What’s happening at NCD HQ – January Overview
Hey there!
How are you? Great start to 2016 here, we’ve been flat out with all of the events of School Holidays; catching up with family and friends, Christmas and New Years celebrations.
As a family we’ve have spent days having adventures, outdoors or indoors in the loungeroom or at the local park. Building, cooking, crafting and creating memories.
My daughter has had visitation with her Dad’s family, which has meant that I’ve had a little more time up my sleeve to do some self development study in my “free time”.
Just like one could expects when “free time” arrives, there are always things to be done and during the second last week of January, My “free time” – when combined to the local shopping centre… managed to evolve to include a pretty nasty fall – a sprain my knee and factured my tailbone… (-Yes; I don’t do things in halves! It’s it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well right??) after a few visits to the hospital, xrays and doctors appointments – it was safe to say I was done for my quota of excitement for one month… Time to calm down… focus on getting back to routine and getting settled. My injuries are going to take months to heal and there’s not a lot we can do..
On “bedrest”, I’d taken the opportunity whilst we’re not working on client products to really amp up my studies and focus on making the most of the may days of January.
During this amazing month of January we’ve:
- * Participated in Search Engine Optimisation and Marketing Short Course
- * Met with some of our amazing local business women for brainstorming sessions
- * Progressed in our Leonie Dawson Workbooks
- * Further completed stages of Leonie’s Academy
- * Planned out several new products and services to be release in 2016
- * Introduced a new management philosophy into the business
- * Reached my savings goals ahead of schedule- Saving the needed funds for our Shining Canberra Retreat with Leonie and the Team at the end of February.
Not to mention started to recover !
This whole process for this month has really flown, it feels like it was only yesterday we were gearing up for Christmas Day and now we’re moving forward with 2016 at a rapid pace! Heck, my daughter is in second class this year? When did that happen??
It’s amazing how we grow, change and adapt to our surroundings… but it can be scary knowing how fast paced life is – now-a-days…
Whilst I don’t want to wish the time away, as I have heaps of things I want to do this year – 2016… I am so very much looking forward to heading to Canberra next month on a Solo adventure of self growth, learning and development.
Look At Canberra!!! Natalie Crowe Designs is coming to your neighbourhood!
Steve Jobs | Top 10 Rules to Success
VIDEO: Steve Jobs – 10 Rules to Success
1. Don’t live a limited life
2. Have passion
3. Design for yourself
4. Don’t sell crap
5. Build a great team
6. Don’t do it for the money
7. Be proud of your products
8. Build around customers
9. Marketing is about Values
10.Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
SOURCE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHzAtxW3TzY
Tony Robbins | 10 Rules to Success
VIDEO: Tony Robbin’s Top 10 Rules for Success
Great Youtube Video some some really great
1. Raise your standards
He began his career promoting seminars for Jim Rohn.
2. Be truly fulfilled
He taught neurolinguistic programming and Ericksonian hypnosis after training with NLP co-founder John Grinder.
3. Progress equals happiness
His use of board breaking, skydiving, and later firewalking in his seminars is intended to help participants learn to push through their fears.
4. Love your customers
He promoted his services as a “peak performance coach” through his books and TV infomercials.
5. Add value
In 1997, Robbins began the Leadership Academy seminar.
6. Have an exit strategy
He has written three best-selling books: Unlimited Power, Awaken the Giant Within, and Money: Master the Game.
7. Be resourceful
He founded the Anthony Robbins Foundation, a charity dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations.
8. Pay attention to the little things
In April 2012, Robbins began cohosting Oprah’s Lifeclass on the OWN Network.
9. Look for leverage
In 2007, he was named in Forbes magazine’s “Celebrity 100” list.
10. Change your mindset
In 2007, Forbes estimated that Robbins earned approximately $30 million.
SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9F19ban7A4
Merry Christmas from Natalie Crowe Designs
Natalie Crowe Designs would like to extend a special thank you to all of our valued clients for all your support in 2015. We are so grateful to have had the experience working with you on your local businesses – building your websites and helping maintain them, supporting you all through the growth and expansion of your business through our business mentor programs and building your business presence online.
As 2015 comes to a close we reflect on the many projects we’ve worked on, the many people we’ve come into contact with and the many lessons we’ve learnt this year. Things like the knowing your worth and having your work boundaries, working with multiple personality types and multiple business structures. The keys of clear communication and documentation and most importantly the amazing feelings received when you can look back on a job well done.
We have many client testimonials and reviews still to share with the world after our reviews last week came flooding in. I am OVERWHELMED by the amazing responses from all of you, and I am deeply moved by your kind words and expression of thanks for projects I have too put my heart and soul into.
There is so much more I’d like to say to all of you but most of all from the bottom of my heart.. THANKYOU for your support in 2015!
CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR TRADING:
Our Office will be closed from 23rd of December through to the 11th of January.
We will be returning to the office with limited appointments available 11th January through to the end of the month due to school holidays.
We will resume regular operation as of the 1st of February 2016.
We look forward to bringing you more amazing developments! We’ll see you all in the new year!
And remember lovelies!
You are capable of anything you put your mind to… whilst you work for it… you are one step closer then if you have not done anything at all.. 2016 is going to be am amazing year for all of us and I am so excited for what 2016 holds for us.
Imsprint | Hunter Valley Printer reviews Natalie Crowe Designs
We would like to thank you for our fabulous new website!
Not only do you have creative flair & fresh ideas, you make them a reality.
Your support and patience throughout the whole process made what we thought
was impossible a stress free streamlined outcome.
We have already, and will continue to recommend Natalie Crowe Designs to anyone who
needs a modern, easy to use website.
Thanks again!!
– The Team at Imsprint.com.au
Pillowroll reviews Natalie Crowe Designs
Caroline from PillowRoll reviewed Natalie Crowe Designs
“Here at Pillow Roll, we have been blessed with having Natalie work with our company website. Natalie has been working with us for a few years now, updating website, with all runs smoothly and her explanations of things is helping us understand everything to do with our business website.
She most certainly has the creativity, the flair and especially the patience to work with people like ourselves, whom have little understanding of computers. Natalie helps us all understand the necessities and flow of websites, blogs, face book and every other part of the computer process. She is always only a phone call away when we are stuck, her service can only be stated as efficient, reliable service, we here at Pillow Roll give her and her business a full 10 out of 10. Well done and keep up the great work.”
– Caroline Landymore ~ Pillow Roll, Hunter Valley, NSW 2325
Pillow Roll – The comfort of your own pillow.
http://www.pillowroll.com.au
2015 coming to a close, this week, leonie dawson workbooks
2015… where have you gone?
It felt like only yesterday we were celebrating end of year festivities… it’s something like 50 days until Christmas?? How time tends to fly when you’re having fun. Our 11 Websites in the 11th Month promotion clients are in their 1st year anniversary as clients with Natalie Crowe Designs. Another year is almost over and we begin preparation for our journey into 2016.
Week of 8th-14th of November.
This week, We’re working with Toyriffic to get their website finalised ready for the Christmas Rush. With Careerbridge Automotive as we’re in our final test stage – with launch booked in for this Friday 13th of November. We have several quotes and websites to finalise including sponsorship of a not-for-profit business doing amazing things in our community.
Amazing Resource Alert!!
LEONIE DAWSON’s WORKBOOKS ARE ON SALE AGAIN!!!
Create your shining year BIZ and Life workbooks by Leonie Dawson!!!
https://jlk86341.isrefer.com/go/2016wbeb/NatalieCroweDesigns/
In 2013 I came across this amazingly inspirational, motivating, soul
strong entrepreneur, business mentor and author…. creator, mother of
now two gorgeous girls and million dollar breadwinner and overall
kick-ass lady called Leonie Dawson .
I have worked with Leonie’s workbooks for the last few years, been a participant in her academy and loved every minute of it.
Leonie is one of the most querky, unique, bold, loving goddess
orientated, self identified hippy, artist and magnificent woman – whom I
am so grateful to have come into contact with over the last few years.
FOREWARNING::
LEONIE’S WORKBOOKS ARE TOOLS OF CHANGE!!! However…..
If you’re allergic to glitter…. sparkles.. rainbows….unicorns…
abundant positive energy and knowing you have the power to make changes
in your life….
Hearing about ways to embrace yourself and being a goddess in your own divine right…
If you’re in comfortable with vibrant colours…. mermaids…or have an
overall intolerance to seeing the good in situations, embracing your
talents and those around you….
or that you find people who
are bursting with energy and life… laughter.. unbearable…. – whom
radiate the most beautiful positive energy and light and offer the most
practical business and life tools to creating your shining year across
the board…
then perhaps this is not the resource for you…
IF HOWEVER… the idea of being surrounded by positive online
support…. by people whom are also on the journey or in the process of
changing their lives for the better… whom like you weren’t sure of
where they wanted to be or how to get there.. however through the loving
guidance and support ascertained from Leonie’s workbooks, the shining
academy… Leonie’s online videos and more…. have started marking
positive change.
If you’d like to make 2016 your year of change..
A year of achievement….
A year of seeing your business or your life the very best it can be….
Check out the link below and embrace Leonie and all of her team’s amazing work:
VIEW THE WORKBOOKS NOW!
ORDER your workbook Today
If you find Leonie’s resource beneficial and you do jump on board with
the workbooks. I would love to chat with you, or mastermind with you.
Business Mentoring & Natalie Crowe Designs Crystals
Why hello there!
It’s been a couple of months since I posted an update here as I’ve been tremendously busy. Whilst my primary business and passion – Natalie Crowe Designs focuses on Website Design and Business Mentoring, I’ve had a side project in the wings for some time, working through the processes of setting up my sister business – Natalie Crowe Designs Crystals.
It’s always amazing to me to be able to take the resources I have and help others apply them to their business.
However, to then have the opportunity to practice what I preach and apply those very same principles to my own business was such an experience.
Although I see it through my clients, to see it first hand – my works making a difference – is amazing and in all honesty, I’m loving it.
It’s giving me new insights and also giving me another perspective on what it’s going to take to make changes in my own life as a learning curve in order to motivate and help others do those very same things within their own businesses.
I do have to say though, I completely understood 2 months ago, what my clients say when they first come to me … “I have this great business idea, but I don’t know where to start.”
I too was challenged at the concept of starting a new business after passing the introductory stage and being well into the growth stage of my primary business…
The idea of “how to do it right” started to play on my mind, and had I not applied my knowledge since working for myself and mentoring others. The whole process could have been so much more daunting.
Sitting down at my favourite little cafe – Lovedale General Store, It started ringing in my head again, one of the big things I push with all of my clients – It doesn’t have to be perfect to start off with, it just needs to be out there. Something is better than nothing!!
With the major factor for most startups is that the desire to want to make it perfect often see the business owner procrastinate… Rather than making a move.. getting something done. Taking action! Making a decision and following through with it…
Like any new development, the most important thing is to just get the ball rolling and start that momentum.. Take some sort of affirmative step towards getting things underway. It doesn’t matter if it’s not your best work to start off with.. EVERYONE has to start somewhere…
It was truly just a reminder to myself to keep myself on focus of the end goals, – I wanted this business to be out there, to become well established and profitable, but more importantly to be affordable and to be able to be there to help others. Which aligns with all aspects of my business and lifestyle goals – Contribution and making a difference in the lives of those around you.
So after decluttering my mind – with my brainstorming worksheet we generally run through at the beginning of every mentoring session, I was then able to start working through my ideas and getting them broken down into actionable steps.
After applying some of my own resources – Target Market worksheets, Mapping out the foundations to our online store / website, Working on a few ideas for marketing plan etc, I felt such a sense of achievement in the hours that past that I’d allocated to work ON my business not in it.. Things are definitely looking much clearer and brighter!!
Although I’ve not launched the new website, we’re working through social media – facebook page and facebook group whilst I get the content for the store up and running.
I was in conversation with a wonderful client last week about this new venture and the differences and which I loved the most. As I said to him, As much as I love the retail outlet and the diversity of NCD Crystals offers, my primary focus remains on the website design and business mentoring work. I love being able to help educate people, I love to be able to help other solve problems and see outside the self defined box. I love seeing my clients succeed when they recognise their own potential which was always there. As a secondary business, I allocate time to work on my secondary once I’ve finished the work for my primary focus — Natalie Crowe Designs.
Anyway lovelies 🙂
I’ll keep you posted on our progress with this new phase of Natalie Crowe Designs which I truly believe is going to be both beneficial to the community and to my clients as I develop new resources and techniques through my own experience.
http://www.facebook.com/nataliecrowedesignscrystals
http://www.facebook.com/groups/nataliecrowedesignscrystals
http://www.nataliecrowedesignscrystals.com.au
Local web design business sponsors True Blue UNOPAA
We were approached by the official magazine of the United Nations and Overseas Policing Association of Australia to be featured in their magazine as a sponsor. Natalie Crowe Designs sponsors around $2500 a year for worthy causes in our local Newcastle and Hunter Valley community. This year we’ve donated to a variety of causes including:
- Helping the Platt family fight back – $1500
- Sponsoring local dance headquarters with a $600 sponsorship
We have just received our copy of the UNOPAA magazine and wanted to share with you our advertisement 🙂
We’re thrilled to support such an amazing cause!
Clients | Some will get it and some won’t
Being in business is an amazing journey, we have had our ups and downs as all businesses do, but in general it’s always been a forward progression, past the establishment stage and we’re well into the growth stage…
In this time, we had the privilege of working with so many different businesses, with happy clients that have been with us since 2008 and others stepping on board more recently in 2015… Most if not all of those businesses are based in the Hunter Region, around Cessnock and the Hunter Valley, Around Maitland, Rutherford, Newcastle and as far out as Lake and Central Coast. The range of businesses and the diversity of the business owners has been an experience…
Each business owner has their own desires, expectations and their own personal circumstance to take into consideration… Things like their time frames and budgets, their personal understanding and skill level, their perception of how business should run, in contrast with how a business does run, their own circumstance – usually relating to their commitments, their family, the stage of their business and what they are really wanting from your service…
From an initial conversation with a client you generally get a feel as to whether they are wanting that personalised down to earth service or whether they’re after black and white – corporate responses from you. We generally offer both to our clients but more often than not, we find clients are more receptive to the personal engagement levels. Which is one of the main reasons we are so transparent. Based on the level of communication with the client and their comfort levels in relation to your interactions you gauge what the expectations are.
Anyone who has researched my business and looked into our processes, our social media, our ncd corkboard blog, has spoken to us in relation to completing a job or booked in work with us – knows that we are family orientated; Natalie Crowe Designs is run by a work a home parent based in Hunter. You will see posts and material in relation to the family; my daughter and I, I do share “Mum” based material, I do share my tips and experience in business, I am upfront when we have circumstances that arise that require my attention at home and within my business, and I quite comfortable with where we are in business and who were are within the community.
We get involved with our community, we support local business, we financially sponsor a variety of services with a sponsorship budget allocated each years specifically so we can back our local community. This year alone we’ve sponsored a local dance headquarters in maitland $700+ , we made a $1500 donation to a local family; single mother of 3 daughters, who were effected by the Hunter’s Super Storm in April 2015. After losing their home in the floods and all of their possessions, they moved into a new premises and refurnished their home, 5 weeks later; a house fire destroyed the family’s new home and saw the family again homeless and needing to rebuild there lives… The devastating loss hit home for us, and it was the least we could do to be of assistance to Help the Platt Family and most recently we’ve sponsored the Police Association of Australia with a $330 donation which will go towards the distribution of the True Blue Journal.
We do have time frames during the years where we have limited service provision – during peak seasons like School Holidays. (which we have started testing processes in order to better serve our clients at this times, but like every business venture.. this is trial and error.) We have had personal circumstance arise where we’ve had downtime in relations to events happening at home; whether that’s been to move premises, to attend training or to review and evaluate our business, attend to my family or a client has had an emergency that needs attending. We do our best to keep clients updated and informed of this and we work through the necessary portals in order to offer our clients the best service.
With relation to our communications and availability, we do offer flexible hours… we do work around the clock depending on our clients requirements, we do have some limitation to our Consultation Hours – usually between 9:30am and 2:30pm Monday to Friday as these times work in around my daughter’s schooling.
More often than not, there is a high potential you may receive emails from me in the early hours of the morning. You may find that work you’ve requested has been completed overnight.. You may find that I am available to talk to you outside of regular proforma “9-5” business hours… Also that we happily contact you on other contact mediums, at your request, which are not “corporate” or the typical business communication mediums, whether that be via your Skype account, Social media or otherwise..
We aim to offer our clients flexibility as we anticipate that this is something that REAL people require… we understand that operating a business around a family needs that, but also that corporate business owners still require that diversity based on their commitments. With that said, we can offer that corporate image and interaction where required, however we base this solely on our interpretations of clients interactions.
For some this concept of personalisation, transparency and flexibility is completely taboo – and some are quite opposed to it, other clients think that this is amazing as it means that their friends in the business really have them covered.
We are happy to work with either client groups and preferences, However, I personally don’t believe that provision of service needs to be black and white, I am all about integrity.. This is who we are and how we operate…
Some will get it, some won’t. We do try and support each business who contacts us but we don’t anticipate to have the capacity to facilitate everyone. We do our best and believe our clients are happy with our service provision to date. If not this time with a particular client, then perhaps next time…. There will always be someone out there waiting for you and your service. It’s just a matter of finding your match.
In any case, I’ve always said it’s always best to do your own research, know your material and don’t judge a book by it’s cover. You may just miss out on something that would truly have benefited you and business, by only glimpsing one perspective.
Have a great day!
