Win a Free Facebook Cover Design
Have you entered the giveaway for FREE facebook cover pinned on our
wall? – We’ll give the covers away on Friday to the winners or closest
to our selected number.
Anyone who enters qualifies for discount our Facebook Cover and Facebook Revamp packages.
Check out the pinned post 🙂
Hackers & Importance of Updating Your Website
IMPORTANCE OF UPDATING YOUR WEBSITE!
It’s been a busy last few days, we had a client come on board, whom had been held at the mercy of an international hacker, who utilised an outdated software or content management system behind their website to hack into their online database. The hacker had gone the step further and initiated taunting and demanding money. So it required further contact to the appropriate authorities…
Althought,The client acknowledges that given that the website system was built 7 years ago, that they were an easy target. It’s a big reminder to all website owners *You need to keep your systems updated and implement security measures* otherwise there are people out there who will attempt to do the wrong thing…
If you’re using a system that is open-source or that is free to use, it’s more important than ever to upgrade that system and keep your site up to date with the latest security, as that the source code is available to everyone and hacker use these type of systems in order to exploit people… Keeping in mind, there is always good and bad in every situation, as long as the appropriate security measures are taken, you can benefit greatly from content management systems such as WordPress, or Joomla etc, one these precautions have taken place..
Natalie Crowe Designs will be working closely with this client to get this website back on track, we’ve currently accumulated a whole day over the last 3-4 days, in addition to a midnight call out to address the emergency, all of this time has been spent trying to address the issue. And are now having to implement a clean version of the latest software and rebuilt the website system.
If you find yourself in the same position or you have not updated your website for some time, get in contact with us so we can help you get your site up to date and also make sure it’s secure! It’s a loss of revenue, loss of business and damage to your reputation when it comes to issues with your system security and we’re here to help.
7 Years Ago Today – Natalie Crowe Designs Registered
Hey all… 7 years ago today, I decided I’d make a major change
in my life… I decided I wanted to start my own business, I wanted be
able to financially support myself and at the time my unborn daughter. 7
years ago today, I registered my
business name and began the long journey down the road to build a
business that represented me and my desires to be independent, to be
able to make a contribution to grow and to evolve… 7 years on and I
look back on my journey, the only thing I regret is not making the
decision sooner. It’s been one heck of a roller coaster ride and
believe me when I say – that it truly is worth it once you come out of
the tunnel. My business didn’t start operating officially until April
2008 but today 7 years ago I made the decision that will forever alter
my life. and I am so grateful to be one of the ones who have made it
through!
NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR GOALS AND DREAMS – Trust your ability to see things through. It’s never too late to try!
Keeping the goal post insight
Keeping your goals insight
After running Natalie Crowe Designs since 2008, I’ve come to the conclusion that having big dreams and desiring to do more is an amazing motivation tool – being able to visualise your ideal as already being true is one of the keys to achieving that which you are working towards. Next in like when it comes to progress is actually keeping that focus on what you’re doing and doing the hard yards! We can often lose sight of our goals. Lose sight of what we’re working for when we’re caught up in the day to day life..
Write your goals down
Research shows that people who write down their goals or more likely to achieve them, oppose to those who simply mentally acknowledge them, imagine them in detail and write those details down… keeping them at the top of your mind in order to continue to propel you forward.
Know what needs to be done to achieve your goals
But it’s not enough just to know what you want, most people say I want to do … I will own … by 31st of December 2015, however in order to make this achievable and measurable you need to know the steps to achievement in order to get from A-Z and achieve your goals.
Making it accountable:
Once you have all the foundation work in place it’s a matter of making it accountable. – Share your goals with others, accountability is one of the major driving forces for people who are working toward something. Share your achievements. keep track of your progress… keep a list of the things you’re doing so you can see, 1 week.. 1 month… 3 months 1 year down the track of what you’ve been doing – it might not seem like you’ve done much
Work toward taking 3 steps towards your goal each day
Work towards taking 3 steps towards your goals each day.. even if it’s just getting the resources, making a phone call.. something is better than nothing. Keep a goal diary, write down your progress and what you’re doing to
achieve your goals, what steps you’ve taken and what’s next for you.
Reach out to support networks to give you additional support
All in all, it’ll all be worth the work and effort you put into your goals. So keep your goals in sight and remember that there is always someone out there who will be keen to help you work through your goals. If you need an additional support contact us today and we can have a chat about what you’re wanting to achieve and setup a mentoring program tailored around your needs.
January 2015 Summary
Already the first of February, and 2015 is progressing at a steaming pace. January has now passed and what a busy few weeks that was for us here at Natalie Crowe Designs.
With the New Years celebrations, School Holidays in full swing in January, we took some much needed downtime to recoup, reground, and recenter for the fantastic year ahead of us.
My daughter and I spent plenty of the holidays enjoying the sun, playing and exploring our creative sides in the world of craft.. Finally breaking open the “craft cupboard” doors after collecting for months before in order to have plenty to do over the 6 week break. To say the leave we had a ball. I gave needle felting a go, which was at times like acupuncture (if you’re familiar with needle felting you’ll find the humorous side) and experimented with oil pastels, all forms of paper, foam, and created forts from cardboard boxes, chairs and sheets. We expanded our vegie garden and ventured to Sydney for a few days of discovery. It was great to spend so much quality time as a family, it was only in the last week of January that we started slowing down, and on Wednesday 28th Little Miss started Year 1. An exciting time for both of us to say the least! She’s growing up so fast! So now that, that is all water under the bridge and we’ve established our regular routine again, it’s now time to kick things into gear and initiate our 2015 goal plan!
First port of call, follow up all the calls, emails and enquiries via Facebook. We switched our business phone off for majority of the school holiday period, so on returning to the “office,” I was greeted with a large number of calls, emails and messages via our Facebook. I have just about returned all of the calls, emails and enquiries and booked each of those clients who have requested consultations or completion of further work into our schedule.
2015 is looking to be the biggest and brightest year yet, with extension of our existing services, client road maps, supporting some really awesome local events and working directly with our community. We plan on making this year, the year of achievement, the year of contribution and the year of growth for Natalie Crowe Designs and our supporters.
We look forward to hearing about your journey!
Stop by our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nataliecrowedesigns for more frequent updates!
Have a great day!
Limited Services from 17th December – 28th of January
END OF YEAR CALENDAR 2014-2015
With the end of the year arriving fast, and the School Holidays, Christmas and New Year festivities just around the corner. We will be unable from the 17th December when the kids break up from school until the 12th of January.
We are waiting on the local vacation care to issue the holiday schedule, to which we will have limited consultations available between the 12-16th of Jan and the 19th -23rd Jan.
We will be returning to the office on the 28th of January.
During the down time, I will personally be using this time to spend quality time with my daughter, and of an evening completing a business short course I’ve been eying off for about 6 months.
Our emails and phone will be diverted and responded to when we return.
On returning to the office in late January, we’ll be commencing work on a number of developments we’ve had on the back burner for some time. Including our Business Mentoring program.
We have already received a number of bookings for 2015 and encourage anyone interested in getting a website developed or work completed after 28th of January to contact us as early as possible. If you’re looking to have work completed come January, we’ve developed a waiting list for quoting and job completion.
Please visit our contact us page, or via our facebook page for our contact details.
We wish all of you a safe and enjoyable end of 2014 and a positive start to 2015.
Thanks in advance
Gratitude – Reminder of Triumph
Hi Guys.
It’s been a ridiculously busy November, with jobs exceeding my expectations on how well they could go!. I was so very thrilled to see how much I achieved in such a small time frame… but also to see some really radical changes in the mindsets of a lot of our clients, how much further they’ve been able to travel in such a small span of time.. Congratulations to all of our clients who jumped on board for our 11 Websites in the 11th Month.
As a business owner, it can sometimes be challenging to find that drive or know when exactly the right time is to take action… when is the right time to launch a website.. when is the right time to introduce yourself to someone else… when is the right time to stop and appreciate how amazing you are… how far YOU have come… how much you have achieved and how much more brilliant you are in the present moment than you were in the past…
I am so very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in the last 12 months.. even through adversity.. it’s helped build my resilience and helped me revive myself and my business..
As a little reminder to all of you to make your successes rewarding… yes it’s amazing to have achieve so much and in the grand scheme of things you’ve achieved great lengths… but without making an active acknowledgement to store that feeling we often forget….
This time round, I have rewarded myself with a gift for achieving my immediate goals.. I’ve been eying off some beautiful Lisa Pollock Monk canvases… with messages of gratitude, family and one with the concept of the tree of dreams.. I picked them up yesterday afternoon, and have only just begun hanging them in my office as a totem of my achievements.. although I am not one for material objects, having beautiful things around me that I feel I have truly earnt, not only beautifies my space, but also reminds me of my triumph.
(note.. the photos aren’t great but they look fantastic!)
Completion of November 2014 11 websites in the 11 Month
We’ve managed to come through to the end of the month with great progression! We’ve completed more of the promotion that we expected, however it’s with great joy I share with you the gallery of our achievements for November 2014.
Thanks to all of the businesses who came on board and congratulations on a job well done!
Website Promotion Progress Report
4:42am and loving the energy and feedback coming from enthused clients. We had two mentor sessions yesterday. The first, a great development session with Singleton Direct Marketing working through ideas for website development, followed a really productive session with Annette from Fantastique Feather Creations.
Progress Report:
I’ve been asked with 4 days to go how are we looking for the 11 Website in the 11th Month?
We’ve been busily finishing off websites for:
♦ Loxford Fabrications
♦ Singleton Direct Marketing
♦ Fantastique Feather Creations
♦ Highlander Celtic Rock Band Australia
♦ Ace Water Cartage
We’ve finished the initial developments for:
♦ Cessnock Multipurpose Children’s Centre
♦ Bryony’s Every Dog Grooming
♦ Crusader Industries
♦ Cessnock City Locksmith
♦ It’s only Natural 2 Preserve – launching during December
♦ [Feature Client 11] – launching later during December
I’m confident we’ll have the sites up and running by the 30th!
I’ll keep you posted! In the meanwhile, have a fabulous day everyone!
7 days to go!!
Hi guys!
7 days to go before the end of our big promotion for November, completing 11 websites in the 30 days of November. It’s been a big 3 weeks so far and the last one will go out with a bang!
We’ve announced that 2 of our 11 businesses have asked to put their websites on hold to be released in December, however the remaining 9 are underway!
Introducing our 9 feature businesses:
1) Cessnock Multipurpose Children’s Centre
2) Bryony’s Every Dog Grooming
3) Loxford Fabrications Pty Ltd
4) Cessnock City Locksmiths
5) Fantastique Feather Creations
6) Crusader Industries – Replication of an existing website onto a new content management system
7) Ace Water Cartage
8) Singleton Direct Marketing
9) Highlander Celtic Rock Band Australia – Replication of an existing website onto a new content management system
10) – ?? Unknown replacement
11) – ?? Unknown replacement
Visit our Facebook Page for more frequent updates and announcements regarding these developments.
Can’t wait to share the website launches with you!
