Article by Tricia Francois, TheBrandBoutique.co.za

We are all in the business of doing business. So whilst we started off our business with the idea of living our passion, we still need to make sure that we actually make money off our passion and that we get our product off the proverbial shelf and into our customers hands. All whilst making sure our customers feel good about owning our brand, will come back for more, and hopefully talk about us to friends and family. And remember, it’s not about how big you are, but about how much faster and smarter you are than your competitor. Aside from the basics of website, business card etc, The Brand Boutique has a few focus areas that the new businesses can hone in on, to get off the starting blocks with a limited marketing budget. Let’s take a look:

Become an Authority on Your Subject and Share Your Expertise Online
Blogging is becoming more and more popular than ever before. It’s quick, easy, cheap and if you have the content and knowledge to share, there is no better way to get it in front of a potentially massive audience. Add valuable content on the internet by sharing your expert opinions, how-to tutorials, industry trends and knowledge based on information about your products and services in general. The more you tell, the more you sell, because the public will perceive you as the expert in the industry, and therefore will desire your product or service. On top of that, the media such as magazines, newspapers or writers will eventually see you as someone who has some important things to say and come to you for an interview about your opinions and expertise.

 Article by Sharon Atkins, Supercoolstuff.net 

OK, so tell us the truth. Has your work space just evolved from a spare room or corner in the house into your office? Has there ever been any thought or planning to your office? You might sit and do e-mails in your pyjamas and take conference calls with the cat sitting on your lap but you can still do all of that of that in a great, inspiring place.

Here are a few secrets to creating an inviting and warm space that will inspire you to get to work instead of getting back under the covers:

Article by Linda Smith-Harvey abundancebydesign.co.za 

Have you ever thought about reducing your income flow?

Of course you haven’t… for the most of us, expanding our income flow is something that we dream of but don’t necessarily know how to achieve. I want to tell you that it is possible and it doesn’t have to be a pipe dream! Money flows away from chaos and flows towards order and we’ve seen it proven time and time again. With the right skills and attitude, you can virtually eliminate the chaos in your life and embrace the flow of abundance.

Understanding Flow

Every day we make choices that affect our future. These decisions are either moving us towards a life of abundance or away from it. For our regular readers, you will know the foundation of financial abundance lies is a plan; a budget. But there are steps that you need to take beyond the planning point in order to implement and manage that plan.

Article by Tricia Francois, TheBrandBoutique.co.za

In today’s digital era, its not acceptable to simply have a website and hope for the best. It’s more complex but also way more exciting, because the digital age has opened up so many avenues to capitalize on the market than ever before.

Here are a few hot digital trends for 2013 that if used wisely, can really increase your reach:

Design is key:
People like to look at attractive things, and when we like what we see, we respond positively. It’s the same with all your digital design, from your website through to your profile images on Facebook and Pinterest. If your design is striking, you’ve already managed to leverage your brand that much more. When I see a badly designed website, I cringe and it doesn’t do much for the brand in front of me.

Migrate to mobile:
Not everyone has a computer to find your website but there are 5 billion mobile phone users out there, of which 1.1 billion use Smart Phones. Building a mobi site is one opportunity, but there are tons of other ways to connect to this audience.

 I Am Woman Leap of Faith, the popular SABC3 television series is back. Season 2 begins on 7th April 2013 after a successful first season run in 2012 and fresh from two SAFTA (South African Film and Television Award) nominations.

The 26 part weekly series offers insightful viewing, exploring deep choices, pivotal realisations and profound moments of change in women’s lives. Shot documentary style, each 24-minute episode features one woman’s story punctuated by a rich and layered leap of faith. The ‘stars’ of the series are a broad and eclectic bunch of South African women with one shared characteristic: They have all experienced a life-changing moment when they knew for sure that things would never be the same.