrage of calls!

7. What now?

The message:  There is no doubt in the reader’s mind what to do next to get started with you!  Do not leave things to the reader’s imagination as most web surfers are too busy to engage their imagination!

The why: Very importantly, your message tells those whose attention you have grabbed, what to do next, in a compelling way! Surprisingly, even interested prospects need to be told what the next step is. And many business owners omit this part, assuming that people know what to do next, and will do it! This is not the case! You need to tell them in a way that spurs immediate action. For instance, “Call this number,” is not compelling. This implies they can call at their convenience, probably next month or next year! However, “Call this number before midnight to get 10% off,” or “Visit this site to download your free CD now. Limited copies available,” gives an incentive to act right away. If your message is to move people to action it must have a compelling call to action. Or else it will get ignored or procrastinated over, like all your other colleagues who are struggling to get clients!

8. It’s that easy

The message: The action you require your readers to take next is easy and immediately accessible. Do not require them to jump several hoops as if they were poodles in an online circus! Where possible, use a one- or two-step sign up process.

The why: Your call to action can easily be carried out, eliminating any obstacles that could discourage your readers from following through.

Don’t forget to get personable…A professional picture of you can work additional wonders! Do not listen to the old-school-stuck-in-the-mud crowd who hide behind corporate anonymity. These are the days of relationship-building and engagement to get clients. Show up on your web pages, looking bright and alert! You do not need to look like a model or rock star; just show that you are happy to serve!

You are now ready and able to give your web copy a client-magnet makeover!

You can immediately start to attract more of your ideal clients with your magnetic messaging.
These tips will work just as well for the rest of your marketing materials as they will for your web pages . So print them out, keep them close and feel free to pass them along!

Funny Women launches 10th Anniversary Charity Challenge!

Challenging Perceptions: Thursday 8^th March 2012, International Women’s Day,Grange Hotel, St Paul’s, City of London

Who says women aren’t funny?

Funny Women, the leading female comedy brand in the UK, celebrates its 10^th Anniversary this year by challenging 10 high profile women from the worlds of business, media and academia to perform stand up for the first time in their lives. 10 women will be performing a stand-up Comedy Challenge supporting 10 charitable causes helped by 10 women’s networks.

The event, which will be hosted by television presenter and founder of Goodypass Kate Garraway, takes place on Thursday 8^th March 2012, International Women’s Day, in the luxurious surroundings of the Grange St Paul’s Hotel in the City of London.

‘If this is the future of womanly comedy,
then it’s in safe, exciting hands.’

Tim Arthur, Time Out

Names such as Charlie Webster from Sky Sports News, the Daily Mail’s sex columnist Rowan Pelling and ‘Queen of Networking’ Carole Stone are just three of the brave women who have agreed to try their hand at stand-up in support of great causes.  Most of the Challengers have experience of public speaking but performing a comedy routine in front of an audience is a different matter.  Funny Women will help all the Challengers with training based on their popular comedy workshops and with help from female comedians – people who make their living from stand-up.

Challenger Vanessa Vallely, senior business manager at Aviva Investors and founder of We Are the City, comments, “ I absolutely support the great work that Funny Women does in terms of encouraging women into comedy and giving women confidence through the use of humour. I am honoured to be taking part and share the stage with so many other wonderful women. “

‘A superb champion of talent.’
Shane Allen, head of comedy, Channel 4

Not only are the 10 names being challenged to try to be a stand-up comedian for the evening  they are each raising funds from the task for their individual favourite charity.  And they are not alone in this effort – each challenger has the help of 10 of the UK’s most well connected women’s networks.   Founder and director of the National Black Women’s Network, Sonia Brown, says, “I am so proud to be leveraging my various networks and contacts to support the work of the Sickle Cell Society. As someone who has built a business around getting diverse women to come together to talk for positive change, why not make them laugh too!”

“We want to stage an event that really benchmarks what Funny Women stands for after 10 years in the industry,” explains founder and executive producer, Lynne Parker.  “Some extremely high profile professional women use humour to good effect, just like their male colleagues, but it’s not seen as a worthy attribute in the same way.  We launched our public workshops and our business brand three years ago and we’ve seen some brilliant new talent emanate from both.

“So, we want to Challenge perceptions with this very special 10^th Anniversary event by demonstrating how women from all walks of life use humour and raise lots of money for some amazing causes at the same time. Over the years we’ve encouraged women to perform comedy in aid of charity when they might otherwise not have felt confident and we’re so grateful to the amazing networks and women who have agreed to take part in the Charity Challenge.”

Tickets to the event are now on sale at www.funnywomen.com and include drinks reception, three course meal with wine plus entertainment from last year’s Funny Women Awards winner Lara A King.

For more information about Funny Women

please visit:www.funnywomen.com
or email: info@funnywomen.com

THE EVENT

 Event sponsors include Grange Hotels, Goodypass.com, Radio Gorgeous and WeGotTickets

Tickets cost £100 plus VAT for an individual ticket and £900 plus VAT for a table of 10.

CHALLENGERS, NETWORKS & CHARITIES

Carole Stone

Author, broadcaster and founder of YouGovStone, has won the inaugural IoD and O2 ‘Britain’s Best Connected Woman’ prize. Known as the ‘Queen of Networking’, Carole has amassed more than 40,000 names in her contacts database and written two successful books on the subject – Networking: The Art of Making Friends and The Ultimate Guide to Successful Networking.

Carole is supported by Women in Journalism and is raising funds for The Victoria Foundation

Vanessa Vallely

Currently head of business management for Finance, Strategy & Legal at Aviva Investors, Vanessa is also the founder of We Are the City, a free website providing city and female-centric information to the 70,000 women who work in the City and Canary Wharf. She recently won the Women in Banking and Finance Champion for Women Award which recognises the person who through personal commitment, application and dedication promotes and inspires women in the workplace to reach their full potential.

Vanessa is supported by We are the City and is raising funds for Wellbeing for Women

Hela Wozniak Kay & Annie Brooks

The only double act to take on the challenge, Annie and Hela co-founded Sister Snog, a networking group for movers and shakers – Sister Snog hosts over 30 sparkling business events a year. Members can interact directly with each other via a discrete and very private social network; create harmony by joining the choir, Sisters of Soul. Or be a guest on Annie & Hela’s weekly radio show, Sister Snog on Gas&Air on OnFM101.4. Sister Snog is a brand with a twist.

Hela and Annie are supported by Sister Snog and are raising funds for Dress for Success

Deb Leary MBE

CEO of Forensic Pathways, which provides advanced data analytics, forensic intelligence, forensic products, training and consultancy, Deb is also chair of the Midlands World Trade Forum, vice president of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs and deputy chair of the United Nations UK Global Compact.

Deb is supported by the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs and is raising funds for The Family Planning Association

Sonia Brown MBE

Founder and director of The National Black Women’s Network (NBWN) is a non-profit network organisation dedicated to raising the status and position of BAME women in all walks of life. The NBWN provides dynamic initiatives through network support; enabling women from diverse backgrounds and occupations to develop strong professional and social contacts; high quality training and education programmes; leadership and national recognition.

Sonia is being supported by the National Black Women’s Network and is raising funds for the Sickle Cell Society

Charlie Webster

A huge football fan, Charlie presented Real Madrid TV and Live Premier League football for ESPN for two seasons. Charlie currently presents on Sky Sports News, features on Sky Sports boxing show Ringside and has reported for BBC’s Football Focus in the 2010/11 Football season. Charlie has presented Live Speedway for Sky Sports for the past 3 years, and on various projects including GP2, F1 feeder race, for ITV and the UK School Games for C4. Most recently Charlie has presented the Olympic 2012 beach volleyball test event in Horse Guards Parade.

Charlie is being supported by Women in Film & TV and is raising funds for Women’s Aid

Kate Nustedt

Kate Nustedt joined Women for Women International as UK Executive Director in May 2009. She is an experienced global campaigner and has run high-profile campaigns on social justice, women’s rights, anti-poverty and environmental issues. Kate was a key part of the Labour Party’s campaign team that won the landslide general election in 1997, and she has since managed campaigns and communications teams at Greenpeace, ActionAid and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. She was an Associate Partner with Brunswick Group, a leading public relations agency.

Kate is being supported by Soroptimist International and is raising funds for Women for Women

Dr Julie Greensmith

Julie, AKA ‘Doctor Thrill’ gets paid to indulge her passion for rollercoasters as part of serious research to devise entertainments that adapt to how we are feeling. Her talk was one of several arranged to enthuse and inspire undergraduate women attending the BCS Lovelace Colloquium at the University of Leeds in April 2009.

Dr Julie Greensmith is being supported by Women in Technology and is raising funds for the Angelus Foundation

Rowan Pelling

Rowan has contributed to a variety of newspapers and magazines, including regular columns for the Independent on Sunday, The Mail on Sunday, GQ and Jack. She was a judge of the 2004 Man Booker Prize. She is now a columnist for the Daily Telegraph,

Rowan is being supported by Ladies at 11 and is raising funds for Children in Crisis

About Funny Women

Funny Women was set up in 2002 by Lynne Parker, as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction to a misogynistic comedy promoter she worked with in 2000.  The Funny Women Awards were launched in 2003 and are now the benchmark for women breaking into comedy.

The 2011 Awards were won overall by the ‘people pleasing’ Lara A King. There are now three main Awards including the Variety Award, won by sketch duo Ladies Live Longer, Louise Fitzgerald and Victoria Temple-Morris, in 2011 and our first Comedy Writing Award won by Christine Robertson launched in 2011.

Funny Women’s impact on the world of comedy is the alumni themselves.  Their success speaks volumes for the brand.  Previous winners include comic duo Thankless Child, Freya Slipper and Liz Black in 2010, 2009 victor and CBBC star, Miss London; Canadian Katherine Ryan in 2008; ‘Stand Up For The Week’ star Andi Osho in 2007; Suzy Bennett, who took the title in 2006; Debra-Jane Appelby, winner 2005; Zoe Lyons, who won in 2004, and Sarah Adams, who triumphed performing as Jade The Folk Singer in 2003. Other successful Funny Women Awards finalists include Gemma Whelan, Katie Wix, Anna Crilly, Bridget Christie, Susan Calman, Diane Morgan, Emma Fryer, Kerry Godliman, Wendy Wason, Sara Pascoe, Roisin Conaty and Holly Walsh as well as the multi award winning Sarah Millican.

The Christmas festivities are well behind us and now, at the start of the year, our focus is on keeping those New Years Resolutions. Whether you believe in them or not (I believe in the ones I can keep), now might be a good time to give your business a health check and look at ways you can enhance your business in the year ahead. Here are 5 business New Years resolutions that I think are worth a mention;

1. Stop ignoring LinkedIn

Not as popular as Facebook or Twitter but believe me when I say this is a sleeping social media giant that is fast growing in importance. 80% of LinkedIn members are from 10 countries with the USA, India and UK being in the top 10 (source LinkedIn Ad Platform, July 2011). For more LinkedIn stats you can view the Slideshare presentation here. LinkedIn allows you to network in a different way than Facebook and Twitter. You don’t have the noise or the 140 character limitations of Twitter, nor do you have the distractions of Ads, requests to play silly farm games or other trivia like you do on Facebook. With LinkedIn the focus is in connecting with other professionals for a specific business aim. Lead generation is the name of the game and you are actively encouraged to do this in a respectable manner through tools like LinkedIn Groups, Answers (where you can post questions or provide answers to professional questions). These are just some of the many features on LinkedIn that awaits the intrepid business owner.

2. Step away from your business

From time to time- take some time out from working IN your business to start working ON it. This way you’ll get to see your business as an outsider, see the bigger picture of why you got into business in the first place. It’s great you’re concerned about the finer details of your business – it shows you care about quality and it’s something we’ve all done from time to time. I’ve certainly been guilty of spending just a little too much time on a project here and there, trying to perfect it to death. But the danger is that you become so consumed in the detail that you lose sight of the bigger picture. You start to lose your direction and when things start to get tough you start to lose your motivation. By stepping away from your business every now and then, you’re forcing yourself to look at your business from another angle. From the eyes of a stranger. The benefits of doing this, apart from giving yourself a breather  from the daily grind, is that it can give yourself a fresh perspective on your business. You might even be inspired!

3. Learn to say no to clients

Seriously. While I understand that business is about providing for the needs of the client, I also know that to become truly great at what you do you also must understand your limitations and boundaries. If a potential client comes to you with a project that pushes these limitations or boundaries then you must learn how to say no. You can be tactful in how you choose to say no but you need to be able to say no to work you’re not happy to take on. Don’t be afraid of turning away business you’re not sure about accepting just for financial reasons because some things are more important than your bottom line. Such as your credibility. You can always make money, but if you accept a job that later negatively impacts your credibility, the negative effects can be more damaging and longer lasting.

4. Take ownership of your social media presence

Social media’s hot and it won’t be disappearing for a while yet. So you have two options- sink, or swim. Ok that’s a lie- there’s also the 3rd option, which is to conquer. I was reluctant to add this option because so few businesses (small and large) manage to achieve an effective social media presence. As a small business you can’t afford to sink with social media – that’s where your customers are and if you aren’t where your customers are then where are you? (Try saying that really fast. Or with after a few). The 2nd option to swim in social media is more common but will not distinguish you from the wades of competitors competing to be heard over the noise of the most popular social media platforms. Don’t believe me? Ok, check the number of updates per second you receive on your Twitter timeline and you’ll get the picture. What do you mean what’s a Twitter timeline? OK see me after class. If you want to belong to the elite 3^rd group that conquers social media you’ll need to make sure that you have a social media strategy in place and that its aligned with your business objectives. Which, in a nutshell should ensure that all your tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn updates (because you now know you should be on LinkedIn right?) have a purpose. Whether that purpose is to bring more website traffic, get more newsletter subscribers or increase sales leads.

5. Invest in mobile marketing

Sales for smartphones continue to rocket and its been a very long time since the phone was merely used for making calls- we now shop on them, play games, connect to those social networks and many more wonderful things. And get this, 1 billion of the worlds 4+ billion mobiles phones are now smartphones, and 3 billion are SMS enabled. In 2014, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage and already in 2011, more than 50% of all “local” searches are done from a mobile device (source Microsoft Tag Infograpic: Mobile Statistics, Stats & Facts 2011). This presents great opportunities for businesses and gives small businesses a level field to market themselves against the big boys. Why? There are many low cost ways you can market your business to the mobile community- through location marketing, i.e. offering incentives for customers to “check-in” on Facebook or FourSquare when they visit your premises, SMS offers or competitions, and even optimising your website for searches on smartphones and making sure you have a mobile phone compatible version of your website.

What New Years resolutions are you’re making for your business?

About the Author: Rita Auta is an experienced digital marketing consultant and Managing Director of PR Service UK- a London based marketing agency. She is passionate about helping companies, organisations and individuals achieve online marketing success on budget.
The Internet has democratized marketing – you no longer need the biggest budget to be heard. She believes that with a little creativity, authenticity and a good marketing plan your business can go far.

Follow Rita’s @prservicesuk account on Twitter for updates on the latest SEO & Social Media news affecting business. Or email rita@prserviceuk.com.

www.prserviceuk.com

Last month I wrote about creating the life you want, after experiencing the shock of losing someone very close to me. It is a gift to take the time to reappraise your life and an especially relevant exercise to do at the start of the year.

The thought that you can create the life you want is often daunting. You may feel overwhelmed by the enormity of it. Even thinking you can start to create it is guaranteed to kick start your inner critic. You may be having thoughts like “I don’t deserve to have the life I want”, “I haven’t the right qualifications/experience for my business to be successful” or “I’ll never find the time”, or a classic “they won’t let me”.

Like any change, activating your dream life is best done in small steps, frequently.

It is really important that you actively look for signs of success so you continue to motivate yourself and build your armoury to silence your inner critic.

Try this step by step approach to creating the life you want!

Step 1: Turn your Inner Critic Off

This has already been mentioned but we have all had out inner critic turned on full volume for most of our lives, so turning it off will take some practice! Notice your thinking and observe your thoughts. The next time you hear yourself being critical, say to yourself “thanks for sharing”.  And then try and think something more helpful. Over time and with practice, this does get easier.

Step 2: What Will I Get From My Dream Life?

Chances are your dream life will require change on your part. As humans we are biologically programmed to resist change. This will show up to you in doubt, inertia and procrastination. To push through this you need a “WOW” list of reasons why making the change is worth it.

Take some time and write at least 20 reasons why this life is going to be fantastic and what you will love about it!

Step 3: Breaking It Into Steps – Find some Post Its!

I always love this part! Take some Post it notes and on each post it note, write one element of your dream life. You may end up with 10 or 20 post its! On my post its I have things like “Be fit”, “Run successful workshops’, “Drive to New Zealand from London”, “Buy a beach house”, “Be a successful published author”, “Be there for the kids”, “Live in the sun”, “Travel abroad four times a year”, “Be a wonderful friend”….you probably can see what my dream life will be like!

Place these post its on a wall or on a big piece of blank paper.

Step 4: When????

Now get three more blank post-its and write on them as follows…

• Post it note 1: Now!
• Post it note 2: This Year
• Post it note 3: Next year and beyond

Then imagine you have divided your wall or blank piece of paper into three columns, place one of the post it notes above at the top of the three columns. So you will have headings on each column.

Take your post it notes made in Step 3 and allocate them to a time frame. For example, my “Be fit” would go under “Now”, “Run successful workshops” go into “This Year” and ““Drive to New Zealand from London” into “Next Year and Beyond’

Step 5: Start Now!

It may surprise you but you can probably start living element of your dream life now!

Take a look at you “Now” column – what is in there that if you tweaked your life or your routine a little that you could actually start doing now?

Be honest with yourself and if necessary stretch yourself to consider what small things you can do now to move towards achieving that element of your life.

Write them down so you can actively make time for them in your schedule and tick them off when you have done them!

Step 6: Planning for the Year

In your second column, “This Year” consider each element separately. Chances are these are larger initiatives and may take more planning and action. Make these seem more achievable by breaking them into smaller components.

Take each post it note topic separately and think about all the elements that will need to make this happen. You may also want to write each element on a separate post it.

So for my “Run successful workshops”. I would have elements such as

• -          decide who audience will be
• -          create meaningful workshop topics
• -          plan when they will be run
• -          find venues
• -          promote each workshop
• -          promote on website

Write on each one when it needs to be completed. And again schedule these into your calendar.

Step 7: Next Year and Beyond

This is probably where the really juicy stuff is! And undoubtedly will take major change, planning and cash to get it done. So, start now! Revisit that list of WOW reasons this life is so compelling and like in the previous step, start breaking it down into smaller steps.

Chances are some of the smaller steps may be big areas in themselves, so again, break it down…..

In my example of driving New Zealand from London ultimately means it will be a one way trip! So, this will mean me selling our house, taking our kids out of school, financing a year off work and so on…….

Doing this would be a dream come true and from this exercise I realise that I need to start now on the planning to pull it off.

If the areas in this column seem daunting consider how much regret you may have if you didn’t do it.

Step 8:  Recognise Your Progress!

When we are moving toward a goal we often forget to acknowledge and appreciate the work we have done to get there. Owning your life and making moves to creating he life you want is a huge achievement!

Everyday take 10 minutes and reflect on what you have done today to move towards your ideal. Some days you will do a lot and maybe on others a little less.

It is important to actively do at least one thing every day, as it is the small steps and changes that will build up and make the biggest difference. Actively reflecting at the end of each day will make this initiative more real, more alive and you will feel great by acknowledging your progress!

About the Author: Wendy Kerr is an expert in Corporate Crossovers^® –  women who have left corporate careers to start their own businesses. Her company, Corporate Crossovers^®, offers coaching, mentoring and resources to enable these women to thrive in their businesses and their lives. Every month she offers free Momentum Masterclasses over the phone with relevant topics to give you a burst of momentum for your business!

Wendy has been coaching for over nine years and has worked with hundreds of clients to help them achieve their goals.  Before she became a Corporate Crossover herself, she spent 20 years in corporate, including as General Manager of high profile internet start-ups, FT.com and Quicken.com.au and marketing global brands including Apple, Smirnoff, Tia Maria and Colgate.

Through her company, Corporate Crossovers^®_,Wendy works with women business owners to help them get more focus in their business, feel more in control of their work and to make more income. For more information, and your free e-book to “Discover the Four Blocks that Stop You From Earning What You Used To and How to Overcome Them ”, visit http://www.CorporateCrossovers.com

May 16th 2012. Kings Cross, London. New Workshop: If you only do one social media workshop you should do this one. Having a strategy and knowing what to do and when to do it is crucial to make social media work for you.

Social Media – Is it worth it? As a small business owner you only have a limited amount of time, and you want to make sure that you are using it on something that is going to get results .  I frequently get people asking me, “why should I use Twitter” or say “I don’t get Twitter”; or “How can I use Facebook in my business”; or “What social media channel do you think I should use in my business”. So I decided to run a workshop to help you answer those questions!

The answer to the question “Is social media worth it?” is a resounding YES, but only if you are spending your time smartly.  Social media is not going away.  It is just going to become more and more prevalent as a marketing tool, so the question is not IF you are going to do it, but WHEN.

Like anything, social media needs to fit with your current activities and should enhance them.  You want it to make sense and deliver results in your business.  So to do this, it makes sense to put together a high level strategy that fits with your business.  That looks at each of the different social media channels and decides which one is right for you and how you can get started with them today.

This workshop is for those who are already on social media and don’t feel that they are getting the results that they should, and for those who are keen to use it, but haven’t started (for those that are doing it really well, get in touch, we’d love to use you as a case study!)

What will we cover:

1. Each of the big 4 social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and You Tube and how they are used for business

2. Case studies of where people are using these channels particularly effectively – real businesses!

3. Secrets of how these businesses are using them so successfully that you can apply in your business

4.  Which channels are suitable for which types of business

5. Create your social media plan

6. How to use each channel to effectively engage your customers/ clients / prospects

7. How to integrate the channels so they are working together

8. How to track your social media presence

9. Tools and time saving software that can make your life A LOT easier

As a Women Unlimited reader, you’ll know already that I love social media.  I think it is a game changer and a real opportunity for David to beat Goliath.  Each and everyone of us has the opportunity to stand out in what is becoming a busier and busier marketplace and social media is how we can do that.

Book on this workshop today, and start using these marketing channels effectively in your business.

Logistics:

Date and time: May 16 2012 from 10:00 – 16:00
Location: The Boardroom, The Betjemen Arms, St. Pancras Station, London
Trainer: Julie Hall, founder of Women Unlimited and Springmedia

Some of the feedback that we have received from our previous workshops.

“Really clear and packed with content! Have come away from the workshop fully armed with fresh knowledge and committed to socially network” Tracey Evans, Livvy Designs

“I really enjoyed the workshop – there is a lot of info discussed for the first time which is always a BIG plus for me”

“Excellent content and very thought provoking.  I now have a big to-do list”

Most of us start a new year on a total high, and then slowly drift down into a bit of a slump around the middle to end of January. Plans and resolutions start to fall by the wayside as day-to-day life and the pressures of business mount up.

If this has happened to you, you may even feel like going back to bed and not getting up again until about April!

Although that looks very inviting, it’s not the best way to grow your business, so hibernation isn’t really an option.

Luckily, there are a number of things that you can do to refresh your spirits, get back on track, and start bringing in the clients again:

Step 1: STOP!

You feel like this because you have been doing too much, too hard, for too long. So, stop what you’re doing. Step away from your computer, or get out of the office (or shop – wherever you run your business from). A change of scene – even if it’s just another room , will really help.

Step 2: Rest

Have a sit or lie down. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Breathe deeply for 5 breaths, and then relax your muscles one by one – starting at your toes and working your way up your body very slowly. If you fall asleep, don’t worry, that’s allowed.

Step 3: Plan

When you open your eyes again, get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil – we’re going to clear the clutter from your mind. Either write a list or create a mind map of all the things that you have going on right now, or you are currently thinking about. Don’t censor it, just get it aaaall out on paper.

N.B. If you’ve never heard of Mind Maps, I encourage you to check them out. Mind Mapping is a really simple technique that can help you to organise your thoughts, plan projects or take notes. There’s lots of great information on how to do Mind Mapping at www.mind-mapping.co.uk/make-mind-map.htm.

Once you’ve got your Mind Map or list, pick 3 items that are your top priorities at the moment. I like you use highlighters to pick them out. These are the things that you’re going to focus on and will help you to minimise your mental ‘noise’.

Step 4: Set Baby Steps

Take the first of your priority items and decide when you are going to complete it. Now write down the individual small steps that you will have to carry out in order to achieve your priority.

When I say small steps, I mean really small. For example, if you are going to run a Valentines marketing campaign in in the run up to February 14^th, then first of all you need to identify what your offer is going to be, then you need to work out how you’re going to promote it. Once you’ve decided that, you have to write the copy for any promotions, get a designer to design your promotion, etc. All of these are individual baby steps.

When you have your long list of baby steps, make a note next to each item that tells you:

• -          When you are going to finish the baby step
• -          Who is going to do it, or help you with it
• -          Anything that you might need to get it done

There are 2 benefits to this list, the first is that you now have a clear route map of how you’re going to get your priority item done. The second is that you will be able to see whether your original deadlines are sensible or not.

Step 5: Celebrate

When you push yourself hard all the time, it is easy to overlook your successes. So, it’s a good idea to celebrate that you’ve not succumbed to the hibernatory urge and sat down and sorted out your plan.

Give yourself a little treat, like a new notebook, a hot chocolate, or a manicure, and take a moment to appreciate that you’re getting organised, re-invigorated, and achieving your goals!

It’s been four weeks since I walked out of the office building in the centre of Leeds that had been my workplace for the previous eight years. I was a senior communications officer for a government agency and had spent my time in various regional and national roles for the organisation, ranging from managing the media to embedding our approach to community engagement.

As you can see, I’m not really qualified to impart pearls of wisdom about successfully running a business, but I can share with you my start-up journey – warts and all – so you can avoid some of the mistakes I make and repeat some of the successes (fingers crossed!).

Cards on the table, I’m not totally new to working for myself. I’ve spent the last six years combining my part-time employment with some freelance work. But I have been very lazy about getting clients and only ever did work that came to me. I never actively went out to win work.

My story

With my eldest child approaching school age and my youngest not far off going to nursery school I started to think about the work possibilities this allowed me. I had happily slowed down my career in order to work part-time and spend two days a week with my children, but I was starting to feel like I’d been treading water for long enough.

I had a few interviews for full time roles but these only lead me to discover that I really didn’t want to work 50 hours a week for another business and spend several hours a day commuting. A good friend of mine, who handily happens to be a personal effectiveness coach, asked me why I didn’t just do more of my freelance work and on went the light-bulb.

I figured I could spend about 18 months slowly building up the business so that when my youngest went to school I could make the switch from juggling part-time employment and the business to working only for myself.

But where to start? I’d successfully freelanced for all those years but I wanted to run a business and that felt like it should be different.

So in the following few weeks I:

• Came up with a name and concept for the business
• Tested it on my target market – small and medium business owners I already knew
• Honed it following feedback
• Sought information about pricing – both by researching similar businesses online and by testing it with the target market again
• Used my network to source a brand and web designer
• Bought the relevant URLs and launched the website

Networks, networks, networks

In testing the concept on business owners I knew I picked up my first new client, an online cloth nappy boutique for whom I’d done some pro bono work when they were setting up.

I also used my network to put out the word that I was able to take on more work and soon found people handing me introductions to other businesses with which I might work in the future. I’m very lucky to have a broad network of people who run their own businesses, not least because of doing tutoring on transferable work-skills courses for PhD students. I’ve done it for the last eight years and that network is one of the most powerful I’ve come across.

My network produced two more clients and I met a third major contact on a free Business Link course. Four months on from taking the decision to turn my freelance work into a business and I had so much work that my office job was getting in the way.

Limited company vs sole trader

So, deep breath, I took the plunge and handed in my notice. That gave me four weeks to get things properly set up. But what did that mean exactly?

I’d been a sole trader for the six years I’d been freelancing and just did my self-assessment through HMRC every year. But conversations with others suggested that forming a limited company was another option. I was totally boggled with the options at the start, so hopefully the following summary will help if you’re currently weighing your options. Please do get proper advice though, I’m neither an accountant, nor a lawyer!

Some of the benefits of being a sole trader include:

• you don’t really need an accountant if you keep good records, although you can have one if you want;
• there’s no obligation to submit accounts (beyond your personal ones for tax purposes);
• you can still take on staff and business.

Some of the drawbacks include:

• limited credibility. Some organisations don’t like engaging sole traders and I know some public sector ones that absolutely won’t deal with them
• you pay personal tax on your earnings, which could work out more expensive than a company paying Corporate Tax on the income instead

But the major drawback of being a sole trader – for me anyway – is that you are personally liable for business debts. What that meant for me was putting in jeopardy my family home, car and all other assets. While I wasn’t planning on borrowing any money – I’m not buying stock to sell on for example – I could be at risk from being sued by clients, for example for a perceived breach of confidentiality.

The major benefit of forming a limited company for me was to protect my family home but there are some other benefits as well:

• the cost of my accountant is covered by what I save in tax. I’d always put 30% of my freelance earnings aside to cover my tax and NI and it’s likely I can reduce this percentage by the company paying tax on the income instead of me;
• I can sign up to a childcare voucher scheme and, as I’m strictly an employee of the company, continue to benefit from paying £243 a month towards my childcare;
• my company is perceived as more credible by some people.

I can only think of one drawback of running a limited company – the obligation to prepare accounts for Companies House every year and the admin and cost this incurs – but as I said at the start, I’ve only been running one for a matter of weeks.

I’m a words girl

Having decided limited company was the way to go I needed an accountant. Again I turned to my network and sourced a very patient one (I’m a words not a numbers girl), who set up the company within a matter of weeks.

If you’re looking for an accountant I’d strongly suggest you get recommendations. If you think you don’t know anyone with an accountant I’m fairly certain you’re wrong. You have a hairdresser/window cleaner/builder/plumber don’t you? I found the accountants all charged similar amounts, so I went with the one who I felt the best connection with.

Chasing payments

So I’ve set up a lot of the things I need to get on with the business of being in business. The next step is to wind up my sole trader affairs, which starts with chasing payment of an invoice which was due four months ago.

I’ve already sent a letter by recorded post (I got it free from this site here – https://desktoplawyer.secureclient.co.uk/dtl/index.cfm?event=base:subsite&subsite=76065&collection=2   - but there are also companies such as this one – http://www.thomashiggins.com/default.aspx – which you can a couple of pounds to send it for you so it looks more official.

After that I’ll be using the online small claims service to recover my money (so far it’s four months overdue) along with interest and costs. It’s a bit daunting to have to do it, but I figure once I’ve gone through the process it will be another tick in a “things you need to know to run a business” box.

Growing (up)

And the other big challenge is to grow my client base for Your Virtual PR Ltd. To make a start on that I’m off to watch the video series produced by Women Unlimited contributor Tanya Smith http://avoidthe5bigmistakes.com

I’ll let you know how I get on with it all and would welcome your feedback, suggestions and words of wisdom.

Louise

About the Author: Louise Turner is director of Your Virtual PR Ltd, a PR and communications business specialising in providing creative and great value services to SMEs. The service is delivered virtually, but the reality is, it’s on time and on budget. Read more here  www.yourvirtualpr.com