Year: 2010

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Have You Got a Gorgeous Baby?

Of course, haven’t we all?!

The NEXT Baby Boutique Model Competition, in association with Prima Baby magazine, is looking for Britain’s cutest and most photogenic infants aged from newborn up to 36 months (born 19th November 2007 or later) which will be split over two categories: from birth up to 18-months, and from 19-months up to 36-months.

Winners will receive £500 of Next vouchers, a 12-month modelling contract with Urban Angels and take part in a photoshoot for NEXT and Prima Baby.

To enter, upload your photo by 12 noon on the 16th November 2010 by visiting facebook.com/nextonline. Entries can only be made by parents or legal guardians and please be sure that the photograph you upload shows your baby fully dressed and wide-awake!

Be sure to ask all your friends and family to support your entry as they can vote on Facebook  right up until 12 noon on the 19th November 2010. (Only one vote per person per entry and check out facebook.com/nextonline for full terms and conditions.)

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Promote Your Blog: Mumpreneur Monday Challenge

I thought it might be fun (and useful!) to post a Monday Challenge for the next couple of weeks.

If you like it I might make it a regular feature – let me know…

So this week your challenge is to…

Take one extra step to promote your business blog.

Drop me a comment and let me know how it goes (plus you’ll get a link to your blog, which is a little bit of promotion in itself!)

Here are some ways you could promote your blog this week:

  • Join a forum

Pick one that is visited by your target audience, make sure it allows you to put your URL in your signature and read the terms and conditions carefully. Then, staying within the Ts&Cs, help people and show them you’re an expert.

Maybe you’ve been a forum member for a while but have been just lurking? This week, become active in that forum instead.

  • Twitter and Facebook

Make sure every blog post is announced on Twitter and your Facebook page. You can do this automatically with NetworkedBlogs or TwitterFeed. Schedule some tweets with a link to your older but most popular blog posts using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck

  • Boost your content

How can you really add value to your readers? What do they want to know? How can you give that to them? Commit to stepping up the quality of your content this week.

  • Blog Carnivals

Enter a blog carnival (hint: Business Mums Blog Carnival!). Do a Google search on ‘blog carival’ and your key words to see if there are any on the same subject as your blog.

If there are no blog carnivals in your field, why not start one?

  • Guest Post

Draw up a list of blogs with a readership similar to your target audience. Check to see if they have a policy on guest blogging and make sure you follow it. If the  policy is OK with this, email the owner if they would like to feature you as a guest blogger. Tell them a little about your blog and give them a list of possible subjects that you could cover. Offer to feature them as a guest blogger in return.

  • Comments

Set yourself a target of (say) 3 comments a day for a week. Comment on blogs with a similar readership to your own but make sure you add something to the conversation, rather than just saying ‘great post!’

  • You Tube

Record a video, upload it to You Tube and embed it in a blog post. It’s not as scary as it sounds – stand a video camera on a pile of books on your desk, speak your blog post into the camera instead of writing it, download onto PC and upload to You Tube. Your first video won’t be perfect (Yes, you’ll cringe when you see yourself in the video!) but you’ll have taken that daunting first step towards video marketing.

  • Be helpful

Help other bloggers promote their blogs and they will return the favour. Retweet them on Twitter, mention them on your Facebook page, ask if they would like to be guest bloggers on your blog.

  • Not got a blog?

This week, have a think about if  now a good time to start one. Blogs can be great for getting fresh content on your website, telling customers about new products and increasing your search engine rankings. But keeping them up to date takes time and commitment, so you need to weigh up if it’s right for you and your business.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Creative Commons License photo credit: theinfinite

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I Started A Business With A Baby: Helen Gourley of Miglio Designer Jewellery

Tell us a little about your business

I am an independent consultant for Miglio Designer Jewellery in Central Scotland where I sell designer jewellery and manage a team of almost 40 women up and down the UK.  I sell the jewellery through parties, one-to-ones, events and through my website.

What was your job before starting your business?

I have been involved in a variety of industries since leaving university but my most recent position was as a banking advisor for a high street bank where I sold bank accounts, loans and credit cards to customers.

How did you go from your old career to your new business and what were your reasons for starting your own business?

When I left my banking position to have my daughter (my second child) I was sure that I wanted to return and further my career in the industry.  However, having had her I found I didn’t want to go back to the 9 to 5 grind, running around for school and nursery pick-ups, panicking and scrabbling for childcare during the holiday season and constantly rushing from home to work.  Even though the bank offered me reduced hours I just felt that I would be better off working for myself so I investigated the Direct Selling industry starting with the website of the Direct Selling Association. Continue reading “I Started A Business With A Baby: Helen Gourley of Miglio Designer Jewellery”

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The Cambridge Business Mums Conference

If you live in the East of England don’t miss the Cambridge Business Mums Conference on 12 February 2011. Conference organiser Alison Pinney says…

If you are a mum in business and can’t get enough of networking, then start off 2011 on the right track by attending Cambridge’s first ever Business Mums Conference.  Open to ALL mums in business, wherever they live, this promises to be a fantastic day of networking for all delegates.

Being organised by Alison Pinney and Helen Mortlock of Mums Business Club (Cambridge) this Conference is packed full with a programme of inspirational speakers and seminars and a deliciously appetizing 4-course lunch, all for a very low price of £20!!

As an added extra we are putting on mini pampering treatments (small extra charge for these) which will be available throughout the day.

Our headline speaker is Emma Wimhurst who will be giving a very motivational seminar and will be available to sell and sign copies of her book Boom!

Robert Jerram of Linen at Home and Giant Potential will be our Chair for the day and will also be running a workshop.

A raffle will be drawn at the end of the day with proceeds being split between Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis charities.

Ticket prices are £20 until 1st December 2010 when they will be rising to £30 so get those tickets quick at a ridiculously low price.

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