Hello and welcome to a new Word of the Week podcast episode.

In today’s show you will gain access to something that you probably have never been part of before: a platform made of passions (and a free Google Hangout with the creators!).

Enjoy the audition!

 

In the podcast we discuss:

• 01:21 – Meet the brains and hear the story: Tom & Seb
• 05:44 – The birth of a new concept
• 10:00 – ShurDoo: create your perfect webpage… and more
• 12:05 – The 3 big pain points that Shurdoo relieves
• 13:28 – What can you do on Shurdoo?
• 17:10 – When & How will you be able to use Shurdoo?
• 21:33 – A platform created with passions
• 22:34 – What’s with the name?
• 23:55 – Getting in touch with Shurdoo
• 25:24 – Have Qs? Get your A’s directly from Shurdoo’s creators

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Here is the podcast’s transcription:

Fiona: Hi, it’s Fiona Lewis here from Super Savvy Business with the latest podcast interview! Now, as you all know, one of my projects that I have a big space in, is Mumpreneurs Online and that business is all about helping mothers work from home and primarily use the internet as a way to get their business out there to others – so I always have a look out to ways to be able to help mums and to find people that I can bring into the community that are going to be beneficial for them.

Only a couple of weeks ago I was put in contact by a fellow entrepreneur with two other entrepreneurs who were on to something really exciting. They are in the middle of a project which, I believe, is going to be transformational for many mothers who are wanting to work from home, but are trying to find the best way to get it out there, and a really good vehicle to show  other people what they are doing.

01:21 - Meet the brains and hear the story: Tom & Seb

I will introduce these two people to you…

The first person I would like to introduce is Tom Bass. Tom is in Project Sales Marketing in real estate by day, but he is also a budding entrepreneur by night. He has majored in spatial design at the College of Fine Arts, but he wanted something more engaging than staring at a computer screen all day and working on somebody else’s ideas, so he went into sales instead.

However, the urge to dream and create something of his own was simply too great so, with his 30th birthday looming less than a year away, he made a promise to himself that it was “now or never” and he dived in with his new project, which we are going to be revealing in just a moment.

The other person who is partnering with Tom on this new project is Sebastian (or Seb) Hulst. Sebastian is from the Netherlands and he has a background as an industrial designer. He has worked for small-size companies and at the moment he is working as a Senior Software Developer for a Sydney startup.

Like Tom, he has always wanted to work on his own ideas, so enrolled in a course to help him get started – and that’s where he and Tom met and they started working on this wonderful project.

So, guys, I am not going to reveal what this project is yet, because I would actually like you two to do that. But first of all, I would just like to welcome you both to the call today …

…and, yeah, this is the Super Savvy Business show and bringing you live to the Mumpreneurs Online podcast as well!

So guys, you know, I have met with the both of you and, as I said in the introduction, I am always on the lookout for ways to be able to help mothers, to support mothers who are wanting to find a leveraged way to be able to work from home in and around their families… and when I heard about your project I was really super excited.

First of all, before we go into what this project is, I have given you both a bit of an intro, but do you want to maybe tell our listeners a little bit more about yourselves?

Tom: I work in the real estate as Project Sales Marketing so we sell off the plan properties; it’s rather dull, but you do get to meet some really interesting people. But, at the end of the day, like Fiona said earlier, I really want to be creating something of my own.

I have got other passions as well, I have got several other hobbies, I do a bit of photography… I actually was part of a global street art project last year called, “Be The Change”, and we had our work on display as part of Art and About down at Barangaroo. I also do a bit of community radio DJ-ing on Radio Northern Beaches.

So, you know, just trying to find where my true passions lie and then trying to make something of them as opposed to just shoehorning myself into a particular career path. So that’s when I met Seb, we thought why don’t we say – take photography, for instance – create a platform where we can tell our stories as to why we are passionate about photography, put up portfolios, talk about various things, as how we do it, how we offer it, and then broaden that to encompass all these different hobbies that other people love to do and let them turn it into a product they can sell.

So that’s sort of how I got into it; how about you, Seb?

Sebastien: Well, I started basically, working for a software company and they wanted to start-up in Sydney and they have now moved overseas so they’ve gone to Silicon Valley and they’re starting to make it, which actually makes me feel like s**t. I have got all these ideas and I keep working for people who are yet to develop their ideas instead of working on my own ideas, which I have plenty of as well.

So I went to this course called “From Corporate To Freedom” and where Tom and me met. And we just had some ideas and we ended up with this idea called Shurdoo, which we will introduce in a second. And we just kept on going back like, “Ok, we need to find a way for all these people who have all these hobbies to actually have a simple way of putting it online, build a community and build a following”. That’s actually where Shurdoo started.

5:44 – The birth of a new concept

Fiona: So this whole idea, this business concept of yours, has really been born out of your own frustrations and difficulties around getting your passionate ideas out there?

Tom: Uh, very much so. We looked at existing platforms out there – places such as Freelancer.com, of course, you’ve got Gumtree just put classified ads, you’ve got AirTasker which is taking off here and then in the US you’ve got TaskRabbit and lots of similar places. But they are all centred around the job, the task at hand and the price. There is nothing that really lets you as a person, as a passionate person who loves doing what you do to really tell your story and start branding yourself that way so that it’s not about a race to the bottom.

So, this guy is charging $45 an hour to do this, I want to charge $50 because, you know, I would do a better job; I’m more passionate about it than he is, I can show that my process is superior, but 9 times out of 10 people just go “Oh, he is good enough”. You know? It is… it’s sort of like, it’s very salesy in a way, you know? You are sort of, you are fighting tooth and nail trying to underbid the next guy and we are trying to avoid that with the platform like this, to make it more authentic, and genuine, and put the focus back on to the person.

Seb: It also allows for – instead of having just the product out there and say “This costs $45” or “I’m having the service and I will charge $50” – it’s not focused on that; it’s much more like “This is my passion. This is what I like to do. This is how I work”, and that’s the thing that connects people instead of being like “Yo, I’m competing with this yo, because, doh!, he’s making the same thing!” – that’s not the theme.

In general, two people who are doing the exact same thing come up with completely different workways and completely different results, because one is passionate about it and the other one… he has been doing it so long and is bored with doing it actually that he will not give you the same result. So, it’s just… it’s very difficult if you only focus on products to show like “This is …” , “I’m generally better at doing it, because I have a lot more passion at doing it.”

…and that’s what Shurdoo is targeting.

Fiona: So, just to make it clear to our listeners today, what you guys are in the process of putting together is a platform for people who have a hobby, or a passion – whether it be in creating a product or delivering a service – it’s a platform for these people to come and to market this product or service, but coming from the perspective that it’s not just about the product or service; it’s about the story behind the person and why it is they do what they do, and why they are good at it. Is that right?

Tom: Yes, yes, that’s very much correct. And another very important part of this is actually the community building aspect because there are many, many people who are in the same boat as we are, who, you know, they don’t really particularly like their jobs or who can’t really work fulltime, but they do have something that they really want to make some income out of, or perhaps even as a safe test platform to see if they can actually move into a new career path. And in this instance, having a community of people giving you constant feedback or even having access to people who are actually further down your “skill path” (so to speak), or a particular thing that you are doing, that can be really helpful in terms of getting mentors or even just going up and pushing your own passions further.

[commercial break]

10:00 - Shurdoo: create your perfect webpage… and more

Fiona: And there is some other pain point, some other challenges and difficulties around, you know, being somebody who has a passion or a hobby. What are some of those things that, you know… I know that when I first started, I was up against certain things, but you guys have obviously felt it yourselves, and there are lots of… you know, this podcast is going on to our Mumpreneurs community… what other main pain points, the main difficulties  are surrounding people in getting their product or service out there?

Tom: One key aspect in the digital age is, uhm, you really need a proper website, a web presence to really get your name out there and then driving traffic to said web presence, like, uhm, it’s a very simple one page website that’s seems to be a bit of a hurdle for a lot of people in terms of quality control and how to actually tell the story. And what we are trying to develop at the moment is a system that lets you do all that almost semi-automatically. So you type in the things that you want, your story, and it will gradually guide you to arrive at a coherent story, visually and text that really sells what you have to say and what you are really passionate about.

Seb: But what we are really trying to do is to find a way, by experimenting ourselves, asking questions to mumpreneurs  and people who already put up their website … we are trying to find out what is the way that would sell these people? What is the story they are trying to sell? And a lot of people, when they start building a website, they don’t necessarily know what they should put on there. You have a blank canvas and you need to start. And this is especially where a blueprint like what Shurdoo is going to give you the help with to fill in like “These are the steps, slowly go and you just progress into a better and better website”. And that’s what a lot of people are having difficulties with.

12:05 - The 3 big pain points that ShurDoo relieves

Fiona: Yeah, I mean, I know just through the community and the people that I work with that the pain points are definitely:

1. One  - I know I need a website but maybe I don’t have the funds to get one up

2. Two – If I am going to do it myself, I have no idea about how to go about doing it myself

3. Three –  Once I get it up, how do I let people know that it’s there? How do I get a consistent flow of traffic?

So, there are all of those issues surrounding, you know, people who are wanting to get, you know, a hobby or an idea out there, but the fourth one, of course, is time – you know, having the time to actually do this.

1. So it’s budget,

2. It’s knowledge,

3. And it’s time.

The three big pain points. And that’s where I see what you are doing with this Shurdoo is really going to solve all of those issues for the people who want to get their product or service out there because it’s a bit like eBay in the sense  that eBay is a marketplace where people know they can go to buy things and it’s driving traffic on its own, because people know to go there when they are looking for something specific, for a specific product.

So I would imagine that, you know, Shurdoo, once it’s off the ground and people are familiar with it, it’s going to be self-perpetuating, where it just drives traffic organically, because people know that is the marketplace to go to when you are looking for somebody who has a hobby or a passion within a range of different areas.

13:28 - What can you do on ShurDoo?

Is it going to be covering just about everything? Can it be a hobby in etching or a profession in photography, what are the things that can be covered?

Tom: I think just about everything is going to be covered, eventually. But at the moment we are focusing purely on the market side as opposed to the service category. We are targeting mumpreneurs at the moment because there are a lot of them out there, a lot of eager mumpreneurs who want to gain their independence again and, you know, don’t necessarily want to move back into the corporate jobs; they have a kid now, they have to work but “I don’t like to, so I might as well do something that I’m passionate about”.

So let’s target them first and a lot of their pain points would be quite similar to the paint points of the rest of the broader market as a whole, namely the ones you mentioned, like time structure and I’d like to say space as well, to test out their ideas.

So pretty much our next step… I’m not sure if I’m pre-empting you, Fiona, our next step we’d like to, basically, keep developing the design, do more design and development on how it is that we are going to tell the story. So on the basic profile sites, the one-page websites… and we are pretty much doing that through trial and error and we would love to recruit any interested mumpreneurs and mumpreneurs-to-be to be part of our early group, and then maybe we can even take three or five of them in a month or two’s time to a very early version of the [...] and see if we can actually sell their services or products on the internet and get them their first customers.

Fiona: So these are women in what sort of geographical area? Where would you be looking to recruit these women from?

Tom: We are currently operating in Sydney, so we are focusing on our hometown. So anywhere in the Sydney Metropolitan Area would be our target. Of course, we will gradually expand… I think this will be very, very popular in Melbourne, and then we will go infect all the other capital cities,k and then jump overseas… in time.

Fiona: ..Take over the world. Because, you know, it is the sort of thing…

Tom & Seb: Yeah, take over the world.

Fiona: Yeah. I mean, this is the sort of thing that really will have broad appeal anywhere in the world, and because it is internet-based, there is no limit, really, as to how far this can grow.

Tom: Correct.

Seb: That’s true. And there is one thing as to why we start off with focusing so much on one area, and that’s because the whole idea with Shurdoo is that there will be a lot of services sold as well and in that case teaching somebody would only be possible if you actually can do it face-to-face or have the ability to actually come in contact with the other person. And if we would say right off the bat like the whole world is our market and guide them, we can see how it works, you will see that it is not structured enough and it is not going to be enough traction to actually get it going.

While if we … by focusing now especially on Sydney we put back like, “Ok, this is where we want people, this is to make sure that it is enough community out here to actually have people to pick from”. Otherwise it will just not have enough traction.

17:10 - When & How will you be able to use ShurDoo?

Fiona: And what sort of stage of development are you at the moment, guys?

Tom: Oh, well, as I was saying before, we are pretty much doing the design-development process, so designing the site itself, the usability, all sorts of highly technical things that I won’t go into at the moment… Seb is in charge of all the technical things back-end to make sure that the site actually runs as it should. I’m just looking through how to… I’m doing a series of mockups of how we can actually tell that story, how then we funnel the usage to actually create that story cohesively within the space, and also a little wizzard to actually help them achieve that.

So rather than having someone obsessed with how their page actually looks, all the pages will essentially be of the same structure (the same fonts, colours, whatever), but what you are in control of to a certain degree, are pictures, graphics, and various text that goes into each section as you talk about, you know, what it is that you are passionate about, why you are passionate about it, how you go about doing it, and a little bit about yourself.

And then at the very end, that’s when you get the product “Alright, I have got this passion of mine, it’s cooking, and alright, so I can either cook for someone at a party, give them a soiree experience, and then I can package that at, you know, several couple hundreds of dollars” or whatever amount you want to charge, they provide the ingredients, you show up and go there for three hours. And that’s what you do.

Or let’s say someone has actually sent a request saying “Alright, I would like to learn, you know, how you cooked that dish for me at that last soiree that you were at. Ok? One-on-one session, $100, at your place or mine”. So they can negotiate those things.

And then, you know, they keep making, ‘Oh, a kid, a toddler that actually really enjoys the food” and  you just happen to be cooking organic food, so you can branch out to organic toddler foods. “Alright! Every Sunday I am going to cook a batch and then I am going to put it in the freezer and then sell it on this platform as well”. And you can do that.

So there is a number of different ways that you can “productise”, so to speak, what you are passionate about. And we are in the process of working out, “how do we make this all work?”, all very user-friendly, and that’s where we really need the feedback from mumpreneurs, as to “What do you like: working this way or do you like working that way?”, because some of the problems that you will see we arrange things like text.

Fiona: Yeah, so ..

Tom: That’s where we are at!

Fiona: So if there were women listening to this podcast today and they are wondering whether or not, you know, they might be the right sort of person that you are looking for… What sort of pre-record do they need to be ready to roll with their product or service now… you know, who are you actually looking for?

Tom: We are looking for people who are already competent at what they do. So to say, cooking – they can cook, or a photographer – they can take great photos… but most of all the only real qualification is that they are genuinely passionate about it.

Seb: Yup.

Tom: So you can be an amazing dancer, or anything like that, but if the passion isn’t there.. sorry, wrong platform.

Fiona: Okay… so, guys, I mean, as you know, I’m super excited about this project! When I met you just a few short weeks ago through a business colleague I knew I wanted to jump on to support you, guys, because – being a mumpreneur myself, somebody who works from home and supports the family-friendly lifestyle that is flexible – I am always looking for other ways that I can support my community and the women within my community.

And the thing about this, I guess, is that, you know, this may start for some women as a hobby, something they are just passionate about, but the thing I also love is this also, I think you mentioned earlier, a great platform for testing an idea out and seeing how the market takes it; so if someone is wanting a safe way to go into the marketplace that is going to be low-cost, low-risk, and with the idea that maybe one day they want to build it into a much bigger business.

And this is a fantastic way to go about doing that!

21:33 - A platform created with passions

Seb: Yeah, this is indeed THE platform to go and try out different passions that you can really make money with it. And let alone, you might indeed go like “Ok, this is just hitting off, I’m making so many sells and then we’ll see.”

Shurdoo, at this stage, is very much a beginners’ platform. We are learning ourselves as well; we might very much go with the people and actually allow them to draft their own business. And look, at this moment, it’s purely meant to try out your passion, your hobby and turn that into a product.

[commercial break]

22:34 - What’s with the name?

Fiona: Now, guys, I think we have given our community a really good understanding of what you’ve got on the boil here and the fact that you are looking for these women to start on this journey with you. And I think, what a fantastic opportunity! People were willing to stand up and take up on that opportunity.

One thing we haven’t really covered, though, we have been talking about this thing, ShurDoo… how did you come up with that name? Can you explain it to us?

Seb: Yeah, Shurdoo actually started off as a Share and Do name. Got the domain name by mistake and we have also been playing a little bit with, uhm, Share&Do – that’s not really what we’re into. We ended up with Shurdoo, which is written S-H-U-R-D-O-O and it is about a ‘Can Do’ attitude; that’s what it actually sounds: “Sure Do”, and “We Can and We will” – it’s positive, confirming action.  So that’s what we’re trying to sell with the name.

Fiona: And once it is explained, like, I think when you hear the meaning behind it, I think it is a fantastic branding for what you are doing. Now, just to confirm, the website is www.shurdoo.com.

Tom: That’s right.

23:55 – Getting in touch with Shurdoo

Fiona: Now you guys also have a Facebook page, is that right?

Tom: Yes, we have.

Fiona: Okay, so ladies, if this is something that has peaked your interest, something that you would like to get involved in, please head over to the landing page the boys have already set up. There is a name capture in there, so you can put your name and email address in there, is that correct?

Tom: Sure do!

Fiona: (giggles) …and of course, ladies, the benefit of that is that if you subscribe to the website there, as this project progresses, you will be on the insiders’ community – you will be one of the first people to know what is going on, given the first opportunities to jump on board and then get involved. But also, the Facebook page, we will put a link on the MumpreneursOnline.com website and also SuperSavvyBusiness.com , so it will be very easy to just connect with the guys there as well.

Shurdoo Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shurdoo/247249235411387?fref=ts

Now, if anyone has questions surrounding what you are doing – I’m imagining there will be lots of questions – is the Facebook page the best place to go for that?

Tom: Yeah, yeah, that’s the best place you can go.

Fiona: Alright.. so, guys, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today, I am super excited about this project, and I will be following you very, very closely as you go along your journey and look forward to hearing about the stories that come about as a result of the women that you will be working with initially, and hearing their case studies and the successes which I am sure they are going to have.

25:24 - Have Qs? Get your A’s directly from Shurdoo’s creators

Alright guys, I am guessing that there is a lot of questions that people might have about what you are doing and wanting to find out how they can get involved in all that sort of stuff. So, we have already discussed before we started this podcast that we’d organise a Google Hangout at which people can come along and talk directly to you, ask you questions and get a little bit more of an idea about this project.

Would you like to share the date and the time for this hangout?

Tom: Thanks Fiona. Uh, it will be on the 9th of April at 8:30PM.

Fiona: Okay, now for those of you who perhaps have never heard of a Google Hangout or never been on one, I will be putting a link on my page to which you can request to join this hangout. You will need to log in with a Google account – that does not mean that it has to be a gmail email address, but it does need to be a Google account in order to access the Google Hangout.

On that hangout you will be able to ask your questions  and to be able to meet Tom and Seb in person with the videos and also I will be online as well.

So just to confirm, that is on Tuesday, the 9th of April from 8:30 PM and the link to join the hangout will be available on the MumpreneursOnline and Super Savvy Business pages for you, so this will be your opportunity to  connect with these guys and find out a little bit more about this fantastic project.

Seb: I will probably put the same link on the… on our webpage.

Fiona: Is there anything else you would like to say before we sign off on today’s podcast?

Tom: Oh, thank you, Fiona! You’ve been great!

Fiona: My pleasure, guys, I am just so happy that you have come into my circle and that I can bring you to the Mumpreneurs community.

My name is Fiona Lewis and I am from Super Savvy Business and Mumpreneurs Online.

Thank you for tuning into today’s podcast, and we will look forward to seeing you again next time!

 

Useful Information

Shurdoo’s official website: http://www.shurdoo.com

Shurdoo’s Facebook page: Click here

Google Hangout: 9th of April, 8.30 PM

Click here to accept the invitation to the Shurdoo Hangout

NOTE: You will need to have a Google+ Account to join this hangout… Please make sure you have this set up well before the hangout starts.

E18: Announcing the Birth of a Passion-Based Platform for WAHMs is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

Ken Burgin

 

In today’s podcast we have one of my friends and business associates, Ken Burgin. He has been actively involved in a hospitality industry for more than 25 years. He was first the owner of Caffe Troppo in Sydney and then he worked with restaurants, hotels and cafes in an advisory role.

He now has a membership website called Profitable Hospitality and it’s used by business owners and managers all around the world.

One of the things Ken and I often talk about is how he uses Social Media as an important part of his marketing tool kit, which is exactly why I’ve invited him along today to talk to us about how he is using Social Media and in particular how he’s using Twitter as a very important part of what he does with his business.

In the podcast we cover aspects such as:

• why it is important to use Tiwtter in order to stay up to date
• how you can use Twitter to establish yourself as the market leader in your niche
• who to follow and what to do in order to get new followers
• what to do to have people interacting (answering, commenting, clicking)
• how to use twitterfeed.com in order to program your tweets’ release
• how often to tweet and re-tweet news and whether or not you should use the same text for re-tweets.

…and many other useful information that will get your Twitter account up and running in no time!

Must have tools of the week:

• Hootsuite.com – the automation, the way you can track how many people click on different tweets is very valuable for time-saving.
• Nutshellmail.com – free service. You can link to the FB & Linkedin pages, etc. Every morning you get an e-mail with anyone who’s mentioned your name, made a comment, etc – a good summary so you can monitor what people say so you can reply quickly.

We also have the question of the week, as usually, and the answer to this one will appeal to any Twitter fan: listen and find out ways to turn Twitter into your personal playfield!

 

E17: Ken Burgin – How To Use Twitter As A Marketing Tool is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

 

Dale Elliot and his limit: the sky (Photo credits go to Curtis Morton)

Today we have a very, very special guest – a man I met only recently, about 4 weeks ago. His name is Dale Elliot and we met at a business event where we were asked to sit down and write down our goals of where we wanted to take our business.  Dale was at this event as one of the guest speakers and he came up to the table where I was and asked anybody wanted help.

We had a little bit of a conversation and within the space of ten minutes, Dale gave me something that had the most powerful and incredible impact on the way that I was viewing my world and my life.

What he’s going to share with you today is a little bit about what he shared with me that day.

The Art of Being Present

Dale shared the extremely valuable concept of being present. But he explained it to me in a different way to what I have heard before. Dale works closely with Eckhart Tolle and has a deep insight into his work.

Since that day, I’ve applied what Dales shared with me –  not only to my business life but  it has also had an incredible impact on how I am as a mother.

A Bit More About Dale…

Dale Elliot was a commercial pilot who had his career and life entirely planned out. Then about ten years ago, he had a motorbike accident which left him paralysed from the bellybutton down.

But that accident was a mind-shattering moment and it awoke in him the desire to learn how to manage the situation without being constantly frustrated and angry with the world. He succeeded in this mission and he now speaks to others about finding your passion and following your dreams.

His techniques help people become better partners and better friends, because they help them get away from the constant ‘mind noise’ most of use live with on a daily basis.

What is the ‘mind noise’?

It is a constant cycle of thoughts that go through our minds; the thoughts with which we wake up in the morning and those which don’t allow us to fall asleep in the evening. By listening to these thoughts we are wasting a lot of precious time of our lives because we are paying too much attention to unimportant things.

So during this week’s podcast, Dale shared with us three very important techniques which will help busy mothers shut down that constant flux of thoughts:

1. Identify your problems. Write your thoughts down. Are they really important? This will not only help you calm down, but it will also help you to take action rather than just postpone a thought for later.
2. Use post-it notes. Draw a small sign on them or write a short sentence which will remind you to be present. Stick them around the house: on the TV, on the microwaves, in the bedroom, etc. Be present.
3. Become the watcher of your thoughts. Divide thoughts into important and unimportant. Get rid of the latter and find solutions for the first. Never forget to live in the present, because the future does not exist!

Dale has already taken part of an Ultimate Web Blueprint Workshop in Sydney and he will be part of the workshop in Melbourne. So if you want to meet him, now is the time to make a subscription!

Must Have Tool of The Week:

Dale’s sticky notes – they are so efficient and really work so well that I cannot think of another tool which would be better suited for this section. Use post-its whenever you feel like things are getting out of control. Put a question mark on them or write a short message to help you get your feet back on earth. The notes will remind you to ask yourself:

• Do these thoughts really matter?
• Are you present?
• Where is your mind right now?
• Come back!
• Focus!

And focusing is one of the most important things when running a business. The sticky notes will help you focus, stay focused and reach your goals much faster!

You can contact Dale from his website.

 

E16: Dale Elliot On How To Overcome The ‘Mind Noise’ is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

Hi, it’s Fiona here from the Ultimate Web Blueprint. We’re here in Melbourne and we’ve got lots of wonderful people in the room. We’re going to be talking today about how you can take one piece of content and syndicate that around the net in multiple different formats.

Everyone say, “hi!”…

So lookout, we’re going to be spreading this around the net in multiple forms … we’re going to turn this video into an MP3, into a blog post, into an article, a press release and many other forms.

So check out the links below to see how this video started a ‘chain reaction’ – hopefully you’ll learn something new!

Here are the links to some of the content that was created LIVE at the Ultimate Web Blueprint workshop:

Web 2.0
Creating Content For Your Online Marketing Strategy

Online Press Release
Content and Marketing Leverage Demonstrated Live At Ultimate Web Blueprint Workshop

Video
Fiona Lewis Live Demonstration At Ultimate Web Blueprint

PDF/Document Sharing Sites
Content and Marketing Leverage Demonstrated Live At Ultimate Web Blueprint Workshop

Social Media
Pinterest: Re-Purposing Content With Fiona Lewis
Facebook: Facebook timeline post
Twitter: Check out Fiona Lewis Twitter profile page

Easy Ways To Re-Purpose Your Content is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

Kurt Johansen

Recently, I was at an event with Pete Godfrey, the Wizard of Words and one of Australia’s top copywriters. While I was there, I was fortunate enough to come across a man by the name of Kurt Johansen.

Now as soon as I met Kurt,  I knew that he was going to be a really great asset to bring to our community because he has a skill that many people lack: e-mail marketing. He has an MBA and also a Banking and Business Marketing background. He’s a business coach, mentor and Australia’s leading e-mail marketing coach and advisor. He’s the ‘go-to’ person all the leading e-mail marketing experts seek out for help.

In simple terms, he’s an e-mail marketing consultant. His methods include teaching business people step-by-step processes to get their marketing e-mails opened, read and acted upon (lots of businesses struggle with).

This week’s podcast is going to help you, mumpreneur, in a big way. It will give much insight into e-mail marketing and you will learn an abundance of tips, techniques and strategies for your e-mail marketing campaign. Using e-mails as a means to promote your products and services is one of the cheapest advertisement campaigns that everyone can use.

But, as Kurt wisely says in our interview, “E-mail marketing is an art, not an act. Anybody can set out an e-mail. But if you want to get an e-mail marketing correct and if you want to get it in your business and if you’re going to be in business, then learn some of these techniques”.

During the podcast we cover topics such as:

1. The main 4 killer tips to make your e-mails read from head to toes. This means that Kurt explains exactly how to write your e-mail Title, Headlines and Body using EDR, or Emotional Direct Response copy.

2. The most common mistakes people make when writing e-mails for marketing campaigns.

3. How to get ideas for headline templates and to keep track of them nice and easy.

4. How much of your project you should be spending on marketing and why e-mail marketing is the most cost effective advertising tool.

5. The three crucial elements required for e-mail marketing:

• Having a list of prospects
• Establishing a relationship with your list
• Introducing an offer

 

MUST HAVE TOOL OF THE WEEK:

Smart E-mail – a great tool for those busy mums who are trying to win some time on their side, Smart E-mail will do the job for you. It is an e-mail marketing software that helps busy mums to create, send and track their e-mails – and it does all of this automatically!

If you’re thinking that, well, e-mail marketing may be too costly for you, then think again. It is the cheapest advertising method, and if done right, can result in hundreds of prospects and clients. Kurt is even offering a free gift to our community members, so whoever is interested will find more information in the podcast.

 

E15: E-mail Marketing Tips from Kurt Johansen is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

In the words of John Hinwood, “having a family is a miracle. The fact that you’ve given birth to a child, that’s a miracle”. Miracles are all around us and the only thing that we need to do is seize the opportunity and then work with them in order to achieve miracles.

John Hinwood

That’s what I’ve talked about in this podcast, together with John Hinwood. He is an amazing coach, a mentor and an author – a multitasking person if you wish, because his biography tells us that he’s also:
- A teacher and health professional by training
- A businessman by effort
- An inspiration by nature

John has been handing out cards with the message “Expect a Miracle” to people all across the world and now it seems that this habit has a boomerang effect – he’s now receiving cards from other people. Along years, he’s given more than 90,000 cards all over the globe!

Our podcast focuses on how work from home mums can work in order to achieve miracles in their lives. John Hinwood tells us about:

1. The difference between Expectation and Expectancy
2. The importance of Gratitude
3. How families can achieve more by working as a team: both mums and dads have to work together, as a family and as a team.
4. Tips to push past thoughts such as “I can’t”
5. The importance of Action
6. The importance of Adaptation to new things
7. How goals can be pursued and achieved once they are written down.

What is more, mumpreneurs are encouraged to access John’s private members’ club which can help them grow exponentially. John has manifested a great desire in helping work-from-home mums achieve their goals; therefore, every mumpreneur who wants to attend to John’s private club will receive $100 off the initial price– mums will have to personally e-mail him in order to get the discount.

John also offers mums a free gift in the form of a 3 min. video which goes through the formula of creating miracles in your life; there’s also a free e-book and a template to produce your own “Expect a Miracle” cards with the special Expect a Miracle font.

So, mums, now that you’ve been given the miracle of the internet, what are you going to do with it?

E14: Expect a Miracle with John Hinwood is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

One of the best things about being an entrepreneur is hanging out with OTHER entrepreneurs and today’s guest is one of those people. Carl Taylor is one of those extremely talented serial entrepreneurs from the Gen Y generation.

Now 26 and a #1 author, Carl started his first business at age 15. After 11 years in business he has built and sold 3 businesses and generated 7 figure revenues. An avid speaker, business advisor and consultant in the areas of Marketing, Systemisation and Business Sale he now focuses predominately on teaching others how to buy, build and sell businesses for maximum profit

Carl Taylor

Over the past 12 months that I have known Carl, I have not only been impressed by his achievements, but most importantly, his depth of knowledge when it comes to business.

He published a fantastic book called Red Means Go! which is for most individuals who are a little lost when it comes to focus. His book teaches an essential hierarchy of goals and to how to envision mid-term and long term goals.

Throughout this podcast, Carl shares email management tips, including how you can maximise your productivity and effectivity in business by using an effective inbox management system. We cover points such as:

• 3 A’s for managing your inbox – Action, Archive and Annihilate
• Biggest mistakes people make when managing their email and solutions
• Discovering Google Apps for Business and how it can help your team work faster and smarter
• Recommended e-mail clients

 

Must Have Tool for the Week

Rapportive - an awesome FREE tool that shows everything about your contacts right inside your email inbox. You can get to know your contacts social network’s profile such as LinkedI., Twitter, etc.

Xobni – the smarter way for your contacts, that is also integrated with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, so you’re always up to date! This works also on Microsoft Outlook.

If you are among of these entrepreneurs who are suffering from stress, angst and frustration on managing your email inbox, why not check out Carl’s training - Inbox Domination where he will take you through step-by-step action in how to reduce your daily emails and properly strategise everything!

E13: How To Dominate Your Inbox With Carl Taylor is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

Vin Govindan

In today’s podcast episode we are joined by a professional Business Coach, Vin Govindan.

The moment I met Vin, I knew she would be a great asset to the Mumpreneur’s Online community and our newest faculty member into Mentoring Mums Online membership site. Vin has various talents and skills that are way out of my league of expertise [more about that in a sec!].

Vin started her career 15 years ago as a self-employed holistic care therapist while also managing her father’s medical practice. She had a keen eye and passion for business. At the age of 25 she started her well-being center and bookstore. A few years later, she sold her business and pursued further education in business and began consulting to small and medium size businesses. In 2010, she was awarded an MBA. Some of her clients then include Hoyts, Be Learning, Southern Oncology Specialist and St. George Vascular Laboraty.

Currently, Vin offers consulting and advisory services on business planning and coaching. She is a super intelligent person who loves figuring out numbers and number crunching.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when it comes to figuring out the numbers in my business and doing a written business plan, my mind wants to turn off. It is not something that excites or interests me.

BUT

At the end of the day, it is something we simply cannot ignore. Having a structured business plan not only help to give you focus and clear direction on your business, it can also help you if you plan to get funding. It is also VITAL that we have a clear understanding of the ways the numbers work in our business!

In this interview, Vin discusses points and planning tips on starting up your own business whether you are in start-up mode or already have an established business. Throughout this podcast, we cover topics such as:

• Key elements to help you succeed in business
• Creating your own Vision Board
• Daily planning, including ensuring you are always doing something to move towards your goals
• Components and structure of a written business plan
  • Writing your vision, mission and company values
  • Start to clarify your vision and think about the fundamental objective of your business
  • Identifying your business model
  • Understand who your competitors are
  • Strategy and key actions to-do to develop your business
  • Involve into a strong network of people around you. Utilise professional services e.g. Business Mentors, Marketing Coach, Accountants, etc.

So, whether you are starting up or growing an online or local business, we can help you reach your business goals by joining into our Mentoring Mums Online program. We have got extra tips on bringing business plans to life and to a maximum level of success.

E12: Business Planning by Vin Govindan is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

One of the things I LOVE about working in my business is that I get to meet some truly inspirational women. And in today’s Mumpreneurs Online podcast, we are just delighted to be joined in by an energetic and enthusiastic Mumpreneur, Dee Havebond.

Dee Havebond

Dee is an epitome of what a superstar mumpreneur is all about. From living the highlife to becoming broke, nearly divorced, highly stressed and very overweight, BUT she managed to rise up and get back on track.

She then founded an awesome business idea – Sew Funky which is a sewing school for kids. All of which started on a strategy on how to create an Ultimate Lifestyle in building up your own business and wealth from scratch. She thought of creating Sew Funky as a perfect and fun business not only earning money from it but also the idea of teaching kids and creating community atmosphere.

With the success from her Sewing school business, she then thought of an idea of building an empire that would empower and encourage mums into developing business ideas. She started ‘Mifestyle’ – teaches women on how to start up their own business (with little or no money) to produce income, while still being the primary caregivers to their children.

She speaks to us about:

• Secrets to creating a successful lifestyle business
• How to create the ‘Wow’ factor
• Coping with the bumps and humps in running your own business
• The value of a business mentor
• Leverage the Internet into growing your business
• Engaging into Social Media: Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn
• Recommended Tools for Business: Screenflow and Camtasia

One of Dee’s highly successful businesses that she talks about in this podcast is Sew Funky - a program designed for kids aged 5-10 to teach the lost art of sewing. Dee believes that sewing is a wonderful way for kids to be creative, use their imagination and learn a skill for life.

If you are struggling to survive or starting up your own business, head over to Mentoring Mums Online Program to learn a complete business blueprint covering a various range of e-business models – out proven strategies actually DO work and you also get to hang out with like-minded, entrepreneurial women…

E11: Developing a Perfect Lifestyle Business with Dee Havebond is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis

Last week we chatted to Chris Ducker on the topic of using outsourcing as a way to grow and scale your business. It can certainly be a very lucrative career for those who work from home to provide services to other business owners. So I thought it fitting to switch this week to look at Virtual Assitance as a viable business model for mums who want to work from home.

More and more business owners in Australia and across the globe are now beginning to embrace internet technology, and virtual assistants are fast becoming more popular and in demand.

Donna Tsitsis

So in today’s episode, we covered the business model on starting up your own Virtual Assistant Business. I had the pleasure to chat with Donna Tsitsis – a work from home guru; founder of The Office Buddy Pty Ltd and the VA Success Program ‘The Virtual Assistant Buddy’.

With over six years in the field of office and virtual support, she has become an expert with vast experience in the field of retail and finance sector. It started over 5 years ago when she established her very own virtual assistant business.

She’s now busy dedicating much of her time mentoring VA’s into building their work from dream jobs and runs many workshops / training programs to help grow this fantastic industry. We are also very fortunate to have Donna on our faculty of experts in the Mentoring Mums Online program.

Donna and I chat about top tips for people wanting to become a Virtual Assistant and we cover topics such as:

• What are the right skills and qualifications you might need to become a Virtual Assistant?

• What type of tasks should you expect to perform?

• Must have equipment or tools you will need to get started

• The best ways to find your clients

Resource of the Week for a VA Business

• Dropbox – a file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file synchronization that are essential for virtual work
• SMS Tech allows you to SMS from a computer to your customers and is extremely cost-effective

To get your virtual assistant business started, visit our Mentoring Mums Online Program to give you a comprehensive guide on your online business journey.

E10: How To Become A Virtual Assistant With Donna Tsitsis is a post from: Mumpreneurs Online Work From Home Ideas by Fiona Lewis