Business Plus Baby

June 8, 2011June 8, 2011

Flexible working: your chance to have your say

The Government is looking at the right of parents to request flexible working to help balance their work and family commitments. And it would like your opinion.

The Department for Business Innovations & Skills is right now exploring proposals for the design of a more flexible system of parental leave, including how best to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees.

Speaking at an event on contemporary parenting, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “Right now, most parents simply do not have flexibility they need. Despite the fact fathers can request flexible working, many feel reluctant to do so. There is still a stigma attached.”

According to Business Secretary Vince Cable, the Government will consult fully with small businesses on how best to proceed. “We are conscious of the concerns of some companies, particularly SMEs – but I hope they will embrace our plans,” he said.

In this day and age, flexible working cannot simply mean working from home or the office. For parents especially, the skill of juggling work, childcare and home life is a tough one. Hours wasted commuting to work can leave parents crippled with guilt and rushing out of the office at the first opportunity.

Things are changing, but there’s a long way to go. Third Door, the work hub with integral nursery in Wandsworth, London, has just celebrated its first birthday. Technology means that you can now work from pretty much anywhere you like – home, a work hub or even Starbucks. Yet our roads are still clogged by commuters and the expectation is still that we’ll be in an office from nine to five-thirty every weekday. Or even longer.

It’s time for a change.

Have your say by filling in this short government survey below…

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/83VC8K2

photo credit: [nohide]it’s a foot![/nohide]

June 7, 2011April 15, 2012

Here’s what I learned about marketing from Honda…

I like to watch how big companies market themselves. Well, if a business has a huge team of experienced people working on a campaign, there’s bound to be something I can learn from it.

Marketing cars has to be a tough business these days. Most modern cars are comfortable, reliable and stuffed full of features. Unless you’re a true car lover, there’s not that much to choose between the different models any more.

As you can probably tell, I don’t get too excited by cars!

honda logo

But I was intrigued by Honda’s new campaign. Throughout 2011, Honda will be releasing a series of mini-documentaries by W+K, a website and sponsorship ‘idents’ for Channel 4. A new round of short films started on 2^nd June during Cutting Edge documentary, ‘Bums, Boobs and Botox’ on Channel 4.

The films feature real-life customers who use their Hondas in unique ways. The first of four features Philippa, an alpaca breeder in Oxfordshire, who tends to the animals on her farm using her trusty Honda ATV.

You can see the film here…

There is an online hub at www.honda.co.uk/stories where viewers can see the full documentaries plus other films, articles and interesting stories.

There’s also a ‘Take Part’ section, where Honda-owners can upload stories and photographs, documenting the unusual ways in which they use their Honda products. The favourite will be turned into the final mini-documentary and idents for TV.

What I like about this campaign is that it tells the stories of real people. That’s so much more engaging than just showing a car’s features. And then the social media campaign encourages customers to get involved and tell their own stories.

I think the moral of the story for me is to never forget that customers like to connect with real people. And as the marketing messages coming at us keep increasing in both number and their levels of sophistication, that need for a real, personal story is only going to increase.

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June 6, 2011June 10, 2011

What do you want from your business?

Yes, I know, work that fits around your kids! But let’s be a little more specific. Are you…

Aiming to make some extra money to top up your family’s income?
A stay-at-home-mum who has started a business because you were going crazy with nothing but nappies and finger-painting to keep your mind occupied?
Aiming to build a business that will grow slowly as your children grow, but nevertheless will be a long-term source of income for you (and perhaps others) and you have no intention of going back to a job once your kids are older?
Using your hobby or passion as a way of earning while you’re on a career break with your young children?
Something else? Continue reading “What do you want from your business?”

June 3, 2011June 10, 2011

Taking care of your money and leaky buckets

Over the last few weeks I’ve been busy launching my new e-course, Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur. (Maybe you’ve noticed? :))

Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur is all about making more money without having to work any harder. Often, a few changes to the way you think or do business is all it takes to put more money in your wallet.

Then it occurred to me that money is a bit like water in a bucket. There’s no point in pouring in more water if it’s pouring out of a hole at the bottom. So to be more financially secure, you need to not only earn more (well, for most of us!) but you need to manage the money you’ve got. Continue reading “Taking care of your money and leaky buckets”

June 1, 2011

Build a Little Biz: Happy Birthday!

Way back last summer I was reading a thread on the Launch Coach‘s blog when I stumbled across a comment by Karen Gunton. Karen was working on her blog Build a Little Biz, which has pretty much the same aims as Business Plus Baby, except she’s in Adelaide, Australia and I’m in England.

We exchanged emails, then guest posts and then we became unofficial blogging buddies, supporting each other and bouncing ideas around between us. Since them Build a Little Biz has just got better and better. Karen has got a deep understanding of what it takes to grow and market a mumpreneur business and she’s built a team of experts who help her out on specialist subjects. She’s also developed a valuable knowledge of branding, then poured it into her workbook, Build a Brand.

Today is Build a Little Biz’s first birthday and it’s hard to believe it’s just one year since Karen started her blog. That’s because it feels I’ve known Karen a lot longer and because she’s built such a brilliant resource for mums in business in such a short time. So Happy Birthday Karen and Build a Little Biz! I’m looking forward to seeing what the future brings!

To celebrate Build a Little Biz’s birthday, you can get 30%* off the Build a Brand workbook if you buy it before the end of Sunday 5th June (enter the code happybirthday at the checkout to get your discount).

Karen tells me that she’ll be taking Build a Brand off the shelves soon after, so don’t miss this chance to give your brand a boost.

You can read my review of Build a Brand in my article How to brand your mumpreneur business.

*Full price is $67 (Australian dollars) which is about £44, so with a 30% discount the Build a Brand workbook will be about £30.