Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Top five mistakes to avoid when starting an online selling business
Stick to your projected start-up budget
Start small with a site
you can draw yourself and pay a small monthly fee or if you use a designer brainstorm and look at other sites to get a feel of how they look and function.Speak openly and frankly to your designer about your needs. Paypal, Google and Vistaprint,Yola, Moonfruit all offer easy to build templates.
you can draw yourself and pay a small monthly fee or if you use a designer brainstorm and look at other sites to get a feel of how they look and function.Speak openly and frankly to your designer about your needs. Paypal, Google and Vistaprint,Yola, Moonfruit all offer easy to build templates.
- Can you easily and speedily upload images?
- Can you write text quickly?
- How user friendly is it?
- Speak openly and frankly to your designer about your needs. Paypal, google and vistaprint all have ability to build a website your self.
Here are some mistakes and what you should do to avoid them
Save money on building your site
As obvious as this may sound to the new online entrepreneur, there is much to learn. I spend a hefty £700 on a site which looked good physically but did not know what questions to ask to get exactly what I needed. I later realised that I could not even update my own site to my needs withouth contacting the designer!. Needless to say, I had to pay extra to get him to update it for me. The site was slow to upload even a slug would have reached my bathroom form the garden!. I could not upload images and images quickly and in various styles. By the time I learnt about sites where I could revert it was too late.
Eventually I decided to drop my pride,take advice and sign up to ebay.I sold more on ebay. However, in order to make it worthwhile selling higher volumes at higher prices is necessary to make it profits.
So here is what you should do
Save money and wholesale Buy locally
Do not be surprised by high custom fees on arrival of your goods. An order from America for example may cost you more in fees if bought online. Add shipping fees to these costs and you will need to sell at prices higher than you had anticipated. This reduces your sales and leaves you holding unsold stock for far too long.
All online orders from abroad over a certain amount attract custom charges. Check the HM revenue and customs site for all details.If you have to buy on line try paying for items offline instead. That means negotiating with suppliers to buy lower stock as well.However, be wary of transferring money to unknown and established individuals or companies. Do your homework and research your suppliers. Speak to other businesses in your industry and forge partnerships. I was able to find a competitors supplier simply by phoning her about her wholesale items!.
Observe sites in your field you may be surprised what information you can get by reading their blogs and looking at their products. In short do some competitor research.
If you are thinking of dropshipping for your business, it is more critical you do your sums and check out local options first which is cheaper.
Impulse purchasing, its possible in business too.
Try to concentrate on a single lines of products
I started to sell shoes,children's clothes,lingerie,wedding dresses,ladies non maternity wear and more
If I thought it would sell, I bough it!. It takes a while to realise that one line of products means you are more focused,more organised with stock levels and better able to concentrate in following trends. Too much stock to deal with means less time to get organised,list products and can lead to lost motivation and sales.
I will be adding more to this list soon.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Mamapreneurship for women
Search Amazon.com EverythingElse for work from home ideas
Working for yourself and from home is fast becoming not a luxury but a necessary choice for many African mothers in the U.K nad Africa. If you look back to your family, you may find that our mothers,aunts and teachers had a side hustle to increase heir incomes.I remeber the aunt who made cakes,pies and sold them on to the neighbours. A childhood friends mother, the air hostess who bought clothes and jewelery and sold them to mama. My late mother kept poultry,rabbits and run a taxi and a cargo business.
Her entrepreneurial spirit,tenacity and determination to make ends meet in anew country enabled her to even enter the property market and purchace and build houses. She unwittingly taught me, "how to spot opportunities and make something out of them".
Property investment is still demeed to be a mans field by many women. This notion is far from the truth and there are examples of women building property porfolios from little.
My story
I lived in a small two bedroomed fifth floor council house for over ten years which was far from my wishes and as my familiy grew I knew I could no longer rely on the council to rehouse us. So after a few years of staying at home with the children, I went back to study and got a part time job.
With two children and a third on the way,space was now a real issue. I knew something had to be done.
Increased my working hours after completing my course and pondered about my right to buy the flat from the council. After discussing it with my husband, we put our foot in it. People thouht I was crazy to make such a decision. Buying a flat to be demolished? yes!
Before the purchase, the council were already proposing to demolish and rebuild new flats deemed better for families. It was a relief, a way to move on. but I saw an opportunity .
Funds were limited,my husband was looking for a contract and I put all the savings to pay soliciors fees and surveyors. The house was surveyed at £94000. Some months down the line a leaflet dropped at my flat informing if we knew we could sell the flat back to the council and buy another.
Was this my opportuinty to aquire a better place for my family?. I stared at the leaflet for days before finally giving in to contact. Soon I was discussing plans to revalue and move. But there was a pitfall,the council were no longer buying out leaseholders!. I panicked but with the help of the contact I had we nanaged to persuade the ocouncil to buy us out. Months later after painting the flat to make it feel ready for a new baby!.
The house was revalued at £156,000,giving a tidy profit of £70,000 for new home. A spot in opportunity paid off. That was a lesson I learnt that it could be done over again as investment portfolio.
We have more information to our disposal to become property investors. From mortgages to buying incomplete properties and completing them for rental or sale purposes.
Here in the U.K, I have met many women doing business however small. So for whatsoever reason you want to start, we want you to know that you can have the option.
Check these sites out for more information
Help start up step by step advice www.businesslink.gov.uk
Business Grants for black women http://www.ehow.co.uk/
European Federation for Black business women http://www.blackwomen.co.uk
Mamaprenuership
What happens when you have put out the C.V,searched for quality childcare and still nothing?or got up at 5a.m to wake up your toddler for nursery?. Or if the childcare costs are so high it means almost all your costs got fund your children's nursery and after school care.
What happens when you have put out the C.V,searched for quality childcare and still nothing?or got up at 5a.m to wake up your toddler for nursery?. Or if the childcare costs are so high it means almost all your costs got fund your children's nursery and after school care.
Some choices are available albeit it will take time to build a steady income. Also start looking and think about investment opportunities......
With an increase in employment rates it makes sense today to plan two attached to your sleeve.Working for yourself and from home is fast becoming not a luxury but a necessary choice for many African mothers in the U.K nad Africa. If you look back to your family, you may find that our mothers,aunts and teachers had a side hustle to increase heir incomes.I remeber the aunt who made cakes,pies and sold them on to the neighbours. A childhood friends mother, the air hostess who bought clothes and jewelery and sold them to mama. My late mother kept poultry,rabbits and run a taxi and a cargo business.
Her entrepreneurial spirit,tenacity and determination to make ends meet in anew country enabled her to even enter the property market and purchace and build houses. She unwittingly taught me, "how to spot opportunities and make something out of them".
Property investment is still demeed to be a mans field by many women. This notion is far from the truth and there are examples of women building property porfolios from little.
My story
I lived in a small two bedroomed fifth floor council house for over ten years which was far from my wishes and as my familiy grew I knew I could no longer rely on the council to rehouse us. So after a few years of staying at home with the children, I went back to study and got a part time job.
With two children and a third on the way,space was now a real issue. I knew something had to be done.
Increased my working hours after completing my course and pondered about my right to buy the flat from the council. After discussing it with my husband, we put our foot in it. People thouht I was crazy to make such a decision. Buying a flat to be demolished? yes!
Before the purchase, the council were already proposing to demolish and rebuild new flats deemed better for families. It was a relief, a way to move on. but I saw an opportunity .
Funds were limited,my husband was looking for a contract and I put all the savings to pay soliciors fees and surveyors. The house was surveyed at £94000. Some months down the line a leaflet dropped at my flat informing if we knew we could sell the flat back to the council and buy another.
Was this my opportuinty to aquire a better place for my family?. I stared at the leaflet for days before finally giving in to contact. Soon I was discussing plans to revalue and move. But there was a pitfall,the council were no longer buying out leaseholders!. I panicked but with the help of the contact I had we nanaged to persuade the ocouncil to buy us out. Months later after painting the flat to make it feel ready for a new baby!.
The house was revalued at £156,000,giving a tidy profit of £70,000 for new home. A spot in opportunity paid off. That was a lesson I learnt that it could be done over again as investment portfolio.
We have more information to our disposal to become property investors. From mortgages to buying incomplete properties and completing them for rental or sale purposes.
Here in the U.K, I have met many women doing business however small. So for whatsoever reason you want to start, we want you to know that you can have the option.
- Do not take forgranted the run down propertyin the neighbourhood. It could be a minefield. Do some checks and surveys
- You can buy shell properties especially in Africa. This cuts the cost of buying a fully completed structure and have it completed by qualified engineers
- Do buy land and hold on to them as values increase over time.Land can be rented or investing in tree planting for instance as longer term investment
Tired of working for others,or just want to increase your income? Here are steps to take to get you into working for yourself..
- Assess your skills,experiences and passions if you enjoy what you do it is more likely to work better as you wont feel you are struggling
- Start small and do not give your full time job
- Research your chosen area
- Write a business plan
- Seek more information/advice and work out finances taking account of your situation.
Check these sites out for more information
Help start up step by step advice www.businesslink.gov.uk
Business Grants for black women http://www.ehow.co.uk/
European Federation for Black business women http://www.blackwomen.co.uk
Black women and Pregnancy
Tips on Morning sickness & Salivating
There is no cure for morning sickness and drugs should be monitored medically. If like me you went through morning sickness and salivating,welcome to my tips which I hope you find useful. I talk of salivating which sounds quite offputting but is a reality for many women especially African carribean women. It can also makes morning sickness worse. I do not know why.
There are no quick fixes and these tips may not solve your problem. I suffered morning sickness and salivating and had to give up my job due to costant flow of saliva!. Thus the reason why Iam compelled to discuss it should other women need tips. All my pregnancies experienced this for all nine months so I became quite conversant in managing the issue.
Outings were difficult. I simply could not keep the flow at bay!. Eating late, wrong small snacks through the day did not help either. By the second pregnancy, I knew better how to manage things.
My take is, morning sickness is a natural process and if you are to be sick you will be. After all thats nature's way of indicating that things are ok and you will feel better soon enough.
There is no cure for morning sickness and drugs should be monitored medically. If like me you went through morning sickness and salivating,welcome to my tips which I hope you find useful. I talk of salivating which sounds quite offputting but is a reality for many women especially African carribean women. It can also makes morning sickness worse. I do not know why.
There are no quick fixes and these tips may not solve your problem. I suffered morning sickness and salivating and had to give up my job due to costant flow of saliva!. Thus the reason why Iam compelled to discuss it should other women need tips. All my pregnancies experienced this for all nine months so I became quite conversant in managing the issue.
Outings were difficult. I simply could not keep the flow at bay!. Eating late, wrong small snacks through the day did not help either. By the second pregnancy, I knew better how to manage things.
My take is, morning sickness is a natural process and if you are to be sick you will be. After all thats nature's way of indicating that things are ok and you will feel better soon enough.
African carribbean women particularly are prone to salivating. It helped, strange though it may sound to eat cooked meals from my childhood days in Africa. Pasta and sandwiches were simply not the thing for me and made matters worse but are an option for many women here in the U.K.
Eating healthy meals you crave will relive morning sickness & salivating
So what are the tips that helped...
Eat regularly,small snacks througout the day so breakfast,mid morning snack,lunch,mid afternoon ,dinner and a drink or small bedtime snack.
- Increase your protien,carbohydrate,vitamins and mineral and good fat intake.
- Popcorn with little salt helped with saliva and are better for you than crisps.
- Icy cold water with lemon to bite and lots of water .
- Mangoes slightly unripe,guava and other exotic fruits helped.
- Milo a less refined powdered form of cocoa rather than the chocolate drink in milk has less sugar. and makes agood bedtime drink.
- Good wine with small alcohol levels, know your limits.
- Roasted peanuts if no allergies are an issue. We are talking roated yourself type peanuts here. These can be bought raw,cleaned out and roasted in the oven.
- Quality,quality and quality are the mantra. Pregnancies can be very discriminatory and will want. and respond well choosen food products.
What may not help with decreasing saliva flow?
- Sweets and sugary foods in most forms, icecream and sugary tea seemed to have and may increase the saliva flow. Remember though, these are personal experiences and you need to watch your own reactions to foods.
- Prolonged gaps inbetween meals and hunger pangs.
- Fizzy drinks of most types.
You will need to go by your bodily cravings to direct you to what will help. All pregnancies are different and one thing may not help another. If you are thinking of steering clear of fatty foods, think again. Good fat from the right foods is necessary to help boost energy levels and store a degree of fat needed in the body and developing unborn baby. The good news is morning sickness eases for most women after 3 months, so relax and enjoy your pregnanacy after all its only 9 months.
 |
| Enjoy wholesome meals of your bodily cravings |
Baby Gaga - Breast milk icecream goes on sale in London's convent garden
According to a report on 24th Feb 2011- its official, breast milk is now on sale in London's popular convent garden for £15 an ounce!. Would you buy this icecream for yourself or your children?. Or even more interestingly would you contibute to Baby Gaga sales?. Some numbers of women have signed up to take take in it.
Baby Gaga breatmilk icecrem how would you like it?
The most interesting thing about this is that, its a white man who is behind all this!. But then he is a father of breastfed children and understands.
So why the surprise?. Breast milk is personal nutrition for a mothers baby. Ths fact that there has been so much snares and even anger at women breastfeeding in public leaves me thinking hoe people will react to icecream. And if its good enough to eat in public then mothers should also be able to feed their babies in public.
Judge for yourself - all you need to do is to breasftfeed in a public place to asses the negative reactions. But that's all besides the point.
I'd be interested in knowing the kind of health vetting these women have to undergo before their milk is acceped for public icecream consumption. How about the amount of time needed to express the milk?.
Post birth and hormones raging, physically and even emotionally a woman must have real time, energy and rest in order to produce sufficient quanties of milk for baby let alone baby Gaga.
How about the baby they are breastfeeding?. This is a full time consuming and demanding undertaking and there must be sufficient amounts of milk produced for the nursing ones own baby minus Baby Gaga!.
And with the name Baby Gaga what chance does a Black African woman like myself stand?. Not that I would be remotely interested to go down that route!.
Whether or not we condone breast milk icecream its here and its taking U.K with a storm,it looks like something that will expand to the U.S.A if it hasnt already. How about African women?.Whilst we are still getting used to those intrusive expressing machines some are further bearing extra intrusion all in the name of Baby Gaga icecream!. Do we have time for Baby Gaga with all our issues?
Baby Gaga breatmilk icecrem how would you like it?The most interesting thing about this is that, its a white man who is behind all this!. But then he is a father of breastfed children and understands.
So why the surprise?. Breast milk is personal nutrition for a mothers baby. Ths fact that there has been so much snares and even anger at women breastfeeding in public leaves me thinking hoe people will react to icecream. And if its good enough to eat in public then mothers should also be able to feed their babies in public.
Judge for yourself - all you need to do is to breasftfeed in a public place to asses the negative reactions. But that's all besides the point.
I'd be interested in knowing the kind of health vetting these women have to undergo before their milk is acceped for public icecream consumption. How about the amount of time needed to express the milk?.
Post birth and hormones raging, physically and even emotionally a woman must have real time, energy and rest in order to produce sufficient quanties of milk for baby let alone baby Gaga.
How about the baby they are breastfeeding?. This is a full time consuming and demanding undertaking and there must be sufficient amounts of milk produced for the nursing ones own baby minus Baby Gaga!.
And with the name Baby Gaga what chance does a Black African woman like myself stand?. Not that I would be remotely interested to go down that route!.
Whether or not we condone breast milk icecream its here and its taking U.K with a storm,it looks like something that will expand to the U.S.A if it hasnt already. How about African women?.Whilst we are still getting used to those intrusive expressing machines some are further bearing extra intrusion all in the name of Baby Gaga icecream!. Do we have time for Baby Gaga with all our issues?
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