Join in if you are self-employed and work from home

Purpleroses

lol i love diagnosis murder too! Have to say i'd never go to his hospital tho!

anyway, lots to do today. Already done quite a lot this morning I feel like this thread is really keeping me motivated! so things to do today

pack and label parcels ready for posting
update customer details
send out invoices & update accounts
tidy tower of files on desk

Hope the assigments are going well Horace!

Horace

I have wandered in because I am losing the will to live - I am doing a relatively easy assignment and I am bored with it, I am fed up of looking at pink cadillacs and other wierd and wonderful forms of transport. Yawn. The one on entertainment isnt any better either:rolleyes: Mind you I have found a supplier of all vehicles American at a local garage that I pass almost daily - well I never:rolleyes:

I can manage without Doctors (their film set isn't far from me:rolleyes: ) but I cannot miss Neighbours:rolleyes: Dr Sloan - I wouldnt want to be his friend either, know him and your next stop is the funeral home, just like I would never live in the village of Midsomer because that has a higher than average murder rate:eek:

Hope I can find some motivation soon.

Good luck all and well done to those that have managed to do a few jobs.

blue_monkey_2

I know, I kind of think I'd lose the will to live if I ended up in his hospital, LOL!!

Are we allowed to ask here whether we can link to each others websites but putting banners or something on them? ANyone up for linking to undies? I guess anyone selling fashion, babies stuff (I do maternity and nursing), weddings, etc... might be benefitcial to both of us. I've got quite a high ranking on google due to how long I've been trading so your linky would be picked up quite high too.

I've just printed out some invoices and noticed a message on one of them. Don't you just think 'uh-oh' to some orders, not actually sure I want to send the goods to this customer I have to say..... I can just 'feel' trouble all over it.

Mudbath

Morning (just)! One of the cards I sent off last week to old clients has paid off - they've phoned for a double appointment. I couldn't fit her in for two weeks as i'm going away (but I just said I was fully booked) - so she's booked two appointments a fortnight for three months! Result! Thanks for talking me into writing to everyone!

I'm working this afternoon and then i'm going to start a plan for the assignment i'm writing. I have to send the plans off then write them...can't wait (not). Mind you, there're never as bad as you think they're going to be.

I've just had yell.com on the phone trying to get me to advertise. Thing is, you get a free line anyway so there's no point paying for an ad. I used to pay for an ad and I didn't get anymore calls from that than I do the one line.

I'm also going to do Saturday and today's accounts when I finish work and I'm also planning on starting to leave business cards and price lists somewhere....just need to think where I can leave them!

Hope you all have a good and productive week xx

TCM_3

Horace you can have one of my sticky toffee eclairs if you do your assignments today!:D

Horace

TCM wrote: »

Horace you can have one of my sticky toffee eclairs if you do your assignments today!:D

Bribery huh - anyway I have been doing weddingy things by giving advice on the weddings forum:rolleyes:

Sorry we are not allowed to post links to our businesses on here - but Blue Monkey wny not set up a group on Facebook then you can pass around your web details to whom ever. I do that and have put my web details on all American sites that I am a member of and a few others too. You are welcome to put a link on my FaceBook Group. I dare not put my business name on here because Martin will have my guts for garters.:eek:

Essex-girl_2

Just popping back in at the end of my lunch break which was extended somewhat as had phonecall from school and had to pick DS who is feeling ick.
DS not installed on sofa in front of TV so I cannot watch my daily dose of Doctors which is a good thing!! I used to have lunch at 12.30 then hold on to watch doctors at 1.45 then it seemed to be school time.

Anyway 30 minute batches is going well. Have racked up 5 so far this morning plus it has cut down on my coffee consumption. How you doing Sammy?

blue_monkey_2

No Horace, I am not talking about posting on here you misunderstood. This is something people can sort out themselves by PM, no money or anything it is just a banner you add to your site promoting anothers business. If it does not work out you remove the banner and that is the end of it. As I say, I've good positioning on Google due to how long I have been trading, if someone is selling something such as clothes I can put a banner on for them and they can do the same for me, in theory people who but that nice black dress for a night out might also be looking for the undies to go with it and vice Versa.

Anyway, I've kind of had a productive week, I've been searching out sites I can post my discount codes on and emailing them saying 'I am offering x% off and I am already selling at discount can you add me onto your site'. I am happy to break even and give a good discount so I can get more interest in my products long term. I've been accepted by 4 'discount' sites and forums now so I've done OK there and it gives me an incentive to keep going as sometimes lately I have thought 'why'. Just one customer buying is a bonus as I am starting to get the all important repeat custom. I've a 'golden ticket' promotion coming up too so I've got to get onto that this week and have some more things to add to my site.

Now a smallish rant....

I also emailed MSE because people are posting links to things that I sell cheaper and I suggested that maybe there could be a list of 'approved' businesses that could post if the product was directly related or the mods could so this for us. We already have a thread where we can post but no-one ever looks at it. The answer was no - which I can understand about spam and all that. However, I was asked if I could offer a code for MSEr's. Sure, so I gave a code that would mean making a loss on clearance and breaking even on current lines and I explained this was the most I could offer. But I have been told that the discount I offered is not enough to let me have a mention but if I was to increase that discount then I could. What irks me is that I sell well below RRP and I am one of the cheapest retailers in the UK - anything between 10 and 30% lower on current lines and I am well below RRP on the clearance stuff (up to 80%) - but I've been told giving a code for an additional 15% on top of this discount is not enough! Hpowever, if I put the prices back up to RRP and then give a code for a bigger discount, then I could be added. This little thing just irritated me as it is just smacks of dishonesty as far as I can see. So I decided that no, I'll not bother and keep prices at what they are now.

I am getting really irritated by lots of little things to be honest (the above included), everyone has to start somewhere and without paying huge amounts in advertising there is little or no help for small businesses. Sure, put the prices up and advertise somewhere glossy and expensive, no point, people just want to pay less for their goods The big companies can afford the advertising while the little ones are deemed 'untrustworthy' because they are small businesses. I was told I could not advertise locally on Freecycle (despite the ONLY place in this area selling what I sell going under) because I was 'selling' but tradespeople are free to advertise on there. Now this is what I do not get, surely Tradespeople are 'selling' a service and making money too? So what is the difference. Sometimes I feel I am met with resistance for being a 'small' business (despite me making over 30,000 transactions in 7 years I am still a 'small' business) and that I am banging my head against a brick wall.

Anyway, while I've been ranting another acceptance has come in. I am at the point now where I feel I will keep on plugging away and one day people will realise there are more options to where they buy their goods and not just the huge retailers. *breathe out and relax* Rant over. Sorry, I hope no-one minded, that has been building for a while now Does anyone else feel they have the same problems?

blue_monkey_2

OOh, also Horace, log into your personal settings and there is an 'add your homepage' link and you are able to put your website there. People do find it, you'll be surprised. I notice you have not got yours on there.

In regard to Facebook. I did just this, set up the business page, it asked me to log in and so I did and I cannot find the page anywhere. Any dieas? I thought it would be linked to my own page but it is not there. I did post a thread about a week back asking for someone to help me find it but I never got any reply. So if anyone can help me..... please, please help me find my hidden facebook page. LOL!!

There is also a link on the 'Discount Vouchers' page that is 'Offer moneysavers a discount' and you CAN post details of your site there if you have an offer so bear this in mind. Maybe you want to give 10% off the usual price you charge. I have to say that I do not think that many people look at it and if you start a new name you cannot post links on it for some reason so I use this name now to post in there and post all of my offer codes in there.

sashanut

Hi all

It does seem very unfair that small businesses are not encouraged; it doesn't really happen to us as the things we 'sell' are not sold by the big boys, but I understand where you are coming from! At least if you can rant on here it can make you feel better to get it off your chest on Monday & there may be someone who can offer advice, you just never know for the rest of the week.

My rant FWIW is to do with our main - well only - customer who is 'supposed' to pay us 6 weeks after being invoiced. However, this rarely happens & atm we are waiting 2 months to be paid. Payment was due last Friday, they said they would send a cheque, should have come either Sat or today (it hasn't). Now even if it comes tomorrow we will be lucky to have cleared funds by Friday - another week gone....:mad: Meanwhile our bills are due every month without fail I feel like ringing them up & asking if their salaries were withheld for weeks at a time, how they would manage??? Now, here is a lesson to be learnt by all new startups - don't put all your eggs in one basket :rotfl: like we have with this business.

Luckily I do have my 'other' little business, the website, which keeps us going. Of course, in an ideal world we wouldn't be living from month to month, but atm that's how it is.

Now, I am going to follow the half-hour timer for this afternoon, as this morning has been biz.

Will report back in 30!