This month we’re catching up with Amanda Farren of Ella Announcements and here she tells us a bit about herself, her business and the meeting with BT Tradespace that spurred her into action to give her Tradespace some love!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I live in Coventry with my husband and our three children Ella (5), Joey (4), and Isabel (2). I run a number of businesses from home, and have been doing so for 3 years. While I never intended to be my own boss, I have since learnt that I was born to be entrepreneurial. Business comes naturally to me. I love networking with other business people, particularly other mums who juggle their business with bringing up their little ones.
What made you start your business?
By the age of 18 I was a stay-at-home mum to 2 children under the age of two. As much as I loved being able to dedicate all my time to being a mummy, spending all day with children who couldn’t actually talk back to you was draining. I wanted to do something that meant I could interact with adults in some way, and having been very academic at school, I wanted to be working. Finding a job was not an option. Childcare would have been impossible to fund, I had no previous work experience, and I loved being at home with my babies. So I started to teach myself graphic design and a bit of web design to keep myself occupied. I designed my daughters 2nd birthday invitations, and it wasn’t long before family and friends were commissioning me to design their invites too. With such an amazing response, I tested the market by selling through online marketplaces and soon realised that I was actually receiving a good number of orders… so it was a hobby which then turned into a business.
How long has Ella Announcements been running?
In 2007, at the age of 19, I launched Ella Announcements. It has been online for 3 years now, and is constantly growing. Ella Announcements offers announcements and invitations for any occasion, as well as wedding stationery and business design. I love that I get to interact with customers, create a vital income for the family, but still get to stay at home and be mum.
How are you promoting your business?
I never pay to advertise my business anywhere. There are so many fantastic resources which mean you do not HAVE to splash out. My main source comes from word-of-mouth… past customers, customers friends and family, people who have received an invite, recommendation from my own contacts. I really try to take advantage of all online tools for promotion including social networking, particularly twitter! I build profiles on websites such as BT Tradespace, Linked In, Facebook, etc. As an online business, it’s important for me to find as many places online as I can to shout about Ella Announcements. I also find that networking is a must for any business, online, but also importantly offline. Building relationships with other businesses may not always provide you with immediate sales, but I have had many referrals through this, as well as the obvious benefits of getting to know likeminded people.
What does a typical day consist of?
A lot of juggling! I have three school runs every day, and this actually enables me to slice up my day well. I have allotted “mummy time” each day, three loads of laundry, general tidying around, and at least 6 hours of work, often more. I get the bulk of my work done in the afternoons when my eldest two are at school/nursery and my youngest is taking her afternoon nap! I also have to collect printing orders, dispatch orders to the post office, and somehow squeeze a little me time in there. I actually have a daily schedule (the same routine each day) and alarms are set on my phone at various times to tell me where I should be and what I should be doing! Having so much to do each day, this really helps me to stay focused and ensure I am devoting enough time to my family and not working 14 hours a day, which would be so easy to do.
Can you tell us about your experience at the small business 2.0 event with the Tradespace team?
The evening before this event, I spotted a tweet from the Tradespace team. After finalising childcare, we quickly booked our places and after a quick sleep we travelled down to London from the West Midlands. This event was fantastic and the journey was well worth it. The people we met, and the information we took away with us was invaluable. We heard from eBay, Microsoft and of course BT Tradespace. I knew of BT Tradespace, but wasn’t clued up on how it all worked. We spoke to Ivan Croxford, BT Tradespace General Manager and looked at examples of good Tradespaces, and then, when we were about to look at a bad example, I suggested that maybe we type in MY business name. I knew I had signed up, but was aware I done nothing with it…
A few seconds later, I was red as a beetroot. We stood, staring blankly, at my Tradespace which simply said “Ella Announcements”. No contact details, website address, images, logo, communities, NOTHING. Just… Ella Announcements. It was rather humiliating to be stood in front of the team and for them to know how much love and devotion I clearly put into my Tradespace. Zilch. And for that reason, I then spent the next morning caring for my Tradespace, adding much more than just a business name. The team were great, really helpful, and being a fan of making online contacts, it was clear that utilising BT Tradespace properly could only benefit me. I’ll be attending the next event, for sure.
Here’s your opportunity – Log in to give your Tradespace some care and attention.
What are your top tips for getting the most out of social networks?
The most important tip I could give to anyone is to be yourself. Part of social networking is about building up relationships with others. It’s only possible to do that successfully, if your personality shines through. Don’t be afraid to let people see a glimpse of your real life every now and then!
And finally, could you tell us a bit about The Mumpreneur Awards and how that all got started?
The Mumpreneur Conference and Awards is an event aimed at supporting and celebrating mums who juggle business life with bringing up a family.
The first event took place in October last year. Being the first event, we were not sure how it would be greeted, but when we oversold on tickets, and received fantastic feedback (as well as having a great time ourselves) it became clear that this is an event that is very much needed in the business world, and in the “mumpreneur community”.
It’s an event that welcomes business mums from right around the UK to come along and meet like-minded people. There’s seminars, guest speakers, an exhibition, networking opportunities and of course The Mumpreneur Awards.
The awards are now open for nominations. Any mum in business can nominate herself (or be nominated) to be in with a chance of winning one of 8 awards. The award categories are:
- Best Start Up
- Best Business Support
- Best Green Business
- Best Saleswoman
- Best Interactive Business
- Best Online Business
- Most Unique Product
- The Inspirational Business Mum
You can submit a nomination through the website www.themumpreneurconference.co.uk where you can also see which seminars and speakers will be joining us on the day. The event is on Saturday 18th September 2010 at the Heart of England Conference Centre.
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