Finance – Page 13 – Business Plus Baby

May 20, 2011May 18, 2011

You CAN be a Nice Girl and Still Earn What You Deserve

Before I get stuck into this article, I just like to remind you that…

You can download my new Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur e-course for the introductory price of £24 if you buy it TODAY.

At midnight tonight, the price goes up to £37.

To give you a flavour if the course, here’s a little taster I’ve taken from it:

You can be a nice girl and still earn what you deserve

Ask a group of women why they are in business and many will tell you it’s because they want to help others.

As women, we’re usually taught to be nice girls, carers and good mothers. It can be a very subtle message and you may not be able to put your finger on where it came from. Or perhaps it wasn’t so subtle and your parents gave you no choice but to be a good girl! Either way, it doesn’t sit well with going out there and putting a price on what you do.

It can be helpful to work out where your need to be a good girl came from. Throughout history it has usually been best for society if women stayed close to home and were the carers. After the Second World War, it became even more important for women to stay out of the workforce because there weren’t enough jobs for the men returning home. Women have always worked, but usually for pocket money to top up the family income rather than as the main earner in the family.

This may seem like ancient history, but beliefs that came from those days are easily passed from parent to child down the generations. If we can identify where our beliefs come from, we can see many aren’t ‘the truth’, they are stories, habits, attitudes that have been passed on from many years. The only reason they are still there is because nobody has questioned them.

The influence these beliefs have on us can be very strong, so it’s tough to get rid of them completely. But you can recognise these thoughts when they arise and make a conscious choice to not be controlled by them.

Can you think of one good reason why you can’t you be a caring person, a good mother and get paid what you are worth? I can’t!

Don’t forget, if you want to grab the e-course at the discount price, you need to get it TODAY.

To find out more, please head over to www.earnwhatyoudeserveasamumpreneur.co.uk

photo credit: Savannah (OpenFocusPhotography)

May 11, 2011February 1, 2013

How to Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur

UPDATE, Feb 2013: I wrote this post as part of the launch for my Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur e-course in May 2011. The course is no longer available, but this post has some fab advice, so enjoy!

Being a mumpreneur is tough. You’ve got all the usual business balls to juggle, but you have to fit them around toddler tantrums, sick children, broken sleep, piles of laundry and everything else a mums does. Mums in business are often motivated by needing family-friendly work rather than an entrepreneurial urge and our learning curve is a steep one.

With the business and your clients, partner, friends and children all demanding attention it’s easy for the money-making to slip down your to-do list.

I’ve asked successful business mums and small business experts for their top advice for earning what you deserve.

Here’s what they said..

Focus on what you do best and outsource the rest. Surround yourself with a network of peers and partners who can take on the tasks you don’t want to do. This could be anything from admin to accounts, sales or technology but handing it to the experts will help you grow whilst keeping overheads low.

Emma Jones, founder of small business support company, Enterprise Nation www.enterprisenation.com

Whatever business you decide to set up, make sure it makes you HAPPY!

Adriana Lokman, Director of Enterprise Start-Up & Development Association (www.esuda.co.uk)

One of the reasons why I see mumpreneurs not making enough money from their home business is that they are not presenting a professional business to customers, and not yet behaving like the boss of a professional business (which they now are) To be taken seriously by prospective customers and the wider business community I believe that us mums running businesses from home have to set a high standard, invest in ourselves and show everyone that we can make ‘home made profits’! No more dabbling…for serious results take your business seriously.

Mel McGee, founder of www.supermummy.com – online community for business mums and author of ‘Millionaire Mumpreneurs’ For FREE membership visit supermummy.com

My tip is to value yourself and what you offer. Too many mums in business pitch their products and services at the cheaper end of the market. Do your sums properly to work out the costs of running and promoting your business. Listen to the thanks and compliments you get from clients or customers. Truly value what you do, set your prices accordingly, and you’ll find others value what you offer too.

Author and award winning entrepreneur Antonia helps mums get into business at Become a Mumpreneur.

Planning is a key part of any business especially when you are combining it with a family & marriage. Ensure you plan your work time and play time that way everyone knows what is happening and when but also plan for the future for your business – unless you know where you are going how will you know how to get there? Set yourself goals/targets for 3/6/12/24 months and keep reviewing them remember to include within this your marketing plan otherwise you will be aggressively waiting for the phone to ring rather than being proactive.

Debbie Mann Founder of Independent Property Inspections and Manager of The Mumpreneurs Networking Club.

Invest in a good email marketing system and offer a newsletter or opt-in report. The better relationship you build with potentially interested customers, the easier it will be to earn their trust … and their custom!

Karen Skidmore, marketing mentor at CanDoCanBe and creator of the Web Tech Club, the marketing club for technophobic business owners

Stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an entrepreneur. The average hourly rate for everyone else may be £10 an hour, but you’re not everyone else. When you’re the boss you decide what to charge and how much you want to earn, it’s a perk of the job! I like to work backwards from my goals. I figure out how much I need to realise my goals and then how much I need to earn per month/per week. I create and sell products that help me achieve that income and in turn my life goals. In short where you can, stop selling time for money and where you can’t ensure that you’re selling it at a rate that makes it worthwhile. Time is the scarcest commodity we have, treat is as such.

Erica Douglas, ACE Inspire, winner of Best Start Up 2010 at the Mumsclub Business Awards

When you create a new business, look carefully at what’s already out there. Copying someone else’s idea only works if you know you can do it bigger, better and (ideally) cheaper. It’s far better to try and carve out your own niche and identify a brand new opportunity if you can – and the chances are you’ll feel far more passionate about it.

Sally Whittle, Founder, Tots100

we need to remember that pricing is part of our brand. our price sends a message to the world about the value of our products & services. we must value our own expertise, talent and experience if we expect others to, and we must price our work so that it matches our brand message & the values of our ‘ideal clients’.

karen gunton of build a little biz and author of the workbook build a brand.

“They say that 80% of your productivity comes from just 20% of the work you do, so for every ten items on your do to list, just cross of the eight least important! You’ll be amazed how it focusses your mind…”

Jo Middleton, freelance journalist and writer of the award-winning blog Slummy single mummy.

Work out what makes you special and then tell everyone about it. Don’t be shy – you are capable of much more than you think.

Amy Taylor, Founder of Amy Taylor Accountancy, specialising in accounts and tax services for Mums in Business. www.tayloraccountancy.net

Don’t hide your face behind your business. People buy People so let your customers know who you are

Laura Morris, Founder of www.rentabuggy.co.uk and Business Mentor at www.mumtomumpreneur.co.uk.

We often don’t recognise our skills as valuable. Because we may find something easy to do – it’s hard for us to believe that someone else will pay us to do it for them. If you want to put a real value on your time, start by working out what it would actually cost to replace you in the home. It’s quite an eye-opener.

Heather Bestel – Award Winning Business Mentor for Mumpreneurs, www.mumsgotabusiness.com

Be open to doing things that don’t seem to have an instant payoff. Twitter is a lot of work, but it’s brought me one big client and several smaller ones. I never know it would be so lucrative for me! So don’t dismiss things just because you don’t know or understand them.

Liz Weston, providing Marketing, Comms and PR solutions through Weston Communications, www.westoncommunications.org.uk

Force yourself to stay focussed on profits at all times – it is easy to get caught up in exciting ideas, but if they won’t show a return on investment that is really worth the time and effort you put in, they are not good business sense.

Polly Marsh, Director of Cuddledry, makers of the award-winning Cuddledry apron towel

Be bold in making changes – don’t hang onto a product, service or idea just because you like it or ‘it’s always been there’ – if it doesn’t make money, you have to ditch it.

Helen Wooldridge, Director of Cuddledry, makers of the award-winning Cuddledry apron towel

Don’t be afraid to use a lifeline and call a friend or email another Mumpreneur and ask for help or advice. I found being brave and connecting with like minded business women has really helped my confidence and direction with my businesses.

Emma Burford of www.mumsbusinessdirectory.com and www.sayitwithchocolate.co.uk

Celebrate all your accomplishments and achievements – no matter how small they may seem, this could be a vital turning point for your business and believe in yourself and your product as if you don’t, no one else will!

Suzanne Borrell, Director of PR, Communications and Marketing, What’s on 4 Ltd and Event Director, BabyExpo Babyshows
What’s on 4 Ltd – www.brightonbabyexpo.co.uk/baby-show

Don’t be afraid of technology. Even if it seems daunting, it CAN help. It’s worth getting up to speed with what’s out there, especially what’s available using ‘the cloud’ (i.e. web based!). Using specific tools and apps (often free) really can help you work smarter. Do invest a little time up front to find what could help you in the long term. It’s also great for business continuity should something unexpected happen!

Jane Geldart – Owner of PlantPure Candles (www.plantpure.co.uk), Group Leader for Mum’s The Boss Avon and Somerset.

Choose a business that suits your personality and passions. DO you like to work indoors or out? Do you like to work on your own or with a team. DO you like to meet lots of people. Do you like set, regular hours and tasks or a varied, flexible life. Is there anything in the world that you really love doing, and anything that you really really hate? Write down your answers to all these questions and any more you can think of then compare them to how you would need to work in the business you are thinking of starting – does it work for you?

Debbie O’Connor, Motivating Mum UK

Pitch yourself as an expert in your genre, write a blog giving some tips away for free and charging for your ‘expertise’ … this will help with PR, marketing for your business and not cost you anything. I now have local radio stations call me all the time about mum/business related topics

Joanne Dewberry Dorset Business Mum of the Year – www.joannedewberry.co.uk

May 9, 2011October 18, 2012

Putting More Money in Mumpreneurs’ Pockets

Did you know I’m on a mission to put more money in mums’ pockets?

A few years ago I was struggling to find a business that I could run around my baby. I wrote about my business ideas here at Business Plus Baby and that led to me co-writing the book Start a Family Friendly Business: 129 Brilliant Business Ideas for Mums.

While I was doing this, I spoke to a lot of mumpreneurs and noticed…

• They were talented, hard-working, creative, supportive and generous.
• Many lacked confidence, especially when naming their price
• We all have beliefs around money that affect our behaviour, but being a working mum gives you a load more baggage to carry!

From looking at their business models and the prices they charged I could see that many mums running businesses were earning less than they should considering their skills and experience. Some were barely making a minimum-wage income once their expenses were taken into account.

It really got to me that all that hard work, generosity and talent was not being properly rewarded. The end result would be that most mumpreneurs would have no choice but to return to employment once their kids were older and childcare was no longer a headache.

That’s not a problem if you genuinely want to return to a job, but it’s heart breaking to have to give up your business just because you aren’t earning enough to carry on.

I wanted to help. That’s why I created the Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur e-course, which I will be launching this Wednesday 11th May.

March 24, 2011April 15, 2012

Don’t miss this 0% on balance transfers deal!

Did you know Barclaycard are offering 0% on balance transfers for 20 months? That’s the the longest 0% balance transfer offer in the market today. If you’ve got a credit card balance to pay off then moving it to a card with an interest free period like this could save you quite a bit of money in interest payments.

Even if you have been careful with your cash, the chances are that buying all that baby gear plus a drop in income for a few years (whether that’s time away from work or outrageous childcare fees!) will have left you with a bit more on your credit card than you would like. By moving the balance to a card offering a 0% balance transfer, you can pay off your debt faster or cut down your monthly repayments.

If you’re a new customer signing up to Barclaycard between 15th March and 3rd May 2011 you can also take advantage of a 25% reduction on the handling charge when transferring multiple balances from other lenders – the highest balance transfer will incur a handling fee of 3.2%, with any additional transfers seeing effective handling fees of 2.74%. This is available on Barclaycard Platinum and Barclaycard Platinum Purchase products.

As well as helping you out by cutting the cost of borrowing money, Barclaycard also offers the easiest-to-use rewards scheme in the UK. Known as Barclaycard Freedom, it gives you Reward Money in pounds and pence in thousands of retailers UK-wide and online, without the need to carry any additional reward card or vouchers.

You have up to 60 days from the date of your application to transfer your balance.

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January 12, 2011September 25, 2013

How to Make More Money From Your Website: Be an Affiliate

(This is the second post in my series on making money from your website. The first one is The Easiest Way To Earn Money From Your Blog and the third is Advertising and sponsorship)

If you already have a website or blog for your business, you could be making commission by recommending other products and services to your clients.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re a virtual assistant and do administration work for small businesses. Your clients will need to buy computers, business cards, printer ink, paper, business insurance and many other products and services. If you recommend one (or more) of these products/services on your website and include an affiliate link, you’ll get commission if a visitor to your site clicks through and buys the product/service you recommend.

An affiliate link it works like a normal link but it also tracks the clicks coming through from your website so you can be paid commission. Affiliate links can either be text links or adverts (ie a graphic image such as a .jpg file).

Who to recommend

Only recommend products that you have already tried for yourself and really like. Ideally, pick a product that’s so good you’d recommend it even if you weren’t being paid to do so.

It’s best to be an affiliate for only one or two of each type of product. That’s because if you’re recommending (say) ten different printing companies, it looks like you’re blatantly trying to make money out of your clients rather than recommending a product that you genuinely use and like.

Where to find companies to recommend

Most larger companies (and many small ones) have affiliate programmes. Small on-line businesses that sell e-books and e-courses often have an ‘affiliates’ menu at the top of their home page, but other businesses tend to be more subtle. Think about a company that you might want to recommend on your website and look at the bottom of their website for a link to their affiliates page. It may be called ‘affiliates’ or something similar like ‘trade’, ‘partners’, ‘resellers’. You may be surprised at just how many companies will pay you to refer clients to them.

Make sure you look at the percentage commission that the company pays to its affiliates. Some of the percentages can be quite low, so you’ll want to weigh up if it’s worth the effort before you sign up. Information products such as ebooks have the highest percentage rates – sometimes as much as 50% – because there isn’t a physical product to manufacture, store or ship. Tangible products can have commission rates around 10%.

Take a look at Clickbank for information products, or keep an eye on Business Plus Baby as I’m currently creating digital products with affiliate programmes. The first one is Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur and you can find out more about its affiliate programme here.

Or just Google the words ‘affiliate’ and the type of product you’re looking to promote e.g. ‘affiliate toys’

How to sign up to an affiliate programme

The company you’re recommending will usually use another company like Affiliate Window, Affiliate Future or Paid On Results (or Clickbank or EJunkie for information products) to manage its affiliate programme. You’ll need to set up an account with the affiliate company to get paid. Once you’ve signed up and been approved (which can take just minutes) you’ll be given access to a range of different adverts and text links that you can copy and paste into your website.

Once you’ve signed up with the affiliate company, you can browse through their clients to see if there are any others that you’d like to recommend.

How to get people to click on the affiliate links/adverts

Sadly it’s not usually as simple as sticking an advert on your website and watching the cash roll in!

To increase your chances of making commission you could:

Promote the product in much the same way as you would your own – put a link in your email signature, mention it on Twitter or your Facebook page and newsletter. Check the terms and conditions of internet forums though, as some don’t allow affiliate links.
If you have a blog, write a helpful post explaining why you use this product, why it’s better than the others you could buy and what specific problems it solved for you. Try to write it as if you were recommending the product to a friend in an email rather than as a sales pitch. This will get more attention than an advert in your sidebar.
Create a resources page listing all the products that you recommend and why.
Always be open about your affiliate links. If you’re recommended a product and later find out that the person recommending it was being paid to do so, it feels a little underhand and could be a turn-off.
Make your affiliate links/adverts very relevant to your target audience. Ideally, aim to solve a problem that they have rather than recommending a product they can easily find for themselves.
Experiment with the wording and position of your affiliate links/adverts to see what works best.

(This post contains an affiliate link)

photo credit: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML