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SPRING NEWS 2008
- 10 Tips to Help you Avoid Bad Debt by Rita Adams, ARM Credit Control
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Aparna Jain's Marketing Tips
Here are some of Aparna Jain's* Top Marketing Tips for fellow Women in Business:
• Be clear about what your business is and what it does.
• Be able to explain your business in simple and easy to understand English.
• Know and identify your customer. Research the market you are entering before launching.
• Have a clear and practical marketing plan.
• Customize your product/service so you are special and unique.
• Keep an open eye on your finances. Keep your cost to minimum to begin with.
• Use all the free help available and find a mentor.
*Aparna Jain is a post-graduate in MBA marketing and started her website design company in 2004 with her partner who lives and breathes IT technology. Aparna has a passion for creative work on the Internet and her company can offer a perfect mix of front office (marketing) and back office (technical) expertise to help and advise companies on the best route to internet marketing.
She can be contacted at Amulet Creations Limited, E-mail: aparna@amulet-creations.com Web: www.amulet-creations.com
Top Tips for a Stress-Free Christmas Season
Doesn't time just seem to be speeding up at this time of year?! Some of us are experiencing the busiest time of year in our business as well as our social lives, and there is just so much to fit in.
We've probably all heard of the TV series "Grumpy Old Men", but did you happen to catch the "Grumpy Old Women" special about Christmas? In a wonderfully light hearted yet honest way it really captured the pressure women are under at Christmas time.
Are you are one of those women who feel a bit grumpy at this time of year due to a heavy workload? Pressure, heavy demands on your time and the need to juggle different commitments can take its toll on your physical or mental wellbeing! If you think you may be affected by this then the following tips for a a more relaxed festive season may well be for you!
Tip 1: Make a plan!
Whether you are affected by extreme ‘busyness’ or not in the run up to Christmas, you could do worse than taking an hour out of your busy schedule to reassess your priorities, make a list, and plan all your business and social activities! Allocating times and days for the most important tasks will prevent last minute panic and that feeling of overwhelm that many women experience when they juggle work or their own business with lots of other commitments.
Tip
2: Delegate... say
NO ... and let go!
Once you know your priorities, identify what you can let go or at least put on hold for a few weeks! Alternatively, could you delegate more? Have you ever considered what your time is worth? It may not be realistic or cost effective for you to fit in all the extra tasks and expect that somehow there will be time for it all!
Try and practice saying say NO to people and tasks that add to your pressure. This may be the most difficult thing of all but why not try and start with little things? It is much healthier than saying yes to something you don't actually have time for. You give out mixed messages by saying YES, and you may end up feeling resentful and stressed, which may in turn stress the person who is relying on you to do the job and deliver on time.
Tip 3: Include some ME time in your plan!
The festive season may be a time for giving, but women tend to give their all to business, family and home before they consider giving some time to themselves. What would help you recharge your batteries, a beauty treatment or a massage? Or just the occasional relaxing evening, enjoying a luxurious bath, your favourite music, a glass of fine wine or a good book?
Whatever it may be, book some ME time in your diary, brief your partner or children and try to say NO to the phone. Since everything you do takes up energy, this is your chance to 'replenish'!
And
a bonus tip: Try
to manage your expectations of Christmas.
The media can make us believe that with the right amount of preparation Christmas can be perfect: a romantic festive period during which work parties are always fun, family gatherings go well, people are relaxed, with everyone showing their best side and last but not least .... we also look fantastic throughout!
With
the 'can do' attitude we apply in our businesses, we then strive to be
perfect- a state we are led to believe is the norm. But
however much we would like to see perfection, or have ‘peace on earth’,
in our hearts and all around us at this special time of year, the reality
can look quite different!
Relationships that have been under pressure the rest of the year won’t necessarily be at their best at Christmas time. Loneliness, stress, illness, overtiredness and overindulgence all add to stress levels and can lead to tears!
Having realistic expectations of the festive season and all it entails may help you make the best of it. Managing both your expectations and your time will help you feel more relaxed in your business and your personal life, and that 'grumpy old woman' at Christmas time may become a thing of the past....
©2006 Ute Wieczorek-King, www.uwkcoaching.co.uk ute@uwk.biz
Personal
development is easier than eating an elephant!
When was the
last time you updated your business skills? What do you really want to
improve? How can you do that? What stops you from enjoying work?
Well here we are, about to move into the sixth month of the year …
yes, half way through the year …you mean you hadn’t noticed? So take
a moment to look out your business plan for the year 2006. Are you on
track? Are you achieving those SMART objectives you set yourself earlier
this year? You are - great! You’re not – don’t panic you’ve got
another six months left to make it happen.
How much investment have you made in the business? How much investment
have you made in you? You are after all one of the company’s key
resources, if not the key resource? Sometimes taking the time to invest
in ourselves can be a big task to tackle - as big as - an elephant! As
my friend used to say you couldn’t eat an elephant all in one go –
you have to break it down into digestible chunks, so let’s start
chunking down …
2. On a separate
list, write down all your ‘areas for development’ i.e. areas that
you would like to improve upon. Some cynics may see these as
‘weaknesses’. What does this say about attitude … yours and
theirs?
3. Look at the list and ask yourself the question, ‘If I could only
choose one area to work on over the next 6 months, what would it be and
what difference would it make to me and my work / business right now?’
Write it down. Highlight it with your favourite highlighter pen – mine
is pink!
4. Commit to yourself that you are going to work on that particular area
of development over the next 6 months, (less if it is achievable in your
timeframe).
5. Plan how you are going to do it – attend a short course, one to one
coaching, speak to someone who has expertise in this area, join a local
club that will help you acquire the necessary skill.
6. Tell someone you are going to do it … feel free to contact me if
you need someone to keep you on track … you can be guaranteed that I
will check on progress! E mail mary@fraserhr.co.uk
7. DO IT!
8. Make a note of all the additional benefits you are acquiring whilst
developing this new skill – e.g. meeting new people, networking
opportunities, access to information you didn’t know was there, a
great wee pub where you and fellow students meet up to exchange new
information (emm...is the last one a benefit?)
9. Review your progress at the end of the 6 months – this date is best
highlighted in your diary so that it is not overlooked.
10. Reward yourself upon the successful completion of your newly
acquired area of development. Well done! Wasn’t that much easier than
eating an elephant?
When the axe falls … and opportunity knocks!(copyright 2006 Mary Fraser)
At the weekend I caught up with a good friend of mine who is about to become redundant … not necessarily her … her job!
Many of us have been there at some point in our working lives and it can be a trying and testing time with lots of questions – How will I cope? What will I do, I’ve worked there for years? How am I going to get another job? Where do I start? How do I put together a CV?
The news may be received in
different ways, depending on individual circumstances – good news or
bad news. However it is in the managing of such news that we can make a
difference to how we move forward.
As an HR person, I have been able to see and experience both sides –
being made redundant myself and having to manage redundancies in various
organisations.
So what tips and advice would I give to someone in this position?
1. Allow yourself the time to come to terms with all the emotions
attached to this ‘work/life’ experience. Share these with someone
who is impartial – e.g. a coach or a mentor
2. Talk about what you want to do to move forward. Perhaps this is the
opportunity for you to try something new, something different? This
enforced ‘change’ may provide such opportunities. Ask yourself about
all potential opportunities – what do I really want to do now? What
would happen if I did? What would happen if I didn’t?
3. Re-assess your skill set. What do you do really well? What would you
like to do better? What do you really enjoy about a job? What really
matters to you? What is important in your working life? What makes you
happy?
4. Taking stock during this time can be very rewarding so don’t
dismiss it lightly! True you may discover a little more about you and
what makes you tick …is that such a bad thing.
5. When you decide which direction you wish to travel, write it down,
detailing how you are going to get there, what it will look like when
you’re there. It may be useful to add names of people you wish to ask
for help. Keep this ‘roadmap’ at hand so that you stay on track!
Review regularly.
6. There is a wealth of information out there on updating your CV,
brushing up your interview skills, take the time to check this out.
Unprepared job applicants are spotted very quickly at interview panels!
7. Don’t be put off by attending several interviews before being
offered ‘your ideal job’ … see this as an opportunity to try out
your newly polished interview skills. Learn from the feedback and use it
constructively.