Business Mum's Journal Edition 8: Theo by MumsClub.co.uk

the

Business

MUM’S JOURNAL

Central Edition

Supported by mothercare

Issue No.008

www.businessmumsjournal.com

FREE! HOW-TO Win awards and what they can do for your business

An interview with

THEO PAPHITIS

AWARD WINNERS The 4th annual award winners are announced

THE APPRENTICE TO MUM! Claire Young shares her story of becoming a mum for the first time

6 1

OF THE BEST

Essential Business Services

WIN! £50 to spend at Dorothy and Theodore! Page 18

THE AWARD WINNING SPECIAL EDITION1

Editor: Jane Hopkins Advertising & Editorial: admin@mumsclub.co.uk Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause. Neither the editor, nor The Business Mum’s Journal officially endorses any advertising material included within this publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission of the publisher.

Hello and Welcome! As we leave spring behind and head into summer, it’s a great time to think about the autumn term... And what the kids going back to school means to us. Having the summer holidays can be a challenge at times, I know from our online community that there are some of our mums who plan their year so well that they’re able to take the whole of the summer off, all but answering a few emails. Ladies I salute you all! It’s not always easy to do that though so don’t forget support is always available—the community is open 24 hours a day... So 2012 has been a busy year for us so far, it started with the rather humbling news for myself; I was made MBE in the New Year’s Honours list, for services to entrepreneurship. It was a huge surprise and I was thrilled and honoured and completely taken aback by the whole experience. Meeting her majesty the Queen was truly was an amazing experience for me and my family. You can read about it in my blog ;) But it’s also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics - what an amazing year! If you remember the fabulous Business and Baby Show last year, we have exciting new developments! We have collaborated with Clarion to produce a new Enterprise Zone at The Baby Shows. The Baby Shows are the biggest baby exhibitions in the UK and we are thrilled to be working alongside them to produce a business feature that will continue to provide valuable information right at the point of when a new mum needs to know her options. I’ll be at the shows so please do pop along to say hello. We even have some fabulous opportunities for mums to exhibit with us too. In the meantime please do join our mailing list to keep up to date with ‘mumpreneur’ activities across the UK. And as ever, you can keep in touch with all of us at MumsClub; via the forums, on twitter and facebook! Take care, wishing you every business success Jane Jane Hopkins MBE, founder of the mumsclub group www.mumsclub.co.uk @mumsclub | www.facebook.com/mumsclub

CONTENTS

06-07. Interview: Theo Paphitis;

Dragon & # SBS creator 12

Self Nominating Do you or don’t you?

14-15. Six of the best...

Essential Business Services 16-17. The 2011 Award Winners

The 4th annual winners are announced

How winning awards can help your business

20-21. From The Apprentice to Mum:

Claire Young tells us her story 22-23. Small business challenges 26-27. How to:

Win a business award 28-29. What makes a business stand

out?

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An Interview with: Theo Paphitis

“We got our #sbs win in May 2011 and as a relatively new business, it really was a platform to a wider audience for us. It has opened doors to new contacts and recognised brand names and for that we will always be grateful!” @LittleLilyPadCo

Theo Paphitis is known as the straight talking and approachable Dragon from the BBC hit TV series, Dragon’s Den, he has also built a reputation of being able to turn failing companies into highly profitable businesses and he is a mentor to many businesses. But if you haven’t yet made your way to the twittersphere you may not know how supportive he is of smaller businesses. Thanks to Theo, Sunday evenings are now known to many tweeters as “small business Sunday”. Our very own Jane Hopkins MBE, spoke to the man himself to tell us all about it... So Theo, how did your SBS come about? And what effect did you expect it to have? To be honest with you, I’ve not always run big businesses; I started off as what I like to call one man and a dog. I used to plan everything I did on a Sunday night; I would never go to the office on a Monday thinking “what am I going to do this week”, I wanted to hit the ground running, I wanted an advantage over everyone else and for me, Sunday night after the kids were in bed, it all went quite, and I’ll be honest there was a glass of wine poured out! And in those days we didn’t have a study so I’d go into the dining room, leave Mrs P in front

of the telly and I would just have a planning session. It would be about what I was going to do in the next week to get new customers and grow my business and what my achievements were going to be. When I started tweeting I noticed that small business owners were tweeting me, one of the things they talked about was getting exposure. When you’re trading from your back bedroom or dining room, you want business; you’re looking for customers, and it reminded me of those days sitting in my dining room and I wondered what I could do to help.

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And I thought I’ve got all these thousands of followers what would be great is, and remember I can’t endorse the businesses on SBS because I don’t know enough about them, but what I can do is give them exposure. And if they waste it and don’t use it; that’s down to them but if they want to use it and capitalise on the name that I’ve been very fortunate to build up and my contacts and leverage that out for their business then why shouldn’t I allow them to do it? I wish I’d had someone to leverage me up back in my day. It was a bit of a gamble because it could backfire but you have to trust people. And has it?!

An Interview with: Theo Paphitis No! The result has been superb. The first thing the winners do is tweet about it and some send out a press release but many have never sent a press release in their life. So we support the winners by helping them to write a press release. The local papers they don’t always want to write stories about cats getting stuck up trees so what a great option to give a journalist – a local business being picked out of thousands – it’s nice exposure; a nice warm story. Get your name in the press, new customers, new contacts. And from then onwards it’s down to how hard you work. So how does it help? It’s giving small businesses a boost early on, when you’re sat in your back bedroom or dining room thinking you’re on your own, nobody to talk to, you wonder if you’re doing the right thing; should you give up? It’s not happening; I’m working hard so why isn’t it happening? And it gets to the stage when you think should you go and get a job somewhere? But you can’t because you have a family to take care of so can’t actually go and get a 9-5 job. So sometimes a word of encouragement is all you need to give you that extra spurt to move forward.

Perseverance, determination, the will to be successful; to provide for my wife & family, and my own self esteem. Self esteem? That’s usually what women say to me. Well, I’ve had to overcome a lot of difficulties, and my self esteem was rock bottom. You might look at me now with all the confidence in the world, but I promise you it was never always like that. Being dyslexic and basically not being able to write or spell, made me feel down at the bottom of the pecking order. But achievement raises that; gives you a confidence to take yourself forward, to seek help, to talk to people, to better yourself. So that’s why I started SBS. And at first I got 50 tweets, I sat at the kitchen table going through them with Mrs P, picked 6 tweets out, wrote them down, tweeted them out and that’s it. Took half an hour and we made 6 peoples day! So you do it all yourself? Yes at first, definitely but it has grown and I have to say that it has become so big that now that to get it out I have drafted in help. But no tweet goes out without me. I am given a shortlist based on what I am looking for in the winners, then I go through them, look at their websites and if they haven’t got a good website I will normally push them to the back of the queue. But I go to the website, see if I can understand what they’re doing, whether I think my tweet will be helpful to them and whether what they do will be of interest. I’m also looking for something quirky and interesting about them, and then I’ll tweet it. Did you ever expect it to get as big Have you had those feelings of as it has? Not really, it picked up a life of its wanting to give up? own. Down in the office, we talked Oh yes, lots of times. about having an event, the chief How did you overcome that?

executive of Ryman kindly offered to sponsor the event and with a bit of help we have got the show on the road. The SBS has turned into a little club now, so I’ll be meeting everybody, we’ll have a sarnie and a glass of pop, saying a few words

Ally Atkins aka @tubsbabyshower about what it is, how it should be used, the benefits of SBS and I will be unveiling a brand spanking new shiny SBS website, as built by an SBS winner. And do you know what’s so great about it all? I’ve made so many friends doing this and although I’ve got sponsorship to pay for the venue, everything else has been done by SBS winners, and it’s been brilliant. We’ve kept it under wraps so you’re the first to hear about it. So tell us more about the website The website is a membership site for the SBS winners, it has all the tools they will need to help them such as writing press releases so if you do win, a press release will be available immediately. So if you are an SBS winner you will have your own area on the website that you can populate with your business details. SEO-wise every business on there is a link so all the businesses will link to each other, plus both Ryman and I will link to them too. So as far as google is concerned, your website will appear popular and therefore will rank you higher in the search engine results. Therefore giving the winners some extra momentum from search engine optimisation.

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Cover Feature: Theo Paphitis I’m very proud to say that many of our members have won... I know! There are so many of the girls who have won, and I get complaints from the boys! It’s just that so many of the girls are trying to balance a family and run a business, but the worst thing is that they end up very much alone trying to do it, which is what’s great about what you guys do. Sometimes I’ve seen a disturbed tweet from someone who’s struggling and I’ve sent a few words of encouragement back and I can’t believe how excited they get from tweet that was at first despairing and I think wow look at her now, she’s really excited and wish I could do that for everyone. It’s all about promoting yourself so if you win, yes there will be business

advice and nuggets of information but SBS is about promoting yourself and stop being shy about your business. We all have a problem in shouting about ourselves, but I’m trying to overcome that so more small businesses are not shy about promoting themselves, and become more positive about promoting their business. Where it goes from there, I can’t say but its then down to them, but I intend to give them a good start. #ends# Questions from our members (aka Theo fans) Is Mrs P entrepreneurial at all? No! Absolutely not, she has no interest whatsoever. When we first met and got married, her ambition was to be a mum, and send me out to

Tips to win #SBS What to do... • Tweet about your business in 140 characters or less, directed to @TheoPaphitis, adding the hashtag #SBS. • Tweet on a Sunday between 5.00-7.30 PM. • Use humour and topicality if it feels natural to you. • Feel free to add a link or web address in your tweet. • Having a website increases your chances of being noticed. • Ensure your profile sells your business and has a link to your website. Include a colourful graphic. • It helps to know the names behind the business. #SBS is for small businesses. The personal touch is liked. • Just tweet once in each weekly time slot. • Look out for the re-tweets. • If you are not chosen, don't despair and try again!

What not to do.. • Tweet repeatedly in the hope you are seen. • Get another to tweet on your behalf or recommend you or re-tweet in the time frame ..it does not help. • Forget the importance of your own website. If it is not yet functioning, it is of little interest to others. • Nag or whinge if you don't get a re-tweet - it's not a good look!

• If you have won before, don't try a second time! You are stealing an

Michelle Wall aka @shellibobbins work in a clean shirt looking presentable and don’t come home until you bring the bacon in! And that’s how the partnership has worked. There are difficulties in relationships where you have the same skill sets, I think the best relationships work when you share complimentary skills, and ours are very different which makes it work. In decades to come, how would you like to be best remembered? To be honest, you come into this world with nothing, you leave with nothing and there are people far more worthy than I who deserve to be remembered. And unfortunately they don’t always get remembered. But if I had to say something I would like to be remembered for what I am doing now and use the time I’ve got on this planet now that are valuable. Life is short and I get frustrated with people treading water waiting to get old & die. We’re on this planet for such a short period that you should fill every single day with everything you can and touch as many people as possible, and then the lights will go out. But they’ll go out with you smiling and that’s the most important thing.

You can follow Theo on Twitter @theopaphitis and visit the new #sbs website www.theopaphitissbs.com

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Business Awards; nominating yourself... Do you? Or Don’t you?

Have you ever considered nominating yourself for an award and then decided against it as you thought it wasn’t the right thing to do? Well it may surprise you to know that many people do actually nominate themselves. It could be because they daren’t ask anyone else to nominate them or they are scared no one else will. Whatever their reasons people do actually do it. Here are some opinions on why it is ok to nominate yourself for an award.

and win.” Caroline Sparks of Turtle Tots has a similar opinion, “Sometimes it's necessary to nominate yourself - You, more than anyone, know what's involved in your business. And why not? The ability to self-promote is a key skill for any entrepreneur!”

be afraid to ask other people to nominate you. Ask them in such a way that it doesn't put them on the spot - I suggest sending an email to people you have worked closely with, telling them about the awards and asking whether they would nominate you. They will have a fresh perspective on what your strengths are and you will give the judges a more wellrounded perspective on your business from a variety of different angles.”

Jenny McLaughlan of Gumigem also reinforces this point, “Yes... no one knows you better than yourself, no one else knows the hours and work you put in... so who better to tell people than Helen Cousins of Accent Print shared, "Certainly - you've got to Kez Luckett from Mummys Maid you!” told us, “I think it is ok to Jo from Bookings for You tells us, be in it to win it! Even being nominate yourself for an award, “Yes - if you're running a business shortlisted helps gain recognition because you know your business on your own, if you don't take and endorses what you have inside and out but do feel that it the initiative to nominate achieved." is better if you have been yourself, there is a danger that no So it seems that as long as you nominated by someone else as one else will. Others may simply are nominated, it really doesn’t the person nominating will be not be aware of the awards. You matter whether it was by you or looking at your business with need to ensure that you take the someone else, the main point is fresh eyes and will have their initiative to get the recognition that you were, and you’re in with own personal reasons as to why that you deserve. However, don't a chance of winning! Go for it :) they think you should be entered 12

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Business Mum Award winners

The Business Mum awards were launched back in 2008 and have continued to grow year on year. We pride ourselves on recognising and rewarding those women who have started businesses and achieved success in a short space of time. Past winners have gone on to great success including the ultimate goal for many, in having their products stocked in high street stores and even more exciting in overseas. We are now proud to announce the winners of the 4th annual Business Mum Awards, in association with My Family Club. As the original mumpreneur award creators, we continue to tweak and for 2011, as well as the old favourites, the efforts of one particular high profile entrepreneurial mum lead us to create a new category... From over 300 nominations for the 5 main categories, these where then whittled down to 100 shortlisted, leaving the judges a hard job to choose the top 4 for each category and then the winners from those. But they managed it and here are the winners of the 4th Annual Business Mum Awards 2011: 16

The Impact Award

The Innovator Award

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Who is a new business who promises to be one to watch in the coming years?

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Fiona Wood Naturally Cool Kids

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Business Mum Award winners Advocate Award Sponsored by YourLittleMonkey

Who is quite simply; a distinguished supporter of other mums in business

Suzanne Dibble Lawyers 4 Mumpreneurs

Resilience Award Sponsored by MyFamilyClub

Business Mum of the Year Sponsored by SnoozeShade

Who has excelled in all areas, is supportive, inspirational, AND running a superb business...

Wildcard Award Sponsored by MumsClub

Who may not have met all winning criteria yet stood out as a winner

Elaine Lamb Little Sheep Learning Tracey-Jane Hughes Bras 4 Mums Nominate for 2012:

Who has overcome the odds to create an award winning business

Personality Business Mum of the Year Sponsored by MumsClub

A high profile business woman, with a certain twitter hashtag was nominated, and a new category was born...

Jenny McLaughlan Laughing Lamb Creations

Jacqueline Gold Ann Summers and her #WOW on twitter.

THANK YOU! To everybody who took the time to enter or nominate another, it is very much appreciated. Thank you also to our judges; both past award winners and our headline sponsor for two consecutive years; My Family Club. You can now nominate yourself or another mum for the 2012 awards; Go to www.businessmumawards.com to enter. Good luck! 17

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How can awards help your business? You may be wondering what actually winning an award will do for your business. It can have a massive impact upon your self-esteem and make you feel recognised and appreciated but will it actually make any difference to your business? We asked a selection of business mums what they had found had happened to their business after winning awards and how it had helped. Rachel Jones of Fit N Fun Kids said, “Winning regional and national awards has promoted Fit 'N' Fun Kids both nationally and regionally as high quality childcare providers who value their team, listen to their customers and show they are leaders in their industry. It has also helped promotion of myself as a successful women in business and has given me a platform to promote myself, my business, working mums, as well as giving me opportunities to challenge government on change to help make childcare more affordable for families.” Raising a business’s profile is a way to achieve goals you have set for both your business and personally and this can be helped greatly by winning an award. Helen Cousins of Accent Print said, "Winning awards has raised the profile of my company and given us credibility with major retailers." Credibility is an important factor especially if you are competing in a highly competitive market. It is what could give you the edge of your competitors. You may also find that just by being nominated for an award could have an impact upon your business. Karen Holden of A City Law Firm tells us, “Being nominated and then short listed has helped boost the staff's morale and clients have commented on this so all in all it has boosted the firm's goodwill and

reputation amongst clients and web visitors but more importantly helped my team feel appreciated.” Seeing that others have noticed what an excellent service you provide and how dedicated you are to your business can be as much a reward as winning! Jo at Bookings for You said, “Besides the obvious publicity that being nominated for an award generates, just being nominated for an award gives any new clients trust in the service I offer to them. It offers an extra 'seal of approval ' on what I do.” It goes to show that even an award nomination can emphasise how good your service or product is and give it that added authentication to attract new customers. Caroline Sparks from Turtle Tots reinforces this opinion, “Being shortlisted for two MumsClub awards and a finalist for the MumsClub Impact award has increased the credibility of our Turtle Tots brand, making it even more attractive to potential licences’. It's something we are very proud of.” Simply receiving a nomination and also being a finalist can add another level to a business and has a great impact on the growth of your business. So not only winning awards has a big impact on your business, simply being nominated or even shortlisted can add credibility, give a feeling of worth and improve moral for everyone in the business.

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My story: Claire Young, The Apprentice to Mum

From Lord Sugar’s Apprentice “Rottweiler” to

Dynamic Mum Claire Young shares her story so far... As a busy entrepreneur and nicknamed a ‘Rottweiler’ by Lord Sugar during her apprentice days, Claire Young is often perceived as a tough, ruthless and focussed business woman. However, she is also 32, a young woman and constantly striving for better worklife balance. Claire‘s first baby is due this summer so we asked her to share her initial thoughts on how the transition from established business woman to a first time mum will effect her.

Part one: BABY PRE-BIRTH

Knowing all of this I suppose it is understandable how most people were in complete shock, and disbelief, at my pregnancy news. Even I was in a state of denial until approx. 20 weeks, only when physical evidence of the main event started to expand producing lumps and bumps in new places did I accept things were changing. Ironically for someone who lives to a strict diary, the thing is my pregnancy was not planned, I felt a little tired, maybe run down, flu approaching, never did I think I had a new person on board!

myself to ‘body hijack’ whilst growing Baby Young enjoys the spa like facilities and constant room service. The first 4 months was like being hit by a train. Constant sickness, a collapsed pelvis and a trapped nerve forcing me into hospital. Being sick in office bins, supermarket carrier bags and out of the car has not been my finest hour! Despite all of this I’ve only had two days cancelled of external work. When you have to do things through sheer determination, grit and will power you do it!

Please show me any business owner during the recession who isn’t working around the clock to keep their venture thriving! It’s often commented that I’ve done well for a relatively young age and asked for my magic answer. I’m afraid there isn’t one apart from the fact that I work incredibly hard, take calculated risks, like pushing myself and am military organised with my diary & time. Friends do joke that they have to be ‘scheduled in’, I am glued to a blackberry and my racking up of air and train miles with my extensive travel makes As a self-confessed control freak I Now I’m past the halfway mark think the hardest thing I’ve found my mind is very much focussed them feel queasy. with pregnancy is surrendering on my June arrival and making 20

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My story: Claire Young, The Apprentice to Mum plans to ensure things run smoothly. The first question I am asked by most when they see my bump is ‘What is going to happen to your business’ as if by having a baby the working world is about to end! School Speakers will continue to function. I am slowly down my personal diary with limited travel during June, July and August and relocating an office to home. Nowadays with technology you can work anywhere, anytime so I plan to be tapping away whilst my new-born sleeps. I am incredibly lucky to have a brilliant support network in the form of super mum aka Grandma Young and a wonderful personal assistant Emily. I am constantly offered words of wisdom from experienced Mums. I listen and take on board their comments, yet also appreciate we’re all different. Throughout my career I’ve set my own benchmark and I plan to do the same for motherhood. I zone out

of any negativity, scare stories or general moaning. Call me naïve but PMA has got me to where I am today so it’s clearly doing something OK for me. I enjoy the satisfaction and stimulation I gain from running my business and I’m desperate to keep my brain active. I am also desperate to keep my identity as a professional. I am not a typical goo-ga-ga kind of person and will not be spending hours decorating a nursery or debating which bunting to buy. The idea of baby singing classes feels me with terror! I find conversations about nappies, milk and vomit very boring. It’s safe to say you will not see me as part of the Yummy Mummy coffee morning club attended back to back baby classes. I intend to be a very modern, independent Mummy. I believe business and babies do mix, you can have it all with a little compromise and a lot of hard work!

Claire’s new website www.dynamicmum.com will follow Claire's new business life with baby in tow and we look forward to hearing more after her Baby Young makes an appearance! Part two: BABY POST-BIRTH will be featured soon.

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Feature: Small business challenges

What challenges

do small businesses face? Setting up a business and working for you is a dream for most people. Being able to do something which you love and pick and choose when and where you work sounds like the ideal solution to the stresses of juggling a job and a family, but this is not always the case. Starting your own business can be one of the most stressful things you do. But it can also be one of the most rewarding things too but before you start you need to remove those rose tinted glasses and realise there are going to be obstacles in the way as nothing ever runs smoothly.

distributor collapsed owing us £30,000. Thankfully I was able to sell shares to people who believed in my vision. Their support was invaluable both emotionally and financially." Finding ways to balance your cash flow issues even if they are not your fault is what will help your business succeed.

The work life balance Another challenge a lot of women face when starting a business around their family is juggling their work/life balance. It is easy to devote so much time to

Cash Flow is King One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is cash flow. This is a major reason why a lot of small businesses don’t make it past their first birthday. Keeping on top of your cash flow is important, Helen Cousins of Accent Print said, "Without doubt cash flow has been our biggest hurdle, especially when a major 22

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your new business and neglect the reason you probably started it in the first place, to be around to spend quality time with your family. Jo from Bookings for You had the same worries, “The biggest challenge for me to date has been ensuring that I have managed to successfully launch and grow a business without it encroaching on the family. Having had the luxury of being able to spend nearly 5 years as a 'stay at home mum' it was vital to me that I managed the business around the children and didn't 'eat into' the family time that is so important to me. I was careful in choosing a business idea that would allow me to do this having an online business gives me this flexibility and allows me to change my work pattern during school holidays.”

Jo from Bookings For You; “The biggest challenge for me to date has been ensuring that I have managed to successfully launch and grow a business without it encroaching on the family.”

Feature: Small business challenges Also on these same lines, a new addition to the family can be a challenge even without the added stresses of running your own business. Alexander Atkins of the Ultimate Baby Shower company told us, “The biggest challenge was when my second daughter was born and trying to find the time to run the business whilst managing a toddler and a new-born. It was so tough that I shut the website down for 6 months because I couldn’t cope. Thankfully I had the resilience to switch it back on again once I’d mastered the new routines although it mainly meant working evenings when my oldest daughter was asleep.” Finding a solution can seem out of sight for a start but sometimes if you take a step back and some time to think, you will come up with something that can work and solve the challenge.

Creating a niche Starting a business in a niche that is quite new can be a challenge in itself but also having to contend with people saying it won’t work can cause two responses. You can either admit it won’t work and look for something else or do what Kathleen Redmond of Slugs and Snails did. Kathleen told us her biggest challenge has been, “Striving to build a business that people often chuckled at. It was very hard at first to admit I own a 23

"boy’s tights" company and when it was just an ambition I didn't know just how much support I would receive. I think the secret is if you as a parent need/want or would use an idea you have then you can safely assume many other parents would too.”

Technology We are so reliant on technology nowadays that when things go wrong it can cause major problems. Sally Hall of Dorothy

and Theodore shared with us a technological challenge they encountered, “Our website went down for over 48 hours due to a problem with our server. This coincided with a significant marketing campaign we had invested in. Our efforts to build strong, personable relationships with other companies were rewarded when they supported us and helped spread the word and reassurance to our customers that this was purely a temporary hitch.” This point also shows the importance of building strong relationships with other businesses to help when things don’t always go to plan.

Defining Roles Finding your role in your business can be quite challenging too. This can become more apparent when you start to employ people, as you are not only the business owner; you have a variety of other roles within the business you have to take on, unless you can outsource some of these jobs. Kathleen Holden of A City Law Firm said, “Many businesses face problems from cash flow to poor staff to the recession and we faced it all but we have continued to grow and develop because of a strong team. Biggest challenge is keeping on top as a business owner as being a small firm I am HR, Lawyer, Office Manager, IT engineer , head of marketing and counsellor - it’s a hard act to follow”

Confidence The one aspect that came up time and time again was whether we believe that we can actually do it. Believing in ourselves and knowing that we can achieve our goals seems to be the one that holds many women back. So learn to trust yourself and your ability. So, before you decide to start your own business, take heed and if you are aware of the challenges that could be ahead, your business is more likely to succeed.

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How to win awards for your business

Winning awards ...top tips from those who know. Awards are a superb way to earn valuable media attention for your business, there are lots for you to enter so what’s stopping you? We spoke to some past award winners to see how they did it.

You may be wondering why you would want to enter awards. Like others before you, you may well be assuming there’s little chance you will win, and guess what? You’re right if you don’t even try! Through not entering awards, you are starving your business of not only the recognition for all the hard work you put in and the excellent service you provide to your clients or customers, but also excellent publicity opportunities and the chance to brag about what you do and how it is different from your competitors. No matter what size the awards you are applying for, an award is an award, and the recognition and publicity they can bring will improve your businesses exposure and most probably 26

increase the interest in your business from potential customers. Jenny McLaughlan of Gumigem, winner of the Resilience award at the Business Mums Awards 2011, offers these words of advice on how to win awards, “you’ve just got to try...enter everything, be honest, be yourself”. This is true, the more awards you enter, the less daunting they will seem and you will in turn find it easier to promote your business. Rachel Jones of Fun N Fit Kids has a similar view on how to win awards, “It’s important to tell the judges your story, what is unique, what is inspirational about your story, your business?” Your uniqueness is what separates you from your competition and is what will

BusinessMumsJournal.com - Be your own Boss

make you stand out when entering awards. Kez Luckett of Mummys Maid has some great points on how to win awards:

• Apply for an award, you have to be in it to win it as they say • Choose business awards which are relevant to you and your company. • Try to keep a clear idea of what your businesses USP ( unique Selling Point) is, what makes you stand out from the crowd and build your application around that • Review your business in depth especially if you have not done it for a while. Assess where your business is currently, where you want to take it and how you aim to achieve that within set timelines. •

Ensure you keep within the 26

How to win awards for your business amount of words asked for when writing your application.

• Include all the information they have asked for • Do your research; understand who your judges are and what their interests are. Check and double check for spelling errors, your application should be perfect. Your application is the first thing that the judges will see; this is how they will get a feel about you and your business so you need to make a great first impression. Having typos and not writing what they are expecting in the application may make them think that you are not serious about your business or not really bothered about winning. Making a strong first impression is essential to even be considered for shortlisting let alone winning an award. Also ensure you have read any notes that accompany the application as this will tell you everything that the judges are looking for and the format in which the application needs to be completed. Kathleen Redmond of Slugs and Snails say’s “Have a product/ service that is unique or from an alternative angle that grabs attention. Utilize social media because mummy bloggers are an amazing source of support and 27

recognition and not forgetting they are also your target market/ audience so their opinion really counts.” Social media is a great way of getting support if you require voting or nominating for an award. Blogging and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways to generate interest and support for your application as well as letting other businesses know about awards they can enter and how to help you gain votes. On a similar note, Alexandra Atkins of The Ultimate Baby Shower tells us, “The best way to win awards is to get yourself known to the public on a personal level rather than hiding behind a business. These days people love the personal aspect so get yourself on as many social media networks as possible, especially Twitter and Facebook and start getting to know your customers.” Another reason to enter and win awards is to progress with new ideas within your business. Karen Holden of A City Law Firm says, “To be honest this has not been something the firm has focused on; it has been more about pleasing our clients to get repeat business. However, since we have been fortunate to be nominated recently for three we have realised that we have taken

pioneering steps in various issues so we feel striving for this recognition will now enable us to attract the right kind of interest to further help our promotion of developing laws. So we will continue to be proactive and unique where we can.” By being nominated and winning awards you are able to see that your business is achieving what it has set out to do and can help show how to move forwards. So apart from the recognition of winning an award and the publicity that it can give you, there are a lot of other reasons why winning an award can help both you and your business. Opportunities such as speaking at events and being seen as an expert in your niche can also come hand in hand with award wins, giving a new dimension to your business and providing another platform to attract new customers and push your business forward in the future. www.businessmumawards.com

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What makes a business stand out from the crowd?

What makes a business stand out from the crowd

Caroline and Gaby of Turtle Tots

(and get nominated for an award?) There must be some secret as to why some businesses are always up for awards and others aren’t. Maybe it is because they all nominate themselves as they know they are that good or may be it is because they are that outstanding compared to their competitors they are always going to be nominated or even win. We asked some of our lovely members to give their opinion on why they thought their business was nominated or chosen as a winner.

business from scratch which has met and exceeded many of our expectations and achieved the support and recognition of a large number of other companies, organisations, peers and Charlotte Jamme of Mai Tui said customers. We also have a on being nominated for awards, “I business which offers something a think one of the main reasons bit different and special!” that we have been nominated is that our bags make people’s lives Caroline Sparks of Turtle Tots easier and save people time – and added, “I think Turtle Tots has the everyone wants that don’t they? right product at the right time. They bring order to the chaos of a We have three important USPs women’s handbag thereby which differentiate us from our making their lives more organised competition, and we love and live too. Even if we can save just a few our brand values. minutes time when it comes to We offer the opportunity to run a retrieving items from their family-friendly and flexible handbag, people are grateful for business, and prove that it can be that in today’s hectic world! Add done! Gaby and I both have to this, the fact that our bags can young children, and in fact Gaby be used in so many situations, had her third child in February! from travelling to, shopping, trips The UK is in a recession, and lots to the gym or work, it’s easy to of people are being made see why they are so popular.” redundant - we offer a low-risk Sally Hall of Dorothy and business opportunity for people Theodore told us, “In under 6 who are keen to run their own months of trading we have built a business, but using a proven formula and with lots of support

BusinessMumsJournal.com - Be your own Boss

from people who have "been there and done it". Beth from Little Doers shared why she thinks her business has been shortlisted for awards, “I am tenacious and would suggest that it is because I started a business in what most people would think of as ridiculous circumstances. I am very ill, severely disabled, I have a baby and a 3 year old who has recently been diagnosed as having special needs and yet I still found a way with my husband who is also my carer to start and run a business during a recession.” Sarah Bosley of Occasional Assistants commented on why she felt they were nominated for a MumsClub award, “We were nominated and shortlisted for a MumsClub award despite setting up our business just four months earlier, last November. I believe the fact that our business helps a variety of people was the main reason for us being shortlisted.

What makes a business stand out from the crowd? We provide a perfect solution for mums considering getting back into the work place, without them having to compromise on the job they do or the amount of time they dedicate to their families. With ‘the cost of a nappy a day’ principle, we have ensured we are open and available to everyone. We also help business, in this tough economic climate, by providing ad hoc, freelance workers, which means they do not have the overheads associated with employing full time, permanent staff. The fact that our members all reached very high levels within their chosen professions before they turned freelance ensures the businesses using them get the best possible service.” Faye Hurley of Eden Aromatics said of her MumsClub nomination, “I believe the reason I was probably nominated and shortlisted was because of my passion for helping others overcome the abuse I had suffered, which was the driving force for me to set up Eden

Faye Hurley of Eden Aromatics

Aromatics. I truly believe in turning a negative into a positive, and believe there is great power in that. Eden Aromatics products are used to raise the issue of domestic abuse, signpost women to relevant organisations, and support those organisations financially. Eden will also provide job opportunities for survivors of abuse, as the company grows. In its first few months, Eden gained an award and recognition for its positive social purpose. The products themselves will also help

Top Tips! • Have a product or service that solves a problem. • Offer something unique; something that no other business has offered before, or do it in a different way. • Go that “extra mile” for your customers, make sure your customer service skills are one of your priorities • Believe in yourself and your business. 29

women to feel great about them too, as they contain the benefits of pure essential oils. Love, Joy, Peace, Freedom and Truth are things that every person should have, but unfortunately not all women experience - Eden wants to give them back to those women, but in a beautiful, fun way - through our products and our company.” Finally Jo of Bookings for You added, “I think the award reflects the 'extra mile' that I go in the business, whether it’s the number of hours I put in which has ensured a fast but safe pace of growth, or whether it's the extra mile that I go to ensure I deliver a good service to my clients. I recognise that planning a holiday doesn't fall within office hours so I'm happy to deal with enquiries at 9 o'clock on a Saturday night if I have to!”

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