Liebster Award – My 11 Questions Answered

I was really surprised and honoured to receive a Liebster blog award nomination from Carlana at Sage Consulting.   I found Carlana’s blog through the Ultimate Blog Challenge and it’s become a regular on my reading list, she has tonnes of great information.  Do pop over to her nominees blog post, there are some amazing blogs listed.

To accept the award I must:

1. Answer the 11 questions asked by Carlana
2. Nominate 11 other blogs

In this post, I’ll answer the 11 questions and nominate my 11 blogs later.

Liebster Award 11 questions

1. What motivated you to start your blog/website?

My blog is my business. I started it to raise awareness of what I do and to help the DIYers.

2. What have you found to be the biggest blessing or surprise from blogging?

That has to be the people you virtually meet from around the world while blogging.  There are some really helpful people and blogs out there.  The support and help these people give daily is amazing.

3. If you got an all-expense paid trip for you and four other people to travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

That’s a toughy, I don’t particularly have wanderlust… However, I would love to visit Norway and see the Northern Lights live.

4. What’s your idea of a day well spent?

A day well balanced with work and play.  Not forgetting a good soak in the bath in the evening!

5. If you could single-handedly (is that even a proper word?)  do one thing to change the world, what would it be?

I think we all change the world in a small way each time we reach out and help another person.  If I had a magic wand, I would end poverty.

6. What’s your drink of choice? Beer, wine, tea, water…?

That’s a trick question, right?  Coffee!

7. If there was one person, alive or dead you could meet to spend a couple hours with to chat, who would it be and why?

That’s a hard choice.  Perhaps Einstein and get some insight into his brain!

8. What book has been the most influential on you?

Way back, when I was a child I had a copy of The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley.  I loved that book.  I was sat here thinking about books that influenced me, and kept coming back to this. 

Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby and Mrs Donebyasyoudid have stuck with me – to the point that even now, thirty odd years later I catch myself saying, “Do as you would be done by”.  That book did more for my moral education than Sunday School and Brownies ever did, despite not being seen as politically correct.

9. Who is your ideal customer or client?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently.  Thinking about the parts of what I do that really make my heart sing and the direction I see my business taking in the future. 

The people I really enjoy working with tend to be women (that surprised me no end!), 35ish+ who own their own small business – either sole traders or small partnerships/micro businesses.  They’re very skilled and passionate about what they do but struggle with getting the best from the web through lack of skill or confidence.

I love the coaching/mentoring and training side of my work, and want to focus more on this moving forward.

10. What type of services do you offer?

I help small businesses get started online by:

• Offering WordPress installs and maintenance
• Creating local business websites
• Setting up and optimising Google Places and related accounts
• Social media monitoring and moderating
• Training and mentoring – either local or online

11. What genres of music do you listen to?

I’m an aging Goth, so often go back to the late eighties, early nineties.  You’ll often find me reminiscing and singing along to Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim. 

I haven’t a clue what is popular now, I don’t pay much attention and haven’t been to a gig in years.  I like music that is loud preferably with lots of guitar (that explains burst eardrums no doubt!)  That covers a huge range of “genres” so it’s easier to say what I don’t like.  I don’t like manufactured pop.

On tough day, when I really need to sit down and concentrate, you’ll walk into me listening to Classic FM – I can’t believe I admitted that in public!

That wraps up my 11 questions, I’ll post my 11 nominations for the Liebster Award later!

Image credits: Northern Lights By Flickr user: Gunnar Hildonen http://www.flickr.com/people/48746111@N04/ [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby image @ wpclipart.com