Tips and Tools – Page 164 – Business Plus Baby

December 9, 2010December 8, 2010

Here’s The Problem With Your Service Business…

Most mums starting out in business don’t have a lot of money to invest and they need to get cash coming in quickly. That makes service businesses like holistic therapies, virtual assistance, web design, writing, childminding and bookkeeping popular choices.

These business have other advantages too, you can run them all from home and you can do as many hours as you want.

The snag with these businesses is that you’re exchanging your time for money. Lets say you’re working 20 hours a week. Up to half of that will be taken up by admin and marketing, leaving you not much more than 10 hours of time you can charge your clients for. You can’t earn any more because you don’t have any more hours.

The way around this is to find a way of earning without exchanging time for money. Here are two examples:

– Are there products that your clients buy or would like to buy? If you sign up for a direct selling scheme, you can sell a range of products without having to buy lots of stock. The direct selling company will provide things like brochures and order forms so all you need to do is buy a starter pack. You can sell anything from eco products to cosmetics to utilities! Check out the direct selling section of Business Plus Baby for more info.

– Helen Pritchard is a holistic therapist and baby massage tutor. She was limited to working with people face-to-face, but she created baby massage DVDs and video downloads so she can sell them around the world. You can read more in I started a business with a baby: Helen Pritchard of New Stork Times.

Can you think of a second income stream that you could add to your business?

If you’re just starting out and feel like taking on anything else will make your head explode, then don’t worry about extra income streams just yet! It’s worth keeping the idea in the back of your mind just in case you do spot a good opportunity in the next few months, though.

Would you like to know more? My Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur E-Course is full of practical steps you can take to make more money from your business. Sign up for more info and you’ll be able to download my e-book: Price It Right: Five simple steps to choose a price for your product or service.

Photo credit: .shock

November 22, 2010

Mumpreneur Monday Challenge: Time Management Tips

It’s that Monday time-of-the-week and that means it’s time for the Monday Challenge! (You can read all about the previous Monday Challenges here if you’ve missed them…)

Lately I’ve heard lots of business mums talk about not having enough time. Mums are permanently pushed for time so there’s nothing new there! But there’s no doubt the run up to Christmas puts us under even more pressure, especially if Christmas is a busy time for your business too.

So with all that in mind, this weeks challenge is to…

Try a new time management technique

Here are some ideas: Continue reading “Mumpreneur Monday Challenge: Time Management Tips”

November 15, 2010November 15, 2010

Mumpreneur Monday Challenge: Create Some Fresh Content

It’s Monday again, so it’s time for this week’s challenge. (If you missed the previous challenges, here they are: Promote your blog, Get out there!, Get creative!)

Right, let’s dive in!

Content, content, content. You need it for blog posts, words to put on your website, things to link to on your facebook page, useful links to tweet about….

But how do you come up with all this stuff?

Your challenge this week is to….

Create some fresh content

More specifically, to take one step that will make creating fresh content easier for you from now on. (But that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue!)

Here are some ideas you could try this week… Continue reading “Mumpreneur Monday Challenge: Create Some Fresh Content”

November 8, 2010November 7, 2010

Mumpreneur Monday Challenge: Get Creative

It’s week three of the Mumpreneur Monday Challenge!

Weeks 1 and 2 have gone down really well, so if you’ve joined in don’t forget to leave me a comment to tell me how you got on. If you missed the previous Monday Challenges they were Promote Your Blog and Get Out There!

This week I’ve taken my inspiration from Business Plus Baby’s guest blogger Amelia Critchlow. Amelia’s an artist and workshop leader who blogs at 101 Bird Tales (fab blog, I really recommend going over there and having a look). Amelia really is making a living from being creative and that’s why she’s inspired this week’s challenge.

Recently I’ve got a bit bogged down in the logical, outcome-based side of business, so a quick read of Amelia’s blog was like a breath of fresh air for me.

True, you do need focus, planning and a firm grip on your finances to run a business. But if you lose your creativity you can get blinkered, miss opportunities and just stop enjoying what you’re doing.

So your challenge this week is to…

Get creative!

Here are some ways you could do this:

Go for a walk

Splash in puddles, crunch in the leaves, blow away the cobwebs, feel the wind on your face.

Be in the moment

Pick a time and just focus on where you are at that exact moment. Don’t think of the million things you need to get done before the end of the day, just pay attention to what is happening in that moment. You’ll notice things that would pass completely pass you by otherwise – perhaps that’s a feeling, perhaps something you can see, smell or touch.

Do a creative activity you haven’t done since you were a child

Play doh, sew, make stuff out of cereal boxes… it’s up to you.

Write whatever comes into your head

Sit down with a pen and paper and just write. Don’t think, don’t edit, just let the words flow.

Paint like a kid instead of a grown up

Do an art or craft activity with your children but be a child, not an adult. Don’t supervise or teach, just get in there and have fun together.

Something else?

Maybe this post has sparked another creative idea for you? Go and do it!

And after all that..

Has this task made you see you’ve got stuck in a routine? Or perhaps that you need to reconnect with why you started your business in the first place? Has it sparked some new ideas? Or maybe it has reminded you to have fun and take some time out?

I’ll leave you with a quote from 101 Bird Tales, which is taken from ‘How to be an artist’ by Michael Atavar

“It [creativity] doesn’t work to deadlines. It needs room to grow and that space can be a place of waiting. We assume that time on a bus, waiting for some-one to arrive, a train delayed is lost time. Perhaps it’s just the universe telling you that you need to do nothing.”

Please do leave me a comment to tell me how you got on!
photo credit: Siona Watson

November 2, 2010November 1, 2010

Starting Your Mumpreneur Business: What You Need To Know

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See your current business grow and succeed.

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