Week 2 - Win a printer

Monday, July 13, 2009

Well, the first printer has been won. The softies in the judging panel decided that the entry from Tye is the winner. Congratulations to you, Tye. We will be emailing you this week!

Disappointed? Don't give up. We have another printer to give away this week.

To win: Leave a comment here telling me in 25 words or less why you desperately need this printer.

I have a new panel who will help me to determine the winner this week. Best of luck to you! (open only to Australian entrants, sorry)

Themes in blogs

One of the best ways to prevent bloggers block is to have a theme that recurs throughout your blog. It can help to keep you focused and it also gives consistent content to your readers.

EP Designs is an example of a site that does this well. Elena has introduced Pink Saturday. On Saturdays she introduces readers to some of her stunning creations and it is tied together around the colour pink.

Not only are we able to watch some of her creations with their before and after images, we are tempted to buy her pretty items.

Another site that has adopted the themed approach is the Business Mums Blog. Melissa has introduced Marketing Monday and Friday Five. The Friday Five is a series of reports that Melissa produces on various topics and each is prived at $5.00. Marketing Monday tackles the huge topic of marketing your business. Each blog post has some great suggestions for small businesses such as what not to do with your email newsletters!

If you have a blog and find that you sometimes have a mental block why not se yourself a theme to write to on one day of the week? If you select it carefully you will be able to present great content and promote your business at the same time.

Win a printer worth $499!

Monday, July 06, 2009

Would you like to win a printer for your office? I am lucky to be able to offer you the opportunity to win one of three!

This is the official blurb:

The printer is an HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One Printer. It can save you money and lessen your environmental impact by delivering professional colour documents for up to 50 per cent less cost per page and energy use than laser printers. Importantly, the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One Printer also allows small businesses to produce their own marketing materials in-house, saving on outsourcing costs. This is something that is increasingly important given the current economic climate.


The HP Officejet Pro Wireless All-in-One Printer combines printing, copying, scanning and faxing capabilities into once wireless device. It is Energy Star® qualified, and offers double-sided printing and copying, a junk fax blocker, and the ability to scan directly to a network folder or email account. The Officejet 8500 Wireless allows users to preview, select and print high-quality photos from memory cards using the intuitive 3.45-inch LCD colour touchscreen. Economical high capacity ink cartridges that can be replaced separately also mean that the HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One produces more printed pages with fewer cartridge replacements. These features can help small and micro businesses lessen their environmental impact while driving down costs by saving on paper and energy usage. This is a specific need of small and micro businesses that HP believes strongly in addressing.

I have had a look around and the feedback about this printer has been excellent. My last little printer was an inkjet and although it did an adequate job the print would sometimes smudge and it would run if it got wet. Whatever ink HP have used here is reported to have great holding power even if it gets wet. Yay! Perfect.

Would you like one? I am going to run this competition over three weeks and give one printer away each week.

To win: Leave a comment here telling me in 25 words or less why you desperately need this printer.

I have a panel who will help me to determine the winner. Best of luck to you! (open only to Australian entrants, sorry)

Great competition coming!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Boy, do I have a great competition coming here this month. I must have. I have huge prizes to give away to three lucky winners.

Now all I need to do is to figure out what the competition is and how it should be run.

Curious?

Good. So you should be.

Oh, you want a sneak peek at the prize? Fair enough. Here it is.

After you have a peek you should keep an eye out for the competition. It will start on Monday 6th July!

Learning from Hindsight.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955, Physicist)

I found that quote at Under the Loupe and it made me think hard about everything that is happening at the moment. The end of the financial year is a time that always makes me pause and reflect on where I have come from and where I am now.

I really relate to the quote. I am happy with how things have been going this year and I think that I have made some good headway towards where I want to be with business. I don't think that is because of any genius hidden within me. I think it is because I have stuck with it regardless of what has been going on around me.

If I can get this far just by being persistent how much further could I get with some good planning supporting me? Let's try it and see. Let's make a date for December and see what I have managed to do.

In fact, why not set yourself the same challenge? You can learn a lot from hindsight.

Aussie Bloggers Forum

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Are you an Aussie who loves to blog? Any topic, any skill level, any experience level - it doesn't matter. The Aussie Bloggers Forum is for you.

I found the forum recently and was surprised to see that the cream of Aussie bloggers was hanging out there. What a bonus for the rest of us. Imagine being able to ask questions and seek advice from our nations top bloggers? Imagine being able to get to know them away from their blog! People are in and out of the forum according to the demands of their home and blogging lives, of course, but there is always something going on.

I should mention that the forum is fun. There are some amazing personalities showing through from the slightly naughty to the outright hilarious. The Aussie Bloggers forum is the home of the Lazy Bloggers Post Generator, too. Yes, this is a little bit of blogging playtime.

We are currently on the lookout for new members. Why not drop in and check up out?

Are you on Twitter?

Friday, June 26, 2009

Do you have a Twitter account? If you do, leave me your twitter name in the comments area and I will follow you.

You might like to follow me, too. You can follow just by clicking on the champagne glass. The glass? Well everyone else has a blue bird. I wanted something different!

Get Yourself Organised.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The new financial year is only days away, now, and it is a great time to put some thought into how your business is going. Has it progressed during the year? Are you still headed in the same direction that you had intended to go?

It is not unusual to find one part of your business is taking off unexpectedly. lt catches us by surprise and we tend to wing it and see what happens. The new financial year is a great time to take stock of what is happening.

1. Revisit your business plan.
Is your plan still current? Does it take into account economic or circumstancial changes in your business? Take the time to plan for the coming year. You need to have a map for your business to follow or you could end up somewhere you don't want to be.

2. Revisit your marketing plan.
If you don't have one, now is the time to get one happening. Once you have your business direction and goals sorted out you will be able to look at the best way to market your business. Create your plan now or it won't get done!

3. Outsource.
No one can do it all. In business these days you have to be everywhere! Serving clients, writing articles, balancing books, twittering..... There are just not enough hours in the average day. Consider outsourcing those parts of your business that you don't enjoy or don't have time to do. Don't see it as an expense. It is a time saver and stress reliever that will actually end up saving you money.

4. Update yourself.
To stay ahead you need to be up to date with new developments in your area of business. In some professions it is a requirement that you undertake a certain number of hours of professional development each year. Those of us working from home need to do the same. Look for books, online classes. networks or webinars that are relevant to you and make sure that you know what is gong on in your area of business.

5. Get organised.
Set up your systems. Without systems you will end up in a mess. Organise the way your office works and the balance between home and work. You might like to read a blog like Organise Your Life for some hints.

The new financial year should be the start of a new year of business accounts, it should be all about a whole new year of prosperity. Take the time to prepare your business for the year and you will be well on your way.