Tips and Tools – Page 155 – Business Plus Baby

February 7, 2012February 8, 2012

Become a member of Mums The Boss: new membership package and discount

It’s hard to believe, but it’s over three years since Mums The Boss’s first networking meeting in Bedford.

(Well, perhaps not so hard to believe for me as I went along with my then 4-month-old baby….and she starts school this September!)

Since then, Mums The Boss has grown across the UK and branches are still opening now.

In their own words, Mums The Boss “believe that, while each one of us may be a solitary mum working from home, by working together and sharing experience and information we can help each other to grow stronger and more profitable businesses.”

The great news is that you don’t have to live near a Mums The Boss group to benefit as anyone can become a member.

By becoming a member of MTB in 2012 you can benefit from promotional opportunities as well as an exclusive members newsletter containing expert content from the UKs top business mums. In addition, they will send you a handy Networking Notebook, to help you make the most of your face-to-face networking opportunities.

Annual Membership usually costs just £75 per year, but if you buy before 31st March you can grab it for £60.

Click here for more information or to sign up.

January 24, 2012June 30, 2014

Accounting software: how it could make your life easier

Keeping on top of your finances is one of the keys to success as a small business owner. That’s easy to say but not so easy to do!

Many of us are so busy with the day-to-day tasks like dealing with customers and suppliers that there isn’t much time left for accounting. We are often hesitant about buying software packages because we don’t enough about accounts to make an informed choice between all the accounts software out there. Is it really worth the cost anyway? And isn’t it going to ages to set it up and learn how to use it?

Lately, I’ve heard a few mums in business ask “which is the best accounting software for my business?” Many use Excel, but that’s not the easiest option if you haven’t already been trained to use it properly. You may be better off with software that guides you through your accounts, especially if maths isn’t your strong point! And even if you can set up all the formulas correctly, Excel won’t create invoices for you – you have to do each one yourself (or pay someone else to do it).

So if you’re thinking of buying accounting software, make sure you take a look at Quickbooks Simplestart. Quickbooks Simplestart is designed for people who aren’t accountants, so it’s easy to use. It tracks and controls the money coming in and going out of your business, so you can see how much money you have – and in real time, too. That means you can monitor your sales and see your most profitable products at any time.

I’ve been self-employed for quite a few years and for most of those I’ve done my own invoicing manually. Basically, typing the names and numbers in each individual invoice. It wasn’t so bad for me because, as a training consultant, I only had a few invoices going out every month.

But manual invoicing rapidly becomes a huge drain on your time if you have more invoices than I did. The good news is that Quickbooks Simplestart lets you create and send invoices in seconds. It has templates which you can customise in any way you like, such as adding your own logo.

And if creating profit and loss accounts or balance sheets has you scratching your head, Quickbooks Simplestart will generate these for you. In fact, it has a total of 14 reports already built-in.

Accounting software really could save you a lot of time and stress!
photo credit: alancleaver_2000

January 2, 2012December 30, 2011

New Year goals – good idea or not?

It’s January and everyone in the personal development world is urging you to set goals.

I have to admit that every January, when I see the old chestnuts ‘SMART* goals’ and ‘New Year, New You’, my heart does sink a little.

Some years I’m not ready to make any meaningful goals on January the 1st – it’s dark, it’s cold and getting back to normality after Christmas and New Year is like getting up in the morning. I need a gentle start, and a goal setting exercise feels more like a cold shower!

And every year the new me looks just the same as the old me!

So if you’re feeling more “urgh” than “hell yes!” about setting yourself goals this January, here are some things to think about…

Plucking a number out of thin air

Are you so keen to set a goal that you’re not picking a useful goal? You don’t have to do a goal setting exercise just because it’s January. You can do it at any time.

Maybe you’re still reflecting, researching and thinking about where to go next. Unless you work through this process fully, you could find yourself setting goals that take you in the wrong direction or goals that you drop soon after you’ve set them.

Big fat waste of time.

Not listening to your market

So you’re going to double your sales in 2012? Do your customers get a say in that? Do they want to buy twice as much of your stuff?

Setting a goal that involves delivering what you think your customers need is going to be much harder work than delivering what they actually want.

It makes sense to ask what your clients want from you before you decide how you’re going to ramp up your sales.

No accountability

Even if your goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely, it will still stay a paper exercise if you don’t have any accountability.

Let’s say you want to double your income by December 2012. What should your income be by the end of June? How will you make sure that happens? What’s your plan and how will you stick to it?

Too complex

I’m a master at over-complicating things – maybe you are too? If you look at your goals for 2012 and wonder how on earth you’ll keep on top of what you should be doing, it’s time to simplify.

Can you be really ruthless about what you want to achieve this year? Really focus in on what’s important and drop those nice-to-have projects that chip away at your time and attention.

Be more flexible

You can change your goals at any time. Think of them as a compass that keep you going in the right direction, rather than a rigid path that you absolutely have to take.

Time to lighten up and stop putting yourself under so much pressure? After all, there’s no point in setting a goal that creates so much stress it outweighs the benefits of setting the goal in the first place!

No goals at all?

And if you can’t face setting goals at all, take a look at this post from Zen Habits…100 days with no goals

Happy New Year!

* ‘SMART’ stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely

(photo by Twid)

November 24, 2011November 23, 2011

How to market your business by writing a Kindle book

Even if you’ve never written a book before, you can (and should!) publish on Kindle. With millions of fans, low prices and the current buzz around the Kindle devices themselves, Kindle books are flying off the virtual shelves. So grab yourself a piece of Amazon’s amazing marketplace – and promote your business at the same time!

Today I’m launching my new e-book Kindle Marketing: Grow your business by writing a Kindle book which will take you through quick ways of finding an angle for your book that sells; easy ways to write it, the facts you really need to know about choosing an effective title, cover and description; formatting your book to upload to Amazon and lots of great ways to promote your new Kindle book. Even if you don’t have a Kindle!

But if you’d like a quick introduction to writing an publishing a Kindle book, just read on… Continue reading “How to market your business by writing a Kindle book”

November 17, 2011September 27, 2012

Sell advertising space on your website: Which stats do you need in your media pack?

When I looked into selling advertising space here on Business Plus Baby the first place I went was Google. Unfortunately, most of the information I found was way too advanced and technical for someone like me who was just starting out with web advertising.

In the end I decide not to go down the advertising route at that time (more on that in another post!), but I wrote up what I did find in this post: how to make more money from your website: advertising and sponsorship because I thought it would be useful for someone else.

One thing I didn’t cover in that post was what a prospective advertiser would want to see if they were thinking of buying an ad on your site. These stats are usually part of your media pack. And so that you get more than just my opinion here 🙂 I’ve asked some Business Plus Baby guest posters what they’d like to see if they were thinking of advertising on your website. Continue reading “Sell advertising space on your website: Which stats do you need in your media pack?”