Month: May 2017

Set Up A Trip Or Getaway

Posted on by thesmileparcel

I’m currently sitting in the office, looking out of the window, and the weather is beautiful, so this tip & blog post is perfect timing. It’s also a Bank Holiday weekend, so there’s an extra excuse to have a mini getaway!

Arranging a trip with family or friends, or even by yourself, is exciting and gives us something good to look forward to.

It could be an extravagant getaway, like booking a holiday, or it could be something that costs nothing at all.

Sometimes, we forget to look at what is available on our doorstep. It could be a walk around a country park, or visit to an animal attraction, or if you fancy something educational, or even a little culture, there may be museums and art galleries not far away, which are often free admission.

With it being a bank holiday, there is likely to be fayres & fetes too, so take a look, and maybe get a few friends together for a day out – ice cream is compulsory!

Have a lovely long weekend,

Karen x

We Won! Theo Paphitis #SBS

Posted on by thesmileparcel

We have a very exciting blog post this week, because, we won!! We are overwhelmed with the comments and lovely feedback we’ve had, so thank you so much.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I’ll explain…

Theo Paphitis, is one of the dragons from TV show Dragons Den, and he created Small Business Sunday, shortened to hashtag #SBS on Twitter, in 2010.

Each week, Theo rewards small businesses that tweet him, describing their business in one tweet, and of course including the all important hashtag. All tweets must be posted on Sunday between 5 – 7.30pm, to be counted.

Then on Monday evenings at 8pm, Theo reviews all of those tweets, and chooses his favourite lucky 6, who he then retweets to his over 500,000 followers!

As well as receiving a retweet, there are lots of amazing perks to winning.

You gain password access to Theo’s website, which contains lots of business help and information, as well as having your own business logo, details and website link added to his directory.

This website also contains a press release template, to use to make the most out of your win when contacting the media for publicity.

You receive an official winner banner and round stamp logo, with your business name, to use on all your social media accounts, and website, or anywhere you want to help promote your business.

Your products can be added to the shop #SBS website, which contains products only available from businesses who have won Small Business Sunday, which is great exposure.

Every Tuesday evening, the Twitter hashtag #SBSWinnersHour can be used between 8.30 – 9.30pm, to network with other winners and share products and business support.

There’s also a Facebook group, which can accessed to network and share guidance and support with others too.

As well as all of this, you also receive an invite to the annual Small Business Sunday live event in Birmingham, which all #SBS winners can attend to meet with other winners, as well as meet Theo himself, for a photo while collecting your certificate!

It’s definitely very exciting for us, and we are over the moon to win, especially as around 1500 businesses tweet each Sunday, and only 6 are selected!

So, if you have a small business, I definitely recommend giving it a try, it costs nothing except a couple of minutes to post one little tweet…

Karen x

 

Create An Achievement Book!

Posted on by thesmileparcel

We’ve all heard about writing down our dreams and the goals we want to achieve, in the form of a bucket list, and this is a great idea, but as well as this, you could also write an achievement list!

Sometimes, the things we write on our to-do, or bucket list, seem a long way in the future, or too difficult to reach right now.

So, next to your dreams list, write down all the things that you’ve already achieved, the big things and the small things – you’ll be surprised how much you’ve forgotten about, or just don’t think about as achievements, but they really are.

You might already have achieved things like, moving into your own house, visited other countries, bagged your dream job, or passed your driving test, or maybe, you’ve learnt to speak a second language, can play a musical instrument, or completed a course at night school, or even taken up an extreme sport – I won’t be doing this!

It can be great to remember just how far you’ve already come, and this can inspire you to try something else, and also help build your self-confidence.

Karen x