It was brought to my attention about a new competitor making a comment on their website (in nice bright red bold lettering) “Some New Age companies who are out to make a quick buck are merely selling premium rate numbers at hundreds of pounds”.

Whether this is aimed at Mystic Charms or not, it has got me thinking, am I ‘out to make a quick buck’?

And the answer is yes, yes I am, but not for greed, for all the right reasons!

I started Mystic Charms as a way of bringing in an income after years living soley on incapacity benefits. My first target was to stop receiving incapacity, housing and council tax benefits after years of having to rely on them. This target I achieved in my first year of trading. My next target is to be able to afford a home of my own rather than renting.  The house I have in mind is not a big expensive one, just a simple three bedroom house I can call my own.

I hope after that to be able to help my children and the rest of my family (sister, brothers, nieces and nephews) so they do not have to struggle. Times are difficult and if I can help them then that will make me happy.

And as I thought more about ‘making a quick buck’ I realised as I meet my targets other people are benefitting too. The sellers who sell the products will all be making an income, the readers on the phone lines will be earning an income and so will my clients with phone lines. The suppliers I use will all be making an income. Then there are the people I employ and will have to employ, the web designers, SEO experts, my accountant and so on.

So Yes, I am “out to make a quick buck” for all the right reasons, and proud of it. Wouldn’t you be?

Do you know what subliminal messages you are sending out with each colour you use?

The effect of colour is immediate and if used wrongly can destroy the image you are trying to project.

To project a sense of a solid, stable, trustworthy and powerful company, use Royal Blue. Think how government departments use Royal Blue in their logos & letterheads giving an impression of honour and power. Team it with red to add a hint of danger and excitement to the message.

Pale blue and pale pinks remind us of childhood, babies and children and are ideal for businesses that want to create a more caring, sharing image of young families etc.

Yellows can be cheerful and bright or brash and deceitful with undertones of cowardice. Use soft yellow tones and gold’s with strong colours like Royal Blue, Burgundy and Green for a fresh, bright image.

Green is seen as peaceful, passive, restful but boring and dull unless mixed with warmer flower colours of apricot, orange and reds. Remember the saying “Green with Envy”!

Avoid browns to express your business identity. Browns are earth colours, warm, solid, dependable, sensible but are found by most people to be unimpressive, dirty, dull, boring, unexciting.

Reds, blue-reds and orange-red tones are vibrant, hot, passionate, exciting, aggressive, dangerous, evoke a ‘don’t touch’ image. Used in moderation they can be warm but firm at the same time.

Violet, Mauve and Purple colours are used to express mourning and grief, are dignified, mysterious, wise, solitary, authoritative colours and best used with tons of white.

Orange is a warm, sensual, joyful, passionate, lively welcoming colour. e bay uses orange tones on its front page!

Grey, Grey Mauve & Grey Green colours are sad, old, mournful colours and invoke images of lonely, dull, lifeless times. Prime Minister John Major was nick-named ‘The Man In Grey’!

Black is a powerful, dramatic, sophisticated, serious, dignified, elegant colour but can also invoke images that are wicked, sad, evil, gloomy and withdrawn.

White is a pure, innocent, youthful, faithful, simple, honest peaceful colour.

Choose strong warm colours to work with strong cool colours. Primary colours of red, yellow and blue draw the eye. Black as a background colour will absorb all the other colours whilst white reflects other colours. Think how white writing on a black background will stand out better than blue on a black background. Yellow does not work so well on a white background but would work with contrasting colours of black, blue and green on a white background.

Also think about the placement of words and graphics. Placed on the right of the page invokes an image of a powerful and long lasting business, the same words and graphics placed on the left of the page invoke images of a young, fresh and snappy company. The reason for this is what is seen on the right is acknowledged by the left-hand analytical side of the brain, whilst what is on the left is acknowledged by the right-hand creative side of the brain.

Try it and see!

This week I have just finished reading Kyle Gray’s book, The Angel Whisperer, which I have found to be very interesting and made me realise that I have been making the same mistake I bet lots of us do and that is asking for help rather than thanking our Angels.

According to Kyle rather than saying ‘Help me Angels xyz blah, blah blah’ (which I have always done) we should be saying ‘Thank you Angels for xyz blah, blah, blah’ as if we have already received whatever it is we are asking help for.

So after reading Kyle’s advice I gave it a go and thanked my Angels for giving me guidance with signs and synchronicity. Two things happened that day. First I received an email reminding me about a domain name I had registered and details of the hosting company. You may think that’s nothing special but the day before I was trying to remember the company that I had registered the domain name with and the domain name itself, I had even posted on my Facebook page about how I had forgotten it. Within hours of asking for signs and guidance I had my first answer!

The second thing that happened, out of the blue another email arrived, this time it was about a marketing course by Eban Pagan (even the name is special!) and a free video which I found to have the answers I was looking for with regards to a business issue I was contemplating.

Now when I visualise my Angel I see and feel them behind me pushing and prodding me on my shoulder as if to move me forward. It certainly feels as if they are trying to tell me to stop procrastinating (guilty as charged!) and to get on putting all my ideas for Mystic Charms (my business) into actions.

OK, so I thought let’s ask Andy Murrays Angels to help him win this year’s Wimbledon tennis championship and I visualised Andy’s Angel surrounding him with strength and holding him up tall and strong giving him the strength and stamina to win the match. Well we shall have to wait another day to see on that one.

I shall certainly be putting Kyle’s suggestions about contacting our Angels in to practice over the coming weeks and look forward to more success and feeling content with life.

Anyone that has claimed housing and/or council tax benefits will know that the form is very exacting and requires a lot of supporting evidence to be supplied. It’s not an easy form to complete, nor is it easy to ‘cheat’. It is also a demoralising form to complete, as is claiming any state benefit, often the people whose job it is to process these claims have developed a hardened attitude to claimants which can be upsetting for anyone with a genuine claim. Is it because of the many false claims these people process that makes them view everyone with the same attitude, that as far as they are concerned everyone is ‘tarred with the same brush’? Claiming any benefit is a demoralising process which, due to the recession, many more people are finding out.

So why am I shocked? After all so many people do make false benefit claims, many, many get away with it.
It’s because, during those years of his claim, Dan was the trusted sidekick to Matt Allwright in a show that confronted cheats and scammers in Britain resulting in several convictions against these cheats. Dan was part of a team that sought out cheats and brought them to justice! Surely he knew this would happen sooner or later? I’m shocked because someone that I considered one of the ‘Good Guys’ has fallen from grace.

Dan Penteado (left) with Matt Allwright from BBC Rogue Traders

Having a Facebook Page for your business will give your followers easy access to share their love of your business, to share your upcoming events or sales and promotions with their friends and really create the kind of word-of-mouth advertising that we all need to succeed. And it doesn’t cost you a penny, all it costs is a small investment of your time. You may not be into social media, but if your business is ignoring it, you are missing out.

So now you have a Facebook Page for your business, how do you keep your followers engaged? The only way to really profit from a business page is to motivate followers to click, share and, eventually, act by buying a product or signing up for an event. Your business success on Facebook is determined largely by user interaction.

Most people aren’t on Facebook for business, they just want to have fun. So don’t be serious, be fun, share funny stories, funny images, tales of life in your business, people are nosey and want to know what goes on in your business.

One great way to interact with your followers, and one I have just started testing on my Facebook Business page www.facebook.com/MysticCharms is to share images and quotes. People love images and quotes and, more importantly, love sharing them with their friends. There’s something irresistible about quotes. They love to share something that makes them smile, makes them laugh out loud or something that they can relate to. And it works. Since posting quotes and images on my Facebook Business Page my posts have reached more people as followers share my posts with their friends.

So where do you get these quotes, inspirational messages and images? Well you could create you own, but if you are like me not very talented in the creation of something original and new then why not do what I do? And that is to find quotes and images previously (weeks or months ago) posted by people on facebook. I check out their Facebook page, view their photos and download the ones I like and want to upload onto my business page. I would simply use their ‘share’ button but for some reason I can only do that on my personal profile and not my Facebook business page, when I figure that out I will simply use the ‘share’ button.

I post these images and quotes once or twice a day. I find the best time to post for better interaction is between 7pm and 10pm (UK time) when more people have time to check out Facebook. I also post comments throughout the day, those these do not have the same reach as the images and quotes.

Have I had any new customers from Facebook? Its early days yet but yes a couple so far have joined and quoted Facebook as where they found out about Mystic Charms. Why not have a go yourself and start posting more quotes, inspirational messages and images and less of the ‘hard sell’ posts and see what difference it makes?

I look forward to viewing lots of quotes, images and inspirational messages in the next few days!

Have you heard of Pinterest?  Its the new kid on the block in terms of marketing your business, with over 3.3 million unique visitors a month it is definitely worth investigating.  As a business we are relatively new to the Pinterest scene but can see the potential outcome for any business using Pinterest wisely.

To give you a quick low down on what Pinterest is all about:  When you sign up you will see that you can create virtual pinboards of pictures, these can be pinned from around the web by using the cool Pinit gadget which attaches to your browser bar, or you can simply browse everyone elses virtual pinboards and re-pin their images.  People can view your pinboards and share all of your pinned images, they can follow you just like on Facebook and twitter aswell.  So for example you pin one of your products from your shop on your pinboard (you can also add a nifty price tag) link it back to your main website, then when people see it they can re-pin the image sharing your link to millions of people.  Simple really once you get the hang of it!

To use Pinterest to its full potential here are a few quick tips to get you started:

• Spend the time building relationships on Pinterest

Its not a case of post an image and expecting quick results, these things take time so devote a few hours a week adding images, browsing other peoples boards and following people.

• Connect Pinterest to your store

Add a Pinterest widget to yoru website using one of their free widget apps.  Promote via your Facebook page and Twitter, basically connect the dots between your Pinterest account/boards and your website.

• Launch a daily Pin theme

It doesn’t have to be all about your products!  Choose a daily theme and post some cool images on your pinboard and sneak a few of your products in aswell.  People who constantly advertise mainly annoy other users as its all about the social interaction.

• Follow the big hitters

Increase awareness of your business by following the big hitters that use Pinterest. When you follow popular people they follow you back, and its a case of follow your leader.  This works the same for Facebook and Twitter.

Above all have fun with it, social media tools shouldn’t be a chore but a fun way to interact with your customers.

Not many towns are lucky enough to have a New Age store so followers are finding the best places to find these types of items is online.

What kind of things can you find in a New Age store? Most New Age stores will stock products for all sectors of this vast market including oils for aromatherapy, crystals and healing stones for Reiki practitioners, candles, herbs and essential oils for creating simple spells, altar and ritual supplies for White Witchcraft and ancient spell casting.

Many New Age stores are operated by practitioners in alternative health including Reiki therapy, crystal therapy, herbalists, psychic and mediums, Feng Shui practitioners and many more with an interest in self growth and therapy.

If you are one of these many followers and are looking to start your own New Age store online then Mystic Charms can offer you everything you will need to get started from a website with a full product list, order fulfilment, stock holding and business advice. Why not take a look at one of Mystic Charms New Age Stores today?

Before the Internet became so popular people looking to earn extra cash would join companies like Kleezeze, Betterware, Avon or party plan companies like The Body Shop, Virgin Vie and Phoenix Cards etc. Even now these companies still offer a way of earning an extra income; indeed you can earn a full time income from them if you put the time and effort in.

Of course putting brochures through doors and collecting order/payments and making deliveries is very time consuming and not everyone is suited to organising and hosting parties where a lot of self-confidence and an outgoing personality really helps.

Before the internet other earn extra money from home opportunities could be found in weekly papers like ‘Daltons Weekly’ and ‘Exchange and Mart’ where the business opportunities section was full of ‘get rich quick’ schemes like envelope stuffing, mystery shopping, craft assembly (you are supplied with parts to complete craft projects at home with the promise of high per-piece rates but you never “meet their specifications”). Of course there was always a fee involved to receive the information then you would find out that it was a scam.

Of course there were schemes to earn extra money as a horse racing tipster or even placing bets on horses. Another scam was the chain letters dressed up like a business opportunity, you know the sort of thing, send £xyz for this ‘overnight success’ business idea which actually ends up you repeating the same advert for people to send you money.

Now lots of these scams have moved onto the internet and have become more elaborate. There are plenty of advertisements for ‘email processors’ which, after paying a large sum of money, you find out it’s nothing more than the online version of the ‘envelope stuffing’ scam. Or home typing work which actually turns out that you have to send out lots of letters to people looking for just the work you are doing and turning you into ‘the scammer’.

In recent years even dropshipping has come under suspicion as a ‘scam’. There certainly have been a few companies whose underhand tactics have brought the dropshipping business into disrepute, simply Google Dropshipping scam for some interesting reading!

How do you spot a scam opportunity?
Research is the key, questions you should ask include; how long has the company been operating? Is there an actual product or service to offer? What are the set up costs? Are there contact details, phone number, address, email details? Is there an actual address you can visit and not a P.O box? Can you ask them questions and do you get a reply when you do ask a question? Have you researched reviews on the company? All these things you need to do before you make your decision.

Thankfully Mystic Charms delivers and has many happy sellers earning extra income from home.

Then I could appear on Britain’s Got Talent/The Voice/X Factor where, like Susan Boyle, as soon as I start to sing I would have the whole world captivated. Then I would have people clamouring to offer me contracts, manage my career, I would stay in top hotels, have an entourage, fly around the world, a personal shopper, a make-up artist and my very own stylist. I would appear in the newspapers, celebrities would ‘tweet’ about me, I would be stopped in the street and asked for my autograph, oh life would be so, so different.

But alas, I cannot sing (tone deaf!), I cannot dance and I cannot act. I am one of life’s many, many millions that lead an ordinary life of hard work to get by. A celebrity I would rather be until it all comes crashing down.

Why does it take a little bit of TV coverage and a small amount of talent to lift some people out of the ordinary into the limelight? TV is such a powerful media, changes the inept into overnight sensations.

Of course there is an opportunity for the would be/could be entrepreneurs with shows such as The Apprentice and Dragons Den but again it has to make good TV. Have you noticed on the Apprentice they all look under 40 and all presentable, wonder if Susan Boyles’ talent was for business if she would have made it onto The Apprentice, I doubt it somehow. Of course I wouldn’t go on The Apprentice, there is no way I could get up and ready in twenty minutes before 6am, how do they do that???? And I would end up shouting ‘shut up and listen’ as I cannot stand how they all talk over each other and no one makes a decision that is acted on. But it’s great TV all the same and I am hooked year after year.

As for Dragons Den, never mind facing the Dragons, as soon as that camera starts to roll I would clam up, I know I would. And I would burst into tears if they said my business (which enables me to pay my bills and put a roof over my head) would not work. Doesn’t mean that I would not like to meet them all though, Theo and Deborah are my favourites to meet and I’m sure I would be stuck for words and grin like a stupid teenager!!

I have never met a celebrity in ‘real life’, my claim to fame is a 30 second appearance on ‘What not to Wear’ in a group scene and an interview on local news when one Christmas I found myself on a mercy trip to the local fire station to remove a puppy with a roll of sellotape stuck around its neck!

Why was I given the gift of bright ideas but not the voice of an angel, a life of hard work is my road to take rather than the overnight singing/dancing/acting sensation I so want to be!

What do I blog about, what do I write?

I expect lots of people feel the same as I do right now – why would people want to read what I have to say?!

Well tonight I watched a new advert for Reggae Reggae sauce and got to thinking would this sauce really have taken off if it was not for Levi Roots personality?

When Levi Roots appeared on BBC’s Dragons Den back in 2007 he walked up those infamous stairs singing his ‘Reggae Reggae sauce’ theme tune and his very relaxed manner and big, big smile won the Dragons over. His pitch was not fantastic and he was flummoxed by weights and measures, when criticised on this his very relaxed reply was “I’m a singer, not a mathematician” and despite this he still walked away with a £50,000 investment to produce his sauce. Now, five years later, Levi Roots is a millionaire and along with his original sauce he now has a line of ready meals, soft drinks, snacks and a line of cookbooks.

OK the sauce was good but there are hundreds of good sauces and condiments on the supermarket shelves all competing for the same customers so what was different about this one?

Obviously the investment and business knowledge of the two Dragons (Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh) have really helped Levi Roots success but I think it’s more to do with his personality and his story that created his success. People connected with his story about creating this sauce in his kitchen, a recipe he said that was handed down from his grandmother, how he sold the sauce at the Notting Hill carnival for years and how his children begged him not to go on Dragons Den. This is what people connect with, what makes them want to buy. People like to buy from people not big soulless corporations.

So, what do I write about on my blog?

I think anything that is ‘me’, anything and everything that I care to discuss in such an open forum. Anything that will make my blog personal, things that I feel passionate about, things that I do, people I encounter, places I experience and things that will be of interest to my (hopefully) followers.

And maybe one day I shall be singing up those infamous stairs to meet the Dragons in their Den!

Julie