Do You Ever Wonder – The Power Of The Human Mind!

By Christine Thompson-WellsNo Comments
Your Human Mind Do you ever wonder why you say the things you say and do the things you do? The above two questions baffled me and then I realised - it's my amazing human mind working either with me or against me! I can't say it was a simple answer but it was profound enough to make me dig deeply into my mind to look for a way forward and to write a book that would  help people, the world over, and to give them some simple guidelines of how to move forward, even from the most dire of circumstances, to make life work for them. Adam's Mind - Eve's Psyche - a book I have written, has taken the last six years to write. I too, have experienced tough and very difficult times in my life but I have always understood that: 'tough times can only last so long!' It was the information from the tough times that I needed to extract the experience that...
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Video production tips

By David StrelitzNo Comments
Video communication is great for websites and SEO and here are some practical video production tips. I will formulate a top 10. However, in the meantime if anyone has any questions regarding video production, feel free to post here or contact me. Many people like to film themselves for their websites. Invariably what lets these videos down is the audio. On board mics on cameras and phones won’t cut it, so invest in a proper mic. A wired tie clip mic will give you clearer sound and reduce the 'boomy' effect that comes from the mic being non directional and too far away. If you intend to work with a professional company, get some ideas together about your business before you meet them. You know more than they ever will about your business. If it is a simple presentation to camera, don’t expect it will take five minutes. Allow plenty of time. Don’t just take the back of a flyer/brochure and think that it will...
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Content marketing and search engine rankings

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
In a digital economy, much of what you know can probably be found for free on the internet. On this basis, you may as well share a reasonable proportion of your knowledge on the web. Google will love you and so will prospective customers. For many years, it has been said that 'content is king'. This is now more true than ever - due to changes in search engine algorithms.  Content marketing and search engine rankings walk hand in hand. Therefore, the more you write, the more you sell....
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What is a manager?

By Jacqui-HoganNo Comments
Remarkably, over the past few days I have been asked no fewer than five times, “what is a manager?” Help is at hand! What is management? Before we can ask ‘what is a manager’, we need to ask ‘what is management’. The dictionary definition is “the control or administration of an organisation or group of staff.” In practice, it includes one or more of these: Coordinating internal and/or external resources to produce a complex deliverable Helping people to work together to effectively deliver stuff Helping people work together towards a common organisational goal A check on consistency of approach and expenditure, usually through agreed processes Developing individuals skills in a way that enhances their contribution both now and in the future Resolving conflicts and poor performance issues A helpful relationship based upon mutual trust and respect How much of each of these your organisation has (or needs) depends upon things such as size, age, sector, complexity of deliverables and culture. Benefits to an organisation of having managers Managers do the process of...
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Startup marketing advice

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
Are you looking for startup marketing advice? Here is a checklist which may help you: *  Write a marketing plan. This will make you think through the key issues and your resources. *  Choose your website domain name very carefully: you will have to live with it for a long time. From an SEO perspective, if it contains relevant keywords - you will be found more easily. Here is an article on choosing a website domain name. *  Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) from the outset. Here are the benefits of having a small business CRM system. *  Use the free marketing techniques which are available to you, before you spend money on promotion. *  Think about the different ways in which you will promote your business. Here is a list of 29 promotional categories *  Use social media to promote your business, i.e. Twitter. Share helpful information which is related to your business. Here are some Twitter tips. *  Spend two hours a day on marketing activities, i.e....
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Top Ten Tips – Time Management

By Jacqui-Hogan1 Comment
Do you feel that you could be using your time more effectively? If answer is "yes", here are my top ten tips for time management: 1.     Write things down Always take notes. No-one’s memory is perfect. Everyone forgets stuff, especially when stressed. Write random ‘stuff’ down too. It will distract you otherwise. Use a notebook, Post It notes or a tool like Evernote:  http://evernote.com 2.     It’s normal to have days when you can’t work & days when you want to work for 12 hours Work more when you are in the zone and relax when you're not. We all have both kinds of days, so don't beat yourself up about it. 3.     Respect your time and make it respected Delegate everything you can. But remember, delegation means finding the right person, briefing them thoroughly and then (most importantly) letting them get on with the task. Do not forget to take a break occasionally. Do not always say yes. 4.     Not all tasks are created equal Prioritise the important over the...
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Buying and managing business print

By Stuart1234No Comments
Do you use brochures, leaflets, flyers, postcards or stationery in your business? Printed matter is remarkably effective, no matter what size your business is.  If you're not a professional print buyer, here are some tips on how to make the whole process run more smoothly. This may sound obvious: produce written orders. So many companies still operate on word of mouth - how on earth can people remember every detail of every conversation is beyond me. Also, ensure that your written order contains an accurate and agreed upon specification, deadline, delivery address and final price (with or without VAT). In these times of email it’s easy to have dozens of communications about a single job. When it comes time for the printer (or broker) to produce the job it saves time and limits the chance for error, if you have captured ALL of the final details agreed upon right there - on the order. Even though you are super efficient, there are situations where you may...
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Fear of rejection – is it holding your business back?

By Nigel Temple3 Comments
Fear is a strong emotion, isn't it? Its purpose is to protect you from harm. Fear stimulates a 'flight or fight' response, which can be difficult to control. From a business perspective, fear can set invisible parameters to your success. In business, fear of rejection can stop you from asking for help, requesting a meeting, asking for the order or even chasing payment. I have asked thousands of seminar delegates how they feel about rejection. For some business owners, the fear of rejection is so strong that they have simply stopped asking. They rationalise this behaviour by saying that they "don't want to expand their business", or that they are "quite happy with things as they are." The challenge is that a business is either growing or slipping backwards. Here is a mantra for you. More customers = more cash = more choices (which may include taking a well earned holiday, supporting a family member or donating to charity). “Failure is only a temporary...
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Networking for Managers

By Jacqui-Hogan1 Comment
It was not until I left corporate life that I realised why networking was so important. For me, as for many managers, I was just too busy to give it much thought. However, launching myself into the world as a management consultant, I soon realised that ‘who you know’ was not only vitally important to me now, but would have greatly enhanced my career prospects had I done this sooner. Many of us start out being quite good at networking. We know that to get started in our careers, we need to make connections with lots of people. Time passes, our career takes off and we get busy and networking takes second and then third place to the pressures of day-to-day work. Complacency sets in, until we find ourselves being made redundant or languishing in a career backwater. Then we find we are back to stage one of building a network from scratch. How much better would it be, if we...
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In search of improved company performance

By richard-battersby1 Comment
Do you suspect that your company performance could be better, but feel that finding a solution appears to be just out of your reach? In my role as mentor and business consultant I engage with many company directors, from various sectors of industry and commerce. Many of them describe how they seem to be working harder than ever at the moment, but still feel as if they are simply “treading water” . Very often they are not looking at the right measures, or they simply fail to measure the obvious. My advice to them is always to identify the key factors which will indicate good company performance. They should then establish simple systems to monitor these.  The purpose of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) is to provide a “dashboard” with which to highlight the current performance state and to forewarn of adverse trends. Even a small drift away from target may highlight the return of a known problem, or even reveal a...
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