1000 quid club revisited

[DolomitesDonkey]

How is everyone getting on? Since our last thread I am moving in to a totally new area, once which I'd wanted to do (many a time), but didn't feel that I "could" - for a variety of daft reasons (e.g., self-esteem!).

I've really been struggling the last few weeks finding the time to work on this new project - my paid job has been pretty full on - e.g., 11 hour days - then with 2 tiny ones on top of that - and the change of season isn't helping.

I long for the days when the children will need to be prised from their beds rather than shouting in my face from 5am.

Has anyone got any tips for this? I'm really a morning person but my toddler is destroying my will to live, never mind my will to work. I'm open to all sorts of tips from behavioural/reward strategies through to "best doping devices".

I tried working late the other night but my brain turns to mush by 8pm.

I had been planning to attend the great British business show in London next month but as my new business isn't ready to launch I just feel the timing isn't quite right. I know we talk about procrastination but it's not simply that... it'd be a 300 euro day out which seems a lot for what I feel it could return to me right now. Anyway, if anyone's interested the tickets are free and there are more details here:-

www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk/index.asp

Also, what do you mean by "everyone else can weigh in"?

Gosh I sound so green

Basically although its web-based business, it's mostly classifieds, forums and articles so I don't think it's too technical or complicated. Am I right?

There is just so much to learn. It's incredibly exciting though.

Sorry to confuse, I mean that all those geeks out there can weigh in with their new HTML codes and apps and everything. A bit like Twitter, where people can just develop something vaguely Twitter-based and spread it around. But don't worry about that :)

I would suggest that you:

Buy your domain name (I tend to use GoDaddy and 123-reg)

Buy your hosting (the virtual 'space' - a bit like a garage for your domain name's car, as it were). Without getting too complicated, it's better to have the two on separate companies, just in case). Chose a hosting company that offers '1 click' WordPress installation.I use Hostgator and TotalChoice, they are American companies but there are plenty of UK ones as well.

Log into your domain name company, find the Domain Name Management part (sometimes called DNS Management or DNS Servers)

Enter the DNS code from your hosting company (should be in your introductory email)

This will direct your domain name to your hosting account.

Go through the instructions to install WordPress on your hosting account.

Voila, you have a WordPress website on your own domain name and you can customise it as you wish.

I know, it sounds completely webspeak and horrendous. I remember posting on my first blog 'WordPress, they said it was easy and they LIED!'.

Take it from me, if I can learn this shit, you can :)

it's pretty bloody easy to confuse me at this stage.

That sounds like simple and effective advice - just what I need. So another stupid question: the website isn't live until I launch it, non?

It'll be live once the domain name servers are pointed to the hosting - that can take up to 24 hours but sometimes it's instant. But I wouldn't worry too much about that as the chances of anyone actually FINDING it are minimal. That's something that no one tells you about online businesses - unless you can get traffic to your website, you don't HAVE a business.

I wrote a book about this, hope I'm not infringing guidelines by mentioning it here but it gives you the basics of web-based business if you want to check it out. www.amazon.co.uk/Webspeak-Beginners-Website-Business-ebook/dp/B007Q42PG0/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1352931783&sr=8-8

Balls, sorry, link didn't work www.amazon.co.uk/Webspeak-Beginners-Website-Business-ebook/dp/B007Q42PG0/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1352931783&sr=8-8

Ah. OK. I'm hoping to drum up some bubbles using twitter and facebook via friends in the industry so I should probably get the business plan done (i'm so early days) and some copy written as soon as possible then.

How do people get traffice to their website? That's my biggest obstacle at the moment.

So do I create the website once it's live or do I create it and press the button and voila - I have a webpage?

Sorry for the myriad questions

X-posted. I think I might need that book - particularly as I'm a control freak and want to do every detail myself at this stage. And lets face it, I clearly know about as much as a frog does about this stuff

If you install WordPress then you will have an incredible basic, one page website. The trick is to keep adding pages, and posts and content. And yes, getting traffic is the holy grail! Lots of options:

Google Adwords (Pay per click advertising) - fast but can be expensive
Guest posting and commenting on other people's blogs
Article marketing (writing articles and putting your website URL in the biography bit)
Press releases
Putting your website URL on everything (business cards, leaflets etc)
Social media
Email marketing
Writing a Kindle book and including your website details in it

There are loads of others :)

My first Mumsnet post -- and anyone who thinks they're rubbish at technology should take heart: I managed to stuff up logging in!

Anyway, I used to be a consultant (sole trader) until the financial crisis rather did for freelancers for a while. So I did some interim management and finally accepted a permanent job ... from which I have recently been made redundant.

So I'm starting again, but properly this time. I've set up as a Ltd company, am now the proud owner of TWO websites and domain names, and just have to get some business now. I provide communications consultancy for biggish businesses and affordable PR support (plus lots of free resources) for small businesses, so I hope I can both help people here as well as maybe get some help and support in return!

Caesnake I don't have a kindle
FriendlyLadBird that sounds like a good idea. What's the benefit of a Ltd company over just working as a sole trader?

£1,000 a day? I was hoping for £1,000 a year!
Think I might be aiming too low...

aroomofherown -- I'm a limited company because, basically, if I get sued for providing bad advice (unlikely with the PR service but possible for the consultancy) I would not be personally liable for any compensation I might have to pay. I have insurance too, of course, but being a Ltd Co provides belt and braces.

Ah ok I see - thanks. I probably won't need that level of protection I think, but I will look into it.

Quick question: WordPress.org is encouraging me to set up a blog, but I want to design a website. Also, I've found the theme etc I want to use but I have to pay to upgrade to be able to do this. I thought it was free - am I in the wrong section?

WordPress will say it's a blog but you can make it into a website. Instead of having the home page as your blog, you can set it as a 'static page'. Also, some themes are free but some you will have to pay for (depends how fancy you want it).
I would really recommend doing a bit of research on WordPress - learn the difference between posts and pages and how to create a website rather than a blog (you'll use the same WordPress technology but it'll be set up slightly differently).
Sorry, not being very clear, I feel - I have a terrible cold!

Also, you don't need a Kindle to read Kindle books - download the free Kindle app from Amazon www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771and bob's your uncle...

Balls! www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

I'm so glad to find this thread. I was on the original 1000 a day thread and since then I've done...eff all . My issue is I really want to start my own business, possibly more than one as the ideal would be to have multiple income streams, but I just have no idea what to do. It's such a stumbling block for me. I feel I have few practical, vocational skills to offer, so am finding it difficult to discover my niche.

Kitty I sometimes find it useful to make a "vision" board, where you use pictures from magazines, newspapers etc to express your skills, things you like, and things that you spend a lot of time on. This can help you see a way forward, and clarify your vision re. business ideas.
Start with things you wish existed but don't (I generally think of 5 or 6 every day, usually in irritation), then think of things you would pay someone (or something) else to do for you, to save time or hassle.
You don't need to actually do those things, in fact that's usually poorly paid, you should find a way to employ others to do it, or train others, and reap the benefits of management.

I did my website on Moonfruit, it's very straightforward and has templates that you follow. There are template pages for online shops, photo galleries etc, v handy.

What do all you ladies do who are being so entrepreneurial? My business is struggling, there isn't much work in the part of the country I live in and it's not something I can do remotely.

DP thinking of opening a coffee shop, is that high risk, would you clever women say? A cheap rental site has come up the town centre, so location is good.

Coffee shops are ten-a-penny, what would the USP be? I display my framed personalised stories in a local art cafe, they take commission on sales. Could that arrangement work for you?
I am a storyteller, but also write my own short stories for children, so teamed up with an illustrator to make stories in frames, as I can do those in spare time (as per my username) while waiting for storytelling gigs to come up.

On the first thread the sorts of jobs where women were earing £1000 a day tended to be those who worked for themselves. There were people consulting at £1000 a day rate in quite a few areas so I suppose they would have specialist skills on one else had that others were prepared to pay for.

I think we had

IT programmers
IT consultants
lawyers, accountants

Also if you have teams of people who do the work and you manage it and are taking profit on what those other people do you can do quite well. I have been involved with people who own a chain of pharmacies, dental practices and lots of sales people (those who are good - many aren't), speakers, writers (rarely).

There is a list of women on £1m a year which is about what an equity party in a top accountancy practice like Enst & Young would get etc

£1k a day is only about £250k a year which is of course much better than most people but not up there with the over £1m a year women.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-92352/Who-Britains-100-highest-paid-women.html

Thoughts to make it a bit unusual for our town would be: quirky arty interior (although not so weird as to put people off), coffees at a bargain price, good takeaway sarnies as well as good eat in food. A very good playlist. Wondering about a 3, 4 and 5 quid menu as well.

I suspect making it the most expensive by far but much better might make more profits but I am certainly not an expert.
The lady who founded Costa was a lawyer first I think and a good example for women wanting to earn a lot en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahar_Hashemi

Hashemi attended City of London School for Girls, obtaining a corporation exhibition scholarship. She read Law at the University of Bristol. Upon graduation Hashemi trained and qualified as a solicitor with Frere Cholmeley in Lincoln's Inn Fields,[3] leaving in 1994 to co-found Coffee Republic."

That background of- private school (on a scholarship) good university doing a decent subject and then solicitor woudl have helped.

The Wetherspoons man:
"Timothy Randall Martin, the founder and chairman of Wetherspoon, was born on 28 April 1955, in Northern Ireland. He was educated at eleven different schools in Northern Ireland and New Zealand including Campbell College in Belfast.[6][16] He studied law at the University of Nottingham"