ACPR Blog

The competition to win a set of reusable bags closes on the 31st - click here for full details and to enter.

I’ve been using a site called Website Grader in the last few days. It will appeal to you if you know a few things about SEO but are unsure what to do next to improve your site rating. Website Grader looks at everything from your tags to your sites listings on directories, and makes suggestions about blogs and contact forms. It has helped me pick up a few things that were wrong on my site and hopefully improve the way www.acpr.co.uk is picked up on search engines. I’m also using it for www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk, where I have started a new blog about flexible work and mumpreneurs. Hope you find it useful too.

From The Telegraph, Saturday:

“Chitty, 38, from Bexhill, East Sussex, is typical of this trend for a flexible approach. She relaunched her career after having two children (now aged six and three), but cheerfully calls herself “unemployable”, in the traditional sense.

“I’m 19 weeks pregnant with my third child, so after a stint at the computer I like to sit in a comfy chair and have a cup of tea,” she says. “Add in my ideal of a job that’s 9-3, that works around school holidays and one that I can take time off for inset days, school plays and assemblies and, like a huge number of women, I’m basically unemployable.”

Nevertheless, since leaving full-time work five years ago, Chitty has forged a career as an author and in public relations. She specialises in promoting the start-up businesses of women with children.

“I was doing that classic thing of spending all my money on child care while resenting someone else bringing up my daughter,” she says. “I volunteered myself for a magazine article on women who were unhappy with their work/life balance and had a session with a life coach.

“She pointed out that I had all the skills to work from home and that people would pay for those skills. Now I get to choose the hours I work and spend time with my children.”

Why do you work? Most of the women I know who run their own business have a passion for whst they do, even if it is tough at times. But new research shows that some mothers are having to go back to work, due to the economic recession

www.Workingmums.co.uk found that in a survey of 505, 79 per cent were looking to go back to work or increase their present working hours due to the credit crunch. For many, this will mean that they are looking for jobs that will allow them to balance their family and work life. This includes flexible or part-time working, school time jobs and working from home. If this is you, have a look at the ideas on www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk, or sign up to the ‘Start Your Own Business’ course at www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk  

Working Mums have a message for employers based on their survey results. Bosses should who re-examine their working culture and look at more efficient and effective ways of working such as flexible, part-time working or working from home. Employing skilled workers in these different ways can make their businesses more efficient and productive, cut office overheads, minimise overtime and reduce travel expenses.

Mandy Garner, spokesperson for WorkingMums.co.uk says, “The present economic situation is not all doom and gloom and actually presents some good opportunities for mothers to assess their working options and look at what is available to help them meet their needs. It also key that employers should look at more efficient ways of working and how this can help them to become more cost-effective whilst remaining productive. Employers should not get caught out by reducing their resources. Working mothers are a fantastic pool of talent that many businesses should be calling upon.”

Have you signed up to friendfeed yet? It is a good way of linking up all your online activities and will integrate and show up on your facebook too.You can subscribe to my friendfeed at http://friendfeed.com/antoniachitty.
Ed Dale of the 30 Day Challenge says this is the next big thing after twitter. If you haven’t yet got to grips with twitter, sign up here and link to me at http://twitter.com/antonianell

Technorati Profile

SMALL BUSINESS OFFERED A FINANCIAL BOOST: Win a £10,000 start-up grant from BT Business

To celebrate Small Business Week 2008, BT Business is looking to help one budding entrepreneur take their business to the next level with a GBP10,000 business grant.

A panel of judges, including the managing director of BT Business, Bill Murphy, will select a winner who in their view not only has a brilliant, innovative and unique business idea, but who also demonstrates the pioneering qualities needed to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Bill Murphy said: “The entrepreneurial spirit is so important for the UK economy and we at BT Business feel it’s vital to support the next generation of entrepreneurs by providing opportunities like this”.

“Initiatives such as Small Business Week show us that there is so much entrepreneurial talent out there – that we want to help one of our future success stories get off to a great start.”

An entrepreneur with an idea for a new venture or established businesses that needs an extra cash boost to launch a new product or service or expand into a new market could really benefit from this substantial business grant.

To be in with a chance of winning, entrepreneurs need to submit a written explanation of the plans for their business, and explain how they would spend the money. A shortlist of five will be chosen and the finalists will be invited to London later in the year to meet the judging panel and make their case for being awarded the cash prize. The winning business will also be eligible for a complete free audit of their information technology and communications systems by BT experts.

The deadline for entries is 6pm on December 31, 2008. Full details of the business grant competition are available at: www.bt.com/businessgrant

Small Business Week brings together small businesses with BT Business, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), everywoman, Business Link, NatWest and Growing Business. It tackles issues such as the economic climate, home and flexible working, responsible business practices, mentoring, innovation, and winning and retaining business.

A range of initiatives have been launched during Small Business Week to help small businesses survive in today’s climate and plan for the future. These include a region-by-region mentoring directory, detailing programmes available across the UK and guidance on how to access them, and a series of webinars, events, clinics and guides. Full details of the week are available at: www.sbw08.co.uk

Lilach Bullock is a renowned virtual PA who helps to support business people from her own office. And the successful entrepreneur is offering telephone seminars on how to set up similar ventures. She said: “These are a great way for people to find out about setting up their own VA (virtual assistant] company - which has to be attractive in the current economic climate.

“People simply dial in from the comfort of their own home and participate in the session.”

The next phone seminar hosted by Lilach, a finalist in the National Virtual Assistant of the Year Awards 2007 and Mumpreneur of the Year Award 2008, is on Friday, November 14 at 8pm. Lilach also runs one-day workshops on setting up a virtual assistant business. For more information and to book a place on a free phone seminar call Lilach on 01442 231663 or email info@asklilach.co.uk

From Hemel Today

Have you signed up to http://giantpotential.ning.com yet? It is a great place to meet other women in business, and there are nearly 1000 members. If you haven’t joined yet, do it now. Antonia Chitty of www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk is offering a selection books including the essential Guide to Promoting Your Business and parenting books from White Ladder Press and Need2Know for the 1000th member. Sign up soon or you’ll miss out.

The Bexhill and Hastings Observer have been very nice about my new books:

THERE appears to be no stopping inspirational Bexhill author Antonia Chitty, who, following on from the success of her previous two books, ‘A Guide to Promoting Your Own Business’ and, ‘Family Friendly Working’, has just launched a further two books entitled, ‘What To do When Your Child Hates School’ and, ‘Special Educational Needs – A Parents Guide’; which she wrote in conjunction with Special Needs teacher Victoria Dawson.

Explaining how she and Victoria came to write the book, Antonia said: “This book arose because my friend Victoria - who is a Special Educational Needs Teacher in Rotherham - kept saying she had really good ideas for practical help books. (more…)