Strawberry Communications: Writing & PR

Mumpreneurs Shine in National Business Awards in 2014

July 7, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

The best and brightest mumpreneurs from around Australia and New Zealand are will soon be vying for the coveted title 2014 AusMumpreneur of the Year.

Nominations are now open for the 2014 St George AusMumpreneur Awards, with entries closing at the end of this month.

This is the fifth year the AusMumpreneur Awards have won, with the business mum community growing at lightning speed.

AusMumpreneur Network owners Peace Mitchell and Katy Garner said the awards are a reflection of their commitment to supporting mums in business.

How Blogging Grows Your Online Profile

June 30, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Image credit: WrongHands1

When you’re looking to make your name as an industry expert, the online space is the place to be. And the easiest way to build your profile as a thought leader is blogging.

Why blog?

I’ve been blogging in the personal and business space since 2006 and have watched this world change dramatically in eight years. When I first started blogging I was constantly explaining to people what a ‘blog’ was and why it was useful. Now bloggers have become such powerful forces that they are considered as vital as traditional journalists when it comes to building relationships with the media.

Have you noticed how many of the world’s the top thought leaders blog? Think Richard Branson, Naomi Simson and Seth Godin. Millions of people read their words daily. A well-written blog that covers the most important topics in your industry is a vital tool to establish your credibility, but also shows your customers/clients they are dealing with an industry expert. And it helps when people search online too, which we all do now when researching people and businesses.

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Filed Under: Business PR Tagged With: blog, blog for business, Kelly Exeter, Naomi Simson, Seth Godin, Styling You, Y Travel blog

Melbourne Author Launches Beach Bum Millionaire at Dymocks Southland

June 24, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

WHO: Anthony Khoury, from Port Melbourne, will launch his business book, The Beach Bum Millionaire: How to Build a Million Dollar Business the Lazy Way at Dymocks Southland. Anthony has created numerous successful companies from scratch, and with this book he is sharing some of the most important tricks that he has learned over the past 20 years.

WHAT: The Beach Bum Millionaire has been launched online but will now be launched in book stores, starting with Melbourne where Anthony is based. The launch includes Anthony speaking about setting up and running a million-dollar business, plus book signings and refreshments.

WHEN: The book launch will be held from 12pm on Saturday, June 28, at Dymocks Southland, Westfield Southland, Nepean Highway, Cheltenham.

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Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: Anthony Khoury, Beach Bum Millionaire, book launch, Dymocks Southland

Guest Post: Using Creative Thinking Techniques To Boost Your Business

June 19, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Image: 123RF Photo Stock

Join guest writer Damian Wolf to explore how creativity can help your business.

Have you ever been called creative? Even better, have you ever met anyone who is creative? What do people mean when they refer to someone as creative? And, is creativity something we are born with or it can be learned as we grow up and improved as we are getting older?

According to the traditional psychological division, there are two main criteria that need to be fulfilled to call a new idea creative: originality and functionality. A creative notion or subject needs to be unique and unprecedented, while also having a functional role. If something is derived from an already existent concept, it is not considered creative, or at least should not be accepted as original.

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Filed Under: Business Tips Tagged With: brainstorm, creative thinking, creativity, Damian Wolf, image streaming, small business

Book Detailing Leadership Skills for Business, Life and Community Launched in Brisbane

June 5, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Brisbane author Alison Y Vidotto is launching her business, life and community handbook, 22 Leadership Fundamentals, at Mary Ryan’s Milton next week.

From living independently at 16, working full time and going to night school, to being a mother of six, successful businesswoman with an MBA and the founder and director of international charity ACCV, supporting more than 200 families living in poverty in Vietnam, Alison is a true leader.

In 22 Leadership Fundamentals: The Door to Success Says Push! Alison shares the leadership skills she developed to raise a close family, be a strong community member, build a successful business and run an international charity. Real life stories are woven throughout the book to demonstrate the importance of leadership in all aspects of life.

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Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: 22 Leadership Fundamentals, Alison Y Vidotto, book, book launch, publishing

Using Data to Tell Your Story

May 29, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

I’ve been taking an online data journalism MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) through the Canvas Network, which is all about using data to help tell stories. While researching recent data journalism examples I started considering the wider appeal of using data to get a point across.

Data can be a powerful tool to tell a story when presented in a digestible format. Just think about the number of infographics you see now – they take all the salient points on a topic and present them in a format that is so easy to understand that many are reshared over and over again on social media.

Early adopters of using data to illustrate a point include Florence Nightingale, when she outlined the causes of deaths during the Crimean War, and the Wall Street Journal, which actually started in 1889 as a daily letter of news bulletins hand-delivered to stock exchange traders. Data journalism came into its own when the internet and social media made data easy to access and explain (who could forget the hundreds of stories that resulted from data published in Wikileaks?).

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Filed Under: Business Tips Tagged With: Canvas.net, data, data journalism, DOMO, infographic, MOOC

Guest post: The Psychology of Colour: How it Influences Our Emotions & Mood

May 14, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell 2 Comments

If you’ve ever tried to cheer yourself up by putting on a bright piece of clothing, you already know that colour can influence your emotions.

As the website Empower Yourself With Color Psychology notes, colour is a type of nonverbal communication that tells those around us what kind of mood we’re in and what our energy level is that day. When it comes to buying new clothes or remodelling a room, it’s helpful to understand the psychology of colour and how it affects our emotions. Read on to learn how these popular colours can influence us.

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Filed Under: Business Tips Tagged With: colour, office colour, psychology of colour, workspace

What Inspires You to Write?

March 26, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Festival of Golden Words panel for ‘What Makes Women Glad, Sad and Mad’ session. L-R: Nikki Gemmell, Wendy Harmer, Fiona O’Loughlin, chair Irina Dunn and Katherine Scholes.

The question of where inspiration comes from has been asked of me, and by me many times since I decided I wanted to be a journalist at seven.

Writers I admire were recently asked the same question at the Festival of Golden Words in Beaconsfield and their answers confirmed what I’ve always thought – inspiration is everywhere!

Bay of Fires author Poppy Gee commented that inspiration to her was like drawing on “scraps from many cupboards”, which I understand. Watching people, hearing snippets of conversation or even smelling a certain scent can evoke a series of ideas for me. I even created an entire personality around a man I followed to the bus stop one morning simply based on the click his shoes made as he walked.

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Filed Under: My Stuff Tagged With: Festival of Golden Words, Heather Rose, inspiration, Kate Gordon, Poppy Gee, writing

Interview Skills for Children

March 26, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Image: www.hcdconnect.org

Any parent knows children ask a lot (A LOT!) of questions.

Of course this is an important way for them to learn about the world around them. I encourage my two boys to ask whatever they want to know. And they do.

One of the reasons I encourage questions is that I have made a career out of asking them. I mentioned this to my eldest son’s grade 2 teacher and she asked if I would be willing to speak with the class (and their buddies in grade 5/6) about how I interview people as a journalist.

I spoke briefly about the types of articles I write as a journalist and how I would interview someone, and then set them some questions to ask each other. Both classes erupted in excitement and I could see this was going to be fun!

Guest post: Business Etiquette: How to Balance Disruptions and Productivity

March 21, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Image: businessgross.com

By Mark Kirkpatrick

When it comes to performing at our very best at work, the last thing anyone needs is distraction. While some employees can be easily thrown off by street or building construction, instantly sending them off balance, unscheduled meetings or frequent phone calls may be detrimental to the productivity of others.

Regardless of how productive your employees are, they are still subject to disruptions at one point or another. What types of distractions kill productivity? And what you can do you about it?

Types of Disruptions

There are many things that can disrupt a normally productive workplace:

1. The workplace environment. Many offices pride themselves in having a fun, open environment. However, not everyone works best in a group setting. According to a study by NewAsk.com, the majority of people actually accomplish more when they are allowed to work alone. Making sure every employee has the opportunity to work in a quiet environment can really help raise productivity.

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Filed Under: Business Tips

Mumpreneurs Shine in National Business Awards in 2014

How Blogging Grows Your Online Profile

Melbourne Author Launches Beach Bum Millionaire at Dymocks Southland

Guest Post: Using Creative Thinking Techniques To Boost Your Business

Book Detailing Leadership Skills for Business, Life and Community Launched in Brisbane

Using Data to Tell Your Story

Guest post: The Psychology of Colour: How it Influences Our Emotions & Mood

[Read more...]

What Inspires You to Write?

Interview Skills for Children

Guest post: Business Etiquette: How to Balance Disruptions and Productivity

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