Learning from Hindsight.

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955, Physicist)

I found that quote at Under the Loupe and it made me think hard about everything that is happening at the moment. The end of the financial year is a time that always makes me pause and reflect on where I have come from and where I am now.

I really relate to the quote. I am happy with how things have been going this year and I think that I have made some good headway towards where I want to be with business. I don't think that is because of any genius hidden within me. I think it is because I have stuck with it regardless of what has been going on around me.

If I can get this far just by being persistent how much further could I get with some good planning supporting me? Let's try it and see. Let's make a date for December and see what I have managed to do.

In fact, why not set yourself the same challenge? You can learn a lot from hindsight.

Aussie Bloggers Forum

Are you an Aussie who loves to blog? Any topic, any skill level, any experience level - it doesn't matter. The Aussie Bloggers Forum is for you.

I found the forum recently and was surprised to see that the cream of Aussie bloggers was hanging out there. What a bonus for the rest of us. Imagine being able to ask questions and seek advice from our nations top bloggers? Imagine being able to get to know them away from their blog! People are in and out of the forum according to the demands of their home and blogging lives, of course, but there is always something going on.

I should mention that the forum is fun. There are some amazing personalities showing through from the slightly naughty to the outright hilarious. The Aussie Bloggers forum is the home of the Lazy Bloggers Post Generator, too. Yes, this is a little bit of blogging playtime.

We are currently on the lookout for new members. Why not drop in and check up out?

Get Yourself Organised.

The new financial year is only days away, now, and it is a great time to put some thought into how your business is going. Has it progressed during the year? Are you still headed in the same direction that you had intended to go?

It is not unusual to find one part of your business is taking off unexpectedly. lt catches us by surprise and we tend to wing it and see what happens. The new financial year is a great time to take stock of what is happening.

1. Revisit your business plan.
Is your plan still current? Does it take into account economic or circumstancial changes in your business? Take the time to plan for the coming year. You need to have a map for your business to follow or you could end up somewhere you don't want to be.

2. Revisit your marketing plan.
If you don't have one, now is the time to get one happening. Once you have your business direction and goals sorted out you will be able to look at the best way to market your business. Create your plan now or it won't get done!

3. Outsource.
No one can do it all. In business these days you have to be everywhere! Serving clients, writing articles, balancing books, twittering..... There are just not enough hours in the average day. Consider outsourcing those parts of your business that you don't enjoy or don't have time to do. Don't see it as an expense. It is a time saver and stress reliever that will actually end up saving you money.

4. Update yourself.
To stay ahead you need to be up to date with new developments in your area of business. In some professions it is a requirement that you undertake a certain number of hours of professional development each year. Those of us working from home need to do the same. Look for books, online classes. networks or webinars that are relevant to you and make sure that you know what is gong on in your area of business.

5. Get organised.
Set up your systems. Without systems you will end up in a mess. Organise the way your office works and the balance between home and work. You might like to read a blog like Organise Your Life for some hints.

The new financial year should be the start of a new year of business accounts, it should be all about a whole new year of prosperity. Take the time to prepare your business for the year and you will be well on your way.

Create your own fabric

I always knew that Monique from Your Cheeky Monkey was a clever person but she has gone one step further, now. She has had her very own fabric created. What a great idea!

This is it. The fabric was printed with the Your Cheeky Monkey logo by a company in the US.

Now I want to see what she does with it. I know she will have a great idea in that brain of hers.

Your Cheeky Monkey is one of my favourite online stores. I am only sad that my kids are too old for her products. Having said that, I blush to admit that I have one of the YCM handknitted finger puppets that sits here on my desk with me. It keeps my pen warm and I have been known to play with it while I am thinking.

Check in with Your Cheeky Monkey in a few weeks time to see what has been done with this printed fabric.

Read my interview

I was lucky enough to be a featured blogger over at Blog Chicks. Would you like to read the interview? It is all about how Tall Poppy started and about my other blogging exploits.

Visit Blog Chicks to read about me.

Blog Chicks is a great community of women bloggers. It is pretty new but it is growing quickly. There are some amazing Aussie women bloggers that you probably haven't even met yet. You are missing out on some wonderful reading.

Visit Blog Chicks to see who you need to know. Have a look at the list of Top 100 Aussie women bloggers and see the amazing talent that is out there.

Some people are organised......

....and some aren't! (I blush in shame).

One of the talents or skills that I have often wished for is organisation. Somehow, while I have all the best intentions, it just doesn't happen.

Funnily enough, I love new diaries and notebooks. There is something pristing about them and I know that in a few months time they will have my life all over them. That just doesn't transfer itself to systems, though. I have none.

I was reading Kylie's blog at Tilda Virtual Services and it made me stop and look at how I am working. Now, she is going in waaaay over my head and assessing ALL her systems. Me? I am yet to create one! Still, I followed the link she gave to Lovely Charts and found a great resource for creating charts of all sorts. You could create a whole flowchart or Org. Chart using their templates.

Lovely Charts will be very useful to those of you who need to be organised and love to map it all out. Me? I would lose the chart! I know that some of you reading this post will be thrilled by this discovery and race off to use them. I will be with the group that stands back and admires what you do.

Swine Flu - A beat up?

Every day no matter where I go there is someone whining about Swine Flu. You would think the state is riddled with it but I have yet to see anyone fall ill. OK, there are known cases around, but the strain we have in Australia is very mild. Seriously, why worry about swine flu when there are a dozen other strains of flu our there in the community anyway.

We are in a healthy country with a healthy environment and decent medical care. We are not stuck in a povery-stricken world of shacks and shanties where disease runs wild. Our people are not so run-down that a mere cold will kill them.

So why the drama all over the TV and newspapers? I am so over it all!

I saw this image over at Konstant Kaos and it tickled my funny bone. Swine Flu hits Hundred Acre Wood!

I call our behaviour discrimination against Piglets everywhere.

Get up and get on with things!

Giving Yourself Back to the Community

Sometimes all it takes is an idea. We all have the best intentions but sometimes we don't know where to begin.

Watch this clip which is a TED talk by David Eggers. It shows one clever way that we can help out.