This is one area I really struggle with. Particularly as I work from home my business is always ‘there’ and I don’t really switch off.  This has very much been the case over the past 6 months as my business has grown the whole “switching off” idea just doesn’t work. 

I have my laptop and my iPhone and it is too easy for me to check my emails and make sure I am not missing anything on Facebook and Twitter.  Even if my laptop is off my iPhone is there.  Sometimes I find myself responding to emails at 11pm on a Friday night and I have even been accused (although not proven) of checking my phone at 3am when I wake up  through the night (ok ok I am obsessed!).

I am also a mother to a very energetic two year old so the balancing act between being a mother, wife and business owner is difficult.  Generally my routine is all based around my son.  I cram as much work in when he is asleep and once again as soon as he is asleep at night. I do this so I can get everything done. And not even that, I love my business and it was I love to do so I don’t really find it work.

But the question is “when do I get ‘me’ time? Or when can I spend sometime with my partner?”

Quite simply I dont!!  And I can’t stand that. As I said I love my business and it is the reason I do what I do. But I do hate that I feel completely exhausted all the time and that I don’t have time to spend with just my husband.

So this is something I am going to work on. I am making it my mission to stop (not every night let’s not get ahead of myself here) but at least two nights during the week to ensure I get ‘me’ time and also to make time for my husband.  So that means no checking emails, no social networks and no checking my iPhone at ridiculous hours of the night.  It is going to be difficult but I am going to do it!

I would love to hear your thoughts at how you manage the whole work/life balance.

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A few years back there was an email saying that if you forwarded it to a certain number of people Microsoft would send you a large amount of money.  I have been using the internet now for over 10 years, and that email has been around for at least that long.  The trick with this one is, if it seems to good to be true, it most likely is! 

The other hoaxes that seem to be doing the rounds at the moment are the ones saying that a child is missing and they are trying to enlist your help in finding them.  The first question you should ask is, why are they sending it by email, and limiting it to the few people who decide to forward it on??  Surely something that important would at least make the papers?  Look at what has happened recently with Madeleine McCann.  Her face was everywhere you went, in the paper, on the news etc.  And she went missing in Portugal.  One of the biggest hoax emails recently was made up by the friends of a girl who thought it would be funny to post their friends picture and say she was missing.   Ashley Flores is missing from both the US, and Western Australia, depending on which email you read.  The trick with identifying these hoaxes is being realistic.  Think about Madeleine McCann’s case.

The most damaging type of hoax email is one that asks you to follow a link and enter your password.  This will then allow the hoaxer access to whatever you have logged in to, most commonly your ebay account or banking.  The easiest way to avoid this is to not click links in emails unless you are absolutely sure of the sender.  I do not know of any organisation that asks for your password details via email.  If you are really concerned go to the website by typing in the address yourself, or contact the organisation through alternate means.  If you have clicked the link, look at the address bar and check for errors.  This is normally the give away, a slight spelling change, or extra characters added can be the clue to knowing if it’s real.

A really simple of way of quickly identifying a hoax, is to type the key phrase, or even just the subject line, into a Google search.  You don’t even need to open the pages, the results will show if they are a hoax.

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Retailers use their physical shopfronts to send an instant message to consumers, telling them about the purpose of the business, its brand and its unique selling proposition (USP). The shopfront has been designed to make targeted customers go in and buy – and a well-designed website does the same. A shopfront is usually the first experience a customer has of a store and what they see in the window will lead to an evaluation of whether they will go inside, or even buy. Your home page is the first online experience consumers will have of your business, and it will be evaluated in the same way.

Shopfronts tell a story that attracts potential customers inside the store, and your website design does the same. If a consumer likes the story they will read on, so to speak. But if they don’t, all it takes is a click and you’ve lost them. Think about a shopfront where you aren’t sure where the store entrance is, or the entrance is obstructed by a table or box, and relate this to your website. If a consumer likes the look of your home page, but it’s not clear where to go to find out more or place an order, it’s unlikely they will persist for too long. They will just find what they want elsewhere.

Consumers are more demanding than ever, and you only have a few seconds to grab their attention with something interesting before they will click on to another site. Creative and innovative designs are appreciated by consumers browsing the Internet. A well-designed website will encourage consumers to spend time on your site, click through to more pages and come back to check for new products and updated content. Your website design might mean the difference between someone choosing your business, or your competitor’s.

Likewise, refreshing your website design by making regular subtle changes can keep consumers interested in your site, instead of becoming bored by seeing the same elements every time they visit. These changes might be alternating graphics, a regular blog or a monthly specials page. Whatever you choose, new content will keep consumers coming back to see the changes. A website that still features the specials from six months ago will reflect very badly on your business, in the same way a shopfront displaying last season’s fashions would.

Your website design is one of the most important opportunities you will ever have to present your business in a way that highlights its difference to Successful retailers use shopfronts in the same way. Think about the Christmas decorations displayed in the David Jones and Myer stores every year – people travel just to see these decorations and the colours, designs and quality of the decorations send a powerful message to consumers about the shopping experience consumers would have, prices they will pay and the service they should expect inside.

So, like the shopfront reflecting the experience consumers will have in a store, website design offers a promise to your consumers about what they can expect from your business. Sloppy, patchy design could equal bad service and second-rate products in the minds of someone who doesn’t know the business well.

Spend a bit of time looking at your website through the eyes of your ideal customer – and be very honest about what you see. Think about how the design flows, how easy the site is to navigate, and the quality of the site content then make the necessary changes. It could make all the difference when it comes to you making the sale, as opposed to your competitors taking the sale by default.

This post was originally published on the 25th August 2009 on the Big Click Studios blog.

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I conducted a survey of business owners on Twitter, asking them what they believe their brand is. They had five answers to choose from:

• My brand is my entire business
• My brand is the way consumers perceive my business through their own knowledge and experience with it
• My brand is my identity – the visual expression of my business, ie. business cards, logo, letterhead, etc.
• My brand is my logo
• My brand is an internal view of what my business is and what it represents

The responses were interesting. 36.8% of those who answered believe their brand is made up of everything about their business and, in close second, 31.6% believe that their brand is an external perception. A fair chunk (18.4%) believed their brand is their identity, 7.9% think their brand is an internal perception of what the business represents, and 5.3% believe their brand is their logo.

While all of these answers are correct in one way or another, the most correct answer is option number two – your brand is the way consumers perceive your business though their own interaction and experience with it.

I was pleased to see a large portion of those who answered chose option number two, however the other answers lead me to believe that the lines between a brand, its identity and its logo are still being blurred. I’d like to take the time to go over the differences between the three.

Brand vs. Identity

In short, a brand is what consumers say it is. It is an external expectation, a perception of a promise of excellence (or in some cases, failure). Your brand is what your customers or clients trust, expect, fall in love with and ultimately buy.

Although particularly external, things your business does internally can have a large impact on your brand. Sending a message of reassurance, stability and consistency through your identity and marketing and performing in a way that supports that message will over time gain trust and respect to form a brand that is perceived as trustworthy, honest and worth buying from.

A brand is built over time through your identity, your messages, your actions, and the reactions from the marketplace. Your business identity however is something you have control of right away.

As mentioned above, your identity is a visual representation of the business. It’s made up of your business name, its logo, its stationery, its website, its flyers and more. Identity is something consumers can see and touch and is what presents your business distinctively and makes it recognisable. Your identity is also one of the main things your brand is developed around, so it’s incredibly important to get it right and make sure your identity is in line with your brand goals.

Identity vs. Logo

I’ve been asked many times what the difference between a logo and identity is. Some clients ask for a complete identity design while only really wanting a new logo, and other clients request a logo design expecting that it’s enough to form the basis of a memorable identity. While the two go hand in hand, the fact of the matter is what they will vary greatly in two ways: how much they cost you and what they will do for your business.

It’s important to remember that the logo is only a part of your identity. Your identity is made up of so much more than that. It contains a whole truckload of chosen colours, brand marks and symbols, themes and even photography style and will often include a style guide which all documents and materials coming out of your business must adhere to.

Many businesses will have a logo in place without giving much thought to the rest of their identity – they may have had a strong, professional logo designed but then had it slapped onto a business card that is nothing more than their logo mixed with Arial on a plain white background.

The problem with this is that there is usually little or no consistency with the design of your documents or stationery. Little things like font choices, spacing and size will have a negative impact on that all-important thing called consistency, which helps build your brand.

So now that you know the difference between a brand, a brand identity and a logo, what makes up your brand? What actions can you take to improve your brand and is your identity effectively supporting what you want your brand to be?

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1. Write Down Error Messages EXACTLY

This is a really important habit to get into. It’s probably worth going to one of the back to school sales and buying a 2c exercise book to sit next to your computer. When an error message pops up write down the date and time, and the exact message. Often this message will only appear rarely, but if it starts to come up more often, you will need to let your computer guy know. With it all documented in a book, you will be able to tell your computer guy how long the problem has been going on, and with the exact wording they will be able to find the solution much quicker and easier. Make sure that you write down the entire message, as there can be messages which are worded similarly, but are actually very different problems.

2. Make a list of what you want looked at

Just the same as going to a doctor, you are quite likely to forget what you wanted looked at when your computer guy arrives. If you write a list, then you can give it to them, and they can look at the list and put all the pieces together for a full diagnosis. Often what you think may be the main problem can just be a symptom of a larger issue, and without all the information it may be missed (eg. Telling the doctor that you have indigestion and forgetting to say that you have chest pains occasionally too)

3. Don’t wait until your computer completely dies

Too often we find that people ignore error messages for many weeks or even months, and it’s not until the computer won’t start that they call us out. This is not the most cost effective solution, and can often lead to losing all of your information that you had saved on your computer, and many hours of repair time. If you start to think that something may be playing up on your computer, that is the time to call, and your computer guy may be able to give you a simple solution over the phone, or simply come out for a short visit. It is also worth considering regular maintenance for your computer. Just as you send your car to the mechanic regularly, regular check ups for your computer can help to ensure the healthy running of your system.

4. Back Up, Back Up, Back Up

I cannot stress this enough. If you have valuable files on your computer, such as business documents, your baby’s first smile, or great-grandma’s last family photo, you really need to back them up. The simplest and easiest way to do this is with an external drive, that you can back up to every time you finish working on your computer. This will ensure that if some freak accident occurs, you should still be able to recover all those important files. It is also probably worth considering keeping two back ups, one you keep onsite in case anything goes wrong, and one (such as a CD) with the truly irreplacable files that you keep at your parent’s house or a trusted friend just in case something dreadful such as fire or flood strikes.

If you follow these few steps, your computer guy will be able to do the work that your computer needs in as little time as possible.

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View Nick’s presentation here

This article was originally posted on the Nick Bowditch travel website on the 11th August 2009.

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While I have a following of more than 1,300 people now, when I started on Twitter a few months ago, I had no idea what I was doing with it. Like a lot of new Twitterers, after a few days of tweeting to nobody and getting nothing in return (obviously), I thought the same thing I have heard a million times from people, “what a waste of time”.

So if you are new to Twitter and having the same doubts, don’t despair.

I am going to share with you the 30 things I wish i knew when i started on Twitter.

I am by no means an expert on Twitter – these are just a few things which helped me not only understand the platform more but also get the most out of it while still being a good Twitter ‘citizen’.

Please feel free to contribute in the comments below if you can add to the 30 things from your own experience starting out on Twitter!

This post was originally posted on Nick Bowditch Travel website on 1st July 2009.

Follow Nick on Twitter

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For the uninitiated, a blog (or web log) is an internet site branded to your business where you can post articles, news, tips, tricks and other advice to further promote your organization or even yourself. To date, most bloggers have used blogs for personal means – blogging about their life, their passions or their pastimes; however it’s now becoming popular in the business world. Why? Because it’s cheap, it’s easy to implement and best of all, it’s effective.

Business blogging is great because it allows you to build both your business and personal brand. It allows you to become an authority on any topic (providing you know what you’re talking about!), create a community around your business, generate sales leads, build a resource of information and most importantly, is absolutely fantastic for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). All these bells and whistles might sound great, but nothing comes without a price and with blogging you end up paying in time, sweat and perseverance. Still, even if you only invest one hour a day or a few hours a week into your blog, you’re already onto a winner.

There are a few small steps you will need to take before you’ll get anywhere. Establishing and maintaining a blog isn’t something that happens overnight, however with the right approach, you’ll soon have people commenting on your posts and users taking interest.

Decide on a topic that relates to you/your business
Before a blog can go anywhere, it needs to have focus. Think of it as if you were starting a new magazine and you were trying to decide who the magazine would be targeting. Is the blog primarily for business men or women? Maybe you’re focusing your blog posts on taxation and accounting? Is it aimed at other professionals in your industry or is it aimed at clients and customers? Whatever it is you’re going to focus on, make a clear decision early on and stick with that. This way, people will know to come to your blog for resources on that specific subject.

Be consistent, be informative
Blogging is a great way to stay in touch with people and to inform, however you need to be really consistent to even get your blog off the ground. If you’re blogging weekly, make sure you blog weekly. If you’re blogging monthly, blog monthly. It’s important that you blog on a regular basis so people know when to come back for more. Also, the more you blog, the better. Some of the biggest bloggers in the world will blog multiple times a day!

Comment often
You’ll notice that as you start blogging more, users from around the web will visit your blog and comment on your posts. As a blog owner, it’s critical that you not only reply to comments on your own blog but also on comments found in other similar blogs.

Commenting on your own blog will show your users that you care and are interested in their feedback. Commenting on other blogs will provide you with exposure and you’ll get to know some of the great bloggers who are blogging in the same space as you. Each time you comment, this will also create a backlink to your own website or blog allowed people to jump straight to your site.

Relate blog posts to one another
Creating complex link structures is a fantastic way of improving Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), building a better blog site for yourself and a better blogging experience for your readers. If your latest blog post relates to an earlier post you made or to another blog you’ve recently read, link to it! This will allow the reader to jump to other articles and resources you have available. Don’t worry too much about sending a user to another blog. If they like your blog enough – they’ll be back!

Credit where credit is due
Just like at university, if you’re caught plagiarising, you’ll cop a nice smack on the back of the hand. When it comes to blogging, it’s important to try not to repeat content. Readers want to soak up new content and new information and hate finding the same article on multiple blogs. If you are quoting another blogger or pulling content/resources from another site, send a link their way. Give credit where credit is due and then everyone will be happy.

Incorporate your blog into your existing website
As a business blogger, you want your blog to really be part of your online presence. Having a separate site for your blog is great if you’re trying to build your personal brand equity, however if you’re blogging for your business, it is best if you incorporate your blog design into your existing website layout and structure. This way users who read your blog won’t feel like they’ve left your website when they jump across to your blog. Just like anything in business, consistency is your key to success!

Use social networking sites to promote your blog
Everyone is ranting and raving about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the many other social networking sites out there. So, if everyone is talking about them, you should probably be using them! Blogs can be easily integrated with these sites using plugins and other services to simplify the way you spread your content over the social media landscape. As a first step, consider adding a link on your website or blog to your Twitter or Facebook page and updating these sites when you post something new. Remember, though, that social media sites are about interacting – not just flooding posts with links back to your site!

Although there are a huge number of great blogs and bloggers out there, there are also some bad bloggers who simply don’t know right from wrong. Here are a few simple suggestions on what you shouldn’t do when it comes to business blogging.

Never plagiarise or copy
I’ve mentioned it once in this article and I’ll say it again – never plagiarise. It is the one and only sure fire way you’ll go down as far as blogging is concerned. Other bloggers hate it, every user detests it and sooner or later, rumour will get out that you simply copy everyone else and never have anything fresh to say. Stay clear of it! If you do feel the need to quote another blog, reference them with a link.

Never ignore comments or other blogs who link to you
If another blog links to you or someone on another blog comments about you, make sure you respond. Comment back on that blog as a way of saying thanks. Its important that you become part of the blogging community for your respective subject matter. Bloggers work together by linking to one another and suggesting sites to other users. Just like business networking, networking with other bloggers will have a positive impact on both your blog and your business.

Don’t spam your blog
Everyone hates spam even when it comes to blogs. Just don’t do it. If you need to market your blog, market it to users who are already on your website or in your email marketing database. If you’re a part of a blogging community simply sharing your thoughts on other blogs.

So, now that we all know what to do and what not to do, how can we get started? It’s really quite easy. There are a few approaches you can take depending on your budget and ultimately your goals and what you hope to get out of your blog.

Instant Solution
For a quick and easy solution, take a look at some of the following sites. These sites will allow you to get a blog up and running in zero time with virtually zero costs.

• WordPress – WordPress is probably one of the most popular pieces of software when it comes to blogging. This website will allow you to register online and a new WordPress blog will be set up instantly for you. You also have the option of binding your new WordPress blog to a domain you already own.
• TypePad – TypePad is similar to WordPress, however it is a paid solution. Plans start at $4.95 USD/month and go up based on your requirements.
• Blogger – Blogger is one of the original blogging platforms that emerged when blogs first started popping up. It’s a free service that many users use for personal blogging and is a great way to get started.

Customised Solution
If you’re after something that truly resembles your brand, seamlessly integrates with your website and is targeted specially to a certain market, a customized solution may be best for you. Custom solutions involve the development and implementation of unique blog designs, plugins, enhancements and more.

Have you started writing on that piece of paper yet? If not, why not? You now have all the ammunition you need to get a fabulous new business blog up and running today. Decide on a topic, come up with a few draft articles, visit WordPress, TypePad or Blogger and blink – you’re on your way. Before you know it, you’ll have users commenting on your blog, raving about your business and wanting to get to know you and your team even better! Blogging isn’t just a pastime; it’s a part of the future and should be a part of every business.

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According to www.internetworldstats.com 75 per cent of Australians were online in 2008 and this figure continues to climb. People use the Internet to research products, services and information, shop, bank and much more. It makes sense to communicate online too.

At Big Click Studios we’ve been working on a host of web design projects for communities on the Central Coast, Sydney and Newcastle. One we are particularly pleased with is The Gosford Challenge website, a site devoted to building a link between Gosford Council, developers and the Central Coast community. Working on this project made us think about how communities can benefit from websites, so we came up with this list:

Provides a central communication point for the community
Information can be segmented to provide localised content, as well as general topics
Well-designed and regularly updated sites can really boost the profile of a community or group, as well as build credibility and trust
Keep in touch with existing contacts and meet new ones
Allows visitors to find out what is happening in your community at a time that suits them because the Internet never sleeps
Interactive sites invite – and thrive – on community participation through forums, polls, surveys, blogs, event calendars, directory listings and social media content
Websites are a cost-effective and efficient way to market your community
Sites can be as a voice for the community, rather than a collection of views from different people in different forums.

As web designers obviously we’re all for promoting a community online, but the points above show the value a website can bring.

Big Click Studios is also working on new sites for Central Coast Community Council (CCCC), Kids Day Out, Central Coast Kids and Mountain Connect – the Mangrove Mountain Community Group. All of them are interactive and encourage participation, the ideal building blocks for creating community.

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While working in the very corporate world of American Express, I started my own virtual office business, AMC Professional Office Services, from my dining room table in 1999 with my husband. It was a side business at first, but became much more when I was made redundant. I wanted the opportunity to work from home while I was pregnant with my son, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity for me. Initially AMC offered office services such as typing, resumes and PowerPoint presentations and just grew from there.

I have since had a daughter, and found working from home around two children met my dual aims in work and life. I am stimulated through work and building a business, while at the same time being a great mum. The flexibility of being my own boss means I can drop the kids off at school/day care and pick them up, attend their special events and take time off when they need me.

Like many successful business people I realised I couldn’t be everything to everyone – nor did I want to be – so I created my own niche. AMC’s strongest point was our transcription work, so I decided to concentrate on what we did well and be the best in the marketplace. This made great business sense because we had built up a good network of online typists and a strong client base, so it wasn’t hard at all to do away with all the little things that really were never quoted on.

We decided to rebrand AMC Professional Office Services to The Transcription People and we became a company on July 1, 2007. Now we concentrate on providing high-quality outsourced transcription services from our Australian base to clients throughout the world. The calibre of our clients is growing constantly and our client list includes Ernst & Young, Sony BMG, Tikitiboo, Canon Australia, IBM Australia, Wesley Mission, Macquarie University, KPMG and Sydney Water.

The business has become more than just fulfilling my goal to be a successful businesswoman. As interest in my business grew, I started contracting other work-at-home-mums (WAHM) as typists and proofreaders to cope with the increasing workload. We have now just taken on some on-site typists from our local area to help out with transcription.

Not only am I building a business for myself, but I am helping other female entrepreneurs grow too. It’s the ideal job for a WAHM because they can choose how much work to take on every day, based on how everything is running at home.

This year we took the plunge and moved The Transcription People from our home to office space in a growing business district and haven’t looked back. While it was great to be able to combine home and work, it’s better to be able to switch off, close the office door and go home at the end of the day. Our office space also gives us the room to expand that our home office didn’t, and this is becoming more relevant every day as our staff needs grow.

Running my own business means I now have a great work/life balance and I can guarantee no day is ever the same, like it was when I worked for someone else. This opportunity has shown me what I am capable of and added much more colour to my life – especially bright pink, in our logo and office feature wall!

For more information regarding our transcription service, please visit http://www.thetranscriptionpeople.com.au

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