WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING!

How to Stand Out From the Crowd

Oh boy it is tough in the marketplace today, whether you are a freelancer, running a business or looking for a job. It can be all too easy to get stuck at these times. Repeated rejection, the need to stretch yourself way outside your comfort zone are all triggers that can lead you into negativity and procrastination – putting off the actions you know you need to take right now. It is fear that holds us back from the success we deserve. I know, I’ve been there!

So what is it you need to succeed when the going gets tough?

Firstly you need to stand out from the crowd. To do that you need to face your fears and take action. When the ‘Tough Get Going’ it is the action they take that leads to their success. Winners do what losers don’t! So here are some action tips for you to consider:

·         Accept that rejection is part of moving forward - No-one likes rejection but winners accept it as part of the process. They do not take it personally; they look at what they can learn from it and move on to the next possible opportunity. Each rejection is a step closer to you landing a great opportunity.

·         Stop looking the world and life negativity – When you are looking at the negativity you are missing the positive opportunities that are definitely out there even if they are in short supply right now. Don’t let negativity hold you back.

·         Stop the negativity and the moaning – We all do it but it only stops us succeeding. Prospective clients and employers pick up on negative vibes (it’s like they have a sixth sense) and it definitely influences their decision. If you have to moan always end it with a positive action you can make to move forward.

·         Actively look for the positives and for opportunities – Every morning and every evening make a list in a journal or in your mind of all the positive things that are happening in your life. Can’t think of any? Start with the fact that you woke up this morning and that you have your health. Count your blessings every day no matter how small.

·         Get into the habit of doing some positive self- talk – Script your day by thinking of all the positive things that will happen to you that day. Better still, play it all as a film in your head of everything going well. Make it as detailed as possible and do it every day. Check out and note how much more positive your day is when you do this. Add it to your ‘Blessings List’.

·         Stop procrastinating – Identify what is stopping you from taking the action needed to move you forward. Decide what is in your circle of influence to change or action. Start taking action no matter how scary it is.

·         Identify the actions that will take you out of your comfort zone – these are the ones you procrastinate about the most. Winners know that this is where the learning is and also the success. Make these the first actions of the day - feel the fear and do it anyway.

Take action now! Stand out from the crowd and fulfil your potential.

What is Innovation?

Have you got it?

Do you want more?

Then watch this very short video.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR WAY OUT OF A PAPER BAG!

Marketing Means Action

Most people, from my experience, write a business plan and then file it away. These are the ones I am talking about here who are most likely not able to “market their way out of a paper bag!” They spend time properly researching the market and their competitors but have no focused plan as to how to effectively use this information to their advantage. What a waste of time! It may have helped them achieve their objective of obtaining funding but a business plan is far more than that. It is should also be a PLAN OF ACTION. The action part should include marketing, social media and sales strategies.

Notice that here I have included social media. This is because in this day and age it should be included as an integral part of any marketing strategy. Along with any strategy there should be a detailed, schedule of actions with deadlines to help keep you on track as you project manage the implementation the development of business through your strategy.

The reason for having a detailed strategy and action plan is to ensure that all your efforts to promote your business and gain sales are focused and targeted in the areas that will gain you the highest potential. However, a word of warning……..

Marketing Is The Prelude To Selling. A sales strategy is also required even if your business is done totally online (online shops are notably more difficult to get off the ground and gain sales than retail shops)

So what should you include in this Marketing Action Plan?

* Brand image and logo development and design – only one image and logo or you confuse your brand image. Use colour or design to differentiate different parts of the business if required.

* The design and production of marketing material – business cards, brochures etc.

*  The design and development of your web site – with potential for interaction and sales/bookings where ever possible and applicable.

*  An action plan of events – launch party etc., to promote the business (if required).

*  An action plan of publicity – press releases and a list of media contacts you have made to ensure a better chance of getting free publicity.

*  A contents schedule and action plan for each of your social media platforms – this should include a plan of how you post, share and comment and how often as well as how you will use analytics to assess the effectiveness of your strategy and make changes to improve it.

*  A sales strategy both for online and offline sales – without this all the marketing actions are wasted.

In the same way that you review your business turnover and finances against your cash flow projections, as a means of keeping on course and making necessary adjustments, a month by month analysis of the marketing, social media and sales actions help reduce risk and enhance business growth.

Any questions?

THE SWEET SMELL OF ‘DOGGY’ SUCCESS

Sometimes you meet people who genuinely do not realise or fully acknowledge their achievements. This happened recently when I was privileged enough to judge the Young Entrepreneur Award of the Monmouthshire Business Awards. The outstanding winner of this award, Sophie Laurie never anticipated that she would ever win it.

So what was the secret of her business success?

First of all a passion for the business she set up, Shampooch, a dog grooming enterprise. She was not setting out on a business journey to impress others, win awards or to corner the market but that’s exactly what she has done at just 24 years old. Why? Because she set out to create a job for herself that ‘feeds her soul’, fits in with her young family and allows her to offer a level of service that gives people the Wow Factor!

Sophie Laurie was a lady on a mission when she began to research her business idea. She wanted to ensure that Monmouth had the best groomed dogs in Wales and the happiest owners. Simple goals but how she achieved them was by making sure she set the business on firm foundations….

·         Developing her skills by putting herself on a dog grooming training course – she wanted to be the best at what she was going to do, so where many would not have bothered training she made sure her skills were the best in the market.

·         Researching the market in her area – She talked to dog owners, stopping them in the street to chat with them to find out what they wanted for their precious pooches.

·         Building relationships with potential customers even before she launched the business - Without realising it her friendly, warm and open manor was already attracting to her potential customers.

·         Researching her competition in depth – By the time she had finished she knew exactly how she could make her business stand out from the crowd on price and service levels.

·         Understanding and delivering the highest level of customer service – In actual fact she was not doing anything especially different in her mind. You see one of her loves is make people happy so delivering an exceptional service is like second nature.

So what was the result of this simple strategy?

Business success that saw Sophie’s customer base grow to 300 in nine months and the need to take on her first employee. And she is not stopping there. Her expansion plans include setting up dog grooming training in Wales as she had to go into England to find a course!

Just goes to show that get the basics right as the firm foundation of your business and you too could experience the sweet smell of success.

Need to focus your selling skills? Check this quick video for some motivation!

7 MONDAY MOTIVATORS

How to Create a Great Start to Your Week

Monday morning blues? Finding it hard to get motivated at the beginning of a week? Believe it or not it is all down to the way we think, what we believe and how we perceive our world.

Motivation comes from within. Other people cannot motivate you, only inspire. Why? Because motivation comes from creating positive action to move yourself forward. Inaction keeps us stuck and demotivated.

The action I am talking about can be both physically doing ‘stuff’ and taking charge of what you think or believe. If you believe Mondays are always going to be awful because you hate them, dread them and are negative about them then you will always start your week off badly. So it is down to you to make the most of Monday’s and set yourself on a path to create a great week.

Here are my 7 Monday Motivator Tips…..

1.      Spend a few minutes counting your blessings. List in your
         mind, or even better write in a journal all the positive things about
         your life and your work.
         Do this the moment you wake up and get your mental attitude off
         to a positive start.

2.      Think about the excitement and passion your work brings
         you.
         If your work has lost its ‘sparkle’ this is a great way of starting to
         get it back.

3.      Get up early enough to have time to prepare for the day and
         the week.
         Plan to tackle a few things first that you have been putting off  
         doing and that are beginning to raise your stress levels.

4.      Create a plan that includes inspiring and motivating work.
         A day filled with work that does not in some way inspire and
         motivate, is a day wasted. We are only here in this life once and
         most of it is spent working – think about it!

5.      Include in your plan how you are going to inspire others.
         A ‘can do’ positive attitude rubs off on those around you and lifts
        your own motivation as well as others.

6.      Put the plan into action and DO NOT put off the jobs you
         have been avoiding.
         Plan a personal reward scheme for when you have completed the
         task you are avoiding. Follow completion of this work with work that
         you love.

7.      Allow yourself time several times during the day to reflect
         on all the positive things that are happening.
         Keep focused on the positives and see the problems as
         opportunities to learn from and overcome.

But what do you do if there really is no work that feeds your passion, nothing that motivates you about what you do? What if ever day has a Monday morning dread to it?

I had a friend whose job got dramatically changed in an organisational ‘reshuffle’. Originally she was working to her passion; she loved her work and what she could achieve through it for others. The balance of her work was in the majority motivational. After the change she was left with all the work she hated and eventually she left (but not until after much stress and sickness).

The moral of this story is - have the courage to move on and find work that motivates you, if like my friend you find yourself in a job where none of the 7 Monday Motivators work for you.

Motivation spreads like a wave throughout the workplace so be the motivation inspiration in your office today!

PEER 2 PEER MENTORING

A Processes for Business Growth

Looking for support as you develop your business but don’t feel that having a personal mentor is right for you just now? Then maybe Peer Mentoring would suit you better. You can join a local group or even set one up yourself.

So what is Peer Mentoring for Business Growth?

It is a way in which a group of two to six people come together on a regular basis – usually once month – supporting each other to grow their businesses, their learning and their skills. For new start-up businesses it is advisable to have an experienced business facilitator to help with challenging issues or business knowledge gaps.

The idea is that each individual attending a Peer Mentoring Group comes with a business issue, problem or knowledge gap they want help and support with. The group then decides how the session will be run or the individual may ask for his/her session to be run a certain way. There are several ways to run Peer Mentoring Groups:

1.      Supportive  – Peers give their positive thoughts and ideas about
         what they would do/have done in similar circumstances

2.      Questioning – Peers only ask the person questions to gain
         greater clarity on the issue and to get the person to think about
         actions to move forward

3.      Challenge – Peers  ask challenging questions to get the person
         to really address the issue at a dynamic level

4.      Devil’s Advocate – Peers state concerns, doubts, niggles about
         the issue

5.      Good News – Peers help celebrate someone’s success and ask
         questions to identify the factors that contributed to the success

6.      Stress Busters – Peers offer support, feedback and stress
         reducing ideas

7.      Dress Rehearsal – The person rehearses an actual situation
         they are going to have to face. The Peers then give feedback with
         one constructive criticism and three positive statements

If there is no business facilitator one is chosen from the group to manage the flow and timing of the session. Each session lasts about an hour and can be undertaken face to face or online using Skype or a similar platform that all members have access to. Google Hangouts are particularly good for this as you can also share and work on a document at the same time and it is FREE!

To keep the sessions short it is important that a number of rules are followed and managed by the facilitator. These include:

·         Only one person speaking at a time

·         No discussion is allowed (This takes up too much time)

·         Each person presenting their issue states what they have learnt
          or what action they will take after all the group has imputed on
          their issue

·         At the start of subsequent sessions there is a very quick ‘round
          robin’ of Actions and Outcomes since the last session. This
          creates peer pressure and enhanced learning, success and
          business growth

These groups are very dynamic and are dependent on the right mix of people in each group. It is therefore quite acceptable for individuals, in the early stages of the development of each mentoring group, to ask to join or start another group or request that the group is split in some way to form a couple of new groups. No one should take offense at this as there is a great deal of importance placed on the right ‘fit’ and mix within each group.

If you run a business in the Newport and South Wales are and want to start a group then please let me know as I would be delighted to help you. 

IT’S A LONELY BUSINESS AT THE TOP

How to Find a Great Business Mentor 
When you are running your own business it can be lonely at the top if you are freelancing, a sole trader or the Managing Director. Even in a partnership or with a team of staff, sometimes you may find yourself wondering who to turn to for help and support. In the early start-up days you may have been allocated a mentor. What about when they are no longer there? What do you do then?

Find a Mentor!
A word of warning first - do not let your judgement be clouded by a bad or poor experience of being mentored in the past. This is a very different ball game so please read on……

The best mentors are ones that you chose yourself. You may in the past have fallen lucky and been allocated someone who was a perfect ‘fit’ with your business needs, your personal development requirements and your character. This ‘fit’ is what you are looking for in a good mentoring relationship.

So what is a mentoring relationship, when do you need it and for how long, how do you find it, and why should you bother?

Let’s tackle ‘what is it’ first …..

A business mentoring relationship is based on regular, dedicated time for self-reflection on your business. It is an exchange between professionals, with the main goal being to facilitate the development of yourself and your business.

MENTORING IS NOT SOMEONE TELLING YOU WHAT THEY THINK YOU SHOULD DO!

Next let’s look at the ‘when’ and the ‘how long’……

·         Finding a good mentor is best done before you desperately need one;

·         Look ahead and anticipate areas of your business where you may need help and support in the
          future;

·         A mentoring relationship may be short or long term but is never a crutch.

How do you find a mentor?

·         Carefully consider who you know with the experience and skills you need, then ask them;

·         If you don’t know anyone then do some research on LinkedIn and then shop around for the
          right ‘fit’ – meet them and try them out first.

Finally ‘Why bother’ ……

·         Mentoring helps you strengthen your limitations and therefore the business – after all we can’t
          all be good at all aspects of business;

·         It offers you a sounding board when planning strategy or when there are problems that need
          resolving.

Who Should I Chose?

Chose a person for their skills, experience and because you like and trust them. I remember the first time I asked someone if they would be my mentor. Quite frankly I was terrified! Sounds silly doesn’t it? The fact is that I had been told all my life that I should never ask for anything, not even help – boy do we learn some stupid lessons from our parents, sometimes!  When I eventually plucked up the courage to ask him (it took me weeks!) I was amazed by his response. He actually expressed how flattered he was and that it should be me mentoring him – that was something I had never considered and it lead me to becoming an Executive Coach/Mentor myself.

You are in Charge

Having a mentor puts you in charge of your own learning. It is up to you to decide what learning needs you have, what you want to discuss and what you want to achieve from each mentoring session each. It is vital that you end each session with an action plan and then implement it before the next session, wherever possible. After all mentoring is about developing you and your business so action is needed to embed the learning and move you forward.

How often you meet and whether it is face to face, using video conferencing or by email is down to you to negotiate with your mentor.

So get looking and enjoy the great experience of having a mentor to help you and your business grown and develop.

GIVE OR TAKE?

One Way to Gain a Competitive Edge

Are you a giver or a taker?

That’s a question not usually asked when you are starting out in business or as a freelancer. In my opinion it is a fundamental question that should be asked. Why do I say that? Well, I believe that whilst you can make it in business whether you are a giver or a taker, customer referrals and business growth come faster and easier to people who are givers. It can also give you a great competitive edge.

This is especially true when you are the personal ‘face’ of your business. Most people want to do business with people they like, feel they can trust and who give of themselves and their business.

By this I do not mean that you go overboard, after all you are in business to earn an income and hopefully employ others. You can’t do this if you give too much away. There is a balance to be made. 

This can be done in a number of ways:

·         Giving that extra service in time rather than money

·         Offering something for free e.g. an initial consultation

·         Offer a sample product sample

·         Free downloads, e-books, screen savers, games etc.

·         A diagnostic survey which includes one piece of work free that the diagnosis identified was
          needed

·         Do a project as a loss leader to gain potential referrals from a happy customer

In my Management Training and Coaching Business I always give my time for free. Many of my competitors charge for meetings, course development and preparation time but I offer these services free. This, plus a fixed daily fee rate that means I never charge extra for additional work on the same contract gains me a great competitive edge.

It is sometimes all too easy to give away promotional products. Whilst people often like this they appreciate far more the things you give that are unexpected.

*  So think ‘outside the box’ about what you could give

*  Check out your competitors and what they give

*  Find something unique or special that will be memorable for the
   customer

So what are your Give Aways?

Making Prospecting Enjoyable

A quick 2 minute video