Business Plus Baby

February 25, 2015February 26, 2015

How to stay in control when everything seems to be going wrong

So you have a big project in the works. You’re excited about it and anxious for the growth in your business. You’ve outlined the plan, created a strategy for success and maybe even built your team. But then the problems start. Your project isn’t working out as you expected and everything seems to be going wrong.

It happens. Some of the projects you may be most excited about don’t work out the way you’d planned. How you handle the situation may mean the difference between failure and success. Here are some tips to stay in control when everything seems to be going wrong.

1. Damage Control

Sometimes something that feels like a big disaster isn’t as terrible as it may seem. For example, a freelancer may miss a deadline and that missed deadline pushes everything else back. This means your launch date is now in jeopardy. Damage control is the key here.

Work with your freelancer to complete the project asap. In some cases this may mean that you have to take over the project or find a new freelancer. Once you have a new deadline, take a look at all subsequent steps and deadlines. Where do you have wiggle room? Can you ask another contractor to turn around their project more quickly?

A rush fee may be worth considering to meet your launch date. The important thing to remember is that acting quickly and looking for solutions is the foundation of damage control. All hope is not lost.

2. Got lemons? Turn them into lemonade!

How often have you received an email from a company with an apology? Do you open those emails? They tend to have extremely high open rates. If you’re unable to meet a promised launch date or you or a freelancer has made a mistake, turn the mistake into an opportunity.

For example, if you promised to release a book by the first of the month and it’s delayed a month, whip up a free report or provide a coupon for your other products to make amends. It may actually increase your overall profits, and your customers are likely to appreciate the effort.

3. Know when to quit

Sometimes things just don’t work out and the more you try to force it, the worse it gets. In many cases it’s important to take a step back and evaluate the situation. Why are things going wrong? Is it worth the continued efforts or is it time to fold? Failure is a part of business success. The important thing is to learn from failure and to avoid making the same mistakes again.

When everything seems to be falling apart, remember to take a deep breath. Relax. Assess the project from a logical perspective rather than an emotional one. Yes, you are passionate about your business. However, you are also separate from your business. That distinction will help you make the best decisions.

February 24, 2015February 24, 2015

Business airports in London: How it could affect your business

Many mums in business need to travel to exhibitions to promote their products or source supplies, and even if you don’t do this, you may take flights to go on holiday. Whether you take flights regularly or not, if you’re running a UK business then you could be affected by the London airport debate.

The issue of London’s airport capacity is one that refuses to go away. There have been various wars of words in recent years between a number of prominent figures, but what are the arguments about? What are the implications for British business of proposed action or inaction? And could restrictions at the capital’s air hubs see foreign investors transfer money abroad instead of the UK?

Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, City, Southend… London is not the only city in the world to have multiple airports bearing its name, but few have quite so many. Heathrow is regarded as the jewel in the crown (not just London’s, but the UK’s) however the well known hub has been a victim of its own success in many ways.

The problem is capacity – what started as a humble aerodrome in 1929 has grown and grown into a British icon, but beyond the much trumpeted 2008 addition of Terminal 5 space is pretty much running out. This means that the airport will struggle to increase its offerings in terms of routes and frequencies.

The slip is starting to show. In 2014 Heathrow lost its coveted position as busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger numbers. Dubai, with over 52 million such passengers in the year, took the title and while Heathrow still saw some growth in this market the rate appeared to lag behind most of the other airports in the top 10.

That top 10 includes the Euro hubs of Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Istanbul. All should give cause for concern to London’s aviation chiefs. Amsterdam and Frankfurt are one airport towns, each accommodating a huge range of airlines and therefore giving international business travellers easier connectivity. While Charles de Gaulle has some competition in greater Paris, the passenger base is spread nowhere near as thinly as it is in south east England. Istanbul meanwhile has the potential to do just as well as Dubai, as its flagship Turkish Airlines expands its route network from west to east.

On top of the commercial threats from abroad, Britain’s own regional airports are growing impatient. Birmingham Airport has been particularly proactive in seeking to establish itself as an alternative to London for long haul carriers, while airports in Scotland and the north of England are decreasing their reliance on London links by forging new routes to overseas hubs.

With London’s air supremacy being undermined on many fronts the fear now is that there could be a knock on effect in other areas of business. Will corporations invest in Frankfurt instead? Will tourists choose the Eiffel Tower over Big Ben?

To keep London thriving as a global centre for trade, currency banking, industry, tourism and much more it would appear that something needs to be done to keep the capital’s air infrastructure at the top of its game. The big question is how – by further expanding the likes of Gatwick, or by starting from scratch with a brand new London airport for the future?

February 9, 2015September 8, 2015

Podcast: 5 top tips to successfully run a business around your kids

When Veena V of Mum to Millionaire asked me my top 5 tips for running a business around kids I was surprised how simple my answers were. You might be too!

Simple tips aren’t always easy to implement though, are they? 🙂

In this podcast Veena and I chat about many of the things we mums in business know we should be doing, but often get distracted from by all the things we have to do in our busy lives. Plus we share our own experiences of working around our kids and:

How to focus on your business and really get things done

What you should be charging for your services and why you should never under value yourself

The pros and cons of working for free!

Why it is so important to INVEST IN YOURSELF

I’ve known Veena online for a few years now right from the days when she was running her VIP pregnancy blog. I’ve always loved her infectious enthusiasm and how hard she works to build her business around her son.

So I’m delighted that her podcast is in the new and noteworthy section of iTunes at the moment. Congratulations Veena!

This is the link if you’d like to sign up.

February 8, 2015

Could your social media use be putting your family at risk?

When I first started blogging here at Business Plus Baby I was amazed at how much personal information many parent bloggers shared about their families. Having worked in IT, I guess I was more cautious than most, but I realised early on that I would need to decide what I was happy to share and what I wasn’t.

In the end I decided to keep my family off my blog. That turned out well, because this blog is about how to work around a family rather than about having a family. So I can easily write about how having a family affects my working life without mentioning what my family is up to.

But it’s not just about your blog. It’s hard to separate business from personal on Facebook in particular and it’s not much easier on the other platforms either.

I don’t want strangers in the street knowing my children’s names or that my house is vacant because I’m on holiday. But on the other hand I promote my courses – a lot – on social media so I need to be visible and I need to show up as myself.

It can be a tough challenge if you’re a parent with a business. So to get an idea of how safe your personal data is, take this short quiz: Continue reading “Could your social media use be putting your family at risk?”

February 1, 2015February 1, 2015

Relaxation tips for the busy parent

When you’re busy running your own business and looking after the household, it can be hard to find the right balance in your life.

With all of the daily tasks and money issues to overcome, you might often feel somewhat overwhelmed. And while it may seem manageable on a good day, there are other times where it can all seem too much.

So here are a few quick and easy tips to make sure that you get a bit of balance back into your life:

Share the weight

Photo credit: Derek Jensen via Wikimedia Commons

First and foremost, it’s important to realise that you are only human. And there are only so many hours in the day to keep everything shipshape.

So why not investigate arranging children’s events with other local families so as to share the weight of parenting.

It can be a great socialising experience, as long as your child enjoys it of course! And by taking it in turns with other parents to plan activities and days out, you’ll just possibly get to have an afternoon free once in a while!

There are also many after-school programmes available such as sports or music lessons that will encourage your child to develop a hobby, become more confident and dazzle you with their new found skills! Continue reading “Relaxation tips for the busy parent”