Behind-the-scenes of how I design my business to fit like a glove
When I began my business more than 10 years ago, I came from PR agency land and custom publishing, so I structured my business the same way. Most people do this. Or, they have a quick glance around at what everyone else appears to be doing, and follow them. At some...
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Why a premium-priced product is key to increasing profits
McDonalds has a lot to answer for, not least of which are their two-dollar burgers. You wouldn’t want to start a small burger restaurant and attempt to match McDonalds’ prices. Yet when starting a small business, that's exactly what so many people do – they look...
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Shame about hustle has to stop
There’s way too much shame amongst business owners about the hustle, and it’s got to stop. We have far too much polarisation and not nearly enough reason in our attitude towards promotion, marketing and sales. Funnily enough, much of the shame about hustle is...
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The vulnerability of visibility
I’ve lost track of the number of women who have confided in me how vulnerable it feels to use the internet to talk about themselves and their businesses. Often these women are in their 40s or 50s, with corporate backgrounds, some with considerable management...
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Planning for profit: how to do a mid-year review
End of financial year and start of a new financial year calls for champagne and cake! Cake all ‘round, with another round of coffees, yes thanks. With or without a company, team, or board to approve these extravagances (all hail to having no board!), it’s time to...
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Zen and the art of coaching
I’ve never been very good at saying good-bye. This made life difficult when I was a tour leader in South-East Asia, where good-byes were part of the job description. Of course, there were many passengers I was happy to see the back of – I’m no saint. But when I’d...
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Marketing hit-list: “I’m proof”
In university, one of my lecturers used to scathingly refer to “evidence by anecdote”. It was the practice of using anecdotes to indicate that something was statistically significant. What she was getting at was that evidence or truth shouldn’t be confused with...
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Time to write a new chapter on selling
In Pulp Fiction, gangster Marcellus Wallace is preparing Bruce Willis’s character Butch to throw his fight. “Pride only hurts, it never helps,” says Wallace to Butch. As it transpires, Butch doesn’t throw the fight, he wins. Seems pride (and cunning) wins after all....
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Making the most of social media competitions
This is a guest post by Suki Harrison, a marketer who specialises in competitions and giveaways. (See end of article for more on Suki.) I know what you’re thinking, ‘ugh, I hate those stupid tag and share and like and win competitions…’ and you’re right, they’re...
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Addicted to doing
Self-employment is a welcome refuge for people addicted to doing. When you work for yourself doing what you love, work becomes a Catch 22. It’s really easy to work through evenings, weekends, and holidays when you tell yourself that you enjoy work, there’s little...
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Making joy a KPI
Although business has changed dramatically in the last 10 years, some antiquated ideas persist. Like the dichotomy between generosity, service, authenticity and integrity somehow being at odds with earning money in business. Or how work is not meant to be enjoyable or...
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Secrets to winning awesome testimonials (that work!)
Some seven or so years ago, I’d just run my first proper full-day course. A few weeks after the course, I was at a conference and sat down next to a woman who’d attended. “How did you find my course?” I asked brightly. She looked momentarily uncomfortable then said...
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