Best In Show - Part Two

Hi Janie here again with another guest blog - thanks SIO for letting me revisit you. Business advice from someone who knows. 35 years of helping and running businesses means I've seen most mistakes and learnt so much.

Tips 6-10

They say first impressions count and they do, but also the last memory can be the one that sticks.

How many times have you been served in a shop or at a fair by someone who made you feel you were a burden to them, waited an internity while being ignored or listening to staffs idle gossip, or left feeling as though they were rushing you out?

Simple rules go a long way when serving a customer, be it business to business or business to consumer.


6. Unless a vital emergency never chat to a colleague while leaving a customer waiting.

7. If you use a queue system ensure it is plain and the ticket machine is placed in the most logical situation. Understand that sometime folks will not get the system, encourage them to get in line but do not make them feel embarrassed.

8. What view does your client get when coming into your shop? is it welcoming? is the entrance obvious? the direction they should take and where do they queue? A few polite notices go a very long way to making consumers feel happy.

9. When out in your normal daily life evaluate buying situations which make you feel uncomfortable, unwanted or under valued. What was it that made you feel that way, capture the thought and keep it, ensure your business does not replicate that issue.

10. Always ensure you say thank you and good bye even if you're already on to the next customer, the last impression is as important as the first.

Common sense is all it takes, when did you last look at your business through your clients eyes, it might be worth doing. 

SEEK IT OUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time
© babimu - Fotolia.com

SIO Tips no. 40

To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling!




SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Best in Show - Part One

Hi Janie here again with another guest blog - thanks SIO for letting me revisit you. Business advice from someone who knows.  35 years of helping and running businesses means I've seen most mistakes and learnt so much.

Tips 1 -  5

They say first impressions count and they do, but also the last memory can be the one that sticks.

How many times have you been served in a shop or at a fair by someone who made you feel you were a burden to them,  waited an eternity while being ignored or listening to staffs idle gossip, or left feeling as though they were rushing you out?

Simple rules go a long way when serving a customer, be it business to business or business to consumer.


1. If busy make eye contact with the waiting client within 30 seconds or less. Note the order of the waiting clients to ensure you serve in turn.

2. Listen to what your are being asked, do not assume.

3. Manage expectations, if you do not know when something is back in stock be honest, offer to take a phone number and call them on arrival of the stock or suggest a realistic alternative. Never suggest something totally different, it insults the person.

4. Smile, it is free and makes people feel welcome and valued.

5. Manners, try saying please and thank you!

Common sense is all it takes, when did you last look at your business through your clients eyes, it might be worth doing. 

SEEK IT OUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time
© babimu - Fotolia.com

SIO Tips no. 39

Candle Wax removal - Many table cloths or carpets have been subject to a spill of candle wax but what do you do.

1. Work out what the fabric that has the wax on is, important as you're going to use heat and sometimes that might not be possible or you can only use a very low heat.
2. Scrape off as much as you can with a blunt knife, taking care not to damage the fabric.
3. Now using blotting paper (preferably) but failing that thicker unpatterned kitchen paper lay this on the area and then use a warm/hot iron on the paper.  This melts the wax and the wax will soak into the paper.  Change the paper often and do not leave the heat on for any time. Take your time, too much heat may damage the fabric below.

This should remove most of the wax from the clothes or carpet. However if the item is of valuable or on a high profile spot, then a specialist cleaner should be found.

Spring now you see it, now you don't.

Spring; has it sprung or not? The weather might have the birds confused and the snowdrops unsure whether to open or not but the lambs are arriving regardless. A tough year for farmers in the UK with damp unusable fields and huge feed bills.
Little lambs do not fare well in the cold rain, they are tough but rain is an enemy so many will have to stay in doors or close to the farm where space allows. 
Also this year there is a terrible disease hitting unborn lambs, and many will sadly be still born. Those out will have to try to keep warm, mum often making a soft warm bed as youngsters climb up and sit on her. 
The higher the farm land the later the lambs, those in the mountains often waiting til April to lamb and better weather. 
So, when you see a field of new born lambs be grateful, as this year it's not going to be a sight as common as normal.

SIO Tips no. 38

A stitch in time saves nine! The old ones are the best, well, so the comedians say.
Some of the simple pieces of advice from the past are some of the best. 

 Sewing: When making up a project it is quicker to pin and check, then even baste (long simple stitches - removed after seams sewn) your work so you can really see if you have it made up correctly before you finally machine stitch.  Unpicking fine machine stitching is soul destroying - avoid at all costs.

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 2

The next 5 tips in Catherine from Red Kite Communications sneak preview of her upcoming e-Book Facebook course, which will be launching in April 2013.  If you haven’t seen the first 5 best practice tips for Facebook, make sure to catch up on them too!

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 2

So, in the first 5 tips you learned to post no more than 3 statuses a day, to always respond and stay in the conversation, not to swear, not to do competitions, and to make sure you remove ugly links.  Here are the final 5 best practice tips to have you Facebooking like a pro!

6 Do not link your tweets to your Facebook page

Every message you put out on any social utility should be crafted. In other words, a message crafted for Twitter will not be the same as a message crafted for Facebook.

Twitter uses mechanisms such as @ and # as part of its user repertoire, which are meaningless on Facebook. So your tweet in reply to a potential customer on Twitter might read like this:

'Aw, thanks @Cupcake @ZooTooSocial! Yes, new #eco #fairtrade #sustainable banana yarn fibre avble now! #FF to U 2 and thx for the RT!'

Not pretty!

Also - if you are using Twitter well, you will be tweeting far too often in the day to link to Facebook because of Rule 1 – no more than 3 statuses a day.

7 But do ‘amplify’ your Facebook statuses on Twitter.

Each time you post a status on Facebook, craft a tweet to link to it.  Make sure your abridged version of the status fits into the 180 characters, and include a shortened link (sign up at https://bitly.com/ for a great way to make shortened links which you can also track.). 

Where to find the link?  Under each status you post on Facebook, you will see a date, or a day of the week.  Click on that – your post will be opened in its own web page – now copy the URL at the top of your browser, and use that link in your tweet.

8 Address complaints or negative remarks immediately, and publicly

Address complaints or grumbles right there in the thread – you may find you have turned the customer round by the end of the thread, which is a fantastic visual representation of real-world customer service.

Just dive right in, express horror that they’re unhappy and ask if you can deal with them via their email/messagebox/phone to put the matter right.

If someone posts something offensive that makes you uncomfortable, you may have to delete it. If you think they’re a genuine fan, perhaps Message them with a nicely crafted reply:

“Just wanted to say sorry I had to remove your comment – it had the f-word in and we delete those! But I totally agreed with your point, their cotton thread does snap often – we prefer Guterman, how about you?”

Need help? If you get one of these comments, and you don’t know how to proceed – come Like and then message me at www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications.com or @redkitesocial me in a tweet and I’ll help you frame the perfect response. 

9  Do your (not you’re) best to get spelling right! 

Please don’t wait a year to start your Facebook strategy because you’re worried about their or they’re or there, it’s or its.  We can’t all be good at everything, and your grammar is not what you’re selling. 

But, if you think this is a weakness of yours, you need to address it - come and learn the basics at my blog post on getting spellings and grammar right.

You’d be surprised how common these errors are - and if your fans are like me, they will wince when they spot them in your status just as others might at a swear word! 

If you are dyslexic or you just know it’s never going to be your strength, have a spellcheck person to help you – your husband, sister, best friend, mum. Plan and craft your messages, maybe 10 at a time – and send them to your proof-reading pal. It’s a faff, but you simply cannot look professional if your writing is riddled with errors!

10  Promote your Facebook page!

Go and check all your online ‘rooms’ – have you added your Facebook page link in the following:

a) On your blog? Add as a widget/plugin

b) Your website?

c) Your email signature?  Try www.wisestamp.com for a free signature setup.

And don’t stop there – what about a sticker for your car?  Is it on the footer of your invoices and proposals?  Business cards?  Flyers?  Compliment slips?  Stickers you add to your parcels? On a card you hand out at fairs? 

Promote your Facebook page everywhere you can.

And come and tell me about it!  Red Kite’s Facebook page is www.redkitecommunications.com/facebook.  Come and say hi – I’d love to meet you, take a look at your Facebook page, and help you with any worries you have.

* * *

Next up Catherine will be bringing you some good housekeeping practices to help you get a ‘vanity URL’ for your Facebook page, set up your About page and make a beautiful cover photo, amongst other hints and tips. 

See you then!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications
Twitter: www.twitter.com/redkitesocial
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/redkitesocial
Website: www.redkitecommunications.com

SIO Tips no. 37

When ironing fabric which has been printed onto, always iron from the back or even better with a clean tea towel between the back of the fabric and the iron so not to smudge the ink.

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 1

We’re very excited to have a sneak preview of Red Kite Communications’ upcoming e-Book Facebook course, which will be launching in April 2013.  Our guest blogger, Catherine, has dug out some excerpts from her course – which goes on to give you loads more advice on how to get the best out of your Facebook page.  And she’s promised us a discount especially for you guys when it goes on sale.

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 1

Before you even start worrying about what to post, and how to create engaging content for your audience, you need to learn a few simple, but important rules – these will set you up with best practice techniques so you look professional before you’ve even posted a thing.  Get these right and you’re well on your way to a good-looking Facebook page.

1 Maximum 3 statuses a day

Research shows that too many status updates will irritate the people whose feeds you appear in. 

When should you post, then? Research shows between 1-4pm.  How about one early, after 9am, for Facebook users who wake up and check their feed, or do so on arriving at work, or having got the kids off to school.  Then one between 1-4pm.  And if you really need to, one at 5ish, or an evening one at 9pm for sofa-slugs.  But make that a fun one!

2 Always Respond

Try and ‘like’ at least one comment from each individual (don’t ‘like’ every single one or that looks a bit automated.) - you don’t need to respond to every single point, but stay in the conversation or those fans may not bother responding to you next time. 

Get to know them...social media is for being sociable, for engaging, for sharing, for chatting, for getting in on the conversation. 

3 No Swearing

I decided on a strict no swearing policy for Red Kite, and I adhere to it for my clients – do find your natural ‘voice’ but steer clear of swearing  I explore all the issues in a blog post on minding your language, so I’d love to know your thoughts over there.

But the key thing is this - your Facebook page should always be a reflection of your professional values. 

4 No competitions directly on Facebook

Seriously?!  Seriously. Facebook are pretty strict about you using your Facebook page to do promotions for your company.  Ultimately, if they think you are not abiding by their terms and conditions they can terminate your page.  The chances of that happening are slim – but why risk it?

Don’t worry – you can still talk about your competitions and promotions on Facebook – but host them and get people to enter elsewhere - your blog is the perfect place. 

You can read the full Ts & Cs here: Facebook Promotions Guidelines

5 Remove the link from your text before you post your status.

When you add a link to your Status box, and press return, Facebook will generate an image from that link for you to edit before you post.  Write your accompanying status if you want to add something, but delete the messy URL before you post. 

It doesn’t look good, so get rid of it!

Stay tuned for the next 5 tips next week, and why not come and tell me your Facebook page, at my Facebook page? I look forward to meeting you there

Facebook: www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications
Twitter: www.twitter.com/redkitesocial
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/redkitesocial
Website: www.redkitecommunications.com

SIO Tips no. 36

Five tips for perfect pancakes:

1.  It's important to measure the ingredients properly to make sure you don't end up with rubbery pancakes.

2.  Use a large whisk to mix the ingredients; this means that more air gets whisked into the batter to make lovely light pancakes.

3.  If you have time, make the batter a few hours in advance or even the night before. The time resting improves the texture of the cooked pancakes.

4.  Heat the pan for a couple of minutes before adding the fat to make sure it doesn't burn. Be sure to grease between pancakes to make sure they don't stick. (A non-stick pan is your best friend when making pancakes!)

5.  Wait until the batter is bubbly before you flip it. Flip it too soon and you'll have a mess on your hands.

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Easy peasy, with lemon squeezy!

Easter is just around the corner...

We traditionally have pancakes on the Tuesday 40 days before Easter; traditionally this is to use up richer foods in the house before the start of Lent. 
We forget to make them the rest of the year even though they are one of the easiest treats to whip up; with ingredients you usually have in your store cupboard and fridge. So there's nothing extra on the shopping list unless you want to get creative with your toppings!

Ingredients:

225g Plain flour
Pinch salt
2 large, fresh eggs 
600ml Milk (I like to use 100ml Buttermilk and 500ml Milk for a nice texture)
2 tsp melted butter 
Plus melted butter for cooking

Make:

Sieve the flour into a large bowl, add the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour, add the eggs and beat with a whisk. Once the flour has combined nicely with the egg start adding the milk (and  buttermilk if using) until all the flour is mixed in. Then add the 2 tsp of melted butter and beat in. 

 Be careful not to over whisk the mixture because this can make the dough rubbery.

Leave the batter to rest for at least 15 minutes or, if you can, prepare it in advance - just keep it in the fridge, covered, until you're ready to use it.

Lightly grease a hot frying pan with a little melted butter, veg oil or low fat spray oil if you prefer; add a ladle of batter to evenly and thinly coat the base of the pan. Cook until set and lightly golden. Flip over when you see that the batter is set on the top and cook for another 30 seconds on the uncooked side.

Remove the pancake from the pan, place on a sheet of kitchen paper and keep warm. Continue as above until all the batter is used up.

Serve:

Pancakes are usually served rolled up with brown sugar and lemon juice but you really can add anything to yours to make a unique treat for you. Pancakes are even great with savoury toppings, try them with bacon and maple syrup or melted cheese and ham.

Here are a few other favourites from my family for you to try at home this pancake day:

Banana and Choc spread
Golden Syrup and Pecan nuts
Brown sugar mixed with Cinnamon powder
or if you really want to impress - Poached egg with Creamed Spinach

Enjoy your Pancake Day; whatever topping you think to try!

SIO Tips no. 35

Finishing a seam when machine sewing: When neatening/cutting off the ends of the cotton ensure you cut the right side thread first. Cut just this one, close to your work and then gently pull the thread on the back/wrong side; which in turn pulls through the lose end of the right side thread onto the back/wrong side, this will ensure neatness. Now cut the back/wrong side thread close to the work.

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Bottles of Sunshine

Just some of the many grapes we pressed...

Things may be a little grim in the UK over the long nights of winter but here in South Africa they are bottling sunshine...A local wine maker gave us a glimpse into how these grapes go from being food to wine.

They are carefully picked by hand at the perfect moment for making a bottle of bubbles; then loaded by the crateful to begin their journey in becoming the drink of choice at any special event.

Wine-maker Paul in action.

It's tradition in the industry to start off the days work with 'Sabrage' a tradition that is said to be good luck. The wine maker uses a blunt Sabre to open the bottle of Champagne. The pressure inside the bottle and a weakness at the neck of the bottle means that the cork and collar get pushed off the wine bottle quite easily. This only works with a bottle of bubbles and really is best not to try at home!

I got stuck into carrying duty.

After the dramatic opening of a bottle it's time to get down to work. The harvest has to be stored in a large cold room for long enough to cool to an even temperature before they are loaded into the press. Ensuring only the best juice comes out.
Then it's all hands on deck to get the crates of grapes into the press.

First press of the juice being caught.

The first juice to come off the grapes is collected in large plastic tubs to be used to make other wine because this juice is produced from bruising rather than the juice from the best part of the ripe grapes which has to be gently pressurised by the press to extract.

Large vats for fermenting.

The sparkling wine we were helping to make only uses the juice from a gentle first pressing of the grapes to make really special bubbly. This first press gets piped into huge vats; where the juice, in time, and with the loving attention of the wine maker becomes the wine we so love to pop at weddings.

Barrels of bubbles.

Bubbles made anywhere but Champagne in France cannot actually be labelled as Champagne but sparkling wine is made beautifully right here in the Cape.

A well earned cool down.

So next time you make a toast think of the sunshine that goes into the bottle.











Please drink responsibly and within safe limits.

SIO Tips no. 34

Brushed steel appliances are difficult to keep looking show-room perfect and special cleaners can be pricey. Try using WD40 instead; simply wipe down the appliance with a damp cloth and spray on a thin layer of WD40, wipe off using kitchen roll leaving a clean, dry surface that is easier to wipe up next time your saucepan boils over.

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.