Issue 16 of the Business Mums Magazine is on “Overcoming Business Challenges”.
To help us with this issue, we have created a brief survey on business challenges. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and let us know about your business challenges.
I have a vision for the magazine - how I want it to look, the sort of content I want included, and so on.
Over at Assential Scrapbooking, Jenny shared how she is scrapbooking a business vision board for her business. It has a combination of photos, images from magazines and inspiring words and she is planning to mount it somewhere to remind her of what she wants her business to be.
This is a great idea - not only does it get your vision out of your head, but it is somewhere to remind you about it. This is something I definately want to do 
Now, to start collecting magazines to cut up to create a board.
Do you drink bottled water? A new company, Thankyou Water, is helping change the world by donating all their profits to water projects in third world countries.
All profits from the sale of their water goes to help people who need it most. They have worked out that the profit from one bottle of water can provide clean water to one person for a month!!!
So, help change the world with Thankyou Water.
A great promotion idea is to share your expertise. This can be done in a number of ways including writing articles, speaking and blogging.
Katrina over at Joliv regularly shares natural skin care tips. These fit in well with her products, which are all natural, and they don’t take away from her core business.
Tash from Word Constructions has a blog with communication tips and regularly writes articles. You can find many of these articles for free reprint on The RepOZitory. These showcase her writing as well as her expertise in a variety of topics. She will also be presenting at the Business Mums Conference.
These are just a few ideas of how business mums are sharing their expertise. What do you do?
I came across this quote today:
Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined. - Deepak Chopra
For anyone who knows my story, you will know that my business and life haven’t exactly turned out the way I imagined, however, there are many things and opportunities that I couldn’t have imagined that have been amazing and exactly what I needed.
Yesterday, both boys started school. It was an exciting day because it was the first day of prep for young Zac. We are starting to get back to routine for the year - I’m looking forward to Thursday which is Zac’s first full day of school (Monday and Tuesday are half days, and Wednesday is a day off).
I’m starting to wonder how I’m going to handle having a full 6 hours without kids around each day!
The New year is a great time to refresh your business, whether you restsart something afresh like Elena from EP Designs is doing (you can read about it on her blog), or launching a new business like Becky from Fortun8gal, or simply giving your website a facelift like we are here at Business Mums Magazine. The start of the year is the perfect time to breath new life in to your business.
Are you doing anything to breath new life into your business? If so, share it with us by leaving a comment.
This weeks quote was posted on the Business Mums Network forums some time ago by Tash Hughes of Word Constructions:
A smile is a curved line that sets things straight.
Anon
The response on the forums from this quote was a lot of smiles.
It’s amazing how powerful a smile can be - just try looking at a smiling baby and try not to smile yourself. Even when you’re feeling down, a smile has amazing powers to pick you up!
So, smile to someone today and see how smiles set things straight.
Today we celebrate Australia Day. Other than it being a public holiday, we don’t do too much in our family, however I have noticed lately a number of online businesses having Australia Day promotions in the lead up to today.
They have included:
Many sites are also putting an Australia Day message on their sites.
Have you done any promotions for Australia Day this year or in past years? Please share them with us.
While on my summer break, I had the great pleasure to read Brand New Day by Lara Solomon. This book is the story behind Mocks, mobile socks.
Written as a diary, I found this book very easy to read, especially as I was frequently interrupted by young kids on holidays! Lara shares an honest account of her first few years in business, including her feelings on what is going on, her bank balance and the number of Mocks sold.
Through the story, she shares business lessons and tips. This is the sort of book that is worth a second read with a pen and paper to write down anything you’ve learned along the way. Some tips are not relevant to every business, however any business will be able to get something out of this inspiring story.