You only get one chance to make a first impression: This is particularly true of the web.
If you go into a shop or a cafe and you don't like what you see - the chances are that you will hang around for a few minutes, you've probably caught the eye of the staff and it would look very rude just to turn around and walk out.
So the staff might get a second chance, a chance to engage you in conversation… and maybe win you over.
If you click on a website that you don't like, you simply click away - and no one even knows that you were there.
Time management not your forte? Always chasing your tail? Mum, business owner and time management guru, Sarah Sadler of 
Organised Mum, shares her tips and advice on how to make the most of your day.
Unfortunately for those of us who work and have a family there’s no getting round the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day! As a working mother it can be a struggle to fit in work and family commitments and feel that we are devoting enough time and attention to each area of our lives.
However, by taking a proactive approach to what needs to be done and applying some simply time management techniques, working mothers can regain control and achieve a balance between their work and family lives.
Relatively new to blogging Motivated Mum, Maggy of Red Ted Art, started out small and now boasts an ever-increasing readership and presence on the internet. These are her tips on ways to attract readers to your blog, increase your stats and get yourself noticed on the internet.
There are two approaches to this article. One is the story (rather a long essay) and the other is keeping it short and sweet. Here is short and sweet.
Here is a screen shot of my stats:
What happened in Jan/ Feb 2010 and again March & April? Then in May? What will June look like?
If you’re not in the industry, search engine optimisation can be a bit of a minefield.
So many people all tell you different things, but they generally have one thing in common, they all want to make money out of you.
You are probably already bombarded with phone calls from Companies promising to get you on page one of the search engines. In truth, they possibly can, but it will cost. And if the cost outweighs the business it generates then you have not really achieved anything. It is also important that you are at the top of the right page – it’s all very well pushing visitors to your site, but if they are the wrong visitors , you won’t make any new sales.
Self-confessed 'shoeaholic' and mum-of-three Andrea Alli is enjoying great success with her handy product, the 'Flexi Shoe Rack' (www.flexishoerack.co.uk). In this exclusive interview, London-based Andrea, 38, shares with other budding mumpreneurs how she found her feet in running her own business.
“Like a lot of women, I love shoes. The problem was I had 200 pairs and a lot of space in my house I simply couldn't use. Corners of rooms, gaps under the stairs or recesses in the laundry room just weren't compatible with the shoe racks available on the market. It frustrated me to buy a shoe rack that was of a fixed width and height with no flexibility built-in. The product just didn't conform with the space I had to play with.
Award-winning author Clare Mulley won the hearts of the nation with her debut biography of Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb. It was awarded the Daily Mail Biographers Club prize and was described as a ‘truly brilliant book’ by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. But in an exclusive article with Motivating Mum, the mum-of-three reveals the difficulties she faced juggling life as a writer and a parent.
Motherhood - in all its wonderful complexities - seems to be the story of my life. When I had my first child I decided I wanted to work part-time from home, so I left my job as a fundraiser at the charity Save the Children and started researching the life of the charity’s founder, the wonderfully named Eglantyne Jebb. The plan was to quickly produce a best-selling biography. I had no idea what I was taking on.
NEWS COPY - WITH PICTURES
Talk about the mother of great ideas...
Eight of Britain's most respected female entrepreneurs have thrown their weight behind a groundbreaking new initiative that supports mums in business.
Rachel Elnaugh, Sally Preston, Laura Tenison, Antonia Chitty, Wendy Shand, Leila Wilcox, Mel McGee and Rachel Jones are backing Mentoring Mum, a unique mentoring scheme for self-employed women.
They will draw on their extensive experience to offer help and guidance about all aspects of business - from law and tax to marketing and public relations.
Identifying the pros and cons of drop-shipping – what is it and is it the right business model for you?
An article by Mindy Emsley, Founder and Managing Director of www.merababy.co.uk
According to Wikipedia “Drop-shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer. As in all retail businesses, the retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price”.
Put simply, it means you advertise and sell Product X on your site for a retail price of Y££. When the customer buys Product X, they pay you the Y££ advertised. You then place an identical order with the supplier of Product X, who charges you a Wholesale (drop-ship) price of Z££. You give the supplier the customer’s details and the supplier packs and ships Product X directly to your customer. The customer receives their goods, the supplier receives the wholesale (drop-ship) price for their product and as with all retail, you have made your profit on the difference between the price you paid the supplier and the price the customer paid you.
Four, three, two, one!! The room erupts into cheers and, caught up in the excitement, you decide to stop smoking, go to the gym, stop spending, insert your own New Years resolution here...
Sound familiar? The next part probably does too. The part where, within a week your determination has been whittled away and you're indulging in cake, smoking a pack a day, shopping up a storm, insert your own personal demon here.
Guilt-free 'me time'. It ranks right up there with non fattening ice cream and a man that puts the toilet seat down, ideal but impossible in the real world. But is it really? Some things are out of our control, like getting hubby to drop the lid, but as fantastic as it sounds guilt-free 'me time' can be yours. Read on for tips on how you can take a little time back for you.
You've just given birth and come home with your new baby. You're getting up in the night, you're sterilising and washing, you're feeding and bathing and you're getting used to a new and very different life. So, what do you do? You start a business!
Growing up, Christmas was a magical time, great feasts of turkey and pudding, presents spilling out from under the tree and tinsel and lights sparkling through the lounge window. You never questioned how it all came together, you just ate, drank and played until you went to bed and it was time to look forward to Christmas next year.
I have never been fussed about having kids. I have never clucked over my friends' babies, chased kids at weddings or cooed over infants in strollers. I am what you call non-maternal, and I've never been bothered by it...until I became pregnant.
I had finally made it through the 9th month. I was ready to reduce my girth, deflate my ankles and stop dressing in clothes with stretchy panels. Most of all, I was ready to meet Amelie. There was only one catch; my baby was nowhere to be seen.
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