MJWARD UK LTD

Evening all, just a quick blog post to say I have spent a few hours today on this websites Personal Development Area. Lots of ideas, wireframes and brainstorming completed, the topic being how best to offer value for money and inspiration to its members?

Lets face it, the self-help or personal development sector is worth big bucks if you can get one foot in the door! I did some research on Google today and found several sites estimating its value at over 60 billion per year!

Because of this, the personal development industry has no shortage of new self-help authors, bespoke courses, audio books, coaching websites and more… What I am looking to create and market throughout 2011 is more an internet-based personal development system, a membership site, allowing people to sign up (for a small one off fee) and learn from the comfort of their homes!

Anyway, I will keep you posted on its progress over the next few months. If you have any thoughts / suggestions for the Personal Development Area then please feel free to send these over! I would also like to hear from people in the self-help industry, maybe you would like to showcase some of your written work, promote a course or add a banner to your site from our members area?

Morning my beloved blog readers, so I have been up since 6am looking over old to-do lists and mapping out work for the weekend and new week ahead… Being in business means you will need to plan and manage your time well, and for me the perfect time to do this is early o’clock! The phone is quiet, inbox usually empty (or containing 90% spam!) and the world is silent, giving you ample time to think, set your goals, targets and plan for the day (or week) ahead.

So… this weekend has been dedicated to the development of our small business mobile app, a project that got started a few of months ago but sadly took a back seat due to work and the parties involved being extremely busy! Today however, time has been set aside to get this new sellable product created, tested and ready for market! For me this is the best part of any new business venture, its about creating something new, exciting and not knowing exactly how good (or bad) it will take off!

That said I have planned ahead. Several of our Tidy Design clients have expressed an interest in the small business mobile app so I am confident we will see a return on investment… So, planning ahead in business is important, however some things in life and business you simply cant plan for! It is how you adapt and deal with these events, re-plan and take steps forward after being knocked back that matter… Running a business comes with certain risks attached, however you can minimise these risks if you work extremely hard and plan ahead, taking into account every possible outcome!

Ok, this to-do can be ticked off my list for today! “Write a short blog post for my personal blog on planning ahead in business” … It is time to get ready for some Xcode, brand development and the creation of an awesome, affordable and tidy mobile app for small businesses! Stay tuned…

Today was a busy old day, a total of four meetings crammed into an afternoon plus a visit from the mum in-law, to be honest I am feeling pooped! Anyway… Glass of wine in hand, MacBook Pro on lap, I am now chilling out and reflecting on the kind of day I’ve had… What better time to write a short blog post on what makes a good brand?

Earlier today I had a conversation about brands, and the question was asked what makes a brand a brand? Ok, you have the company name, its logo, colour scheme and so on, but what makes one brand successful in its sector, and another brand fail? Is it really just down to clever marketing, a big marketing budget, pricing or a quality of service you just can’t find elsewhere?

I believe the challenge for any new or established brand in todays information age is to be unique and stand out from the crowd, we all look for that something special so marketing campaigns must have a positive impact on your business identity. A good brand will have its name (and possibly web address) embedded into your mind when you think of a service or product… So, if you are looking for fresh breath then you may think ‘Wrigley’s gum’, cheap flights ‘Ryan air’, children’s entertainment ‘Disney’, Sports ‘Nike’ and search engines ‘Google’… I think you get my drift; almost every sector in the world today has a strong brand assigned to it… Making new business both difficult and exciting!

If you are looking to start a new business, re-brand or create a company identity then you must first identify what it is you are offering… Make a note of the services and products you offer, what are your unique selling points and can you incorporate these into your name, trademark, slogan or logo?

So come on, what makes a good brand? The company image, its personality, energy or a desire to grow and do better… If you are proud to use a brand, happy to stock a brand on your shelves, and the customer experience and the expectations are always exceeded, then that’s a brand that will grow!

A good brand will be evolving and have its finger on the pulse when it comes to technology, market trends and what society (its target audience) will want yesterday! I personally love the development of brands, assessing how certain brands have achieved what they have achieved, seeing how products / brands are marketed on the web etc.

Remember, good business and good branding tend to go hand in hand; it is not only the customers committed to certain brands but often its creators who live and breathe the brand and ensure its success!

I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings on business and what makes a good brand? As always your comments and thoughts are much appreciated.

This week stared off manic, some seriously long days working on client websites, new projects and SEO! Tidy Design is very fortunate to be a busy little business that requires minimal marketing due to its organic SERPs, reputation and repeat business from existing clients… A position we got in through lots and lot of hard work.

The only negative (which is not really a negative) is that I sometimes work 24/7 on other company sites and find little (if any) time to allocate to my own projects! Yes, we are looking for some help with client updates, coding work and the general running of Tidy Design however this has taken a back seat due to personal and other business commitments… Anyway, forwards and upwards as they say!

The good news is that on Thursday / Friday of this week I found several hours to work on two sites I setup close to my heart. The first site I looked over was Plot of Land for Sale, a site I have been debating selling over recent weeks along with my plot in London to raise money for another venture.

The second site I looking over, fixing several CSS bugs and adding new promotional banners is Business Networking Link. Both of these sites see a reasonable amount of unique traffic each month, and both are structured to generate MJWARD UK LTD an income whilst we sleep. For me, that is the ultimate business model! However, for now the combined income of these two sites is not enough to retire… So time spent on improving, developing and marketing them is vital for their success.

Throughout 2011 I aim to spend much more time on the new sites / projects I have already started, the finish-line to have several high ranking sites generating MJWARD UK LTD an income with minimal effort from myself. Who knows, maybe I will then sell a couple of sites / domains to competitors or people looking to buy a profitable domain / business model.

For now it is all about hard work, dedication and the completion of projects… So on that note, I’d better get back to work! Have a great weekend and please visit again soon!

Waking up a good 45 minutes before my alarm clock today (5:15am) I am now relaxing next to my pregnant wife, MacBook Pro on lap and writing this blog to end what has been a VERY busy and productive day at Tidy Design.

This evening I am going to blog about websites and blogs and the importance / value of both unique and repeat traffic. A high-ranking website or blog really does have the potential to generate passive income through text ads, donations, lead generation, banner ads or sponsorship… Getting companies or adverts on a site or blog is the easy part; the hard part is creating, maintaining and marketing a high-ranking web site or blog that generates mass interest! So going back to the start of this blog post, if you (like me) are looking to boost unique visits to your website, encourage followers on twitter or entice readers back to your blog, then I think the secret is simple: “Hard work!”

When I research topics on the web and read other blogs I often think to myself what do people who stumble across my blog think about me? What will be there first impression? Will they remember my site? Have topics discussed helped and will they re-visit?

When blogging it is important to think about what effect you want your writing to have on other people… Ok, I write a lot about business, investments, building assets, marketing, business (did I mention that one already!) personal development and things that interest me at this stage in my life… With this in mind, I would like my late night ramblings to be of some value to those who come across them.

Lets face it; blogging is a great way to communicate with fellow people who find the things you enjoy of interest to them! For example, you wont find my blog if you Google your football team! I have not always been this interested in business, investments, new technology, brand development and what I do today… For me life is about experiencing the different things it has to offer, working in a factory (which I have done on many occasions) and running your own business is not that different from one another! Both require you getting up at silly o’clock, going to work, working hard (often very long shifts) and occasionally tolerating crap from people! What I call character building!

And to conclude, for me the difference between a good blog and a great blog is the way it communicates and offers real value to its readers, whatever the topic! Once you have this foundation in place then the site should build its own reputation with ease, high-rankings will soon follow, and the option to generate revenue through ads and sponsorships will be a nice reward for your hard work and continual efforts!

If you are developing a new blog or site with the intention to generate a passive income via ads or affiliate marketing then please post your comments below! I must say it is the challenge that motivates me… what about you?

The last couple of weeks have been a strange time for business owners! Many people have been off work and enjoying bank holiday weekend, after bank holiday weekend, the weather has been amazing, sales of BBQ’s probably through the roof, and the overall vibe / coverage of a royal wedding made many of us proud to be British!

That said, it is now Friday and my mind-set is ‘back to business!’ … Although the break was lovely, probably needed and also refreshing, I do feel like May 2011 needs to be a good month financially to make up for time away and the disruption to day-to-day business.

Ok, being self-employed or running a business is awesome, however the downside is that many of us need to work very hard to pay wages or get paid… So, shorter weeks, time away from the office, suppliers / clients combining annual leave with statutory holidays etc has slowed down business for many of us. Yes, it has been great fun spending time away with family, allocating just 15mins a day to emails, not thinking about business, money or web design projects… But today is the day I say “back to business!”

Wishing all readers, fellow bloggers and business folk a great May 2011!