Thank You

I have always been a fan of handwritten letters, postcards and cards. In the modern world it is a dying practice. I still love to send my friends birthday cards. There is nothing like getting a handwritten envelope amongst a pile of bills. I am also one of those people who takes the time to write a personalised message. You won't find a To ...., Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great one! Lots of Love, Charelle xxx. No I will write something that is personal and special between the two of us. 

Recently I read inc.com's blog about How to Write a Thank-You That Matters. René Shimada Siegel wrote that nowadays so few people take the time to say thank you. To receive a thank you email is rare and the handwritten thank you note is basically extinct. This means that it speaks volumes about the person who took the time to write a note. Now I will put my hands up and be honest. The only time I even think about sending a thank you note is when it is christmas or my birthday. I remember as a child being reminded that I would need to say thank you to everyone who had sent a present. That would mainly would be through a phone-call but for the odd person it would be a thank you note. However, as René explains writing a thank you note in a professional context can really make you stand out and be remembered for all of the right reason.


René spoke about a thank you note she remembered. From this I have created a five points to the perfect professional thank you. 

• The thank you

• Show appreciation for whatever the person did for you

• Include a compliment

• A brief reminder about what you do

• A stated desire to stay in touch with the individual

So now I am personally design and print a number of thank you cards. So next time I want to say thank you I can not only do so through a personalised manner, but also advertising my own skills at the same time. 

Dance For You

So days after Beyoncé gives birth to Ivy Blue, 'Dance for You' is released. In this video she doesn't appear pregnant at all. Now I am not saying this is because she wasn't actually pregnant. I believe she was. This just raises the issue that did the moment she find out she was pregnant she got in the studio and filmed a whole body of work so that she would be able to continue realising singles whilst her baby was little and she would be having to get back into shape? Or did she want to cash in on all of extra publicity the birth would bring so made sure a song was a ready. A song which isn't currently on her album '4'! Does this mean she will be bringing out '4' with added songs? Or is this merely a song of her next album (surely not)? or just one of the left over songs from the 99 she apparently recorded whilst deciding on what to include in '4'?

I doubt I will ever know any of the answers to those questions. However, regardless I do like the song and the video. Yes there could have been more variation in the choreography and I am sure plenty of people who love the up-tempo Beyoncé songs will be annoyed at her bringing out another slow soppy song. I love the black and white old-school feel. If the video treatment had been modern it could have appeared a lot more dirty and sleazy but I feel in this video Beyoncé has been able to combine sexy with a touch of class. Beyoncé looks stunning as usual with a trusty fan to ensure her hair flows perfectly. That is all a woman needs in her life - a fan!

Is making money that easy?

For the last couple of weeks I have watched 'The Apprentice' and after every episode I am mad with myself. I think why am I not out there making money. Instead, I'm just broke, moaning about my situation and praying that I win the lottery. But 'The Apprentice' makes it look so easy but is it. 

A few weeks ago the task was to buy stock from a warehouse, sell it, and then reinvest in products that sold well. Now this was how Lord Sugar started out and is a module used by every person with a market stall. Buy, add a profit margin and sell. This is something most people can achieve with just a bit of effort. 

However, the majority of the tasks are unachievable for the average individual. I loved Fast Food Chain - because in two days they decided on what they wanted to sell, designed and got the menus made, conceived a whole brand and a physical shop was made. That is not realistic for an average person. For a turnaround like that serious money is needed. Also, in earlier episodes where products have been pitched at major shops this again is something the average person can't do. I don't just know the head of buying at Selfridges, but Lord Sugar does. 

So yes, having your own business is achievable with guts, determination and perseverance. However, it takes time (or a lot of initial investment) to achieve the financial success the team members make in days. 

Facebook: strength in numbers

It has been reported that Facebook overtook Google in the number of hits it received this month. This is the first time since the search engine became renown that it has been overtaken. So Facebook is THE MOST VISITED WEBSITE IN THE WORLD. The co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes, who met and created Facebook whilst studying at Harvard, must be ecstatic. They are both fantastically rich with Zuckerberg being named the youngest self-made businessman worth over a billion dollars. A billion dollars from a website which costs nothing to access. They provided a free space for people to communicate and then just watched the money roll in as the numbers increased. Facebook is probably one of the most desired advertising spaces and rightly so since millions if not billions log into the website and with the clever profiling advertising is directed in relation to the individuals profile.

So what can we learn from Facebook. That sometimes you have to “speculate to accumulate”. They could have charged for Facebook in the beginning to cover their costs, however, by spending money on their product but keeping the service free the numbers of users rapidly increased. This is turn has allowed Facebook to tap into the major business of advertising with companies and their million pound budgets.
Also, create something you genuinely are passionate about. When Facebook was first made, they did not have dreams of being a world-dominator they just wanted people in the college to talk to one another. If your business is made for a real purpose to answer a need it is more likely to succeed.