Beads of Hope
This week’s Ms. Biz is Staci of Beads of Hope! Please stop by her site for some beautiful jewelry and to help raise money for Childhood Cancer Research.
Q: What kind of business do you have? (what you sell, service provided, etc.)
Staci: I hand make beaded jewelry. Nothing is made until it is ordered. Each piece is unique just like each child is unique. Most of my jewelry is with meaning. I love expression on jewelry. I also have a lot of awareness jewelry that is perfect for gift giving. My favorite bracelet is the “I’m worth it” Made with Swarovski crystals and a message bead of faith. I wear that almost everyday. It reminds me God has a plan and his plan is greater than mine.
Q: What is your best selling product?
Staci: My best seller would be the Continuous Hope necklace. As we all have hope for the future no matter what we have been through or are going through there is hope. It can be made in 18 different colors to represent a lot of different causes.
Q: How did you come up with the name?
Staci: God. I woke up one morning after having a dream/vision. Knew what to call the company, how to make everything, where to buy the products. God had everything laid out.
Q: When and why did you start your business(es)?
Staci: I started this business in January 2002. However it has not been a top priority since Jakob’s health had to come first. I have now made it my top priority. I pray Jakob is on the mend and only going to get healthier. If not I have wonderful friends that can help me now. I started it after my son was born and prayed God to show me a way to bring awareness to how common childhood cancer was becoming. This was his way. Every woman loves jewelry. Most have children or nieces, nephews, cousins. So generally everyone can relate to the struggles of a child.
Q: What was the biggest obstacle you faced?
Staci: Managing a new baby, a son with hearing and speech problems and son still on chemo. Resources of people that knew what to do & not to do so costly mistakes aren’t made. Money!
Q: What motivates you to keep going?
Staci: My children. If they can over come all the obstacles that they have in their short life, I can overcome mine and keep moving forward.
Q: Advice for other women wanting to start their own business or ones who are just beginning?
Staci: Seek out help first. Get a mentor! Don’t ever give up. There are plenty of millionaires that went bankrupt before they made it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Then jump in and enjoy the ride.
Q: What would you like for the readers to know about you? (Your background, hobbies, the little things you find important, etc)
Staci: I have a wide background. Family is the most important thing. I love to go camping, swimming, travel and read when I get the chance which isn’t to often. Just enjoy each day and live it to the fullest. Life is very short Spend time with those special in your life. No matter what you are doing.
Q: Do you have a coupon code or special that you have going on or would like to offer to the readers?
Staci: They can receive 20% off their first order with coupon #FO2008.
Thank you, Staci, for being this week’s Ms. Biz!
Look for a wonderful contest sponsored by Staci coming soon!
Scentsy
I was recently sent a sample of Scentsy Wickless Candles from Shannon Payne. I must say that I was very pleased that I was going to be reviewing this product because I love candles. I could stand in a candle aisle for an hour easy trying to figure out what scent I want to get and then end up with several because I can’t decide on one.
Wickless candles, obviously, do not have a wick and do not need to be lit. They need a warmer to be able to melt them, which we do not have! I think this little fact slipped my mind when I agreed to review them. (Hey, we all make mistakes!) So, please imagine me, standing in the middle of my living room, holding the sample of the candle, trying to figure out exactly how I am going to melt it. I got a big bowl of boiling water and then put the piece of a scentsy bar in another bowl. That bowl was set down inside the bowl of boiling water. It worked!
Now when I first received the sample, there was a wonderful burst of fragrance as soon as I opened the package. As soon as this little chunk of candle started melting, the smell immediately filled the room. I was sent Lilacs and Violets, and it reminded me of flowers and fresh laundry just taken off the clothesline or out of the dryer. Even after it stopped melting, the fragrance lingered for several hours.
There are many scents available to choose from. Everything from Autumn Sunset, Cinnamon Vanilla, and Blueberry Cheesecake to French Kiss, Bamboo Sugar Cane, and Fried Ice Cream. Reading the description of the scents made me want to try them all! There are also a great selection of warmers to choose from. (I’m sure you would enjoy your experience much more this way instead of using a bowl of water!) Choices included classic, one-color warmers to very nicely decorated ones. Some of these include Zensy, Retro Chic, Terra Cotta, Sunburst, Porcelain Lace and Fleur-de-Lis. Makes you want to go take a peek, doesn’t it?
The Scentsy Wickless Candles are available in bars or the larger “bricks.” There are multi-packs available to help get you started enjoying your Scentsy experience. There are also car candles available for when you are on the go and want to take that delicious fragrance with you.
Wickless candles are great not only for families with small kids in the house, but for anyone because they are an excellent alternative to having a lit candle setting around.
Visit Shannon Payne and let her help you get started enjoying the wonderful frangrances of Scentsy!
Cheeky Tots
Our next Ms. Biz is Helen of Cheeky Tots. Please stop by her place on the web for some great items for babies and kids.
Q: What kind of business do you have? (what you sell, service provided, etc.)
Helen: We are an online baby and children’s store, we sell a wide range of products including: modern cloth nappies, nappy making fabrics, baby and infants clothing, nappy bags, children’s novelty name plaques, blankets, soft toys and other misc children’s products. We also specialise in embroidered clothing.
Q: What is your best selling product?
Helen: One of our biggest sellers are our range of children’s novelty name plaques, they are available in many fun designs and are personalised with each child’s name.
Q: How did you come up with the name?
Helen: The store was originally called “Cheeky Bots” which was focused around cloth nappies. I then changed the name to Cheeky Tots to be more general, as our product range grew.
Q: When and why did you start your business?
Helen: I started the business after having my son 15 mths ago, I loved the idea of working from home whilst looking after my family. My background is in sales and marketing so it was easy to make the transition into internet trading. I had been a seller on eBay for several years before opening my website in the middle of last year.
Q: What was the biggest obstacle you faced?
Helen: Initially it was being taken seriously by suppliers. It’s very hard to become a stockist when you are still establishing yourself in the marketplace. Also setting up the website and finding suppliers can be very daunting at first as it’s hard to know where to start.
Q: What motivates you to keep going?
Helen: My customers. I have many repeat customers and the more sales that I get, the harder I work. I believe in offering a very high standard of customer service so it’s very rewarding when this is acknowledged.
Q: Advice for other women wanting to start their own business or ones who are just beginning?
Helen: Do your research first before rushing in and spend a little money initially to get a good set-up for your website and be prepared to spend many hours setting your business up. Be willing to learn as you can save time and money by doing alot of the groundwork yourself. Finally, be patient. It is not an overnight thing, it can take many months of hard work before reaping the rewards.
Q: What would you like the readers to know about you? (Your background, hobbies, the little things you find important, etc).
Helen: Originally from the UK, I now live in Melbourne, Australia with my husband and 16 month old son. Our second child is due at the end of this year. I have a creative and arty nature and I love all things colourful, which is why Cheeky Tots has such a bright, fun website. I also enjoy sewing and making products to sell (when time permits!) and I have plans to develop this side of my business in the future. I consider myself to have a fun, easy going nature and I thank my parents for teaching me to have respect for others.
Q: Do you have a coupon code or special that you have going on or would like to offer to the readers?
Helen: Cheeky Tots ships world-wide and we are offering all readers 10% discount off all products until 6/30/2008. Enter discount code FEATURE into the checkout to redeem your discount (cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount or offer).
Thank you very much, Helen, for taking the time to answer our questions!
Time Management Skills: Top 5 Ways to Improve Them
By: Pamela Catey
Do you feel like your time management skills are lacking? Feel overwhelmed, stressed, or like you are losing your life as each day quickly passes by?
In this article, I will share with you the top 5 ways to improve your time management skills to regain control of your life. There is a great quote by Business Philosopher, Jim Rohn “Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it, and spend it rather than invest it.” Are you investing your time in things that are producing the results you desire? If not, read on.
Plan Your Day
Another great piece of wisdom from Jim Rohn is to never start your day until it is finished on paper. It is great advice. You can piddle away so much time when you are not focused on how you are going to spend it. Have you ever noticed how you can waste a whole day before you even really started it? Plan it before you start it, and you will get more accomplished.
Prioritize
Are you clear about what your short-term, mid-term, and long term goals are? If not, get to work, eh? Every day is an opportunity to be taking action toward your short-term goal, which should be furthering your mid-term goal, which should be leading you down the road to achieving your long term goal. Taking even small actions on the things that matter will you give a sense of accomplishment and control.
Before You Go to Bed
Write down the 3 most important things to do tomorrow on a 3 x 5” index card. When you wake up in the morning, all you need to do is read your index card and schedule when you will do these 3 most important things. And of course, they should be in alignment with furthering your short term goal.
Be Relentless
Keep your eye on the prize. Stay focused on the objectives of the day until you have completed them. Be steady and persistent on the task at hand and only focus on one task at a time. When one is completed, focus fully on the next.
Value Your Time
No one will value your time as much as you do. So, it is vital that you relate to your time as the valuable asset that it is. It’s only when you regard your time as valuable, that others will do so. It has to start with you first. It is your responsibility because we train people how to treat us. If you want other people to value your time, you have to value it first.
I hope these 5 ways to improve your time management skills proves valuable for you. Let me know your results, I’d love to hear your wins!
Article source: www.ladypens.com
Pamela Catey, MA is a Best Selling Co-Author, Professional Life Coach, Musician, and Inspirational Leader. She holds a masters degree in Counseling Psychology and is a Licensed Massage Therapist. If you are ready to live a life you love or are interested in learning more about time management skills sign up for her Free “FunLightenment Newsletter” and www.FunLightenmentCoaching.com
This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.
How to Avoid Business Burn Out
By: Kelle Arvay
At some point or another, anyone who owns their own business will face some degree of burn out. Instead of learning to cope with such burn out it is better to learn how to avoid it in the first place.
Below are several ways you can avoid business burn out.
1. Organization
Staying organized is one of the first steps in avoiding burn out. Utilize all the resources at your disposal such as filing systems for tax information, payables, receivables, advertising, marketing, etc. This will help you keep your paperwork in order and easily accessible. Additionally, make sure you have a work place that is also organized. This could be your home office, studio or any other type of work place depending on the type of business you have. Making sure everything is organized and can be easily located will help you tremendously.
2. Time Management
Time management is probably the biggest challenge for most people. When you work from home it can be especially easy to get distracted from your work. While working from home allows you a lot of flexibility which is a good thing, it can also present challenges in regards to remaining focused. To help you, consider setting up a daily schedule for your self. Utilize calendars and tasks list to keep yourself on track. At the beginning of each week write out what you need to accomplish for the week. Keep the list handy in case you need to add to it throughout the week. It is also important to allow for those unexpected interruptions such as last minute doctors appointments or a trip to the office supply store. Additionally, consider setting up your weekly schedule based on what tasks you need to do on particular days. For example, Tuesdays may be a day you set aside as a marketing day. Every Tuesday your focus should be on tasks that have to do with marketing your business.
3. Hire Help
If you find that you are overwhelmed most of the time or getting close to being overwhelmed, it may be time to hire some help. Help can come in the form of a virtual assistant, marketing manager, mailing list manager or simply from setting up a auto responder. Anytime you can automate certain tasks, the better. But for those times you can’t, consider hiring someone to do those tasks for you. You may find that even the small, menial tasks like sending out an email to your mailing list, is a task that you could hire someone else to do. Even all the small tasks that seem relatively simple add up and before you know it, you are spending a great deal of time on these things.
4. Joint Ventures and Partnerships
If you have a large project or new business idea, consider looking into establishing a joint venture with another business owner in a similar niche. The benefits of sharing the work load can be enormous. Also consider partnerships with other similar businesses in the areas of cross promotion and marketing. This could be in the form of exchanging web site links, mailing list advertising or other types of partnerships where the results benefit both of you.
5. Work Ahead
It is so much better to be ahead then to be behind. The pressure you begin to feel when due dates for finished work is upon you can be stress inducers. Avoid this by working ahead if you can. One example of work that can be completed in advance is article writing. When you have completed your daily tasks, consider taking a few moments to work on an article your writing. Another one would be blog posts. The nice thing about blogs is you can write a post in advance and save it for later. This is very true for several of the blog programs out there today. If you host your own blog, you can always save the post as a word document and post it later when your ready. Think of some of the other things you could work on in advance.
6. Take a Break.
One of the best things you can do to avoid burn out, is to take breaks. Don’t wait until your in desperate need of one either. Take breaks regularly. Each day you should take breaks throughout the day. Also you need to set aside breaks that consist of either an actual planned vacation, day trip or a certain day of the week that you set aside for some needed “me” time. During this time, work is not allowed. I know it can be difficult but you have to learn to allow yourself to take these breaks. You will find you are better focused and refreshed when you do return to your work.
Article source: www.ladypens.com
© 2007 Kelle Arvay is the owner of Pattern Mart with offers customers access to thousands of craft patterns that they can purchase and download instantly. Additionally, she is the owner of eCraft Classes which is dedicated to online craft classes. www.PatternMart.com www.eCraftClasses.com
This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.
