pink nik: t-shirt printer/crime fighter

New Products for 2010 - Your Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:28:00 +0000

Hey Folks
We're thinking of introducing a few new products into stock that you can get customised and we'd like to know your thoughts.

So get your feedback on the comments and let us know what you think. :D

To get us started we have customised Flip Flops:

They come in 3 sizes S, M, L and they can have anything printed on them that takes your fancy. So making these perfect for Hotels, Bars, Stag/Hen, Fashion, Boat Marinas, Parties, Promotions, Spa/Health/Beauty outlets, Sports Clubs, Holiday and Tourist attractions and lots more. Price will be approx £15 a pair.

Next is Heart Shape Purse:

This cute little coin purse can be completely customised with a full colour print, so anything from a photo to a lovely piece of art can make this a great gift. Price will be approx £10.

And finally, the Guitar Strap:

This guitar strap is available in 100% white or tan leather and can be printed on in full colour. This is customising gifts at its best. Make a picture collage for the strap or simply print with text. Price will be approx £50.

Ok so that's the 3 of them, we'd really love to hear your feedback.

Christmas Trading Times

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:53:00 +0000

We're open right up until Christmas Eve. Huzzah!

We're taking orders on all items until the 21st Dec but after this we'll only be working on our stock items, which include mugs, mouse mats, caps, canvas bags, t-shirts & hoodies (sizes & colour depend on stock).

So if you're wanting something super special don't leave it too late.

Spotlight - Street Hoodie

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:24:00 +0000

We love the Street Hoodies by AWDis. They are the best hoodies avaiable just now with some fantastic features the main highlights being;

thumb holes in the cuffs of the sleeves
a pocket in the front pouch to put your mp3 player or phone with an opening to put your earphones through
up at the neck there are earphone loops

These hoodies are nice and warm and would be the ideal gift or addition to your wardrobe this winter. They can be printed on or embroidered to suit.

To get more information check out our catalogue on the website or call our office an quote garment code JH020.

Take care of Christmas Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:46:00 +0000

Get 10% off by quoting 'BLOG10'

Cannot be used with other promotions|Expires 18th Dec 2009

See Term's & Conditions

Why have a blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:50:00 +0000

I was at the latest Blabit Networking meeting in Linlithgow and the discussion rolled around to businesses and blogging. One of the women present was a Herbalist and she was talking about ways to market her business, we chatted about various things but blogging seemed to be something that would really suit her business. We discussed the advantages of a business having a blog and it got me thinking on how businesses including myself could use blogging to their advantage.

If you think about your favourite website..... what makes it your favourite? For me it's regularly updated content. New articles, products and so on. So that should be the aim for your business. A blog gives you an easy oppertunity to do this.

For example the Herbalist could post quarterly blogs about seasonal pick me ups, advice etc., for my business i should be highlighting products, new products and special offers.

Blog aren't hard to work either, you don't need any special skills to run one. Sites like Blogger are very straight forward to use. If you want to add to it and expand the blog by adding gadgets, links, polls, ads and so on then you can but it's not manditory.

A blog would give you something to connect to your customers and give a more personal insight into you and your business. Blogs don't need to be super lengthy, 200 words to give people some thing to quickly read, add extra bonuses by finding links to other sites that maybe of inerest or back up what your saying. Can you post a picture to help make it look interesting? These all help and are easy to do. On Blogger it's just like editing a Word document.

Please reccomend blogs you know for us to check out.

some free blog sites:

Blogger.com

WordPress.com

LiveJournal.com

Yay

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:35:00 +0000

I'm feeling really encouraged just now, i've had a few folks mention this blog and so far no bad feed back! I don't really do this thinking people need to know this (although maybe you do :D ) because i know a lot of the things i talk about are out there already, but i like to share what i'm learning being a new business owner and this logs my thoughts on that journey, but if it can help someone else then that is a nice bonus!

THANKS FOR READING! :D

A thought on Comparative Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:05:00 +0000

"Comparative Advertising

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Comparative advertising is an advertisement in which a particular product, or service, specifically mentions a competitor by name for the express purpose of showing why the competitor is inferior to the product naming it.This should not be confused with parody advertisements, where a fictional product is being advertised for the purpose of poking fun at the particular advertisement, nor should it be confused with the use of a coined brand name for the purpose of comparing the product without actually naming an actual competitor. ("Wikipedia tastes better and is less filling than theEncyclopedia Galactica.")" - article link

The first, and only time, i have visited America was in 1996, i was 16. I remember sitting in a friends basement watching tv and the adverts coming on. I was surprised at the advertising, with everyone telling me that this form of advertising was perfectly normal over there. I had never seen advertisers being so blatant as to say "we're better than blah". We sat telling our American friends that they just don't do that in the UK and we think that it's better advertising.

Then about 10 years on and it starts on our advertising and I'm shocked! well maybe that's an exaggeration but i can't believe that we finally caught up with the US to advertise with the same techniques.

Doing a little research i have found that this kind of advertising is regulated in the UK by the ECJ (European Court of Justice), where in recent years when any disputes have risen they have decided who's in the right. One article i read described a dispute between to supermarket giant's in the UK, one of which weren't happy at the way the other was using the information they had about them, but according to what I've read so long as the adverts conform to directive 84/450 which in brief states that so long as the advert is:

not misleading;does not create confusion;
does not discredit or denigrate the third party trademarks;
does not take unfair advantage of the reputation of a trademark; and
does not present goods or services as imitations or replicas of goods or services bearing a protected trademark or trade name.

This whole form of advertising is meant to keep the customer informed, everywhere these days it's all about price comparisons. The customer is wanting the cheapest price and in the current economic climate i think it's only fair everyone watches their penny's but i really don't agree with these adverts.

Every time an advert comes on tv now for one of the supermarket giants and it has price comparisons it gets me really angry. I feel it is the lowest form of advertising, it's like high school "we're better than you" groups.

I know businesses try to keep up with what their competitors are doing and they evaluated it as to how this compares to what they are doing but to then go out and say we're better than them because we're cheaper, means nothing. Walk around your large local supermarket you know the 2 I'll mean and look at the prices for products "we're cheaper than B by 1p"! Well wow! is this what it is reduced to we're cheaper because we can knock a penny of the price. A supermarket can win an award by having the cheapest products because they knock 1p off their prices to ensure the ones they can't give you a decent discount on they can still be cheaper.
So when they say we have 10,000 product cheaper than B it's only because we've knocked 1p of about 75% of them.

I'm wailing on supermarkets as they are most prominent on tv doing it just now but banks are just as bad, if i hear Howard signing once more about comparisons I'll shoot myself!!
I like the adverts used just now by 2 specific companies for the same reason, they show you something that is worthwhile using about their company.

For example: Morrison's main adverts just now are showing that their butchers are in house, they are highly trained and the meat freshly prepared for you. Their butcher will help you pick the right piece of meat for what you're wanting to cook because they are highly trained and friendly. All just for you.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's adverts just now are telling you how they have branches open on a Saturday. Why? because if your to busy during the week you can do it on your day of, they're there for you when you need it.

These 2 companies are showing that they have something, that may not necessarily be unique to them, but it's certainly something that people will look at and think Hey that could be helpful, my bank or supermarket doesn't do that.

The other thing that i don't like about comparative advertising is that your competitor can use your trademark in their advertising. This just should not be allowed the reason something is trademarked is to stop other from using it.

This just all seems like below the belt advertising, what happened to being creative when doing advertising, this is just lazy advertising.

My favourite response to comparative advertising is Windows reply to Mac advert that PC's were old, slow, uncreative and almost useless. But Windows came back with a great set of adverts showing a creative, unique and varied group of people that use a PC for work and play, no mention of their competitors, just taking their turn to respond to the claim that PC's can't do much of anything.

In my mind this is creative advertising, as this advert would have worked well on it's own and now some time on from those adverts it does work well as a stand alone advert and not a response to a claim made by a competitor.

I feel that it is up to businesses to show that it's creative advertising that is going to get people further, showing customers them broader scope of benefits that they'll get from using your business, not just a saving on price because using a business should be more than that. The whole experience should be something to shout about.

Here are the websites that i used for research into this:

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/in-practice/comparative-advertising-ecj-fizzes-it

http://www.lawdit.co.uk/reading_room/room/view_article.asp?name=../articles/comparative%20advertising.htm

http://www.out-law.com/page-7985

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advertising

There were a couple more but I've lost the links, which i am looking to find to add in here.

How To: Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Here's some tips and sites that are realy useful for any of you lovely folks that may want some more info. if you have a look at these sites and feel you need a bit more help then there are now several places offering courses on how to use social media for marketing, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce for one, but be sure to note that they probably use these resources as the basis for what they wil be talking about.

Twitters own business site
"Dry, boring feeds rarely draw many people. Successful Twitter business accounts, though, can take many forms. They may be personal and chatty or they might even have mostly automated information. But no matter the style, the key is to post messages that your followers will find compelling."- http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/

Twitter 101 for Business Blog

This link is for a specific post that i think is particular interesting, have a look at the slide show, but definately check out the rest of the blog.- http://twitter101.blogspot.com/2009/07/20-ways-to-tweet-for-companies.html

Chris Brogan

"Ideas About WHAT to Tweet11. Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”"- http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

Pistachio

This site has lots of really good usful links to articles and tips that are worth checking out- http://pistachioconsulting.com/featured-articles/twitter-for-business/

More useful links (list will get updated or add your own links)
Dosh Dosh - 17 Ways to Use Twitter: My Experiences So Far

Duct Tape Marketing - 17 Ways to Use Twitter for Small Business and Some Not

Twitter: my reply

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:06:00 +0000

this post is basically me having a vent, a rant and possibly a moan..... but i'm gonna put up some useful links for those that are interested in finding out more about twitter, as i feel the places charging to give you this information is a bit crafty when there are a lot of resources free online, suprise, suprise. :)

i'm a huge twitter fan, i think it's the one thing i g33k out about most of all! :D i've been reading some articles and forums recently about using twitter for business and a lot of places, such as the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce are offering courses for using social media.... twitter included. i've been thinking about this alot recently and i do see the potential of twitter for business and i use it as a way of promoting my business and so far i think it works well. it is allowing me to contact customers, get inspired about business, follow my interests, keep on top of news and much more.

i think this is my response to those that i've read slamming it as a fad and that the amount of time it takes to maintain something like this is pointless! these people as far as i'm aware don't use twitter, which for one i find this strange that they are being down about it because they don't like it. fine don't use it but don't knock it for that and for generalising that i'm wasting of resources even trying to use it. the good thing about twitter is that it isn't necessary to spend hours on it, but a bit of time can make the difference.

there is potential but it's not for everyone, there are certain things advertising wise i wouldn't touch for my business but it doesn't mean they don't work, in my opinion they aren't for me and that's fine i won't waste my time with them but i certainly wouldn't tell someone else that it wasn't worth their time or money, as it may turn out to be a useful income generator.

so if twitters for you, then great come follow me @ twitter.com/pinknikdesigns, but if it's not for you then fine but don't tell me i'm wasting my time!!

Thought about holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:02:00 +0000

My husband and I were fortunate enough that our families gave us a honeymoon as a wedding present but it's raised some interesting points for me to think about! The main one being: How do you work a holiday round your business? Fly half days during the week and an extra day for a long weekend don't really count. I'm thinking like our week away to Menorca.

My husband get's a little annoyed that I take my blackberry and laptop away with me wherever we go, but I try to explain that I am my business and that I need to be close at hand if anyone should need me. Again I'm very fortunate that my family is willing to jump in and lend a hand at looking after things if I go away, but they don't know the complete in's and out's! I suppose more training would be in order so they know the best suppliers to go to when they need something and how best to price an order that doesn't meet our standard price list, as well as a few more things. But I feel that while I'm not really in the position to have someone fully trained up yet this still leaves me taking my blackberry and laptop as part of my luggage!! Hunting down a wifi spot or getting my mobile internet working isn't always useful, so my blackberry is my connection to the world.

The only thing is taking 30 minutes out when your swimming, bbqing or exploring to chat about work related things doesn't always work well as you may not have all the info to hand etc, or training may not have been finished on the thing needing done. I took a day off during the summer to finish things of for our wedding or something like that and I ended up spending the afternoon on skype talking my sister through how to setup a design that was needed while we were gonna be away after the wedding. FYI the desktop sharing function on skype, but like i said fly half days and long weekends don't count.

I've seen several business and know one or 2 others that take a week or 2 in the year and shut shop, let their customers know they'll be closed and that's it holiday time. As far as I'm aware these businesses don't get a lot of on the spot sales, I do know that they get large orders with deadlines and people are informed that anything required during the holiday time has a deadline date and after that, well too bad, but maybe not quite as douchey as that. This works for them, or it seems to but for myself i feel that my business can't close for a week, have the phones down or diverted as this may put people off, send them elsewhere and generally loose us customers. And here we are back to my dilemma!!

So I'm happy that I've had a holiday this year and that there are people that can take care of things while I'm away. I guess whether you take your business with you on holiday comes down to personal preference, but I feel that if i were forced to not take laptop or blackberry and never to seek out a wifi spot the least i could do is have a living breathing answer service for my customers, be happy in the knowledge that the ones that have time and want to use our service will return and that if they don't well, their loss i guess.

Or maybe i could save a little space in my carry on for my blackberry...................

Update: 08/10/09

After making this post a few friends on Facebook saw the link and I got a couple of comments I wanted to share....

"Now that's tough even when you work in the holiday business! The trick is to choose a time when you are traditionally quiet, and let everyone on your contact list know at least three weeks before you go away that you are on holiday. You'd be amazed how many folks need you when they know you are about to take a holiday"

It's been a while

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Man i can't believe that it was March when i last posted anything! It seems like such a long time ago now. We've been super busy, which i think has been a result of the networking and careful advertising we have done. Although i must admit there's some advertising that we signed up for that i reallly don't know how effective it's been, but i think i just need to give it time to see how it goes. We had a chap in the office yesterday saying he's had our flier since October, that's 8 months before he came to see us. But the upside is people are holding onto our details when they find it.

I find that networking, although more time consuming, gives the better quality in after sales. I have to admit though that i believe networking isn't just for getting sales, but what you do get is quality! I've been missing networking, it really inspires me and i'm learning new stuff all the time. Which is why i maybe haven't been so regular with the blogging here for a while. Although i'me super excited about the rest of this month, i'm going to 3 networking events and all 3 are very different.

Tomorrow morning see's me heading into a breakfast meeting starting at 7am (i'm hoping the breakfast is worth it), next week i'm going to the first meeting of a women's networking event in a local pub starting at 8pm and finally at the end of the month there's a networking BBQ in a club in Edinburgh that should be a total blast.

But i'm happy because i'm getting married in just over 2 weeks and i think when i come back from honeymoon i'm gonna jump back into networking, i really have missed it, the next few weeks will help me get back into it.

Tradeshows

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:18:00 +0000

I've posted about his before on another site but it was some time ago and i was at a tradeshow at the weekend and it got me thinking about it all over again.

So without being to repetitive...

I think tradeshows are a must for any business! They are inspiring and good fun. It doesn't matter if you go as an exhibitor or a visitor. I've always been a visitor and what i get out of it is brilliant, so i think i can safely assume that being an exhibitor would be the same, possibly better.

As i mentioned i was at a show at the weekend and it was great. I was loaded with the cold and felt i could have done with being in bed trying to get better, but I'm glad i got my butt down there. We registered and walked through the door, decided to start on the left side of the hall and the first stall we hit was a supplier that i had been wanting to find for a few months now, maybe even longer than that. The next stall down was another supplier that done something similar. We even got a 3rd contact for the same product later that day.

The whole day went like that, it was so good and i left feeling really buzzed. As we were leaving we went back to one of the stalls to go speak to a rep from one of the clothing brands. I had only met Katie a few days before but it was really nice to meet her again in a different setting and she introduced me to a colleague of hers who was another really good contact. We chatted about clothing sizing, one of my true passions, and about studying in Galashiels.

If you go to a show make sure you talk to the folks you know as well as folks you don't, again it all comes down to networking. But by chatting to suppliers and other folks in the same industry as yourself means you can get all sorts of hints and tips. Talking to Katie's colleague i was chatting about the clothing they rep, and i was saying how i liked the brand but i wished they did it in bigger sizes as there really isn't that great a selection for larger sizes. They agreed that it was something that would be good to look into and wondered if i would mind getting a call to discuss my thoughts further on the subject, of course i wouldn't mind.

It was good to have someone to talk to about this i do feel there is a big gap in the market for clothing that go higher than a size 18/20, which again is another issue i feel strongly about, and know that for myself and my customers it would be good to have the options for more variety in sizes above an 18/20. I only normally get to talk about this topic to my customers, so to speak to the reps from a company that may be able to do something about it was great.

All in the day of a tradeshow. So to repeat my point, if you get the chance to go to a show then do it, do it, do it.

donate-a-design

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:26:00 +0000

One of our customers made us a pic the other day! It's quality.... and sparkly! Which i like! So Mr Reid.... Ta Much!! :D

HUGE banner - pictures finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:59:00 +0000

My Nanny passed away last October, this had been something we were expecting as she had had a very bad fall a few months before, she was admitted into the Astley Ainsley Hospital in Edinburgh to recover, but i think she started to like being looked after to much and didn't want to leave there when they said she would be moving on. The staff were great to her, the hospital has lovely grounds, but the only down side was that the ward she stayed in had the worst view... EVER!! i'm not exagerating the view from the McCallum ward was a brick wall. Some bright spark at some point decided it would be great to build a conservatory/tv room for the patients but in the process block a ward window, leaving a gap of 3-4ft to let a little light in. It was a dreary, dull room!

So we decided to brighten the place up a little by making a 10x12ft banner that would improve the view.... here's the finished results.

The staff and patients have told us that McCallum ward is now the most popular ward, thanks to the banner. It's so nice being able to do something for the folks that took great care of my gran!

Chuffed!

Up at the Mall

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Well, here we go again!
As of the 12th of January until Sunday the 18th we've a stall up in the Mall (Howgate) in Falkirk. We have been offered this as last years winner of their local best business idea. So if you've read my blog about the pro and cons of this type of advertising it hasn't always been the best for me! But the good thing i do get from it is a bit of free press in the local paper. So we're back again and for anyone interested we're doing a special offer if you order 15 or more t-shirts for stag or hen night then we'll give you a further 10% discount on the total of you're order if you print out the voucher at the bottom of this post! Happy Shopping! :)

VOUCHER NO LONGER AVAILABLE

remember to print this page of and hand it over when you place your order or you wont get the discount.

Advertising - We Need Your Help

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:20:00 +0000

Advertising online is something that I'm quite passionate about! I really enjoy designing an advert or a spot for my company to sit in! I'm well up for linking websites with other business's to help share the love! But what really grinds my gears is these Internet directories that will try to snare you into ridiculously priced advertising spots to be the best posted, highlighted or whatever else they wish you to do.

But what i have found is that there are a few places out there that are totally worth the cost with out signing your business into some bizarre contract that leeches money from you on a slow and painful basis. The only real down side to them is that they have a rating system that puts you in the ranking order based on who is best rated.

So here's the appeal... anyone that would be willing to say that you have dealt with us, whether it be an enquiry or used our service, but I'm looking to get some rankings put on the the sites for us without me cheating and using my googlemail and yahoo mail accounts to lie! Coz I would like this to be realistic! Even if it's just coz you met me at a networking meeting and thought i was polite! that would be great!

And in return we'll do the same for you, if you have a business we'll rate you and put you on our links page. If you have a bebo we'll give you some love! and if we get enough ratings we'll even offer everyone that's done it money off their next order but only if we hit 50 ratings! Good news is to be tops we only got to beat 2 reviews but we still gotta have goals! :D

So come on don't waste any more time reading this click the link below and get rating.

Much Love!! xx

Pink Nik Designs on the FreeIndex

See how we're getting on check the widget on the side!

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:26:00 +0000

Top Tips on Networking (Addition)

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Print of an attendance list of folks that are going to be there and bring a pen. This will let you take notes of things that interest you. But more importantly so you can take notes of what people are asking you about your business. That way when you do a follow up and are sending out emails to the folks you chatted to, then you can add in a little bit of info about whatever it was that sparked their question to you. Even if all you put at the end of your email ‘feel free to get in touch in the future about XYZ and I can send you more info or would love to meet up to get the chance to talk to you more about it.’ If you don’t have an attendance list, just use their business cards!
Always try putting time aside that week to do a follow up email. Even if it’s just to say it was really nice meeting you, feel free to get in touch with any questions, I look forward to seeing you at a future event. Folks will appreciate that.
Don’t worry about being there on your own or being a newbie. If you are going to a networking event for the first time or on your own, don’t stress! You’re not the only one that will be in that boat! Take comfort in the fact that you are the newbie or on your own because a lot of the time people will come over to you that maybe see you being a wee bit awkward or flying solo. But remember you do have 2 choices; you can bring someone with you, if you know someone that is in business themselves or have a colleague bring them along for moral support until you’re happy to go it alone. Or you can speak to the organisers and ask them to introduce you to few folks to get you started.

A thought on: Speed Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:15:00 +0000

Well I had a good 'first' today, I attended my first speed networking event. It was a total marathon!

Here's how it went...

9.30am: arrive, have bacon roll and cup of tea (wake up), informal chat with folks there.
9.45am: take seat and you’re told if you’re a 'mover' or a 'sitter'. I think the names speak for themselves. I was a sitter so folks came to me. You get 2 minutes each to chat about your business and what you do. Then the whistle goes and you move on, or in my case wait for the next person to shift over. Over the first run you get to talk to 10 folks.
11am: break for cuppa, more informal networking
11.25am: next round, 10 more folks to chat to
12.30pm: lunch and chatting to folks you didn’t get the chance to meet or talking more in-depth with those you did.
1.30pm: head back to the office

It's really hard work doing pretty much the same schpeel every 2 minutes without trying to get tongue tied. But what was really good was that in that morning networking you have made 20 definite contacts. Not all of them are something you will use and they might not all want to use you, but who knows! What I found really useful is that out of the 20 folks I got a chatting to there were quite a few that seemed genuinely interested in my business and quite a few that I was really interested in using them.

I definately will do the speed netowrking thing again.

But I think to add to my top tips about networking; I think these 3 really need to be added to the list.... please see next post and check out my top tips labels.

competitive etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:36:00 +0000

Question - what is good competitive etiquette?

Well I work alongside other businesses in the same sector as me, both locally and further afield. We all get on great and I respect these guys. I won't do anything to these folks or their business that would be considered foul play or dirty pool. I am happy to seek help from these guys and to try to do my best to help them if I can. I feel it’s only fair and I know there is plenty of business for all of us so I am happy and they are happy.

But the thing I am debating over just now is what good competitive etiquette is? For example is it the done thing to ask someone at a networking meeting who their suppliers are? To say well I’m starting a business doing the same or something similar thing can you tell me what do I do as I can’t find anything online about it? I couldn't do it to someone I didn't know, I’d even struggle to do it to someone I did know, and only then I would have to really know them and hope they trusted me enough to not abuse anything they told me.

This isn't really much advice or a huge revelation I’ve had, this is just something I’m pondering.... any thoughts?

Who you gonna call?

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:19:00 +0000

I was at the PSYBT Elevator event in Edinburgh at the end of October and it was really interesting, not that it isn't normally but last night the theme for the evening was 'talk to the experts'. They had 5 guests that we had 15 minutes to talk to each of them and ask any questions.

This got me thinking... i know i'm surprised too! When you set up a business, who should you call?

Now even though i'm 2 years in, this recent event with PSYBT made me realise that i still don't know the complete list of who's out there, but hopefully i can help a little with this.... (oh and these may be a little bias towards Scotland)

Scottish Enterprise - http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
PSYBT - http://www.psybt.org.uk/
British Chamber of Commerce - http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce - http://www.edinburghchamber.co.uk/
Cultural Enterprise Office - http://www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk/website/
Business Gateway - http://www.bgateway.com/
Business Link (England) - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/
HM Revenue & Customs: Self Employed - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/index.shtml

This is only a few but a great resource, these places will be able to help you source funding, networking, get advice on things like National Insurance, employers duties and more.

Check them out and let me know if you find any others that are of interest! :D

Yapping @ Gala

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:24:00 +0000

Well I went to Gala in Tuesday. I done the talk thing, it went ok. I'm a little disappointed coz i went over my practice, which was 40min. But although i took up the full hour its not to bad because no one wanted to ask questions anyway. Now i'm taking that as a good thing, no matter if it is or not.

I'm gonna assume that i covered my subject well, lmao.

But i enjoyed it. I have found that i'm quite passionate about the subject of being self employed. I don't know if it inspires folks to hear how much fun i have being self employed, but i wouldn't have it any other way.

All i can say is that as usual i was made very welcome by the fantastic folks at Heriot Watt, but then i am extremely bias about the folks down there. I think it must be mutual because they've asked me back in March.

Oh n here's a picture of the fabby folks that listened to me for an hour! Thanks for staying awake guys! :D

Be Yourself!

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Ok so my head is buzzing recently, I've had loads to think about! But this is what i want to share.

At the end of September I went to the PSYBT networking event in Edinburgh. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because Lucinda from the Apprentice was going to be there and to be honest she wasn't my favourite on the show. But I went anyway because I thought the networking event was a little more important, and I'm glad I did go because it was a good night. Still not sure about Lucinda but I must admit she does make some sense, I asked her what one bit of advice she could give about networking and she said just be yourself. I can honestly say it is not the most astounding piece of advice I was given but it definitely is something I can relate to. I know a lot of people that are very into their image and how you should look while dealing with customers. Now I do agree that appearance is important, but since I was young people have always told me how to act and dress etc and so I went out and done the opposite, but I have had a great response from people just because I am myself when I deal with my customers.

I was at church several years ago and the guy that was preaching was a guest speaker, he was a big chap, dressed in a really nice suit. I can't remember what he was preaching about but I do remember one thing he said, it doesn't matter if you wear the best dressed most expensive suit or a string vest and shorts, if you are talking about something that people are interested in then they will listen to you no matter what you wear.

I have found that in business, if you can't be yourself you run the risk of putting people off from working with you. We have heard a lot of times that folks come into our workshop and leave making comments to others saying 'oh they are really nice folks', 'oh they are so friendly' etc, their friends tell us this is why they have come to see us, cause of the great references. It's quite flattering and does give us a big head, especially if they tell us they have tried some where else and they were a bit dour!

So to sound like you're high school guidance teacher, remember to always be yourself, you're great the way you are! GUSH!

Top Tips on Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:16:00 +0000

Ok so here are my top tips to get the best out of your networking event. Some of these points are more aimed at if you are doing a 1 minute pitch more than 1-2-1 networking. But the thing to remember is that it's worth while putting this into practice even if you're chatting to 1 person or a crowd.

Try standing out from the crowd. I have found that someone that has something a little different from everyone else is more memorable. I’m lucky that my hair kinda stands out but even better my business is connected to it. Do you have a uniform? Try something a little different with it. Give your business cards a bit of TLC, try something a bit different with it, shape, colour graphics.
Have a strap line. If you find that being memorable is a little difficult, get yourself a strap line. Every time I finish my little 1 minute pitch I close with ‘for designs with style and flair, come see the girl with pink hair’. Strap lines help people to remember you even if they can’t remember your name. If you can get it to rhyme then all the better.
Make sure you’re heard. I went to a meeting once and a confidence coach stood up, only problem was you couldn't hear a thing he said. When you stand up to talk to folk make sure you project yourself. I know it’s not something that everyone has naturally, I’m quite lucky to be naturally able to project my voice (or honestly, I’m naturally loud), but it’s something that is so important. If you can’t catch people’s interest by what you’re saying you’re not going to succeed in getting someone interested in your business. So practice, practice, practice.
Don’t be scared! Everyone’s nervous! Although I’m quite happy to stand up and get my thing done, right up until I stand up and start talking I am SO nervous! I’ve even bumbled over my words on several occasions, but I just laugh it off and carry on. Getting tongue tied isn’t something you should worry about. Even if you were to fall flat on your face while walking up to the front, brush yourself off stand up, laugh and give the best performance you’ve ever given. People will remember you for that. And if that’s what it takes to sell your business, watch me as being the first one up there to land on my face.
Try not to use a script. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for having notes. And I have on several occasions used a script if there are certain things I want to say. But remember when you’re reading from a script you may not be looking at the folks that are listening. If you need to use a script try knowing it off by heart anyway and only have it there for back up. Make sure when you are talking you always look people in the eye, it makes you trust worthy.
Be yourself. If you just be yourself and show how passionate you are about your business people will want to be a part of that, no matter how well you perform.
Know your stuff. This is the most important thing. Know your business, but don't be embarrassed if you don't know the answer to something that someone asks you. This gives you a great opportunity to contact someone after the event. Ask for their details, tell them you'll look into more details for them and get back in touch. People will appreciate that. But make sure you wow them with the details you do know. As far as you should be concerned you are the world's leading authority in your field and that's why folks will want to work with you, just make sure you're not cocky!

I'm sure I'll add more when I think of them.

A thought about networking

noreply@blogger.com (Pink Nik) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:58:00 +0000

Ok so we're now well into September, I had my birthday a couple of days ago, summer never happened in Scotland, my only holiday this year seems like it was a hundred years ago and not a few months. The summer always feels like playtime, even when you work for yourself! (Well I think so, maybe I’m doing something wrong, lmao!) There are tradeshows, meet and greets, new suppliers and customers to go see as a result of said tradeshows. But that all changes when the summer goes, so now comes the hard graft!

Right, so me waxing lyrical about how ace my summer was may not make sense, but there is definitely a seasonal change to my business that I have noticed over the last few years. The way I do business changes depending on the season.

It’s like being a farmer in a sense except my harvest is over the summer. In September, a young entrepreneurs thoughts turn to growing their business.

So this brings me onto networking. PSYBT in Edinburgh start up their monthly networking events again this month, and I get to thinking about how I want to present my business to the folks I meet. What needs growth, what needs developed, what needs ditched?

I love networking, my passion for performing takes over. Although standing talking to someone on a 121 basis does get me a little nervous stand my in front of a room to do my 1min pitch and I can’t hold back. But luckily for me that kinda helps with my un-sureness about approaching folks. As once they see me bopping about the front of the room, the ice is already broken.

So on the run up to the start of the PSYBT networking event I’m give my top tips to networking, (I’d say 10 but I’m not sure how many I’ll have)

And for laughs here's me at the PSYBT event in Stirling at the start of the year (Jan 08) giving my wee 1 min stylee pitch. God i hate that picture!!