Over to you.  Following Northallerton I have taken some time out and with all my time for now taken up with plans for YFS in August I don’t have time to organise any Coochie Cou events.

BUT

I have had quite a few of my regular exhibitors asking me to arrange something for this year.  I am really at a crossroads with it.  Darlington was the most successful for 2010 so should we repeat that?  But there were some issues with the venue so it would mean a location move, would this cause problems?  Do I really want to organise something else this year with the amount of time and effort it takes?

Let’s hear what you think…

Thank you to everyone who supported our Northallerton event.  Unfortunately the snow affected both exhibitors and visitors alike and we are immensely proud of all who did battle through the poor conditions to help us raise funds for SCBU at our local hospital.  Big thanks also to Anne Wall from the Friarage for helping organise Santa’s visit.

Even though the event was severely affected by the weather we still managed to raise a little under £40 for the unit, however we would love to be handing over a cheque for a bit more.  To do this we will be raffling off the remaining Tombola prizes donated by our lovely exhibitors.

If you would like to donate something to help us raise the total please let me know this week, I will then add a page to this blog for all the prizes and start selling tickets.  Please please do all you can to support our local SCBU, it really does make a huge difference.

I’m not usually one to start getting sorted for christmas this early, but since organising our first baby show last year with a distinctive festive feel I have managed to force myself to think about all things Santa a lot earlier. Our second Northallerton event has changed slightly in format with an earlier finish and even more emphasis on Christmas, including a visit from the man in red himself (providing the reindeer are well). I’m very pleased that a large number of exhibitors are coming back to the Golden Lion Hotel again which helps me entice new businesses as well as boosting my confidence – together we are building the Coochie Cou brand.

Looking back over the last year I can’t quite believe how far we have come, but there is still so much to learn in the events world. Like so many I thought I could simply book a venue, get the exhibitor bookings, print and distribute some leaflets and the event would be a success – the reality is a far cry from that and I count myself lucky to have so many local businesses trusting me to work on what I have learned and make the events a success for all.

Next year will be a bit quieter for Coochie Cou, with my focus being on making the Yorkshire Family Show a success, but we will definately be back in Northallerton in 2011 to get festive all over again.

Half way through the challenge and once again my signal isn’t great unless I sit upstairs – and this time the weather wasn’t to blame!

That aside though I have found the challenge so far a lot easier than I expected. With the help of apps such as the wordpress one I am using for this blog post I am able to use social media, write to my blogs and even check how my latest newsletter has performed. The majority of my work has been via emails so far and I would certainly not go back to sitting at my laptop all day.

Ok so it hasn’t all been plain sailing and there are certainly things that the blackberry can’t manage (yet!) but I have improved my work balance and overall so far I am impressed!

Day two of my challenge to spend a week working from a blacKberry curve got off to a shaky start – it seems my phone signal likes torrential rain as much as I do! Once the weather eased normal service resumed however although I am somewhat thwarted by the lack of facebook fan page support and I really miss tweetdeck too.

One thing the blackberry does help me with is combining work and family life – a trip to the park or visiting friends doesn’t leave me feeling guilty about work. The only problem with that is clearly defining work time as the temptation to respond to emails is too great!

Will be interested to see what day three brings.

So here I am at the end of day one of my working on a Blackberry challenge. The day started well with a quick check on my phone emails – nothing urgent so on with the day. The challenge coincides with half term which is always tricky for working so anything that can make life easier is very welcome!

One thing that quickly became apparent was how much time I spend mooching – the whole day is usually filled with work but with the blackberry I managed to find time to bake with the girls. The handy flashing light notifies me when there is a message, one quick check with a short reply and it’s on with the next task!

It’s not all great though. The small keypad is very tricky to type with, and I have yet to find an app that allows me to work on publisher docs which I use for my floor plans.

Star find for today – wordpress for blackberry which is allowing me to add this update (I hope!)

I have been keeping a secret.  No, nothing earth shattering, just something that seemed too good to be true and my voice of experience told me not to shout about it until I actually had it in my hands.

I have a brand new Blackberry.  No, not the fruit (for those as technically challenged as I am) – it is a smart phone and they are reported to do away with the need for a laptop.  When I saw a competition to win one in return for a challenge I pinged off an email fast.

Now normally I am glued to my laptop most days, even when I am packing orders or sorting out the stock.  My laptop is my connection to the outside world during school hours, I receive emails, tweak websites, sort out room plans, confirm payments, and lots more all from the comfort of my sofa.  Over the last few months, with me working on a new project with the lovely Victoria from Baby Bean, I haven’t had time to sit on my bum working.

So I needed something mobile.  My current mobile did have the function of receiving emails but I hadn’t bothered to set it up until now- and when I did it proved very clunky and slow.  Not good enough for my needs so I was thrilled to be told I had been chosen to trial the Blackberry Curve – all I have to do is blog about my week of no laptop/working on a Blackberry on the fab Mothers Who Work website.

Today was the day I got the slim, sleek, scratch free mobile.  First reaction?  The keypad is a bit small for my fingers and I have managed to press a couple of wrong letters, but apart from that it has been really easy to set up.  The email wizard allows me to simply enter address and password – no searching for incoming and outgoing settings to type in, it is all done for me with some internal wizardry!

The official trial starts on Monday, so please check out Mothers Who Work for my blog – I will also keep you updated on my progress on here, hopefully using my fab new smartphone!

I am often amazed that businesses, in times of economic difficulties, cut back on their advertising.  While it is important to look after the customers you already have, it is also important to continue your search for new business and one way of doing this is through advertising.

When you have limited funds, however, how do you avoid paying a fortune for an advert that doesn’t bring results?  A lot can be gained from research but sometimes you just have to weigh up the cost and the risk.  I know many businesses who have ‘wasted’ money on advertising in the wrong publication, either the wrong audience or just not well read at all, and your research should help you avoid this common mistake.  You need to be clear who your target market are and then find publications that aim at that market.

A free way to gain advertising is to write a Press Release, find out who to send it to at your target publications and then cross your fingers that it is something they are interested in.  A good resource for PR advice and tips is Antonia Chitty’s website http://www.prbasics.co.uk -Antonia is friendly, professional and very knowledgeable.  You could also look at responding to press requests – I have had a lot of national coverage from responding to these over the last two years.

Something new I am working on is a local magazine aimed at mums in business.  Already running successfully in the Midlands and Dorset, the Business Mums Journal is spreading across the UK by a network of local editors.  All the printing and layout design is done centrally to ensure quality and consistency and they are attracting some big names in the business world as well as getting support from Mothercare.  I know that advertising in the regional parenting magazines is good for business and this magazine is set to sit nicely alongside as a resource for mums in business.

Whatever you do to cut costs in your business, please think twice before you slash your advertising budget and look for ways to get more for your money instead.

I have had an idea for a while now, well since I started thinking about events around 2 years ago.  The growth of smaller regional baby fairs seems to be following the rapid expansion of wedding fairs across the country so the time is right for something a little different.

As a mum with two gorgeous, exasperating, wonderful, demanding girls I know how much of a change the step from a couple to a family can be.  With the trend for new couples to move away from their extended families, the support network of years ago is no longer there at such an amazing and scary time.  This is what happened to us, and while I only live an hour away my parents were not handy for advice and support so I had to wing it.  Fortunately my girls have turned out well, but wouldn’t it be lovely to have somewhere to go to speak to parenting advisors, to see the latest gadgets to help you through this wonderful time?

This is how the idea started but since that first seed planted itself in my brain it has developed and grown into a fun filled family day out with lots of activities.  With a fashion show, outdoor fun fair and lots of shopping to do the Yorkshire Family Show is turning into the must see family event of 2011.

So, here we go with just over a year till our provisionally booked August date and the search for exhibitors has started.  There are lots of opportunities for relevant businesses to get involved and I am hoping that my excitement will prove to be infectious!

If you were involved with Darlington Pregnancy, baby and toddler fair you will know how well it went – estimated visitor numbers at 400, lots of fun and definately going to be repeated!  The two weeks run up to the actual day was frantic, lots of last minute alterations and even some bookings.  This is what I thrive on, having lots to sort out and rushing from one job to the next.

The only problem with being so busy is seeing my children having to cope with a rushed mummy who can’t spare five minutes to play or read a book with them.  They see how snappy I get when things are quite going to plan and I see the disappointment on their faces as once again mummy has to work instead of spending time with them.

This week has been fantastic.  It did take a while for me to get used to the change in tempo, I’ve lost count of the times I have refreshed my email and been disappointed that there were no new messages.  Helped by the lovely weather I have spent days instead of minutes playing with my children, out in the sunshine listening to their excited giggles.  Today we have a picnic packed up and when Daddy has finished work we are going off out on an adventure.

So what if the postman hasn’t brought lots of booking forms.  So what if the phone isn’t ringing, the emails aren’t coming through.  I am a mummy and I am lucky to have two wonderful daughters who just go with the flow, and this is their time.