Business Plus Baby

July 3, 2012July 2, 2012

How to cope when you miss your child’s event (and why sometimes it’s a good thing)

I have a fab post for you today by working mums’ coach Elinor Wilde. One of the big reasons that mums start up in business is to give us the flexibility to go to events like school sports days. But what happens if, despite your best efforts, you still can’t go? Over to you, Elinor…

Running a business when you have children can mean some pretty tough choices. At the end of recent call, a client of mine dropped into the conversation that she had been really looking forward to going to a friend’s 40th birthday party. It had been in the calendar for months but she wasn’t going because her daughter had just been invited to perform at a dance concert. Now this mum has seen her daughter perform at many concerts, this wasn’t the first and it wasn’t a competition, but she wouldn’t allow herself to miss it even though she admitted she was gutted to be missing the 40th.

When you decide to run your own business you hope you will have more flexibility to be with your children and attend their events more easily than if you were working 9-5, but you will still have conflicting choices to make whether they are to do with business or social arrangements. Obviously you want to attend your kids’ events to support them and share in their pleasure, but here’s the thing – you don’t have to be there EVERY time and feeling guilty about it can be a sign of the perfectionist trap we mums can fall into. Here’s how to cope:

If, like my client, you feel consumed by guilt at the thought of missing a child’s event, consider why.

• Are you worried what other mums will think? Remember you’ve got nothing to prove to them. This is your life and your family.

• Are you mind-reading and making assumptions? Are you scared your child will be upset if you are not there? This is really down to how you handle things. Be factual, don’t over explain or over-dramatise and above all don’t ask for permission! Explain that you already have something organised and can’t go, describe whose mother will be there instead and that you are really looking forward to hearing how much they enjoy themselves. Don’t get drawn into a long conversation about it or over-explain. It’s this that can make your child anxious.

Are you worried what other mums will think? Remember you’ve got nothing to prove to them. This is your life and your family.

Continue reading “How to cope when you miss your child’s event (and why sometimes it’s a good thing)”

June 27, 2012

Surfin’ USA: What we can learn from Silicon Valley

Last night I listened to Liz Weston of Weston Communications talk about her visit to the businesses in Silicon Valley. She was speaking at The Likeminded Network women’s networking group in St Neots, Cambs.

The whole presentation was recorded on video (and yes, Liz did get me to do a piece in front of the camera too!) so I hope to be able to post a link to the presentation once it’s been edited and posted up on the internet.

There were a lot of ideas to take away and I’m still processing most of them the morning after. But I’ve recorded a two minute audio of one idea that really stood out: simplicity.

listen to ‘Liz Weston talks about her visit to Silicon Valley’ on Audioboo

(That was recorded at about 11pm when I got home. I love Audioboo.)

Here’s what else really stood out. You’d expect senior people from Facebook, Google and LinkedIn to be talking about money and how to make plenty of it. But the message was that we should focus on our purpose, making lives better, simplifying. If we get those things right, the money will follow.

I also want to say a few words about networking and The Likeminded Network:

listen to ‘The Likeminded Network and why networking is so important for solo business owners’ on Audioboo

(By the way, you can hear my two year old telling me he’s had a wee in the background! Just to prove I’m an authentic business mum. :))

The Likeminded Network is a fabulous group of women, very supportive but also energetic, dynamic and full of ideas. Thanks ladies!

(The photo is one of Liz Weston winning the Future 100 Entrepreneur of the year in 2010. Photos of the night to follow!)

June 25, 2012June 24, 2012

Free Pinterest marketing training

I wanted to tell you about a free Pinterest training webinar that I’ve just watched. (It’s free and you can sign up yourself here.)

Pinterest is the fastest growing website in history and the number of users has increased 145% since the beginning of 2012. It’s dead easy to use, fun and seriously addictive.

There has to be huge marketing potential in Pinterest, but how do you actually use it to make more sales? I’ve used it to get traffic to Business Plus Baby, but know there’s a lot more I could be doing. That’s why I wanted to take a look at this webinar.

I really did pick up some useful tips, too. Did you know that you should include keywords in your pin and board descriptions? I didn’t! And I’ll be promoting my Pinterest boards outside Pinterest too, such as in my newsletter, Twitter and Facebook from now on.

By the way, you can follow me on Pinterest here 🙂

Andreea also mentions how important it is to build your Pinterest follower base and to interact with them so that you keep them engaged with you and your business. Up until now I’ve been focusing on adding content to my boards, which isn’t really getting the best from Pinterest from a marketing point of view.

Oh, and I need to add a ‘Pin it’ button to Business Plus Baby, too!

If you haven’t ventured on to Pinterest at all yet, this webinar will be really useful as it explains what it’s all about and the best way to set up your new account.

Click here to sign up for the free Pinterest Advantage webinar.

(Contains an affiliate link.)

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Quick money vs long term business: Which is right?

When I first started looking for business ideas, my plan was to build a long term business. Something that would grow as my children grew; I never wanted to have to go back to a job.

Almost four years down the line, I’d still agree with that. But (you knew there was a but, didn’t you? 🙂 ) it’s not as simple as it sounds.

The problem with growing a long-term solid business is that it takes time. Lots of time. And time is one thing you don’t have with young children around. There’s a big learning curve for starters, then there’s market research, getting the product or service right, marketing and finally after that you might make some money.

Many mums with young kids get stuck in a trap where they can’t afford childcare because they haven’t made enough money yet, but they don’t have the time to build their business without the childcare. That can lead to an agonisingly slow and frustrating start-up period.

Whether you can free up time to get your business off the ground or not varies. If you’ve got just one pre-school child, you may be able to pay for a little childcare a week (I found this harder as my children are just over a year apart in age and that meant childcare was seriously expensive for a couple of years). If you have a relative or close friend nearby that can look after your child for one day a week, that can make a huge difference. Or if Dad can look after the little ones all day Saturday, that’s a big plus, too.

Throughout this start-up period, there’s a good chance that you’ll be making very little money. Some families may be able to tighten their belts for long enough to get through this but what if you really do need cash, and fast? Continue reading “Quick money vs long term business: Which is right?”

June 18, 2012July 6, 2012

Announcing the Business Mums Blog Carnival for June!

If you’ve got a business blog, why not join in the June Business Mums Blog Carnival?

You don’t even need to write a post for the carnival, just pick your favourite from the posts already up on your blog and send the link to the carnival host.

This month your host is Helen from kiddycharts.co.uk

To enter, email the link to your post to helen.neale (at) kiddycharts.co.uk by Mon 25th June.

The carnival will be posted on 30 June.

If you’re not sure how it all works or what kind of post to enter, you’ll find everything you need to know on the Business Mum’s Blog Carnival page. And you can get your own blog carnival badge there too!

Want to know more about blogging to promote your business? Grab yourself a copy of my book Business Blogging for Beginners (only £2.99!)