Welcome to a new edition of the Word Constructions newsletter! Attention to detail is very important for writers and business owners - not only does it show professionalism and a respect for what you are doing, it also saves you making embarrassing or costly mistakes. I've come across two examples of this recently. One is the use of the word 'you' instead of 'your'. Yes, it is easy to miss typing the letter r and then a spell check accepts you as a real word, but it looks ignorant to write 'you football team'. And looks more than a typing error when you do it more than one in a short piece of writing. A quick read of your work (especially if you read it out loud) should find such silly errors before anyone else sees them. The other recent example was more costly as a letterhead was printed with an error in the company name! Whilst a number of people may have been involved in this error, a little more attention to detail could have saved the cost, time and embarrassment of needing to do a reprint. If you know you aren't a details person, get someone else to check things for you to be sure. Use your words wisely! Tash Tash Hughes 0428 376 110 fax 03 9445 9154 blog - www.wordconstructions.com.au/blog www.wordconstructions.com.au For all your business writing needs People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps. - Mary Kay Ash Running Multiple Businesses By Tash Hughes of Word Constructions You don’t have to be a millionaire or a media magnate to consider running more than one business, although a large budget would probably make it easier! It is certainly possible to run multiple businesses successfully, but it requires organisation and discipline. Choosing to run multiple businesses has some advantages over running a single business: It diversifies your income sources which can offer greater financial security You will have a greater variety of tasks It can even out cash flow for you especially if you have seasonal fluctuations in one business Each business can help promote the other. This can be particularly valuable if one business has high website traffic for instance. Your business skills and learning can be used more than once. To read more of this article click here   Backing up your computer is a basic contingency plan, and should be done regularly... Getting ready for Christmas By Tash Hughes of Word Constructions It isn’t easy to plan Christmas and get into the Christmas cheer in winter or spring, but you need to do so if your business is to make the most of Christmas sales. Obviously, it is too early to hang the tinsel or send out Christmas cards, although I've noticed a number of larger shops are already selling those items! However, some tasks can be done ahead, and others really need to be done in advance of December. One thing to keep in mind is that if you require others' help to prepare something, the sooner you book it in the better. For example, printers are usually very busy in November and trying to get last minute catalogues or cards printed can be challenging and frustrating. Designers are also busy, suppliers may need longer lead times to deliver goods to you, Post Offices get busier and people get booked up with various Christmas and end of year functions and duties. So if you haven't already started planning your Christmas efforts, now is a good time to start. My article, getting your business ready for Christmas, has a number of ideas to get you started, too. And next month, look out for an article on specials you can offer over the Christmas period. Personalised Christmas cards are a great branding exercise - especially if you get some for free! Poor examples Sometimes, the easiest way to learn the correct way to do something is to see it done poorly so in this section of my newsletter, I show you some real-life examples of writing that need a little help. Today’s example comes from an article explaining how to write clearly for business – and no, it isn’t one of mine! Example: Check also for possible spelling and/or grammar mistakes (using the P.C. toolbox again and dictionary) Issues with this example: For a how to article, this is not a particularly useful instruction. It leads to more questions than answers – what is a P.C. toolbox? How do I find or use it? What about ‘dictionary’? None of these are explained anywhere else in the article, so the word ‘again’ is also misplaced. A better version would be: (without changing the meaning) Check also for possible spelling and/or grammar mistakes (using a dictionary and P.C. toolbox as discussed later in this article.) OR Check also for possible spelling and/or grammar mistakes (many computers check these automatically, but you can use a manual spell check through the ‘tools' menu.)   You are welcome to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think will be interested, but please send it as is without changes. If you were passed this email by a friend, you can subscribe here. This newsletter is only ever sent to my clients and people who request the monthly newsletter & writing tips found at www.wordconstructions.com.au. Your email details will never be given, lent or sold to any party whatsoever and you are free to leave this service at any time by unsubscribing here. Important: This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential information. 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