Recent content by Julie

  1. Julie

    Social networking - useful or a waste of time?

    Great replies! Thanks to all of you. (Talking of which, I've thanked you all on your posts, is that how it works normally? Or do you only thank on the post now and again? I've never got my head around the thanking etiquette :)) Thank also Leah for looking at our site. We try to have a mixture...
  2. Julie

    When did businesses stop wanting to sell things?

    Er... their disappointing service. (That's the spelling mistake I made when I was seven, coming back temporarily to haunt me!) :redface:
  3. Julie

    Social networking - useful or a waste of time?

    Social networking. Everyone's doing it (or it seems as if we are): Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, YouTube, perhaps even Google Wave. But as someone who could spend half the day on any or all of these platforms, I'm questioning how useful they actually are to my business. To the bottom line. What do...
  4. Julie

    When did businesses stop wanting to sell things?

    I agree, and have had the same problem with some suppliers. It's short-sighted, too, because nowadays if we experience poor service, we're quite likely to talk about it here or on Twitter or Facebook or another social network. So there disappointing service will whiz around the world in no time.
  5. Julie

    The Ultimate 'Post Your Twitter Name' Thread

    My Twitter alter-egos: @JulieStanford (day-to-day business thoughts and resources) @Business_Radio (my weekly Radio Reverb business show) @Essential_Biz (er... everything else) ... and I waste more time on there than I dare to admit!
  6. Julie

    Business Expenses Ltd

    Whenever I pay for something from my personal account, I write the details on a claim form (which I designed myself -- let me know if you would like a pdf of it so that you can use it too) and staple the receipt to the back of the claim form; I then pay that claim amount back to myself by cheque...
  7. Julie

    Anyone from Brighton

    I'm in Hove and I'm not dead. Thriving actually. All that sea air.
  8. Julie

    The Ultimate 'Post Your Twitter Name' Thread

    @JulieStanford - I've always twittered, it's just that now it's official. :)
  9. Julie

    Are you getting the business support you need? Your questions to Business Link/FSB

    Why can't Business Link stick to brokerage, and not delivery? I've had a contract taken away from me by Business Link. I'm a small business and my partner for the contract is a Community Interest Company, and yet our client (a charity) was told by BL that they couldn't use us but should use BL...
  10. Julie

    Question - Muppets guide to his first business.

    Russell, if you go to our website there's a free pdf we produced called 'Before You Begin'. It takes you through all the things you need to think about before you spend any money! We cover the business idea itself, checking out the competition, thinking about pricing and your own personal...
  11. Julie

    Designing a Leaflet

    It also all depends on who you are aiming your leaflet at, and what you want it to do for you. Is it to sell something? Let people know you exist? Tell them about a special offer? For example, if you were aiming your leaflet at selling a high-end product to rich '20-somethings' your design and...
  12. Julie

    What will difference will President Obama Make?

    Having just listend to his first speech after it became clear that he's won, it will make a change to have someone in the White House who can actually string together a decent sentence. Demosthenes replacing Deputy Dawg. (If anyone remembers Deputy Dawg... or am I showing my age again?)
  13. Julie

    What does every business need?

    All bases covered: sales, marketing, financial management and forecasting, and the technical skill to deliver the service or product to market. It might all be there in one person, but it most often isn't, so the business owner needs to be very honest about their own strengths and weaknesses...
  14. Julie

    Step back from business, do your marketing, do your research

    It's so good to hear another story of research paying off. It's not just about doing the research when you start a business, is it? It's keeping it up-to-date and current. A few years ago, I did a Q&A session for the Convenience Retailing Show. The panel was made up of small, independent...
  15. Julie

    Customer wants to return goods but demanding we pay for postage

    Before you decide, I want to flag up that unhappy customers often tell lots of people how unhappy they're feeling! (Whether it's justified, or not.) I can remember having to pay for postage of a return and I've never bought from that company again. Before you do anything, think about the...
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