Scottish Mumpreneur Network: October 2010

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Lesley Reid from Carla Barla Beads tells us how she approached retailers.

Hi my name is Lesley Reid and have a jewellery business called Carla Barla Beads http://www.carlabarlabeads.co.uk/
My Business is a new business and it has been running since July 2010. I have been asked to give you some pointers on how to get your items into shops.

What I will do is tell you how it started for me, the first shop happened due to meeting someone at a fayre and they liked my stuff and they started to stock it, really it was as simple as that so the first thing I would advise is always network your fayres you just dont know who you will meet.

The next shop was a customer who advised me to visit her local boutique, she thought my jewellery would suit this shop. So popped in checked out their range, made some stuff to match there collection and phoned them. They asked me to come in brought in the range and they loved it. What i would advise if you can to start with offer sale and return so there is no initial outlay for the shops and they are more likely to stock it.

Another shop I was told about through facebook some people who liked my site, when they found out I was approaching shops told me about one near to them. So dont be affraid to ask people and use soical networks to your advantage.

Managing shops can take alot of work and alot of the time its builting on relationships formed and trust made. All my shops mark up my jewellery so dont undercut yourself, and always keep a copy of the stock they hold. In alot of the shops they wear my jewellery, people tend to finding it easier to visualise how it is going to look on if someone is modeling it.

The main points I would advise are:

1. Always network you dont know who you are going to meet

2. Use social networking to your advantage

3. To start with offer sale or return

4. Dont undercut yourself the shops can easily mark items up

5. Keep a note of stock held in the shops

6. Work on building up relationships and trust between you and the shops.

I am currently trying to get into department stores and magazines so i will keep u posted on how this goes in the future.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Erica Douglas of Ace Inspire gives us an Introduction to Business Blogging

Introduction to Business Blogging

Hi, I'm Erica and I'm new to the network. My business is ACE Inspire and we provide remote courses training for online business success, which covers business blogging, social media, email marketing etc..

I'm not sure how many of our members are already internet savvy so I thought I'd make my first post an introduction to business blogging. I hope it's not too basic!

So What is a blog?

The word 'blog' is shortened from it's full title 'weblog' and a blog is just that, a 'web' 'log'. A log, journal or collection of articles on any topic.

What is a business blog?

A business blog is an ongoing log about your business. It can comprise articles about your business and products or services, new launches, promotions, your backstory, industry news, case studies, testimonials and more. It can be presented using text and multimedia such as podcasts, vlogs and slideshows. Done well it will demonstrate your expertise, build customer loyalty, drive traffic to your business and increase your sales and profit.

The power of blogging should not be underestimated and you really are missing a trick if you aren't already doing it.

Here are some benefits of business blogging;

* It is a platform to create preeminence and expertise
* You can capitalise on relationship marketing
* You can improve SEO by creating a steady flow of keyword rich relevant content
* You will increase incoming links
* You can increase your pagerank
* And overall increase traffic to your business website

How to start a blog

Starting a blog is fairly easy today. Purchase a URL, sign up to a blog hosting company and then outsource the set up to a tech expert. In total this should cost no more than £150. Then it's just a case of starting to write. Stuck for content ideas? Watch the video below for my content generation technique.

--
Erica Douglas
www.littlemummy.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/Erica

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Scottish Mumprenuer Network celebrates it 1st birthday in style!

The Scottish Mumprenuer Network celebrated their 1st Birthday in style on Sat 2nd Oct 2010, at Malmaison Hotel Glasgow. With 20 members in attendance they had a chance to network, listen to 2 very inspiring speakers and enjoy a lovely 3 course meal.

Of course the Mumpreneurs were sure to check out the cocktail bar before the proceedings got under way.

We are delighted that Gemma from Glamour Eyes came along to do mini manicures in aid of Cash for Kids. The Scottish Mumpreneur Network had been raising money for cash for kids in an online raffle - which saw a total of £257.96 being handed over to cash for kids.

The room was decorated beautifully thanks to http://www.divinepartyknights.com/ , http://www.beautifullywrapped.com/ , www.i-craft.co.uk, www.seasonaldecorations.co.uk,

The wonderful Marian from www.marianmcneilphotography.co.uk took photo's on the night.

Louise Graham (Founder & Glasow Co- ordinator) www.weddingandbaby.co.uk and www.charmingangelsparties.co.uk, Irene McNamee www.i-craft.co.uk Heather Dunsmore http://www.handmadebyheather.co.uk/ , Alison Tinlin (event co- ordinator) www.plansandpresents.co.uk , Karyn Taft www.ynaughtmedia.co.uk , Elaine Busby (Co-Founder and Glasgow Co-ordinator) Ready Steady Go Childminding

Libby Young ( Central Co-ordinator) www.bareknees.co.uk, Kelly Mazengera Fairweather http://www.thescarletbakery.co.uk/ , Debbie Foley http://www.decadencecupcakes.co.uk/ Lisa Dunn ( Dumfries and Galloway Co-ordinator) www.hexagonva.co.uk

As founder, Louise made a quick speech to thank everyone for attending and gave a brief history about the Scottish Mumpreneur Network.

After a delicious meal Alison introduced the very inspiring speakers.

Gillian Dick from http://www.findmeglasgow.com/ told us why she set up her own business and shared some of her top tips to fellow entrepreneurs.
Gillian is a real inspiration to any woman in business.

Morag Malloy from Fission Creative http://www.fissionc.com/ then took the floor to tell us about her journey into being a mumpreneur. Morag had the audience nodding their heads as she described situations of how she manages business with small children to care for. It was great to laugh out loud at some of the things that we ALL do as mumpreneurs.