Well I have to say I am not sure where the last 9 weeks have gone and it seems like it was only yesterday when I was wrapping presents and decorating the Christmas tree, now we are gearing up for Easter and looking forward to the seeing lambs skipping around the fields and daffodils emerging from the depths of the cold earth like little teasers of sunshine – something I cannot wait to see more of as we begin to crawl slowly out of the darkness of winter that always seems to go on for longer than I prepare myself for!

Well Shine4Life had a very calm start to 2010 as I was focusing more on getting married and moving house – all within the space of 2 days! If you have been following my previous stories you will know that as an Aries I tend to fly headlong into plans that at the time seem like a fantastic idea but as I start to return to planet earth reality hits and dawn breaks back in the land of the living……Yes yet again I find myself asking ‘why’?????????!!! – However I do believe in walking the walk and talking the talk so when I coach my clients and encourage them to set stretching goals I kind of think I should be doing the same, I must learn the difference between ‘stretching’ and downright ‘madness’ though!

So having agreed in late December to become Mrs Kenworthy plans were soon in place to arrange a January wedding and party, having total faith in my organisation skills I delighted in finding unusual ways to source my wedding dress, plan the party and also the logistics of the day itself. In another moment of madness I decided that it would be great fun to get married in the countryside at 2pm and jump into what can only be described as a go-kart with a jet engine and return back to London for a wedding party in the evening, all sounds fun I hear you say, well it certainly was when the deluge of snow hit and the drifts were higher than the roof of our ‘go-kart’ that also has no proper form of heating!

However despite all the pot holes, road blocks, snow drifts and black ice we succeeded in having the most wonderful day and I am still smiling now! So now it was time for the house move!!!!!………

As I have alluded to before my IT skills are nothing to get excited about, and having finally got my desktop and laptop to cleverly talk to one another from the remote location of my members club that has now become my office the next challenge came when un-plugging and moving my equipment to my new home. In my usual Aries fashion I did not make notes of what cable came from where but unpacking my much loved IT technology suddenly realised the error of my ways! So to cut a long story short 4 weeks later, two trips to a computer restoring centre for my base unit and much cursing, swearing and tears I have regained my IT status in all its former glory!

So both my two large goals of 2010 being successfully completed I have re-focussed my energy on Shine4Life and my business plans this year. I am starting to get used to working for myself and having hated the lack of routine and structure beginning to revel in the joy of avoiding peak hour travel that removes the need to find my face pressed into some smelly business man’s armpit or to experience ground hog day week in week out; in fact I am starting to LOVE my new life, challenge and new routine! It’s funny how thoughts change and the ease at which we would rather return to what we know instead of giving things a chance. I have learnt through my experience that change is a frightening thing but it is also a wonderful thing if we choose to look at it in a positive way. So I guess what I am trying to say to all new business start ups – don’t look back, don’t give up and believe in your ideas, ability and strength. I heard a wonderful quote during a workshop I attended on Life Mapping……

‘As you think, so you become’

The power of thinking positively stimulates the brain to release mood enhancing chemicals into your system that has the effect of creating positive feelings and emotions that in turn promotes great thinking and ultimately business success. So on that note I leave you all with another quote that I often remind myself of when facing challenges and blocks as we all do throughout our lives, so until next time…

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker ~

Do you have content you would like to share with an interested audience of existing and potential customers? It’s never been so easy to package your content in a stylish way, and distribute it in a cost-effective way. Enter the age of home publishing.

Technology, the great leveller

It used to be that if you wanted to publish a book, magazine, newspaper or show series, you could only do so if you had access to large (and expensive) capital equipment and a workforce of hundreds. Not any more. Web-based applications are freeing up the imagination and putting home business owners in control of how content is distributed. Here are some to get you started.

• Books – always wanted to write the authoritative guide for your industry/sector? Want to show off your portfolio of photographs or handmade goods in a coffee table style book? Now you can with self-publishing sites Blurb www.blurb.com and Lulu www.lulu.com

• Newspapers – move over, Rupert Murdoch, the home business owners are coming to media town! Become a newspaper publisher with Newspaper Club www.newspaperclub.co.uk – the service is currently in beta but you can sign up and see what this tool could do for your business

• Magazines – digital magazines are becoming increasingly sophisticated with embedded links to buy products alongside video clips and interactive forums. Take a look at Yudu www.yudu.com and Zmags www.zmags.co.uk. According to digital publishing service, nxtbook media, advertising in digital magazines is more trusted than online ad banners so for your sponsors and advertisers offering a presence in a digital magazine and on your site offers a good rate of return for them.

• Audio – speak to your audience by producing a podcast and inviting in guests who can be interviewed using Skype. Click here http://www.enterprisenation.com/detail/How_do_I_produce_a_podcast/1814/1.aspx to read a round-up of features on how to produce a podcast.

• Video – publish content of you making your product/service or customers saying nice things about your product/service, by using a Flip camera that can be bought for around £90 and comes with only one button so is hyper-easy to use! .

• Online – share content and your expertise in the form of an online slide show using Slideshare (www.slideshare.net)

This list does not even cover publishing content for people to consume whilst on the move ie mobile applications and publishing for devices such as the iPad and Kindle – that will be covered in a future piece.

In the meantime, make the most of earning revenue from charging individual subscriptions or secure a sponsor who would like to be associated with your content and the viral way through which you’ll distribute it. Before you know it you’ll be publishing online, in print, and in audio/video, to an audience of interested readers/watchers/listeners. What a business to run from the comfort of your own home!

Emma Jones is Founder of Enterprise Nation the home business website and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’ Her next book ‘Working 5 to 9 – how to start a business in your spare time’ will be published in May 2010.

You are able to choose 2 of these 5 fabulous masterclasses during the day.

Getting your PR Right: This masterclass is being run by Diana Soltmann of Flagship Consulting, a top 50 PR Firm. Diana regularly runs our Grabbing the Headlines workshop and will share her expertise on how you can use PR for your business.

Stand up and Stand out: Lynne Parker of Funny Women is running a condensed version of her amazing workshop on how to use humour in business and as a way of expressing yourself. This masterclass promises to explore how a humorous approach to business can empower you

The Keys To Successfully Launching A New Idea: Cally Robson, Founder of She’s Ingenious! , will share some handy takeaways on the things every business owner should build into their idea to make sure it’s a winner. Cally has coached hundreds of start-up entrepreneurs through development and launch of their innovative business ideas. She has particular insight into the ingredients, practical AND personal, that make for success in new start-ups.

Influence power and styles of sales communication: Helga Moran of Motivate Me will share with you the 4 stages that uncovers your unique advantage over your competition and how to get an ‘unfair’ share of voice in the sales arena. In addition you will discuss the 10 tips to making a memorable positive impression.

Advanced networking masterclass: Alessandra Alonso of Shine People and Places will share with you her tips and advice for taking your networking to the next level. She will be discussing how to achieve maximum imipact at every networking event you go to.

There are so many inspiring women in business who are balancing their home, family and work lives and who are a shining light to other aspiring people. Last week I went to the We Mean Business conference run by Business Link. The aim was for women to come together, meet, support, encourage, befriend and connect with each other. There were several keynote speakers whose passion, determination and courage were infectious.

One of them was Steph Cutler who overcame sudden blindness but defied “the bastards who wouldn’t employ me” to build a successful business helping others with disabilities. She encouraged us to see obstacles as opportunities not setbacks. In fact she says there were times when she found her blindness was to her advantage, for instance when she started public speaking she couldn’t really see the audience so it made her feel braver and now she loves it. She forced herself live with her disability in a way that meant living her life to the fullest. As she jokes- if life deals you lemons, what do you do? Make Lemonade! It has not been an easy journey but it has been a rewarding one.

Penny Power who runs the social media site Ecademy spent 12 years building up her business, losing her family house along the way as she and her husband struggled to make ends meet. But she was determined to be a full-time mum (and a great one at that) at the same time as creating a successful business around the then entirely untried idea of globally connecting with people online. She stuck it through the tough times, held on to her dream, balanced her steps along the tightrope and finally it all came together. Her legacy is to turn on its head our mothers’ adage to “never speak to strangers” and instead she encourages us to make an assumption of trust of people- to make friends with others, to connect, to engage, to share ideas and contacts, to give, to listen, to offer yourself to the world community, to be there for others, to offer help, to ask for help. She tells us our personalities are our greatest asset, not what we are selling. It is us that others are interested in getting to know, like, follow and maybe then when we are truly connected we can start to collaborate in an organic and creative way. She celebrates young people who are growing up as the Facebook generation- making friends online is second nature and when they grow up and walk into the world of work, they will do so with a network of thousands of friends, supporters, fans and mentors. She believes that the wider your network the more productive you can be, and that friendship is the most powerful thing on earth.

Shaa Wasmund was also an amazingly motivating speaker. At the age of 21 she was interviewing Chris Eubanks, when he asked her to become his promoter. She knew nothing about boxing. She was the only woman in the industry apart from the bikini clad card holders and she was surrounded by alpha males. Her ability to look them straight in the face and do what she had to do reminded me of the Country and Western song “You gotta have balls to be a Woman”. On her first day of working for Bob Geldof he came in “fucking this and fucking that” and she spun round, looked him right in the eye and said “Don’t you ever fucking swear at me ever again”. It stopped him in his tracks, he laughed and never swore in her presence again. Even at such a young age she demanded respect, she used the power of being a woman with humour and energy. She took risks, she didn’t let anything stop her and she is charismatic, funny, caring, quick-witted, approachable- someone you immediately want as a friend. A woman in the audience stood up to ask for help from us all. She was from the charity Shelter and hadn’t met her monthly target. Shaa said if she told us why we should support Shelter then she herself would buy a year’s subscription. The woman gave a moving speech and then Shaa surprised us all by telling us that she would double her subscription, because when she was 11 she too had been in a homeless family, living in a hostel, afraid to ever ask friends ‘home’, sharing a bathroom with other families. One day her mother sat her on the mattress with springs poking through the material and she said to her: “Take a good look round, because whatever you do in life, you will never, ever, ever have to live in a place like this again.” Shaa picked her life up and she has made a huge success of it, not least being one of the most inspiring and loveliest of people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

If only we could bottle the essence of these women! But at least we can learn from them.

Note from Julie: You can see Shaa and be inspired by other female at our Stepping into Success conference on International Women’s Day, March 8th.

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About the Author: Lou Hamilton is a filmmaker and photographer. She formed Create Lab to use creativity and imagination to inspire positive change in people’s lives. As a qualified coach Lou runs a networking group called Women Talking Business. She makes mini-documentary films of featured guest speakers, which are shown on her TV channel

With many home based businesses now growing by outsourcing and partnering, as opposed to taking on staff, it’s important to have an agreement in place with new partners that allows for a smooth running and profitable partnership. Emma Jones explains how to go about it.

Making the case for a business pre-nup

Do you remember Paul McCartney going to court with estranged wife Heather Mills to battle it out for who got what? Commentators made the point that a pre-nup would have saved lots of time and money. Consider a partnership agreement as your pre-nup in business. At the outset of a relationship, all is good and you’re excited about potential but be safe; have a few things written and agreed so both parties are clear on expectations.

The following should not be taken as concrete legal advice, more of a guideline on how to draw up an agreement. An agreement only need be a single page and cover the basics:

• Scope of agreement – what is your partnership working to achieve, for example “This agreement is made between Company A and Company B. The agreement is related to the generation of online advertising revenues/hosting of an event/development of a new product.”

• Respective responsibilities – set out the expectations on who does what. For example, Company A will be responsible for promotion and business development and Company B will take on technical development and client care. Also include note of how you’ll keep each other briefed, maybe through the use of an online project management tool such as Basecamp.

• Finances – what will be the split in revenue, and is this before or after costs? And who owns the intellectual property of the product/service/activity? Consider including a clause that states the agreement will be reviewed in six months so both parties can check on progress and have the right to cease the agreement if it hasn’t gone as planned.

• Be fair – agreements where both parties feel they’re receiving their fair share are likely to be longer-lasting than those where one party feels embittered. Talk about this before writing and concluding the agreement.

• Sign it! -  after making effort to produce an agreement, be sure to sign it! And then store it so you can access if the need arises.

When writing the clauses in your agreement, think about all the things that could go wrong and safeguard against them. It’s a practical exercise and won’t harm your newly formed business relationship but will get it off on a firm footing. If you’re looking for a template agreement, check out www.clickdocs.co.uk or www.the-legal-shop.co.uk

Wishing you a fruitful and rewarding partnership!

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Emma Jones is Founder of Enterprise Nation the home business website and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’ Her next book ‘Working 5 to 9 – how to start a business in your spare time’ will be published in May 2010.

I wasn’t surprised to see a story in the Mail recently that Countryfile presenter Miriam O’Reilly is suing the BBC for age discrimination after she was axed from the BBC show. There’s been a number of similar criticisms aimed at the broadcaster in recent years including the high profile departure of Arlene Phillips from Strictly Come Dancing after she was replaced by younger model Alesha Dixon.  Unfortunately these are far from isolated incidents.

In business, the issue of age (particularly for women) can come up time and time again. This is always going to be difficult to tackle but with the right attitudes, it is entirely possible for women of a certain age to continue on to have a long and successful midlife career.   I started my own business and wrote my first book in my forties and I can honestly say I have never looked back!

Women often get trapped in a vicious circle of negative thoughts and emotions which prevent them from making headway and achieving their goals.  They start creating myths that become a way of thinking.  Myths such as;

-          I’m too old to have what I want

-          I’ve squandered my dreams

-          I don’t know who I am anymore

-          It’s better to be secure than happy

-          I’m not good enough to compete with younger models

-          I don’t have enough time or money to change

-          It’s just too late

These essential attitudes need to be turned around to get back on their career track and really succeed in business.  As a cure for these harmful myths I teach eight attitudes that will propel you forward.

1.  ‘I live my life on purpose’.

2.  ‘I create what I want’.

3.  ‘I know who I am’.

4. ‘I am true to myself’.

5. ‘I am good enough’.

6. ‘I like myself’.

7. ‘I take time for me’.

8. ‘I’m certain of my success’.

To boost to your self-esteem, complete the exercise below and I guarantee you’ll be feeling more positive about yourself very soon!

Exercise: My greatest achievements in business so far …

Let’s get started by reminding ourselves about why we are ‘good enough’ by listing our successes so far in business, those things that you are most proud of. These might be anything from starting a business, getting the role you set your mind on or maybe re-training in an area you’ve always been interested in.

First of all, list the things that you have achieved in business so far. Choose the ones that provoke the greatest feeling or emotion. Aim for a minimum of 10!

Next, I want you to transfer this list on to a large piece of paper and place it where you can see it every day. You may also want to transfer it onto a smaller piece of paper and carry it with you in your handbag, so that every day you can remind yourself of all the things you have achieved and feel good about YOU!

It’s a great start to dispelling those mid-life myths and building the attitudes for success. If you want to discover more please visit www.agewithattitude.co.uk.

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About the Author: Lindsey Agness is the founder of the Change Corporation an organisation which runs leadership development programmes for businesses and self-help programmes for individuals. Her company reached the finals of the Kent New Business of the Year Award and Lindsey herself was a Finalist in the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007 & 2008. Lindsey’s first book ‘Change Your Life with NLP’ (Pearson, 2008) was in the top 20 of all self-books in the UK in 2009 and her next book, for mid-life women, ‘Still 25 Inside’ comes out on the 7^th May.  The book supports her new programme,  ‘Age with Attitude’ which is dedicated to mid-life women everywhere realising their true potential in a seemingly youth-orientated world. ‘’It is for women who believe in beginnings not endings,” says Ms. Agness. www.agewithattitude.co.uk

Through the wonderous journey that blog hyperlinks can take you to, I came across this wonderful TED video featuring Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love.  I have not read her book, but was transfixed by this video.  In it, Elizabeth discusses the angst and fear that surrounds the creative process and the impact of that fear the lives of the creative people within our society.

This  warm, humourous and moving video is a must see for anyone who struggles with worrying about whether what you create is good enough.  In it, Elizabeth shares her solution for dealing with the anguish that exists when creative people are producing something new and it occurred to me that it was relevant for entrepreneurs too.  As an entrepreneur you are constantly putting yourself and your vision, ideas, products, services out there for the world to consume.  And occasionally you worry that it’s not good enough or you worry about how the world will respond to your offering.  If that sounds like you, I recommend that you watch this video and find peace with your genius.

TED Video: Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing your creativity

This is a hilarious amalgamation of signs gone wrong from Sarah Turner of Turner Ink.  Have a look and have a chuckle.

Friend and SEO colleague, Rob Dobson, emailed me this pic this afternoon from the Fulham Road, London. Hmmm…nice shop. Poor sign.

But La Maison is in good (bad?) company. Take a look at these corkers that have been sent to the MSN News site recently.

Do not cling? Do not climb? Or what the heck. Let’s have both.

Yeah, help us reduce crime against the English language.

I wonder if there were enough Ofxord Dictionary’s left to be handed out as leaving presents.

We hope you’re fluent in English ‘cos we’re not. Although we make awesome stuffed olives.

You say tom-ah-to we say to-may-to. Let’s call the whole thing off.

My personal fave. Sue’s Snax’s. So wrong. So very wrong.

I sort of love this sign. I like the fact the loo is referred to as a powder room. And it’s only 5p to have a tiddle. That’s a bargain.

What I especially like is one of the comments left on the MSN News site.

Also, in number 17, the apostrophe is not superfluous, merely in the wrong place as the word “ladies” is a plural, and the toilets are “ladies’ toilets”.

Oh, so it’s merely in the wrong place. That’s ok then.

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About the Author:  Sarah Turner is a freelance copywriter, who offers a range of expert copywriting services in London. In fact, throughout the world. Although the meetings are harder to get to.

If you’re looking for a copywriter who can spout superlatives or write words with four syllables you might want to go elsewhere. She’s allergic to business bull, long words and waffle. And she has a particular loathing for the word ‘solution’. Yuk.  You can find out more about Sarah at www.turnerink.com

Photo by Tony the Misfit

This article from John Janstch shares a really valuable and easy way of seeing keywords that are related to your business.   The wonder wheel will show you words that Google has decided are relevant based on the millions of searches that people do everyday.  Give it a go, it might surprise you.

Google has a tool buried deep into the core search functionality that doesn’t get talked about much. The tool is called the Wonder wheel. Essentially, it’s just another way to view your search results but it focuses on creating a visual wheel of the search terms Google thinks are related to your primary search. You access this view by doing a search and then hitting +Show Options at the top of the page. A sidebar will appear on the left, scroll down to the view options and hit  Wonder wheel. (If you’ve never explored the more options sidebar there’s really a lot to play with there.)

This is a Wonder wheel view of the search for small business marketing.

What I like about this is that I think it gives a very simple map for optimizing your web pages, blog posts and entire site and a great starting place for building much more effective PPC campaigns. There are many more sophisticated ways to all both of these, but sometimes simple is better!

1) Optimizing your site around important and related keyword phrases. If you’re going to win the search battle for your most important search phrases you’ll need to think strategically about it. The more competitive the terms, the more you have to optimize very specifically. Using the Wonder wheel approach you could focus on the optimizing your home page for the core term and then building content pages specifically focused on each of the spokes in the wheel. This basic approach allows you to take huge cue from Google as to how they view your term. OK, there’s lots more to it, but this is the basic foundation.

2) Creating more effective PPC campaigns. The more targeted any ad is in both audience and message the more likely it’s going to perform. Using the Wonder wheel approach you might ditch the core phrase because it’s likely too expensive and crowded, but focus on building separate campaigns and ads for each of the spoke terms by creating numerous ad groups by Wonder wheeling those spoke terms for another good 5-6 phrases. You can then add  Google’s keyword suggestions to finish off your groups with no more than 10-15 for each. Make sure you create specific ads for each group. Again, a very simplified approach to what can be done in far more complex ways, but this might be a great way for you to get started right.

3) Shaping your blog content. The Wonder wheel is a great tool to use along side your post writing. You can determine what you are going to write about and use the Wonder wheel suggestions on the spokes as phrases you might also want to work into a post. Or, you can use the Wonder wheel to suggest topics that you should be writing about and including as phases in your blog post titles. This approach might be one of the easiest ways to keep your mind buzzing about topics for posts while keeping your SEO efforts focused as well.

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About the Author: John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson.

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting www.ducttapemarketing.com

After the Stepping into Success conference on International Women’s Day (March 8, 2010) we’re thrilled to close out the day with an additional inspiring speaker, Karen Darby.   Karen is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Simply Switch which she sold for a reported £22m and recently launched a new venture called Call Britannia.

Karen got the idea for SimplySwitch in 2002 after being bombarded by sales people trying to get her to switch supplier after the deregulation in the gas and electricity markets.  She identified a niche; while people knew they were now free to choose which energy company they wanted to use, there wasn’t anyone telling them how to make the change or providing a switching service over the telephone, and so SimplySwitch was born.

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Karen’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident early on.  At 22 she set up a telemarketing company called the Decisions Group, which she sold in 1990.  In 1991 she launched a consultancy under the brand Karen Darby Direct; in 2002 she launched SimplySwitch and sold it in 2006. She has now launched her fourth and most exciting venture yet ‘Call Britannia‘   and is on a mission to create 10,000 jobs for the unemployed.

Karen is a fun-loving, gregarious woman who has a very refreshing outlook towards life as an entrepreneur: “My friend thinks I’m lazy. I’m not. I’m just effortlessly effective! You don’t need to work long hours.’

Karen is testament to the fact that you do not need to necessarily be a specialist in a particular subject or have the cash yourself to launch your enterprise.  Sometimes all that is needed is the ability to spot a gap in the market and the ability to turn it into a business.  Sound like you?  Then jump onto this table.

You are welcome to join us just for the evening, Karen will be speaking from 6:00 – 6:30 and the networking will be going on until 8:30.

If you would like to join us for the conference during the day as well,  the networking is included.

International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate being a woman in business and we look forward to seeing you there.

Click here if you would like to read more about the other speakers that are speaking during the day, and click here for more information about our International Women’s Day conference

This evening networking event is a collaboration between, WITT, She’s Ingenious, Sister Snog and Women Unlimited