Business Mums Magazine

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:

• highlighting Australian Made products
• stocking Australiana (ie Aussie flags, animals, etc)
• offering free reports with Aussie recipe’s
• offering free tips on having a fantastic Australia Day BBQ
• instructions on how to play beach/backyard cricket
• creating and promoting Australia Day gift and picnic/BBQ hampers

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.

Click here to purchase your copy today.

This week, I published a great story on my other blog, called “The Man who Sold Hotdogs“. I won’t republish it here, so go to my other blog to read the story.

In these times when all we hear on the news is gloom and doom about the economy, there are many lessons to be learned from the man how sold hot dogs. He couldn’t hear or see the news, and kept going on with his business, and business grew. It kept growing until someone pointed out what was going on and he stopped advertising and doing what he was doing, and his business failed.

 There are so many lessons we can learn from this! The biggest is to stop paying attention to what people are saying and to keep going with what we are doing. Many business mums I’ve spoken to haven’t notice a drop in sales, other than the usual seasonal drop, and they are confident sales will increase again as the year goes on.

So, keep going and be like the man who sold hotdogs at the start of his story.

You’ve all heard people say you need to find a niche for your business. Many of us look at the obvious - women, mums, working mums, etc. But few look outside the square.

Reading Ingrid Cliffs blog while I was away, I came across a post titled “Age is a niche“. In Japan, there are specialist dating agencies for people over 50.

Is there any way you can define your niche more by looking outside the square? Instead of “women”, consider a niche such as “women over 50″ or “women under 50 with full time jobs”.

Is there any way you can define your niche or find a different one using age or another defining factor?

We received the following email from Tayana of Tayana.com.au last week:

I received the new magazine today and what a lovely surprise….I just wanted to say thank you for adding the cookie recipe in as well as my details.  Thanks so much.  I kind of forgot that I send you that info so it was a real surprise…oh and when Holly saw it she was so excited that not only was her favourite recipe in a magazine by her mum but that her name was mentioned too….she’s famous now!

You can read her recipe in Issue 14 of the Business Mums Magazine. If you would like to submit a recipe, send it to magazine@businessmums.com

Do you have a business plan? How do you plan? Please share your thoughts with us.

You can fill in our survey here, or share your thoughts on planning by posting a comment.

Last year we had a fantastic 5th birthday party for Zac with Heather from Kids Music Company. Zac was given a copy of their Song Box CD as a gift.

This is a great CD for kids. It contains 12 original songs that will get kids dancing around the lounge room. They also have an educational element to them, which includes things such as counting and colours.

This CD would make a fantastic gift for any preschooler, and is also a sanity saver for business mums as both Mum and preschooler can get some exercise together.

Zac has recently turned 5, however when he was 4 he loved a particular Thomas the Tank Engine DVD, one with a game on it. (Aparently now that he’s 5, he doesn’t like Thomas any more….) Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is a quote from when he was 4 and playing his game:

When I crash, I start again!

It’s funny how comments from the kids can be so profound. As a business mum, there are times when I crash - usually when I’m trying to do too much! And every time I do, I need to start again…

We have just come back from a fantastic holiday in the Grampians, and are about to enjoy another camp next week. The lead up to Christmas was busy and stressful - add in a couple of birthdays and it’s a recipe for crashing. So, I’m starting 2009 with a clear head and fresh outlook.

So, when you crash, just start again!