Help! I Don’t Know What To Write!

So, don’t know what to write or what you’ve written for your  ‘About Me’ page on your website sucks huh?  Lacks spice, humour, flair, would even go so far to say it lacks any real…you?  Well, join the club but don’t worry by the time you finish reading this you won’t have that problem anymore (hopefully!).

Writing an ‘About Us’ page shouldn’t have to be such a chore let alone be written in a technical and well, lets face it, boring manner.  There is nothing or no rules that say you can’t write your About Me/Us page in a humorous, unconventional and flamboyant way.  If that’s how you want to write it up and if you think it will give a person a unique view into who you are as a person and as a professional then by all means go for gold.  You can write yourself up anyway you want as long as it’s done tastefully and makes people comfortable enough to want to do business with you.

People really only want to know a few basic things about you:

• Who you are
• Your professional background
• Your family background (Tis true!  People want to know this part about you too, especially if you are a small family run business or working out of home.)
• How can you solve their problem
• Where to find you
• How to contact you

People like to be able to make a connection on some level and like to feel they have made the right choice in doing business with you and the ‘About’ page is where this happens.  Include a photograph of yourself as this shows people that there is a real person behind the story.  If you have a story to share that you think will help in getting people to connect with you and make that purchase then tell the story!    The choice is yours.  Write what works for you and NOT what works for someone else, there is that saying afterall – ‘what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another.‘  In the case of an ‘About’ page, that is very much a truism.

So when you find yourself in a position of having to put together your About page, think about those few basic things people want to know about but most of all think connect.  Because that is what you want to do, connect with the reader through the words you weave about yourself.  And if all else fails then look into hiring a professional to write it for you and don’t be afraid too either, that’s what they are there for, to help you and others like you who are in the same boat.

Remember: The ‘About’ page doesn’t need to be a chore to write, technical or boring.  It just needs to speak about you as a person and as a business.

[you can also view this in the Article section of my blog]

National Novel Writing Months – November Challenge!!

OK so this post is a little of the beaten track, well more than a little but hey, this wouldn’t be the first post you’ve had to endure that I have written!  Asides from being a web designer/artist I also dabble in some creative writing, short stories being a small addiction of mine and this year I have joined the masses in participating in the NaNo 2009 November Challenge.

What is NaNo you say, well…here is an excerp from the NaNoWriMo website:

‘National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.  Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.‘

Not to give to much away, visit www.nanowrimo.org to find out more info and if you’re really feeling daring SIGN UP!

Now your probably thinking what the…?  Yeah, it has absolutely nothing to do with being a business owner and nothing to do with web design but it does have A LOT to do with focus and discipline because in a way those are the two on-going requirements that will see you through to the end of the challenge where you accomplish the 50K word count or finish that novel.

It’s a bit like being at the office really, you have to be disciplined and focused to finish your set tasks for the day and not be side-tracked by distractions, given that sometimes those distractions are genuine the vast majority of them are not.  So knuckling down and getting on with it even if your not feeling motivated can actually lead to a productive day because you did those things.

So I guess this is like a test of how well I can focus and how disciplined I am to finish the task of writing that ever elusive novel or just completing the 50k word count mark.  If I manage to accomplsh this, then not only will I be over the moon but I will also be showing myself that I have what it takes to get the job done.

And in the future when those big projects start rolling in I will have that self-assurance that I can tackle the task and get it done

FlokkaCafe And A Subscription To MindFood

While trolling through my personal emails this afternoon, I came across an email from the lovely Fiona Powell who is the Editor/Publisher of women’s business blog Flokka.  Awesome place to read interesting articles and shared experiences by many many talented women in business.

A couple of months ago I ventured into FlokkaCafe and jumped on a little competition of sorts called:
“Tell us what you’re reading online, working on, observing, learning – right NOW!”

Basically all you had to do was make a comment about the above and be into win.  I had just finished writing a blog post very similar to the one I have just posted (here which has been tweaked) and I was kinda hard-pressed for something decent to say and just made a small reference to what I had just written which went like so:
“Just written to my blog about how I used a lemon (Dogstar) and turned it into a pearl (Web Rich)”

And left it that.  So you can imagine the surprise when I got the email saying ‘congratulations’ I have to admit I was very excited and quite chuffed with myself.  It was for me, a nice way to end a good day at the office.  So I’m looking forward to reading my subscriptions of MindFood, and a big THANKS! to everyone at Flokka.  I know, its so small fry in comparison to some other competitions, but hey, I don’t care, Im just thrilled I won!

Another Mans Trash Is Now My Treasure

When my partner and I moved from the South Island to the center of Northland, at that time I hadn’t yet engaged in setting up shop, but was still mucking out the finer points of my business plan, looking for a mentor, up-grading my PC and shopping online for some extra software.  It was all very higgedly piggedly and pretty much still up in the air when we finally moved into our new home and settled in properly.

I remember going to dinner with my partner and his new co-workers and only telling ONE person what I did for a living and checking my inbox a couple of days later to find an email from a local about a photographer who could do with an up-grade.  So I checked it out and yes, I had to agree with the mailer, that this photographer definitely needed a new website.  So I emailed and waited and instead of getting an email from the photographer in question I got an email from a couple who owned a small web design business called Dogstar Web Solutions.

I know, I know, I cringed at the name as well and instantly thought of Keanu Reeves and that kids program from the 80’s.  Anywho, the email went a little like this:

‘Hi my names Amy and I own the local web design business Dogstar.  I was given your email from a friend and have a proposition for you.  We are looking at selling the business or getting someone to run it in our place as we would like to pursue other avenues.  The business has been in operation for four years and has a small client base of 18.  If you are interested please feel free to email me or contact me on……‘

From that email onwards is how I began my life as home-based business owner.  Buying Dogstar was cheaper than I thought and expected but I found out real quick that Dogstar was in actual fact a lemon.  Basically I had bought another man’s cast-off’ but I didn’t really care because I saw potential for that lemon to grow into something promising with a little TLC and some know-how.  It helped me lots that I worked in the industry as I was able to draw on my experience and knowledge and drag Dogstar out of the rut it was in and lifts its profile.  Given it has taken a year to get it where it is, I am proud and very pleased of what I’ve managed to accomplish so far.

I can attribute many things to the small successes I have had with my business, such as the Mentor programme with TPK (Te Puni Kokiri), my partner and his endless support and feedback, my determintaion to make it work, and so on.  The reality and beauty of it all is I was given the opportunity to start my business of choice through a business that was already established in the local area and had a client list to boot.  I was very fortunate.  But the greatest thing for me is my once business lemon…is now my big shiny pearl.

It’s Been A Year…

It’s Been A Year…
With highs and lows aplenty!

The one year mark of being in business is almost here and it’s been a tumultuous one, with many highs and its equal share of lows.  I have plowed my way through a recession and have done considerably well, with one or two clients dropping off only to pick up others to take their place.  It has indeed been great.

How would I sum up the experience of being a business owner?

Well its been a very engaging year of interaction with clients, building the business profile with the local community, jumping on non-profit projects, getting our name out there to businesses in the surrounding area and just building a good reputation.  Its been hard-work, scary and fun all at the same time.  I’ve met some awesome people along the way and built some good business relationships and looking forward to doing more.

There have been times where I thought I had quite possibly bitten off more than I could chew  and thought seriously about packing it in but sucked it up and pushed aside all thoughts of doubt and quitting.  I mean, I did after all with sheer determination bust my ass getting my business started, stopping at the first sign of trouble just felt like a total cop out.  And in some ways had I followed through with that course of action then I guess I can look forward to a life that see’s me walking away from everything that throws up a little obstacle.

I’d rather NOT go down that track.

But yes, it has been a very interesting year, with very interesting going-on’s and with more to come I hope!