Annual Christmas party with friends

Christmas turkey, gammon at Pam's house
Originally uploaded by damariasenne

The early Christmas dinner with my friends went very well. As I’ve been friends with Pam for almost twenty years now, it was not surprising that I’d meet mutual acquaintances I haven’t seen in a long time. It was great time to renew old relationships; form new ones. And as always, the food was plentiful and delicious.

Strangely enough, the subject of blogging came up during dinner. No, I didn’t start it:-).

Most people at dinner had a vague idea of it; generally associating blogging with online personal journals and the Sowetan sub-editor who was fired for blogging.

When I explained about blogging as a possible tool for business, it became obvious that two friends – Johanna and Xolile, both small business owners, could benefit from it.

The rest of my friends at dinner mostly work for government or signed non-disclosure agreements with their corporations, and hearing that they blog personally would give a number of employers some nightmares.

Say it with flowers

Johanna (orange & white dress) brought hostess Pam a big bunch of sunflowers
Originally uploaded by damariasenne

Johanna opened her flower shop at the end of October, so the business is very new and could do with some aggressive marketing.

The blog will give her:

- Inexpensive web presence without requiring any technical work,
- A platform to talk about flowers.
- Hopefully, this will help her generate some corporate business. Then there’s the lead up to Valentine’s Day to worry about.

While Johanna is registered with Interflora and some other international organisations, she doesn’t have Internet access at her shop or on her cellphone.

Her mobile phone is also old (over 2 years old) and needs Internet access in her new business.

It has to be at very low prices, because her business is new and she can’t afford to bleed cash. It also has to offer mobility – she has to be able to stay connected whether she’s in the shop, meeting potential clients or at the flower market.

So she’s going to shop around, compare some solutions, and by the end of the year she should have something that suits her business. Hopefully, her adventures will result in a post on Mobile Life (www.mydigitallife.co.za/mobilelife).

Ask Mama Stork

Xolile is a private practice mid-wife operating out of a couple of local hospitals. While her business is not new, she also needs a stronger web presence to market her services.

Also, many women who are pregnant are hungry for birth information and she can provide that. She already has a column with a number of national pregnancy magazines, but we’re hoping that a blog will provide a further resource, allow Q and A and provide women a platform where they can share tips and just support each other.

Of course it wouldn’t hurt her business if the blog visitors converted to clients when they are near delivery…

So some time after Christmas the three of us are going to be meet, and I’m to help them set up their blogs.