Coffee Kiosk To Let at Enfield Chase Station London #Enfield #EN2!

So, it's bitter sweet. We will close the doors of our Enfield shop soon. Help us to celebrate almost 7 years of loveliness on December 24th, 2015! I think there'll be a party atmosphere ALL DAY! So, please do come along and join us. Gunter and I have had a wonderful time with you guys and all our customers are our friends and we are so happy and delighted to have had the privilege of laughing with you, chatting with you, listening to your woes, your journey, your ups and your downs, sharing life with you for these past, almost seven years.

We were hoping to sell our business to one of our customers, so that they could live the dream, the fantasy, of just coming to the station and having the banter, community, coffee and cake for the whole working day. We are nearing the end of November and there is no sign of that happening on the horizon, the main issue being, that there is no lease in place. So, no matter if we sell you the logo, the secrets, the Facebook page, the Twitter account, the equipment, the name and the goodwill, it is too much of a risk with no lease in place.

We can't sell this business without being able to reassign the lease and so, what better leaving present can we give Enfield than to give you the details of the unit and the landlord and let you go for it. For some reason, it is quite difficult to find details of the landlord and the lease details on the internet, it seems to be buried deep, deep DOWN! So here we are especially for you is your chance to negotiate directly with the landlord and GO FOR IT!

It is a challenge, the unit is in a difficult position, at the end of platform 1, so you do have to work hard at encouraging people from the other end to even know that you are there but with the power of social media and the local press, TV, Radio and even the national papers it can be done! As you know because you've heard of My Coffee Stop, even if this is the first time, from reading this blog.

We're taking our name and business with us to our Coffee, Health Food and Book shop in Shepton Mallet, with a cosy community cinema too and we leave you with a wonderful opportunity to chase.

Being at Enfield Chase Station gave us a great start, you'll not be able to sell your business at the end of it, to realise the value in that way but you'll have a great job of your own creation, that you can re-invent everyday!

If you choose to go for it, then GOOD LUCK and when we are in Enfield, we will come and visit for a coffee and cake but make mine a herbal tea please, as you know I don't drink coffee!

RENTAL DETAILS FOR THE COFFEE KIOSK AT ENFIELD CHASE STATION!

An Open Letter to Emma and the #LoveYourDoorstep team in #Enfield

Pathway towards Gentleman's Row, Enfield Chase.

Dear Emma and the +Love Your Doorstep team,

I am writing to let you know that after the ups and downs of the last few years, I have had a complete change of heart and would please like the opportunity to be an Lyds business.

Firstly, I would like to apologise for comments I have made, that I felt were my true opinion at the time but have caused upset and grief for you. I did not intend this at all and I am truly sorry. Having been off work for a while, due to illness, has given me plenty of time to mull over things and just two weeks after making some more negative comments about Love Your Doorstep in a Facebook conversation, I have looked at myself and the situation and I would dearly love to make amends and try to heal the hurt that I have caused. I really do not want to leave this mess behind in my life, please allow me the opportunity to make it better again.

It was the Facebook post that got me thinking. The negativity of the post made me intrigued, so, I checked your website and twitter feed and my opinion has changed. I can see that you have developed the business into so much more than a Facebook group.

It took me a long time to get used to the changes in the group in the beginning and it clashed for me that it was a free community and then changed into one where you had to pay to join as a business. But actually, Emma, you have created a visionary and completely new business model. I've been doing a lot of thinking. I think you have had to put your foot down and create strong boundaries because it is easy for friendship, kindness and business to get all mixed up. Like if people come into my shop, start chatting, don't want a coffee but are just saying 'hello' as a friend, taking my time and energy away from when I'm working. I feel I want to give stuff to them because they are my friend but on the other hand, if I run my business like that, I won't have one.I didn't really get this for ages, until there was some distance between myself and Enfield.

Your Twitter feed is strong and you have worked hard in building up strong links within the Enfield community, such as with the FSB, Enterprise Enfield and so on.

I have always respected your talent and vision, Emma but I found the new changes and rules very difficult, I can be fairly rigid in that respect due to my asperger way of thinking.

I think when we are angry, or emotional, we react rather than respond and I've been reacting all over the place.

Looking again at Lyds from a distance, it is incredible what you have done. The designs are really slick, the website works well on my phone, I love the shopping campaign stickers and the blogging area on the website is cool too. I have to say, I really have changed my mind.

Last year, I had too much Lyds from friends all over my timeline, I felt strangely emotional about posts where Lyds showed a film at The Dugdale Centre and about when they went to parliment. I felt left out and pissed off. But it was Lyds that did that work, not me and looking back on it now, I think I was upset because I was jealous. I didn't realise at the time.

I was so emotional and upset with all the posts, I then decided to delete any of my Facebook friends that were too enthusiastic about Lyds, to preserve my sanity, I deleted all of the enthusiastic ones and that felt better, until I realised that I had hurt some of them. The whole thing has been very difficult for me. I even started not to enjoy the Ideas Station, my social media workshops for women because every time the question would come up about whether I thought Lyds was good or not, I'd try to go for a bland, 'I wouldn't use it for my business but it does work well for other businesses', approach. Or the 'If you're not good at social media, it could be good for you.'. Or 'I don't recommend it but some businesses love it.'. I could never get away with a brushaway comment, to avoid my discomfort. The rest of the meeting would sometimes dissolve into a heated debate about Lyds and not about solving social media problems. It was embarrassing and took the motivation away for me to continue.

Now, I want to support what you are doing. Maybe some people will find that inconsistent, maybe hypocritical but I am proud to admit, actually, I am wrong I've made lots and lots of mistakes. Yes, I have changed my mind. I want people to know because this has been such a public affair and I want to help to heal the hurt.

People have seen me as one of the biggest ringleaders of the 'we don't like lyds' brigade.......I didn't want to be that. Emma, you and your team are running a never done before concept business, I had no patience and didn't make allowances for the learning curve involved.

The comments I made on Facebook two weeks or so ago sound bitchy, when I reread them, at the time they felt honest and truthful.  However, having taken another look, Lyds is actually something that is working well in these extremely difficult economic times and I realise there is a core of businesses who are repeat customers because it works.

I didn't even realise that you have a job board, I have a part time job that I would love to advertise on there.

I've made a lot of mistakes in dealing with this situation and it's all been fairly public. I am not afraid to say, my attitude has been wrong.

It is time for me and others in our community to give you, Lyds the respect that you deserve.

I am all for campaigning and for economic justice and have changed a few negative things in the world. Lyds is not a negative, it doesn't need a campaign against it, however inadvertently that situation has arisen and it doesn't need an emotional response.

If you don't want our business, I don't blame you but I just thought it fair to publicly share my change of heart.

I hope that together, we can build bridges, not walls.

I am very, very sorry for the way that I have been and I really would like the opportunity to support your concept, if you can ever, please forgive me.

Yours Most Sincerely and Hopefully,
Karen Mercer. xxxx

24 hour SHOCK Cash Mob!

I have heard reports that the landlord of Sheels Bookshop in Lancaster Road, has put the rent up by 50%, forcing this Enfield business to relocate to Hatfield instead. We can now see for ourselves that the changing face of the High Street is not just because of changing shopping habits but also the greed of some landlords in keeping rents artificially high in these hard economic times. 

SHOCK Cash Mobs are a small drop in the ocean to help local and independent businesses, just as the BBC Reporter suggested when I was interviewed on TV about this community initiative.

I feel Landlords need to be forced by law, to take responsibility for their community, or even supported by grants and special initiatives to enable them to have filled shop spaces and a fair income in exchange. I don't know what the correct approach would be, as I have never been a landlord, so I need landlords to connect with me and share with me their ideas. After all we are all in this together. Communities are becoming fractured by our broken up High Streets, drastic action and innovation needs to happen now! 

In the meantime, please join me in an online SHOCK Cash Mob for Sheels Bookshop, just over 1 year after the one we did to them in 2013! 

So, for 24 hours from 9am, Tuesday 3rd June to 9am on Wednesday 4th June, pop into Sheels and spend a tenner or more on books! 

Or go online and order.

Or phone up and order.

Please comment to tell me that you are going to do it. Then please tell me when you have actually done it! 

So, who's in? Xxxxxx

Low Gi, Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Muffins!

I am so excited! I have finally created a low GI, gluten-free and dairy-free muffin recipe!

These muffins are great for diabetic people, those on a low carbohydrate diet and those that have gluten and dairy intolerances, as well as those that just want to enjoy a healthy, tasty and nutritious snack.

I have just finished one of these muffins and I have to say it's the best tasting gluten and dairy free item that I have ever tasted.

The muffins I chose to make were Blueberry and Banana and I used a brilliant combination of gluten-free flours to create a really fluffy texture. The flour replacements I used were gluten-free flour made from potatoes and rice starches, quinoa flour, ground almonds and gluten-free oats.

The milk I used which was an excellent dairy-free replacement was Rice Dream Original. I have been trying to bake with Coconut Milk but it's been making the cake too dry. We normally use yoghurt in our cakes but as I wanted to make these dairy-free, I substituted unsweetened 100% apple puree, from Biona, instead.

For the sugar, I used a small amount of raw cane sugar, with a low GI Coconut Sugar.

I am so exceptionally pleased with these muffins and feel they are a real break through in my dairy and gluten-free baking.

Hope you can pop by and try some soon.

Please let me know if you have certain foods you can't eat and what kind of cake you'd like us to bake for you, just by commenting here.

Keep happy and healthy. Xx

5 Great Uses for #Yogi #Classic Herbal Teabags!

A teabag is not just a teabag, especially when it is a Yogi Classic teabag.

The Yogi Classic Teabag is an extremely extraordinary teabag indeed. For a start, just the sublime scent of it's warm, comforting spices is incredible, with cloves, cinnamon and ginger intermingling in a delicious dance of aromas as I draw the scent up into my nose....ahhhhhh! Always so comforting, so homely and warming.

The Yogi Tea Classic blend of spices is exceptional above any other spice-blended teabag that I've ever experienced because it has a superbly balanced blend of the herbs, resulting in a sweetness and heat, that I've never experienced in any other spice based product, it is absolutely unique.

So, of course I find other ways of getting to experience this special blend of herbs and spices in my life, beyond what they were intended for as well as, of course, still enjoying an excellent cup of herbal tea, which leads me to first use, for The Yogi Tea Classic Blend Teabag.

1/ An exceptionally fine cup of herbal tea.

Place the bag into a tea cup, preferably a branded 'Yogi' tea glass, actually, just to add to the experience, then pour just boiled water over the bag. Enjoy the steam rising up and breathe in that wonderful mixture of spices but hold it there, don't drink it yet! You must wait the allotted 7 minutes before allowing yourself to take even one sip. I'm not sure what you're meant to do in these 7 minutes, other than wait but hey, it could be a good idea to find out from +Cathy Underwood , Director of +Yoga4mums if there is a special pre-tea drinking Yoga position you could practice in public, without too much embarrassment, whilst you wait for the full flavour of the tea to develop.

The great thing about waiting those 7 minutes is, I find, that the tea is just the right temperature to enjoy and the flavours beautifully infused. The taste of the tea is instantly warming, nurturing, healing and comforting, with a sweetness I can't find in other herbal teas and a full flavour of cinnamon, that feels almost chewy in my mouth. Just wonderful, a simple and pure enjoyment.

2/ Apple Pie in a Tea Cup (Thanks to +Kareen Cox for the name suggestion!)

You get a Yogi Tea Glass, or your normal mug or teacup, pour in some apple juice, then pour that apple juice from the cup into a pan on the hob and gently heat it. When it is hot put the Yogi Classic teabag in and wait until it's the right temperature to drink, again 7 minutes might work here.

We sell this concoction in our shop and it is very popular but you can also take the time, just to make it yourself at home and to enjoy it. For me, it's almost like slurping an apple strudel. what I really love about it is that it's incredibly tasty and yet it is so simple, just apple juice and that special tea bag, no added sugar, nothing else and it is so deliciously YUMMY!

3/ An extremely healthy and tasty breakfast!

This is also served in our shop and is especially good for you, if you are on a gluten-free, or dairy-free diet as we use gluten-free oats and coconut milk. Again, you can make it at home easily. It's a great snack before bedtime as well as for breakfast.

Warm up some coconut milk on the hob and put in the cinnamon tea bag, take away from heat and let the flavours seep out, for around 5 minutes.

In the meantime, get the gluten-free oats and pour them into a bowl, then pour the spicy warm milk into the bowl but don't let the teabag go in! Put a dollop of sugar free apple puree into the oats and swirl around.

It is so delicious and nutritious, I love food that tastes good and is good for you!

4/ Clothes Sachets.

Yes, hang those little teabags up in your wardrobe and not only will your clothes smell warm and spicy but although we humans enjoy the scent, moths do NOT like it at all! Result, sweet scented, moth-free clothes!

5/ Car Scent! 

This idea was suggested by Roz Lishak of Character Bakes! You could make a delicate little thing out of material, maybe a heart-shape or something and then put that yummy Yogi Tea Bag in. Imagine how much easier it would be to deal with other people's rubbish driving when you have that calming smell in the car, everything in the world would seem right, wouldn't it and then it would all slip off, like water off a duck's back! Sigh.

And once you've finished with all those tea bags you've been using, don't waste them put them on the compost heap!

Yogi Tea Bags, Coconut Milk, Apple Puree and Gluten-Free Oats are all available to buy in our shop. Yogi Tea glasses are free with every purchase of two packets of Yogi Tea.

Try to get to us before +Garry kousoulou , as he is a Classic Yogi Tea fiend!

Please let me know your thoughts by commenting underneath.

And if you liked this article please share your discovery with others by Tweeting, Facebooking or Google Plussing. Thank you.xxx

#Like #Ladders on #Facebook

Independent businesses need to support each other as much as possible and I believe that here in Enfield, they really do. Most of the people coming to my SHOCK Cash Mobs and pledging to spend a tenner in a local and independent business, are independent business owners themselves! Those very same people have also wholeheartedly joined in with The Ideas Station's 'Like Ladder' generously giving each other support and advocacy, in 'Liking' each others pages. In fact it was local award-winning hairdresser James Whittaker, that suggested doing a 'Like Ladder' in the group, in the first place. Thank you James!

What is a 'Like Ladder'?

A 'Like Ladder' is done on Facebook, usually in a Facebook Group, where people post the link to their Facebook Page, then underneath that, someone else posts the link to their page. If they post a link to their page, they have to go back to the ladder and then 'Like' everyone else's pages that have been posted. Everyone gets more likes for their pages, thus increasing their chance of friends of friends of others seeing page activity and then also choosing to like that page. Of course this is all made even more effective when, if you have 'Liked' someone's page, you also comment on the posts on the page and 'like' some comments too.

You can propel this all up another level by, after liking a page as yourself, click on the settings icon to the right and chose 'Add to my page's favourites'. If both the pages have done this to each other, this is a great way of cross-promoting. By mentioning the other page, on your page, your post is seen on the other page! Does that sound complicated? Yes, it does, doesn't it but it's so easy when you actually do it and see what happens.

Make it into an event!

I have found a better way to create a LIKE LADDER is instead of posting it in your group. The problem with posting a like ladder in a group is that people will forever add to it and post conversational comments, that like ladder will then stay as the top post on your group page, as there will be so much activity on it, however the group will look very one dimensional and uninteresting. The way that I have found to combat this is to create a LIKE LADDER event. As you can see here.

Some might argue that 'Liking' another's page, just for a reciprocal like, has no or limited value, however, I would claim that actively 'Liking' another's business page, even if it might not be a product, or service that you have a use for, is an important part of being a player in your local business community. Just as in my shop, I have leaflets up advertising other services, even other shops and businesses that sell similar products to us, I use the online forum to ensure that our business helps other local businesses to promote themselves, as much as they possibly can.

Connect and Be Seen!

There are so many reasons why being connected to and promoting other businesses is a valuable and important part of your business' marketing strategy. The most important one being that you are giving your customer added value, extremely important added value. They begin to see you as a useful resource of information and knowledge, they think of you first when they want to find something out. In fact this is just one of the many reasons why the Independent Shop can survive, even thrive, wedged between Chains and Supermarkets. That local knowledge and those important local connections help to propel you higher up in people's consciousness, not only that but this pattern is mirrored on the internet, in your search engine optimisation and higher search results on Google, for your business.

My advice is, to keep promoting other small, local and independent businesses, as much as you can. This makes sense on several different levels, such as it strengthens the local economy, you make fantastic friends and connections that you might never have had and the feel good factor of sharing the success that your business has with others, feels so good! Sharing your customers with other businesses doesn't, in the long term take business away from you, it might seem counter-intuitive but passing on great local information brings success and prosperity to the area, rather than empty shop fronts and closures. On a personal level you ensure that those quirky local businesses that you love to enjoy too, on your days off, can also thrive!

Join a Like Ladder NOW!

So, the Like Ladder on Facebook, is this ethos, created in an easy to follow online format.If you have an independent business in Enfield, you are welcome to join the Like Ladder event, on the Ideas Station Group, here.

You can learn more tips and tricks about how to make social media work for your business at The Ideas Station with monthly workshops, or one to one training, here.

To make it even easier for you to 'Like' others' pages, I will be updating the list here too, with links to the pages already posted on the Like Ladder so far.

The Ideas Station Like Ladder...

Work your way down the list and like all the pages, then go to here and add your own page.

My Coffee Stop

Crews Hill Market

Stall4All

SundayTradiN8

AnjoSam Creations

Tenon and Mitre Joinary

Osteopathic Health Centre Enfield

Head to Toe Hollistic Therapies By Michelle Keady

James Whitaker Hairdressers

Balisier Cosmetics

Amrit T and T

Target Tuition

I Can Do It

Mostly Tasks

Balance Hypnosis

Absolutely Kareen, Graphic Design and Photography

Mad Cuisine

Pure Hair and Beauty

Freckles and Cakes

Doodle Designs

Open Studios and Art Trail

Ecole Nicole

Veggie Delicious

Sparklisation

The Goat, Ponders End

Danny Cox, Sports Massage

Teeny Tiny Yoga

Health Matters

The Village Wholefood Store

Feel Good Treatments

Fragrant Sole

Stella and Dot

Phoenix Trading, Sunayana

Do I Know You

Samantha's Art Page

Embrace Coaching

EN Magazine

Your Style Fix

Sunshine on a Stem

Nails by Pia

Have a massage

Good Looking Optics

Kidz Connections

Drapemasters Interiors

UK Academy of Swimming

Vic Smith Beds

Russdales Flooring

Hillman Legal Partnerships

DV8 Creative Solutions

Give Me Tap

Katie's Kastles

Prime Time Business

Hypno Birthing North London

Pride and Joy Pet Couture

Toddle in the City

Under Pressure Jet Washing

Sew Sarah Jane

#Shock #CashMob #Enfield!

Pam, Owner of Ma Battley's with Cash Mobbers and North London Brass!

I'm still on a high, after taking part in the latest Shock Cash Mob! 'What is a Shock Cash Mob', I hear you question.

Well, it's an idea imported from America, the first one I heard of in the UK, was done at Harringay Market. The ones in Enfield have built on the original idea and added a few enigmatic twists.

The main idea is to boost local independent businesses. Around 10 people arrange to meet up and each one of those people brings a tenner. They then descend upon one lucky shop and each person spends their tenner, or even more!

It's a way to inject cash into our local economy and make an independent retailer's day!

Ten CASH MOBS are being arranged in Enfield, in the run up to Christmas. Two have already been done, the first was at The Village Wholefood Store, the second one which was today, was at Ma Battley's a really cute Sweet Shop, with a very quaint tea room above it.

People pledge their tenners but don't get to know the location of the independent shop, until the night before.Which makes it all very enigmatic and exciting.

Oh and it's a shock for the shop owner, who doesn't know it's happening, until it's happening.

Sweet Sensation!

Today, there was an extra special twist, which was to have North London Brass playing outside the shop. We walked from the fountains outside Enfield Town Library into Enfield Town itself and as we came onto the High Street the brass band struck up some happy tunes! Passers-by were smiling, our tenners were waving and Ma Battley's owner Pam and her staff did not know what on earth was going on!! I don't know who explained but somebody must have done, as she was looking very happy indeed. I was taking photos and telling people outside to go in and spend some cash! The press were there too, taking pictures and Pam must have felt like a star for the day, or at least like it was her birthday.

The special moment for me, was when I looked at Pam's shop and saw all the people browsing and holding onto things that they would buy, prettily packaged confectionery in cellophane, tied up with colourful ribbons, or pick and mix sweets, items that looked like they must be for presents and chocolate and sugar-free sweets,browsing, shopping and chatting, all with jolly music playing outside the shop!

Cash Mob Below, Calm in the Tea Room!

I made my way to the back of the shop, away from the crowd that had now grown with some extra people joining in. I saw the stairs hidden away at the back, you won't notice them if you don't look for them, no flashing neon signs here and climbed up and up, into the Tea Room, that is just above the Sweet Shop. Coming to this place feels just like you're on a seaside holiday, with the olde worlde atmosphere of the sweet shop below and the calm oasis of the tea room above. Pretty pinks and flowers dominate and it just looked so tempting to sneak up there and relax but I thought it would look a little rude, leaving my friends below spending their cash without me! I turned back on myself and prepared myself to shop! Oh Yeah!!!

Permission to Act Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop!

Everyone in that shop had a smile on their face, the owner, the staff and especially the Cash Mobbers! Knowing that we had to spend £10 in this local independent business and that it was a good thing to do, made me feel like a child that had just been given a wedge of pocket money and a free-reign to get what I wanted. This is what I ended up buying:

Two packets of sugar free sweets for Gunter, my partner.

A little chocolate animal for my youngest son.

A packet of Mint Poppets, for my oldest son.

A very cute indulgent chocolate heart, as part of my Mum's next birthday present.

Wine Gums for Nick de Bois because he couldn't come and hopefully when he eats them he will feel encouraged to come to the next one and give Westminster a miss!

2 Halloween bags of Chocolate.

And for me!!! Guess what! I found an incredibly healthy item to enjoy, Liquorice Wood!!!! And it's absolutely delicious.

Ok I admit, I spent a bit over a tenner but that's good, isn't it!!

The reward for doing this, is the buzz you get and seeing the happiness that is spread, the morale being boosted and the profile of the business being lifted, with some press coverage too and plenty of Twitter and Facebook action!

A very big thank you for the Cash Mobbers that pledge their tenners in this way and make this all possible and to the press for coming down to photograph it and also to North London Brass, for making it all extremely entertaining!

If you support this idea, then please show it and let everyone know about it by using the Share buttons below and letting our community know about it, via Facebook, Twitter and the such-like.

Find out when the next one is, here.

Press Coverage!

A big thank you to the following for supporting this campaign, through covering the story!

Click on the links, to read the articles.

The Enfield Advertiser

The Enfield Independent

The Evening Standard

Independent Retail

Business Mum Week!

SHOCK Cash Mob at The Village Wholefood Store!

Did you know...

That from October 1st to October 7th, it was Business Mum Week 2012?

I don't know about you but I'm a Mum and if you're a Mum too, you're probably very busy, if you're a working Mum and especially if you run your own business, then you're probably extremely busy.

That particular week was for me, extremely busy indeed! It's one of those weeks, where I didn't realise, until at the end of the week, when I could relax and allow myself to rest, I looked back and thought, 'That was a busy one!'.

Art Exhibition!

For a start, we had a new art exhibition going up, by Love Light Art, on Monday. The old exhibition had to come down, the new one had to go up, more space had to be made, as there are so many brilliant pictures, just so many of them, there are cards and prints and at the same time a new delivery of goodies came into our shop, that all needed pricing and labelling up.

SHOCK Cash Mob!

At the same time, I was secretly organising a mob of ten people to go into a great health food shop, The Village Wholefood Store, to shock the owner by all spending £10 each and giving a brilliant local independent retailer a boost with finances and some great PR, with the press coming down to cover the story and highlighting Jill Simpson's business! You can find out more about this story by reading my guest blog on Clare Rayner's The Retail Champion Blog, or by taking a peek at the coverage by The Enfield Advertiser!

New Skinny Me Meet Up!

In the same week we were hosting a special event for the participants, or potential participants in the New Skinny Me programme. It was at that point, on Friday, the end of the week that everything seemed like it was colliding together.

Collide!

My 3 year old wasn't feeling his normal self, not ill but just not himself, let's say, not ill....yet! I was meant to be concentrating on the New Skinny Me meet Up but couldn't, everything was coming together, yet colliding at the same time! A lady that I had connected with on Facebook arrived at the same time as the New Skinny Me meeting was still ongoing, with clothes and toys that I was buying from her in preparation for my 3 year old's next birthday and all at the same time as trying to pay money to the lady from the Enfield Preservation Society, for some picture cards of our local area, for the shop. My phone was beeping and bleeping with people responding to posts and pictures of the Cash Mob event and the art exhibition, oh and asking if they would like to vote for me in The Top 100 Mums, Business Mum Awards, by The Mum's Club! And at the same time, I was trying to get an Enfield contact for a journalist, for a story, just to help them out because I reckon, that's what Mums do, isn't it! At the same time, I'm trying to meet up with my brother from America, my sister-in-law and new baby nephew but haven't got not one second to spare, to communicate!

My 3 year old got his cuddles, New Skinny Me ladies, got their guidance from Amrit, The Enfield Preservation society got their money, as did the lady with the clothes and toys and guess what! The journalist even managed to get his contact!! I even got to see my brother and the rest of the family, then my car broke down, with 3 year old in it too. Just remembered that I was covered by my insurance policy, as an added extra to have breakdown cover! 

We were rescued, then I got home and oldest son was very pleased to see me, I was exhausted and needed to clear up the lounge ready for the weekend, whilst Gunter, my partner cooked for us all.

So, that definitely was one busy and exhausting week!

Top 100 Mums!

Today, Sunday, life was a bit calmer, after I had put in a food order to arrive at the shop, for the next day, we all went to and enjoyed the new weekly Crews Hill Market! Towards the end of the evening, I got the children ready for bed, with relaxing baths and washed and combed their hair, got their things ready for school and nursery the next day. At around 9pm, I get onto facebook and get distracted for a few hours, then decide to wind down and get ready to go to bed, as it's 10.30pm. I decide to finish up by reading my emails and deleting the ones I don't need. I open my email up and right at the top, in big capital letters, where I can't possibly miss it, there's an email with the subject starting, 'CONGRATULATIONS!' My heart started thumping, was I one of the Top 100 Mums in the UK, or not?

I opened the email and, read through quickly and this is what it said....

'CONGRATULATIONS! You have been voted into the Top 100 of the Mums Club 2012 Awards!'

I read on and the email told me that it had been Business Mums Week the whole of my very hectic week and the irony wasn't lost on me, that I completely didn't realise purely because I'm a busy Mum!

So to everyone that has voted for me in these awards and made me feel loved, valued and appreciated, I say a mighty big thank you and I will always do my best to share our success, with you! 

Getting to Google's Page One, on a Shoestring!

Have you ever wondered how small local businesses beat the big corporations hands down, when it comes to getting to the top of the Google Search Engine results?

Well, you can stop wondering and start getting your business up high in the search engine ranks by taking action and implementing some of these tips by Keno, Zumba Instructor and Website Whizz, who successfully got her Zumba website to the number one page on Google, in under 4 weeks!

Over to Keno...

Hello, I'm Keno and I run a web agency, Spiral Web Solutions.know first hand, that getting a website to the first page of a Google search for relevant keywords has been the holy grail and ultimate achievement for website owners, designers and SEO specialists everywhere, that's why I'm going to share with you my Seven Steps to Success!

First - A Bit About Me

Runinng a web agency means I sit on my butt, all day long writing emails, putting designs and proposals together, managing teams and producing websites and oh, writing invoices. Naturally, I get stiff and bored, (Sometimes).

So, when I discovered Zumba in October 2011, I was immediately hooked and by March 2012, I became an instructor, holding my first classes in May 2012, and trying hard not to allow Zumba overtake my Web business.

Starting on a nil marketing budget (gotta fill those classes), I started with my strengths and completed my online profile on Zumba.com. At that time I was building a personal blog, so I decided to host a Zumba webpage in the blog, rather than build a new website. So even though the blog was not finished, I built a web page, here!

Less than 4 weeks later, I was on Google page one.

Here's how you too, can achieve this...

My Seven Steps To Success!

1/Be Clear About Keywords... I was not going to spend too much time on my website, so I simply assumed that anyone searching for a Zumba class would use a local place as a keyword hence my selection of the keywords ‘Zumba Enfield’. 

There is lots of research you can do to identify the most popular keywords and keywords that will work best for you.

2/ Do Regular Updates... 

Any little thought/idea I had, was translated to an article which I published on the Website and shared on facebook. As you can imagine, the words ‘Zumba’ and ‘Enfield’ are mentioned in the articles where relevant.From one page, I now have 6 Zumba pages and over 12 articles written and tagged with related keywords. Google is happy and it's robots can see that I am committed.

3/ Use Meta and Image Alt Tags...

Keywords, description and titles were custom defined for every page, I ensured that these were not only present, but relevant for each page.

I love meta tags, so easily missed, but yet so vital, every image on my website (the Zumba section) is tagged with ‘Zumba enfield’ or other relevant keywords. 4/ Send Emails... I created a newsletter using Mailchimp and sent this out weekly to my class attendees and friends, That’s a lot of work, so I now send it out monthly, but it drives traffic to your website and Google likes this.

5/ Get Listing...

From Gumtree to Classfinder, bigdance 2012, to Netmums, I found out that there were a few directories out there that would list your classes, for free and yes, I got my classes listed on all of these with links back to my website where allowed.

6/ Use Facebook...

Facebook has been my main marketing tool. I created a Facebook page and invited all my friends, I not only listed my classes, but included articles on fitness and nutrition that would drive traffic to the website.

7/ Google Analytics...

My number one tip for web effectiveness is understanding what works on your website. Installing Google Analytics (or other measurement software) on your website is a must. I noticed the things that worked and carried on doing them. 

There were a few surprises along the way. I found out that my website had been discovered by people searching with the keywords, 'Zumba playlist uk 2012'. I had written a post about the music I use in class, so my members could go to iTunes and buy the music that they liked, however this led to other people also finding my site!

Is getting a high Google place important? I think so, its free and only takes a little of your time. I am new to the fitness world and still trying to figure out how to fill my classes. I just got leaflets printed and will be trialling a banner as well. There are loads of people out there who will benefit from our classes and we just have to let them know we exist!!
All the best with your marketing!
A must mention is the Enfield Fit Facebook Group, which is a great initiative and thanks again to everyone for your posts, positivity and networking . . . . . . .
Much love,
Keno!

*************************************************** Thanks so much Keno, for generously allowing me to share this fabulous article from the document that you originally created for the members of Enfield's Fit, the Facebook Group promoting fitness and well-being in Enfield. Join Enfield's Fit, here. Karen, xxx

Fairtrade Buzz Cake!

It's the second Tuesday of Fairtrade Fortnight and I'm having real fun challenging myself with seeing how many Fairtrade ingredients I can cram into one cake and still make it delicious and nutritious.

First I started with a Intensely Spicy Chocolate cake, that had 10 Fairtrade ingredients in it. Before I'd even finished mixing it, a customer decided she wanted to buy the whole cake, for a 50th Birthday.

It was a bit of a risk because I'd never made a cake with all those ingredients in together and it would be interesting if they tasted good together. I needn't have worried, a swift text told me, "We all love your cake! Very fabulous. All the tastes work together. Wonderful! Thank you. x".

My next challenge was to make a cake with 15 Fairtrade ingredients, this turned out to be a beautiful breakfast cake, we called it, Choc and Nut Buzz. It sold really quickly and even got an order on Twitter to put two pieces on the side!

My confidence grew, so my next step to take a step, for Fairtrade, was to make a cake with 20 Fairtrade ingredients in!

This cake is not for sale in our shop but is going to be donated to, The People's Supermarket, they are organising a bake-off, where the challenge is to create a tasty cake with as many Fairtrade ingredients in, as you can. Read more about that, here.

That cake has just come out of the oven and we're just waiting for it to cool down, for a dusting of Fairtrade icing sugar!

Why did I want to tell you all about this? Well it sometimes amazes me that when you decide that you're going to use your business to campaign for what you believe in, it's really enjoyable and second of all, I find that passion also translates into business success.

The positive energy that has been created by challenging myself and joining forces with many different people on Twitter, such as @TPSLondon, @AnnuMayor and @FairtradeSleuth is contagious. I hope you too, are infected with our enthusiasm.

What Fairtrade Ingredients did I use?

@FairtradeSleuth particularly wanted to know what ingredients I used in the Fairtrade Buzz cake!

Fairtrade Ingredients Used:
1/ Black Pepper Corn
2/Vanilla Pod
3/Mixed Spice
4/Ground Cinnamon
5/Honey
6/Molasses
7/Raisins
8/Orange Juice
9/Cloves
10/Icing Sugar
11/ Green Tea and Lemon
12/ Raw Cane Caster Sugar
13/Dark Brown Sugar
14/Divine Cocoa
15/Lemon
16/Orange
17/Banana
18/White Spicy Tea
19/Apricot Kernels
20/ Divine Chocolate


All I have to say now is, go bake a cake and see how many Fairtrade ingredients you can cram in.
Enjoy Fairtrade Fortnight 2012!

How to do Facebook for small businesses!

I was absolutely amazed, when James Whitaker, owner of a hairdressers in Enfield, Beauty and Hair Awards Finalist, 2012, turned up to The Ideas Station meeting that we hold every month and gave us all a constant stream of ideas about how to use Facebook to benefit our businesses. 

That's why I'm handing over this blog entry for him to do!

The following advice and tips are really valuable because they are what a small business owner has learnt and discovered and they work.

'HELLO......

You're probably wondering what a hairdresser knows about social media!

Well, I'm going to tell you.

At James Whitaker Hair I have built a reputation on not just amazing haircuts and great service but on a level of customer service that you don't tend to get in high end, high street salons. I like to get to know my clients and interact with them. After all I am styling them and making them feel their best in everyday life. my clients trust me with their appearance and if need be, I can give them advice very quickly via social media. This is such an important interaction and service that I offer. Who else does this? No one in Enfield. This gives me a 'niche', in a very large market.

Here are my tips on how Facebook can help you connect with your customers and 1000's of potential ones.

Profile page , group page or business page?

If you want to use Facebook for your business, then a business page is a must. The clue is in the title. Facebook now offer you insights data which help you to know where your 'Likes' are from, as well as the age and sex of the people 'Liking' your page.

There are so many free apps and tools available to add to your page to help it move and look exciting. You don't have to have a great computer knowledge to implement these.

How do I get more 'Likes' on my page?

After you have invited all your friends to 'Like' your business page, have a look at offering a 'special' to get even more 'Likes'. 

You want people on there to suggest your page to friends. I found that a great way is to offer a prize, when you hit a magic number. For example, ' When we hit 200 fans I'm going to offer a £100 voucher to someone at random. The quicker we hit 200 the quicker you can win'. This works a treat.

Does it matter if I haven't got 1000's of fans?

It does look good, if you have a high number of 'Likes' but THE REACH of the page and HOW MANY ARE TALKING about it, are now displayed and these are really important figures. 

A great way of increasing these figures, is by increasing interaction. You can do this by asking a question that will start a conversation, such as '' Ladies what do you think of Mr Beckhams new hairstyle ?'' and post a picture of the new haircut too. You'll be amazed at the comments you get!

How do I get potential clients to see me?

Tagging is the simple way to do this. 

Write a note or post a picture and then tag your target market on them. For example, if you have a service for students, you could join University pages and tag those pages on your posts. That way it goes out on their page and then everyone else that's 'Liked' that page!!! WOW!! A post could go out to 20,000 local people and not cost a penny!!

******************************************

Check my Facebook page out, here and you'll see how I've connected Twitter to my account and have also incorporated my blog into my page.

I gather I'll be seeing you at The Ideas Station on the 2nd Thursday of every month. Great coffee there too. All the best, James Whitaker

DROP THE CHARGE!

The Top 5 Reasons for Enfield Council to drop Sunday car parking charges.

How do you feel about Enfield Council introducing parking charges on a Sunday? I feel very disappointed with their stance. Fortunately, my business, a coffee shop on Platform 1, Enfield Chase Station doesn't open on a Sunday, so I have no personal cross to bear on that count but I have been an Enfield resident for over 40 years and I've witnessed the demise of the High Street, as units are left empty. 

Where is the sense of stability and community created by that?

It's nearly 6 months after the riots in Enfield that devastated us as a community but in the aftermath, we rebuilt our community and it's even stronger than before. It's important that this strong sense of community is supported and encouraged by Enfield Council, not torn apart.

Top 5 reasons for Enfield Council to DROP THE CHARGE....

1/ DROP THE CHARGE because economic times are really, really difficult for independent retailers. Enfield Council has recognised the problems that all retailers are facing and have provided the cash for an amazing 'We Love Enfield' campaign, promoting Enfield shops and businesses and highlighting all that's good about Enfield with  posters, leaflets and social media and but have then eroded all the brilliance of deciding to do  that, by actively discouraging people from visiting Enfield and pushing them towards the large retail parks, where parking is free, instead.

The Enfield Advertiser says that 'Councillor Del Goddard dismissed the opposition’s argument that the sky-high cost of parking was driving people from town centres adding that the woes of the high street had to be looked at “in context”.'

The Mary Portas review of the High Street is an extremely useful document to enable us to look at the situation, 'in context'. At the very beginning of the report, Mary sets out quite clearly 28 recommendations, for the high street. One recommendation mentioned in the first 10, of the report, concerns car parking. It says,

'Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres and we should have a new parking league table.'

Read the rest of Mary's report, here.

2/ DROP THE CHARGE because many people, especially families, used to choose to come to Enfield on a Sunday to take advantage of the free parking and then spend the money saved and more, in local businesses. That's not going to happen now!

3/ DROP THE CHARGE because having NO parking charges on a Sunday is a good step towards being greener, it encourages people, mainly people travelling with their family, to make a shorter journey in their car and to support their local community by shopping in it, thus promoting sustainability for Enfield, instead of pushing people to other boroughs, on longer car journeys. 

The Enfield Independent reports that Councillor Chris Bond, cabinet member for environment, said that the charges on a Sunday were “designed to reduce congestion and on-street parking, encourage alternative forms of travel to the town centre and increase turnover of parking spaces”.  I tried to believe that maybe it was a good thing to force people out of their cars and onto public transport but where's the logic in doing that on a Sunday, the most unreliable day of the week for public transport?

4/ DROP THE CHARGE because we need to encourage community, it seems nonsensical that local Sunday worshippers are going to pay to pray and be penalised with parking charges on their day of rest. Why don't Enfield Council give it a rest? 

5/ DROP THE CHARGE because as people stop shopping in Enfield on a Sunday due to the charges and shops close down as they are not making enough money, no-one will want to come and park their car in Enfield anyway, so Enfield council, you will lose your car parking customers and you will lose your business rates customers too, so that leaves you in a worse situation, than if you would have DROPPED THE CHARGE!

****************************

Nick de Bois, MP, for Enfield North eloquently points out,


"The wonderful “We love Enfield” campaign, which was started by Fast Signs, one of our local businesses, immediately after the riots tore through the high street, is a prime example of how local businesses, close to their community, are entirely in touch with the individuals and locations for which they provide services. Subsequently, our local Labour council started a “Love your high street” campaign, which I was fully behind, to try to bring traffic to the high street. It is thus all the more baffling that the council has persisted in introducing a steep hike in parkingcharges, including for Sunday parking, that is causing economic distress to traders and frustration to residents and is penalising churchgoers. It is not acceptable."





If you support the plea for Enfield Council to DROP THE CHARGE, then please retweet this article, plus one it and share it on Facebook.


If you don't support free parking on Sundays, then please comment!


I truly can't understand the logic of introducing parking charges on a Sunday for Enfield, if I could, then perhaps I'd feel less annoyed!


Whatever you think or feel about this situation, I wish you well and hope you have a lovely day.


Karen. xxx



Read the Understanding High Street Performance report, here. 


Read The Portas Review, here.