I am currently working on my online marketing strategy have to say that promoting an online business is a lot like learning a new language. I am quickly becoming obsessed with any and everything www. and think the skills I am learning are going to come in really useful with my existing work clients too.
Saima has also organised a couple of complimentary meetings with a web marketing guru and viral marketing wizz-kid which is incredibly handy. I can't wait to run my ideas passed people with so much experience this field and basically ask as many rookie questions as needed. And I'm sure there will be a few...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Mentor meeting #2
Saima and I met up earlier this week for the second time and I think our initial ‘get to know each other’ dinner was a great opportunity to firm up our working objectives, preferred ways of working and next steps. Our second meeting was great – focused, fun and most importantly productive.
Not only did Saima have some great ideas for BlackBrides.co.uk but she also gave me some really helpful feedback on the number one business essentials – my business plan.
Saima knows sales and, even thought I already had some solid market research recommendations on the plan from Brent Business Ventures, it was great to also hear Saima’s thoughts on how to best use the plan to really ‘sell’ the unique strengths of the business in order to secure funding.
The good news is that she thought it was a really strong first attempt (which is a huge compliment coming from someone whose own business plan is now used as the benchmark template for BT Local Business!) and that there wasn’t too much to do in order to get going.
She also put me in contact with some really handy people in the viral/video and online industry and set up some free consultations – I called them the very next day!
Not only did Saima have some great ideas for BlackBrides.co.uk but she also gave me some really helpful feedback on the number one business essentials – my business plan.
Saima knows sales and, even thought I already had some solid market research recommendations on the plan from Brent Business Ventures, it was great to also hear Saima’s thoughts on how to best use the plan to really ‘sell’ the unique strengths of the business in order to secure funding.
The good news is that she thought it was a really strong first attempt (which is a huge compliment coming from someone whose own business plan is now used as the benchmark template for BT Local Business!) and that there wasn’t too much to do in order to get going.
She also put me in contact with some really handy people in the viral/video and online industry and set up some free consultations – I called them the very next day!
Down to business
With most of the initial business planning and research for BlackBrides.co.uk (BB) either completed or well under way, it’s been a real eye opener to realise exactly how much work goes in to setting up an online business.
I now see that my ‘blue sky’ thinking of launching on Jan 1 was just a little bit too ambitious! I am so excited about the business and, as much as I am bursting to share BB with the world, the perfectionist in me is certainly not ready for the big reveal until the site is good and ready!
And it’s coming along nicely...
I now see that my ‘blue sky’ thinking of launching on Jan 1 was just a little bit too ambitious! I am so excited about the business and, as much as I am bursting to share BB with the world, the perfectionist in me is certainly not ready for the big reveal until the site is good and ready!
And it’s coming along nicely...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Serious planning...
This week I’ve spent most of my evenings getting down to some serious planning and have practically finished my business plan. It really does help you feel a lot more focused and has been fantastic for clarifying next steps.
Poor Saima has been poorly all week which has proved the worst timing as I know she has a big charity event on at the moment. It also means our first mentor meeting has also been postponed – sods law! Thought I would give her a bit of a breather to recover this week so hopefully we’ll catch up next week at some point. One thing PR teaches you is that you have to be really flexible and get on with the task at hand!
So in the meantime, I have contacted my local business adviser, Brent Business Ventures, and plan to send across my draft business plan next week for their scrutiny. Fingers crossed….
Poor Saima has been poorly all week which has proved the worst timing as I know she has a big charity event on at the moment. It also means our first mentor meeting has also been postponed – sods law! Thought I would give her a bit of a breather to recover this week so hopefully we’ll catch up next week at some point. One thing PR teaches you is that you have to be really flexible and get on with the task at hand!
So in the meantime, I have contacted my local business adviser, Brent Business Ventures, and plan to send across my draft business plan next week for their scrutiny. Fingers crossed….
What a difference a day makes!
What a difference a day makes! I still cannot belive that BlackBrides.co.uk – a style and planning guide for Afro Caribbean weddings – was one of the lucky 10 businesses to win the BT Fresh Ideas Mentor Competition and I have bagged a terrific mentor before the business has even started!
From daydream to reality
Since the announcement dinner at the impressive BT Tower, I have gone from simply daydreaming about starting my own online business to setting the wheels in motion with every spare second I can grab! (Which, when you work full-time in an incredibly fast-paced and unpredictable industry like PR, is very little!)
Luckily my new mentor, Saima Butt, who is the frightfully bright Managing Director of BT Local Business - and a fellow North West London girl - can fully sympathise with a demanding day job, so we have spent most of week one exchanging emails and putting some dates in the diary to meet up.
She already has loads of great ideas for the business which has made me even more exciting about getting BlackBrides.co.uk off the ground. Watch this space…
From daydream to reality
Since the announcement dinner at the impressive BT Tower, I have gone from simply daydreaming about starting my own online business to setting the wheels in motion with every spare second I can grab! (Which, when you work full-time in an incredibly fast-paced and unpredictable industry like PR, is very little!)
Luckily my new mentor, Saima Butt, who is the frightfully bright Managing Director of BT Local Business - and a fellow North West London girl - can fully sympathise with a demanding day job, so we have spent most of week one exchanging emails and putting some dates in the diary to meet up.
She already has loads of great ideas for the business which has made me even more exciting about getting BlackBrides.co.uk off the ground. Watch this space…
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