This seems like a very obvious thing to say and aren’t we reminded on a constant basis to look at the small print before we sign anything?

My experience in the utilities industry has shown me that:
. 1. When signing up for their utilities, most businesses simply sign the contract and then put it aside.
2. Most utility companies have very complex termination processes when it comes to their contracts and because they are all different, this leads to more confusion.

The result of this is that a lot of businesses miss their contract termination periods and are rolled over into another contract, which they cannot get out of without paying a hefty cost to do so. This is ok providing you’re happy with the terms of your contract but if you are not you are stuck with poor customer services and are left in a sea of jargon which is explained to you by someone to whom you’re just a name and a number.

The second scenario is this. Your energy contract comes to an end and the energy company put you on what’s known as a deemed rate. This is very often higher than the rate you were paying during your contract term. This then leads to higher costs on the behalf of the business-owner. The up-side being however, that you can move to any company you wish to.

“Now what do I do then?” I hear you ask. For the large business owner, it is likely that you employ someone whose specific roll it is to ensure that you are getting the best deal for your business utilities. However, for the smaller business owner, it is not practical to employ someone for this specific duty. Therefore, take a look around and contact a local energy broker. They are, in the main, paid a commission by each individual utility company for obtaining a business contract and therefore it is likely that they will give you a free business utility health check.
They will also be aware of all the different termination periods etc for all energy companies which leave you free to focus on your business.
They will also be independent and will therefore get you the best deal they possibly can.

Attention All Sky Users

Did you know that as of the 1st of June, Sky have changed their free evening call time from 6 to 7 PM. This follows similar changes by BT and Talktalk. If you are not on a package where you get free 24/7 calls, this could significantly impact your call spend.

However, if you have received word from Sky about this, they will let you discontinue your contract should you call them and tell them that it will negatively impact your monthly spend. However, you only have until June 30th to do this. Also, you have to have been notified by sky before they will let you do this.

If you have not received written notification, it might be worth ringing them and asking about this. If you ask them about it and they tell you, you may also be able to get out of your contract as you have been told verbally.

Being in my own business, it’s vital that I keep motivated. People have different tools that they rely on but one of the ones I rely on heavily is music. Music is on from the moment I get out of bed until I’m asleep. I thought I’d list some of my top motivational songs. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the vids too.

I really hope you enjoyed this blog. I had a heck of a lot of fun creating it!
I’d really love to hear the things that motivate you whether they be songs or something completely different so please leave me a comment below and if you like this post, why not share it too. I’d really appreciate it.

Ever since I have been in business for myself, I have searched high and low for a marketing strategy which I could implement without having to waist loads of money on advertising, keyword testing etc, and up until a few weeks ago, I found this quite hard. I did all the right things, joined twitter etc, but still, I found it hard to promote myself. I always envisioned the internet as a tool to seek out people who would be of like mind and have similar values, to speak to those values and hopefully then in turn, we would be able to help each other. I love to help people and I will promote others services as and when I can and I find that I am a much better promoter of others than I am of myself. As Jan Ruhe says, “come from contribution” and today I might just have discovered the very thing I’m looking for.

I received an email about a 27-year old called Katie Freiling. She is, in all honesty, one of the first internet marketing women I’ve ever come across so I was immediately curious. She was promoting a book called the Social Media Wealth Manifesto, which, in turn, was a hook for her new website called the Community tribe. In short, you help others promote their businesses to your social networks and they in turn will help you.

This is a totally different concept, in a way, and focuses on community rather than competition. It absolutely speak so strongly to me that I am this close to signing up to be a part of it and will post on my blog how I do with this.
However, before I do, I would like to know if there are any other English people subscribed and if their business is UK-Based and whether or not this affects your being able to create an income. It might be that it’s too early to tell but if you should read this and know anyone in the scheme who is English, I’d appreciate it if they could comment.

I am howling with laughter as I write this blog. It has always been a mystery to me how people get their perceptions of what a person is or what they can do. It fascinated me so that I actually did my whole thesis on it at University in the final year of my psychology degree. Sometimes it makes me angry but others just make me howl.
I don’t for one second expect people who can see to be able to fully identify with what it is like to live your life being blind….especially if you are a single mum and an entrepreneur to boot but if people thought about them for one second they would realize.
I thought I’d share some of the questions that I’ve been asked in my lifetime just for kicks and I’d love to answer any of yours too no matter how stupid you think they are.
One of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time is to meet people online. I never tell them I am blind, at least initially, as I think this allows them to get to know me rather than having to get past the whole blindness issue first. Anyway, on this particular day I was chatting with someone of the opposite sex and they asked me if I couldn’t see how could I possibly know where they were to er….get intimate? Shall we say. To which my response was “If I’m getting intimate with someone we tend to be in close proximity to one another and do you need the lights on when you’re getting intimate.
Another time I was walking down the street minding my own business with my then 1-year old daughter in a back carrier (not a very good idea to use a pram if you’re a guide dog owner and can’t see) and a complete stranger stopped me and said “Excuse me. Is that baby yours?” Stunned into silence, I stood there for a minute and said “yes of course she is”. Do people think that blind people are incapable of sexual relations or, like the previous question before, do they forget that you don’t need to be able to see to make babies or anything of that ilk.
The question however, that prompted this blog was posted on twitter this morning. It was posted by a friend of mine who also has a blog here and she touches on similar issues. It said “How do you know what day of the week it is if you’re blind?” Forgive me but what on earth does not having sight affect your ability to know what day of the week it is. It has truly stunned me and though I read this over 30 minutes ago, I’m absolutely gobsmacked.
So, here’s your chance to ask questions….any you like. I want to educate people. Blind people are not asexual. They can tell the time, feed themselves and yes, even make babies, bring them up and run their own business…..all single-handedly. I don’t for one second doubt that seeing would mean I wouldn’t open a can of rice pudding instead of a can of tomatoes and I wouldn’t speak to something that was a statue rather than a real person but honestly……..it just leaves me wondering.

On Sunday I had to travel to business training which was being held in Chorley, not a million miles from where I live and if I drove, I’d be there in 25 to 30 minutes, but as I don’t I therefore had to avail myself of the useful, but not necessarily useable service provided to me by virgin Train Journeycare. Before I tell you the story, let me explain the background.
If you have any challenges such as you’re elderly, have multiple kids, loads of luggage, are a wheelchair user or indeed cannot see, there is a facility called Journey care. This facility works like this. You work out what your train times are, or indeed they will help you do that, book tickets and reserve seats too and you can then get assistance on/off trains, across stations or indeed help with your luggage and kids. The system is that provided you book 24 hours in advance, they fax through to the appropriate stations and hey ho, your assistance is there. Having been a user of journey care for as long as I care to remember, there it seems that some stations are better than others and sometimes they don’t even turn up for you. This is exactly what happened to me on Sunday. Here goes for my story and consequential rant. I arrived at Blackpool North station with my trusty guide dog Odelle by my side, all ready for my training and in high spirits. Having just learned of my company’s alterations to their already awesome training schemes, I was very excited to see what the differences were. I bought my tickets and was assisted onto the train by the local staff who are very familiar with me. I often think the amount of travelling I do should entitle me to more than just a third off my fares but that’s another story. Anyway, I got on the train with the assurance that the man who was looking after me was going to call Chorley and let them know I was on my way.
I had been to Chorley Station once before and my assistance wasn’t great then which I told him, so I was a little dubious about whether they would turn up. That aside, my train journey began and the guard knew of my situation which gave me hope. However, 35 minutes later, I alighted the train only to discover that, as I had feared, there was nobody to meet me.
Chorley is, if you have never been there, a two-platform station and not exactly jumping with passengers travelling through there. It was also just after 9AM on a Sunday morning which undoubtedly made a difference too. I stood for a few minutes thinking that possibly they were running late but no one came or went. So, having a vague recollection of the layout of the station in my head, I proceeded to find the steps and cross the station on the subway provided. Having got to the other side I thought I was home free. I knew the ticket office was on this side and I trusted that if the ticket seller was there, he would see me. How wrong could I have been?
I walked up and down the platform encouraging Odelle to “find left” as the noise of the traffic told me that the way out must be close but, frustrated and with no help in earshot, I was stranded. Stressed and a little angry to say the least, I contacted the local taxi company who was coming to meet me and asked if they would mind coming inside the station to help me get out. This they duly did and when they found me, they told me there was indeed someone working in the ticket office. Now I really was mad.
Walking through the ticket office, I stopped to find out why it was that I hadn’t been met. According to the member of staff, their phones weren’t working and hadn’t been since Friday, so they hadn’t received the call from Blackpool. So, I asked why they hadn’t got a mobile and according to the man, Northern Rail don’t give mobiles to their station staff, just those that travel on the train.
This is absolutely ridiculous. For one thing, it seems to me that Northern Rail either need to rethink their phone service provider or take a look at the care level they have on it. The phones should not have been out that long, especially if they don’t have a back-up means of contact. He told me that they had exactly the same problem a few weeks ago and had a suicide at the station. What on earth was he supposed to do? He did give me a complaints form followed by this piece of advice, if I’m ever at the station again I should yell very loudly and they will hear me. Some comfort. I’m blind and therefore how was I to know there was someone there to start with or that they were in yelling distance. It was a good job that I’m good at remembering layouts after just one experience and the taxi service were obliging. I have been a passenger with companies where their taxi driver is not allowed to leave the car. What if that had been the case this time? What would I have done then? Not knowing the location or proximity of my help I would have really been stranded, or at the very least, late for my training.
My complaints form has been posted to day so we’ll see what compensation they offer me. Even then I had to get someone else to fill it in for me. Mobility and communication are the two biggest obstacles to blind people and here I was having to get help with one to complain about a lack of good service in the other.

Today I had meetings with two local businesses and prospective clients of mine and the two owners couldn’t have differed more drastically. One was a Savvy woman who knew to the Nth degree exactly what she was paying and to whom. The second was a guy who owned a local pc shop and his bills stumped me and It is the second owner that I really want to focus on for this article.
One of his bills was for his business telephony service and when I scrutinized it, there was a quarterly charge of approximately £89. When I questioned him about this, he couldn’t tell me what it was for. I have a suspicion it’s for his broadband service but that has yet to be confirmed. One of his colleagues in the business also agreed with me on this. However, he also has a VOIP line which, he thinks is free but is unsure of the number for it so it is also yet to be confirmed.
During this conversation, we got to talking about how closely people scrutinized their home and business utility bills. From a business point of view, you would assume, especially in these times of economic crisis, people would be counting every penny that they have and that includes ensuring that they are not paying for anything that they either A don’t know about or B, aren’t using. It would seem not however. The colleague that agrees with my suspicion about the erroneous £89 quarterly charge, was telling me how, in his previous job in Liverpool, on close scrutiny of their telephony services bill, it came to light that they had been paying for a fax service for 6 years that they no longer used. I don’t know how much this service cost them, but certainly it’s money that they didn’t need to pay out.
The cynical part of me says that we have to be absolutely on top of our bills because the big hitters in the field certainly won’t call you up and tell you if you’re over-paying, whether that be energy or telephony either at home or at work.
So, Do you really know what’s on your bill? Perhaps it’s worth taking a look.

A really good friend of mine’s mum opened her own sandwich shop a couple of years ago after leaving her job at Morrisons due to not being able to take holidays when she wanted. Smart lady, I thought. She’s stopping other people from running her life. She’s also stopping building someone else’s dream which appeals to me in the biggest way.
Being keen to make a go of things, she stayed with her original electricity supplier, NPower and thus tied herself into an electricity contract. No matter. She was running her own business and enjoying it. She was now able to take holidays whenever she wanted and had no one to answer to. Last year however, she contacted me as she was dissatisfied with NPower. Their bills were extortionate and the fact that she received them every quarter made things all that more hard for her though she paid anyway. I went through the normal procedures regarding helping a business with their bills and discovered that she could potentially save a lot of money if she weren’t in contract. However, She discovered that she was tied in until August this year and the penalty for leaving would be extremely high. She said she’d be in contact with me as soon as she could get out of this contract. She was angry.
Sure enough, a few weeks ago she contacted me again and we took another look, at her bills. The saving I made her was somewhere in the region of £500 and she was extremely happy with this. Not only that, she had me as her own personal customer service agent instead of some nameless person at NPower, she wasn’t tied in and her bills came in every month which meant her payment was spread out more evenly over the year. We did the paperwork and the form was sent off and then now comes the sad bit.
I received a call from my friend, her daughter, yesterday. Her mum is closing the shop today. She’s just received yet another extortionate bill from NPower which is not even accurate, it’s estimated. She sick fed up and it’s NPower that have driven her to it. This saddens me on 3 accounts and one of them is completely selfish on my part.
Firstly, this country is going through an economic crisis and jobs are so hard to come by. Sue started her own business so nobody could hire or fire her and she was her own boss. It saddens me that she’s now going to have to go and work for herself so she’ll now be building someone else’s dream and once again, will have to ask when she can take holidays and when she can’t, the very reasons she went into business for herself in the first place.
The second reason is that if Sue hadn’t been tied into a contract, she might not be closing her business today. She might have decided to keep it going as her outgoings could have been lessened last year. I hate energy contracts with an absolute passion. People in the domestic market don’t have to have them and the only reason businesses do it is because they are offered an extremely competitive rate when they do. The problem is, if you look at the big picture, they’re really not. They’re paying a cheaper price but you’re stuck in a contract so the money is being taken from you, just over a longer period. If you should try to get away because of dissatisfaction with customer service then you’re stopped because of the huge financial penalty you have to face.
My business partner doesn’t believe in contracts of any form for tneir energy services. We don’t have to. Our customer service is second to none and all distributors have a personal responsibility to their own customers.
The third and final reason is that she makes the best chocolate cake and provides a wonderful friendly service for those who don’t necessarily have someone to talk to. Sue, we’ll miss you, your friendly atmosphere and I especially will miss your chocolate cake.
If you know of any businesses that you personally would be sad to see go just because the big companies out there are only interested in making money and don’t provide a good service to their customers then contact me. I might just stop someone else’s business and dreams from being taken away from them.

YOU CAN RISE ABOVE REALITY

Courage is the power to face your difficulties.

It comes from the reserves of your mind that are more powerful than your outside circumstances.

When you recognize that you’re bigger than your problems, you’ll gain the courage necessary to overcome anything.

Your obstacles will look large or small to you according to whether you are large or small.

Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined. It gives you the ability to rise above your present reality.

© 2010