“I don’t have enough time”, “I have to work late tonight”, “I have to pick up the kids”, “I have to go to the supermarket”, “I’m too tired to get out of bed that early”, “I’m too exhausted after work”, “I think I need another rest day”, “I don’t have time to take a lunch […]

As regular readers will know, in my coaching and speaking business I put considerable emphasis on who is an ‘ideal client’ for me.
It’s only by recognising who that person is and being certain that the services I have to offer are relevant and needed that I’m able to tailor my marketing messages and actions.
Soloists who […]

Self-confidence is the food that feeds our personal growth. It is an indispensable part of achievement. Self-confidence stems from the self-awareness of our intrinsic worth as individuals. We are blessed with an incredible amount of potential, most of which is untapped. George Santayana once wrote, “Man is as full of potentiality as he is of […]

Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don’t have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder.
1. Evaluate […]

Can I suggest you read the ‘E’ Myth by Michael Gerber. The book mentions creating an effective system of operation in your business, doing so can give your business a distinct edge over others who may be  throwing caution to the wind without a system of operation. Here’s the link to find the book…
E-Myth-Revisited
Think […]

Do you have a mobile phone… is the provider any good? Mine wasn’t so I changed, I went elsewhere.
What surprised me the most was that there was no contact from the original provider as to why I had left. If they had called me I would have TOLD them about their many failings. It’s the […]

You run the business, you worked your fingers to the bone to get it up from zero to hero, you finally leveraged your way to add in some employees, and after all that you are starting to make the whole thing pay for itself handsomely. Well done.
So what’s your job now… In the begining you […]

Are you like a lot of people, busy with the little things in your business? Are you finding that although things seem to get done, there is little change to your business performance and or profitability?
In a recent Blog I wrote about to do lists and focussing on getting things out of your mind and […]

So what’s on your action plan for today?
Do you have small things, big things a mixture of both perhaps?
Whatever you have on your action plan, is probably what you will achieve. The shorter term things (usually the easiest) will probably happen without too much drama, the mid sized things you may well chip at bit […]

If there’s one thing that can get in the way of a smooth running solo enterprise, it’s the lack of an organised back office. Sadly it’s not unusual to see a business that fronts up well yet is a disaster behind the scenes.
Here are my Top Five back office essentials, see how you stack up:
1. […]

Threshold, a limit you reach where a reaction takes place…
In business this can mean many things, I would like you to explore the thought of threshold and consider how many areas you have a threshold with, any area where you reach a limit and your ‘comfort zone’ is stretched too far and you retreat or […]

One day a few months ago, I emptied my mailbox after being away for several days.
Because I give regularly to charities, I seem to be on the mailing lists of every organization in the world. So there were plenty of solicitations to sort through.
Usually I toss most of the envelopes I receive, the ones with […]

As someone once advised, “Grow antennae, not horns.” If you prejudge someone as shallow, crazy, or ill informed, you automatically cease paying attention to what they say. So a basic rule of listening is to judge only after you have heard and evaluated what they say. Do not jump to conclusions based on how they […]

If there’s one thing that makes me feel overwhelmed and tired, it’s the sense I’m going to be struggling to get the day’s work done. In my view, few feelings contribute so negatively to our ability to work effectively. This weekend, the sense spilled over to my home life and maybe that’s why I resisted […]

What gets in the way of great service, great planning, great production, great products. GREAT BUSINESS!
A. “Things”.
I guess you could stop work for a while and analyse all the things that get in the way of doing great business but the fact is you probably can not justify the downtime.
May I suggest  you make mental […]

Then what happened?
Most of us are busy in our organisation/s doing what comes naturally or otherwise, so what did you focus on today, or yesterday for that matter. Was it spot fires, hassles that arose, customer complaints, calls to suppliers, and what about the marketing?
Yes, most of us are very busy, so the point about […]

I’m guessing that right now there are several marketing tasks you’ve been putting off. Perhaps it’s revamping your website. Or sending out your first e-zine. Or getting listed in the search engines. Or putting together a media kit.
So why haven’t you done it?
Believe me, this is a battle I fight with myself too. But you […]

No I have not suddenly become an American and refer to my Mum as Mom… In this case I refer to M.O.M., the basic building blocks of business, the M.O.M. stands for Marketing, Operations and Management. In the same way that Mum is often seen as the family manager, so to can MOM refer to […]