It is not a widely held belief that running a small or home based business can be easy and that anyone can do it, however small businesses and aspiring women business owners on the Central Coast now have the opportunity to see how true this can be!

A range of simple and practical techniques to enable anyone to get started, overcome business challenges or to move forward from where they are, will be presented at the Get Real seminar being held in Gosford on Wednesday 22nd September.

What stands in the way of most businesses are complicated strategies, overwhelming thoughts of how much work is involved and, sometimes, just not knowing where to start or, in fact, if we are even headed in the right direction.

This unique event has been designed with three core focuses – getting real with your BUSINESS, getting real with your NETWORKING approach and, most importantly, getting real with YOURSELF.

The Get Real Event examines:

• The clarity, importance and systematic approach to business;

• What works, what doesn’t and how to do it for sales and marketing;

• What it is that you really want;

• The impact social media has on your business today;

• How to identify and turn opportunities into business;

• The importance of networking and how easy it can;

• How to master your time and take action – even when you don’t feel like it.

The Get Real event concept was piloted in Gosford last year, with outstanding results. Feedback from the pilot indicated more than $100,000 worth of business was generated at the event amongst the 75 women in attendance.

Gosford member Kristy-Lee Johnston, from Footprint Recruitment at Erina, said, “Get Real was a great opportunity for us to showcase our products and services. We used the opportunity to launch our new Step-by-Step self directed guides and made our first sale at the event in the first hour,” Ms Johnston said.

“To say we were excited is an understatement! We were – and continue to be – big supporters of the Accelerate Women format and can’t wait for Get Real in 2010,” she added.

Woy Woy-based Get Real seminar leader and group co-founder Sue Henry says, “It’s opportunities like these that help to build the true spirit in a community working together to achieve their goals. The learnings from women who have already experienced the success, the pitfalls and the connections in the pursuit to getting what they want are invaluable”.

The Accelerate Women group was established just under 24 months ago to support women in business develop the art of networking, pitching and promoting their businesses. There are now four Accelerate Women groups in VIC, NSW and TAS and an extended network of international online members

“Our members determine the education focus and direction our group takes by sharing their challenges with one another and developing systems to help support one another. As seminar leaders we provide the framework for them to learn, pitch, grow and connect in a fun, supportive and easy way. The Get Real event is an opportunity for them to showcase what they do and to connect with other business women on the Central Coast,” Henry says.

With members from businesses as diverse as recruitment, real estate, floristry, nutrition, aged care, pet nutrition, printing, graphic design, massage, health & wellbeing, swimming pool construction, business coaching, finance, web development, party planning, event management and garden care, the opportunities to network, grow and connect are enormous.

For more information visit www.acceleratewomen.com or call Sue Henry on 0418 506 671.

We’ve all been to a networking event where someone is handing out business cards as if their life depended on it, but that’s not the way to network.

Networking for business is about building the connections you have and deepening those relationships – either at successive events, through ongoing communication or by meeting for coffee afterwards. Of course you should give the people you meet your business card, but not until you actually connect to them.

Don’t be that person who congratulates themselves on ‘talking’ to everyone by the end of the event (where talking translates as introducing themselves and stuffing a card into everyone’s hand). Instead, congratulate yourself on making meaningful contact with a few people, or even just one person. That is far more valuable to you – and them.

I like to find out the story behind someone and/or their business, so I ask lots of questions. It’s amazing what you find out when you ask and listen to the reply. Even if that person isn’t someone you could do business with, they may become a mentor, a good contact to bounce ideas off, a friend, or they might be a good connection for someone you know.

Here are my tips for successful networking:

• Don’t fear the networking event, instead see it as an opportunity to talk to one person about their business. As you connect they will ask about your business as well so then you can successfully promote your brand. If you connect with more than one person – fantastic.

• If you’re really nervous, bring a friend for moral support. Make it your mission to introduce each other to at least one person – then you will leave having met two new contacts.

• Be prepared with your elevator speech or, even better, sharewords (see Robin Dickinson’s Radsmarts blog). Have a sentence or two prepared about your business before you go and make sure it is interesting enough to prompt people to ask questions – this gives you the invitation to talk more about your business. To give you an idea, my sharewords are “I generate amazing publicity”.

• Enjoy yourself. If people can see you’re having fun (instead of gnawing at your fingernails in the corner) they will want to talk to you.

• Follow up the contacts you make with a call, email, LinkedIn request, invitation to talk further over coffee or all of the above within 2-3 days of the event.

These points work for me when I’m networking, but I’d love to know what works for you too. Comment below with your networking tips.

Decoys Softball Club is holding a Come and Play Day at Mingara Recreation Club this Saturday to give potential players a taste of the game.

If you enjoy playing softball or T-ball, come along to Mingara’s athletics field between 2pm and 4pm on Saturday and consider joining Decoys for the summer competition.

After building up its membership last year, Decoys Softball Club is now sponsored by Erina-based business The Transcription People. Director Annalisa Holmes, who is also a Decoys player, said the club was looking forward to a good turn out of new members on Saturday.

“A lot of our members play T-ball on school teams and become softballers as they get older. We’d love new players of all ages – children and adults – to join the club,” Ms Holmes said.

“Softball is a fun way to spend some time developing new skills and honing existing techniques, and is something entire families can get involved with. It’s a fun sport,” she added.

Formed in 1977, Decoys is currently taking registrations for the summer competition, with men, women and children all welcome to join. Decoys are looking for players of all ages, including under 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s, 19s and opens.

Decoys Softball Club was the Central Coast Softball Association Incorporated (CCSAI) Club Champions for 2004-05 and plays each Saturday between mid October and late March.

Join the Decoys Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Decoys.Softball.Club

Follow Decoys Softball Club on Twitter: @decoyssoftball

Watch the Decoys website develop: www.decoys.softball.net.au

For more information about Decoys please contact team member Annalisa Holmes from Decoys sponsor The Transcription People on 1300 787 092 or annalisa@ttp.com.au

Charly Leetham of AskCharlyLeetham.com was invited to join the Women’s Ecommerce Association International Board of Advisors for Women in Ecommerce.

Drawing on her strong business and technical background, Charly help solopreneurs and small businesses map their business processes and plan their web presence.

Charly has more than 20 years experience in the IT industry, ranging from hands-on technical, to high-level business management. She installs and configures computing equipment and has managed business contracts in excess of $26 million dollars. It is this experience which made Charly an attractive adviser for Women in Ecommerce.

“I was introduced to Women in Ecommerce by my colleagues I knew this was an organization I wanted to be involved with. When I was asked to join the Board of Advisors I felt honoured and accepted immediately,” Charly explained.

“Not only does this opportunity allow me to grow personally and professionally, but I will be able to help women do more business on the web and that is very important to me,” she added.

Charly’s goal is to assist small business owners realise the power of the Internet as a channel to market their organisations in an appropriate and cost-effective manner. Charly is also a Telstra Business Woman Of The Year 2010 shortlist candidate.

The Women’s Ecommerce Association International is a global organisation focusing on promoting, educating and advocating for women who do business on the web.

Women’s Ecommerce Association Founder & CEO Heidi Richards Mooney said the organisation wanted to support women in their online business pursuits.

“Our goal is to encourage women to do business worldwide, to help women become united through the mouse. The Board of Advisors and I are very excited that women all over the world have found Women in Ecommerce and are joining!” Heidi said.

“The International Board and members continue to create quality programs and services to fulfill our mission which is to help women do more business on the web.”

Women in Ecommerce has created the first Who’s Who Directory of Women in Ecommerce, hosted seven successful international summits, produced several member contributed ebooks and designed a first-class quarterly magazine that highlights women on all seven continents. The organisation is also designing an Ecommerce Academy for women to enhance their professional skills, as well as other programs and services that connect women from every corner of the globe.

For more information about Charly Leetham and Ask Charly Leetham, contact her at charly@askcharlyleetham.com or call 0411 573 983.

For more information about the Women’s Ecommerce Association International, visit www.WECAI.org. You may also call Heidi Richards Mooney in the USA at 1-877-947-3667 or 011-954-625-6606.

Fun Fotos gives you the opportunity to work in a family-friendly environment and let your talents as a photographer capture rewarding memories that will last a lifetime for our customers.

Capture children’s innocently cute poses, tranquil newborns, the excitement and emotion of a wedding or visualise the equity in real estate. Whatever you choose to photograph, Fun Fotos is the brand you want to be recognised as working with.

Fun Fotos was created by Bec Lennon, who had the vision of capturing all those important moments and years in customer’s lives at an affordable price.

“Fun Fotos is a brand that symbolises family and fun. We aim to capture our customer’s special moments so that the memory will last a lifetime,” Ms Lennon said.

“We specialise in mobile photography that is convenient and affordable for customers, but also makes it easier for our licensees to be more creative in their photographic settings,” she explained.

Fun Fotos also offers a party plan service where licensees visit customer’s homes and set up a mini studio. This is suitable for photographing babies, children, families, couples or parents-to-be who want to show off their baby bump. A Fun Fotos party is a great idea for a baby shower.

The business also provides a photographic service for day care centres and other groups. Shots can be taken indoors or outdoors and proceeds of the sale go back to the centre as a fundraising activity. Families pay a small fee for a photographic session and receive a complimentary photo, with the organisation receiving funding towards their latest fundraising venture.

Fun Fotos has become such a popular brand name and a successful business venture that it has been nominated for the Connect2Mums Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2010.

If you are thinking of starting your own photography business join the team at Fun Fotos. This business allows professional photographers the opportunity to run their own party plan businesses, giving other mumpreneurs the option to make their career work around their family.

For more information about becoming a Fun Fotos licensee visit www.funfotos.com.au

Children grow up so fast and before you know it they will be heading out the door, but Inky Feet has a way of capturing their hand and foot prints so you have an enduring memento.

Today Tonight’s Tina Altieri had her child inked and parents all over Australia are also flocking to Inky Feet studios. Even Antonia Kidman loved the personalised mugs Inky Feet created for her and her children.

Inky Feet makes the often-difficult task of taking newborn hand and footprints a breeze, with all franchisees professionally trained in the art of “inking”. Franchisor and inking expert Brenda Farr said many parents took their children to Inky Feet studios to produce gifts for grandparents, aunts and uncles and godparents, but also as keepsakes for themselves.

“Bright, colourful hand and foot prints are such a lovely way to remember your children when they were tiny. Tiles are framed and displayed in the home and mugs and keyrings are taken to work. These personal inkings are always a talking point,” Mrs Farr said.

“We often share one of the most special times with families when they invite us to ‘ink’ their newborn in hospital. It really is a perfect moment we capture so well. Their newborn hands and feet are so delicate and our Inky Feet tiles are reminders of how tiny they once were.

“Inky Feet has recently introduced a brand new product range to make it even easier for our franchisees to ink groups of children at one location. This also makes Inky Feet’s products readily available for group activities or a great fundraising alternative because we can incorporate kid’s artworks into our designs,” she said.

Inky Feet was started by Brenda Farr in her Perth kitchen, but has now grown into a successfully franchised business with 11 home-based studios dotted around the country.

The business has recently launched a range of personalised items aimed at the corporate market, such as coffee mugs and keyrings, with so much more to come.

For more information visit www.inkyfeet.com.au or call 1300 INKY FEET.

A new type of entrepreneur is on the rise in Australia, combining their business pursuits with family life. They are mumpreneurs.

Mumpreneurs are successful, confident and innovative entrepreneurs who choose to be self-employed operating a business from home, while caring for their children and families at the same time. They need to be innovative, professional, have great time management skills and flexibility and many women, like Queensland’s own Peace Mitchell and Katy Garner who run online community Connect2Mums, are finding success in this new industry.

Taking time out from running the Connect2Mums community conference and associated AusMumpreneur Awards to be held next week, sisters Peace and Katy want to share their entrepreneurial success with other mums.

“Connect2Mums provides a safe and supportive environment for women in online businesses to get together and share information, network and gain support,” Peace explained.

“The site provides members with relevant information and opportunities to interact and socialise with other mums across Australia and New Zealand, such as Friday night live chats, newsletters, product reviews, events, competitions and articles.

“These are professional women who value their time with their children, but are also highly ambitious and want to feel successful as businesswomen. They believe that when it comes to success in career and in family you can have it all,” she added.

The Connect2mums Mumpreneurs Conference and AusMumpreneur Awards are another way that Peace and Katy support, celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of Australian and New Zealand women in business, as well as men who combine business and family life.

These exciting events provide the opportunity for women from all over Australia to come together to gain new skills, connect with fellow mumpreneurs (and some brave dadpreneurs), be inspired by leading business experts and celebrate the success of the best and brightest in the industry over three days.

The AusMumpreneur Awards take place at a glamorous event at Rydges, Southbank, Brisbane on Saturday, 31 July. These awards are the only events of their kind in Australia and will be officially opened by Hon Karen Struthers MP the Minister for Women, with Queensland premier Anna Bligh recording a video message for the event.

For more information on the Mumpreneurs Conference or the AusMumpreneur Awards visit www.connect2mums.com.au or email connect2mums@gmail.com

Each year the Australian Tax Office (ATO) chooses people working certain industries to audit and Personal Tax Specialists is on hand to help those professionals with their tax returns.

For the 2009-2010 financial year, the ATO is targeting engineers, mechanics and teachers claiming large work-related expenses. This is the time when Personal Tax Specialists can step in to ensure tax returns for these people are prepared properly, lessening the headache of an audit if they are chosen.

Personal Tax Specialists prepares personal income tax returns for clients throughout Australia from its NSW South Coast base. Focusing on key professional occupations – such as travel, nursing, teaching, sales, media and real estate – Personal Tax Specialists can guide people through the tax return process because they know the tax requirements for these industries.

The business was established in 2009 by co-founders Tracey Collins and Christine Snelson. Both women are highly trained tax professionals and highlighted a need for a personal tax service for investors and professionals, Ms Collins said.

“We saw a gap in the market for tax preparation services for time-poor investors and people working in professional roles in Australia,” Ms Collins explained.

“Technology is utilised heavily in our business to ensure we provide a fast, simple and personal service to our clients direct from their home or office to our business. Although our clients don’t meet with us in person, our service is tailored to maximise convenience and provide peace of mind for our clients.

“This financial year is almost over and the ATO has advised it is targeting engineers and teachers – two occupations Personal Tax Specialists concentrates on. We will ensure our teacher clients have a professional tax return prepared so they know there is nothing to worry about if they are audited,” Ms Collins added.

Personal Tax Specialists has a strong focus on sustainability, continually working to reduce its environmental footprint and aiming to be a completely paperless office within five years.

For more information about how Personal Tax Specialists can help you with your income tax return visit www.personaltaxspecialists.com.au, email info@personaltaxspecialists.com.au or call (02) 8014 3587.

Personal Tax Specialists: Yours time & tree friendly tax accountants.

You might already have a handle on using Twitter and Facebook, but LinkedIn is fast becoming THE place to be for business owners because it offers so many different ways to connect.

Once thought of as just an online CV site, LinkedIn now has more than 65 million users worldwide. But there is more to this social media application than just a place to look up contacts. Many users find work, sell their products and services and grow their business by expanding their networks.

The first step is to fill in your profile completely so anyone who looks you up or finds your profile in a search can see everything you have to offer. This also works on the flipside, by researching prospects or staff before meeting them.

A great way for your connections to see how you operate is to ask happy clients to write testimonials via LinkedIn. Equally, you can return the favour by writing valuable recommendations for your contacts.

Other ways LinkedIn can help your business:

• Conduct your own market research within your network
• Answer questions to show your expertise
• Post job listings to find the right talent
• Join groups related to your industry to expand your network and build knowledge
• Display examples of your work or presentations using SlideShare
• Share useful articles and resources
• Search for new contacts by company, industry and city, or ask your existing connections to introduce you to their networks
• Check your connections’ locations and use TripIt so you can meet up when travelling for business
• Gain new website visitors or newsletter subscribers by including links in your profile

Integrate other social media applications, such as importing contacts, adding blogs, like Posterous, and your Twitter stream so people can connect with you in different places for different purposes.

LinkedIn’s Twitter application has recently been upgraded to include Overview, Connections, My Tweets and Settings features. Now you can see what your friends are tweeting, who you follow (including suggesting LinkedIn connections to follow) and you can tweet direct from LinkedIn. You can also save your LinkedIn connections as a Twitter list.

Include your LinkedIn URL, along with other online applications, on all your marketing collateral such as business cards, email signature, email newsletters and websites so contacts can connect with you in their chosen way/s.

So if you haven’t already, join LinkedIn and start making connections. Make sure you add me: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johannabakerdowdell

After live-tweeting at Australia’s first Media140 event in November last year, I was invited by my friend Mahei Foliaki (@iconic88) to guest blog at the inaugural Media140 for Foodies last night.

Mahei’s partner Bridget Davis (@Bridget_CooKs) set the scene with her fabulous canape menu, matched with wines from Robert Oatley Vineyards. The event kicked off with lots of passionate Sydney foodies enjoying the flavours and networking before listening to views from food writers, bloggers and a restauranteur.

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