From meat pies to sushi – has your business evolved?

I found myself in between appointments the other day, and I was hungry. Really gut-gurgling hungry. I didn’t want to go searching far and wide for food, so I opted for the foodcourt that was in front of me – not something I do very often. I’m not pretentious about food, but I do like to feed my soul as well as my stomach when I eat, so I tend to go for deliciously fresh options that are prepared specifically for me. However, on this occasion there wasn’t a lot of time so my choice was limited.

As I ordered my ricepaper rolls, I had cause to giggle. Two young burly tradies, with their tanned, hairless legs and Northface puffers on, sidled up next to me and ordered Fiji water and sushi.

What the??

Since when did tradies trade the Four’N Twenty pie and the chocolate Big M for imported water and seaweed?? Continue reading →

Positioning and presentation – make your coffee worth lining up for

As I wandered my way through the small local village to the butcher the other day I was struck by something – most of the people I could see were in line for one store. One cafe. It got me thinking about how important ‘exposure’ is to all of us as business owners and entrepreneurs.

You see, the only perceivable difference between that one cafe and all the others in the village is its position and the way they display their items.

Trust me, the prices are the same (or bigger) for their coffee and food, the quality is arguably the same, the service is equally nonchalant. In fact everything else is much the same.

The only real difference that appears to generate 4-5 times the sales of their competitors is their positioning and presentation.

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5 Ways to Increase Visibility as a Business Owner

Business owners need visibility for growth. In the highly connected world in which we now operate, there are new ways to increase visibility, beyond the boardroom. Don’t get me wrong, I love an old-skool face-to-face meeting with a prospect. Maybe I’m showing my age (!), but when you’re sitting down with someone you have ALL your persuasive tools at your disposal—your voice, your body language, your active listening skills—those are the big guns.

But face-to-face sales take a lot of time and time is the modern business owner’s nemesis. Given many of us work with (or want to work with) clients from all over the world it can be a near-on impossible task to reach people in person. And have you noticed too, that a lot of people don’t want to meet face-to-face as a first step, like they used to? There’s a whole lot of research that happens first…a gathering of information from a variety of sources to help them make up their minds before contacting you.

These realities have forced me to get creative and look for alternative ways to ‘get in front of’ my prospects. None of these options put pressure on people to buy. Instead, they compel people to learn more about you in their own time, which may make them more inclined to buy down the track. Eventually you’ll get the ‘face time’ you want. Continue reading →

The art of resilience – there’s never a wrong age to learn it

This is a story about my girl Lucy. A story of resilience and dogged determination – two values I regard highly. It’s a story whose lesson most adults could learn from, and a story which is equally valid when applied to dealing with tough situations in our business as it is here in the childhood swimming pool.

Lucy was determined to give the school swimming trials a go. As a grade 3 it was the first year she was eligible. Not many of her friends were keen to try out, in fact there were only 8 girls out of about 55 who were attempting it. She’d been equally excited and nervous all week, unsure of what to expect, but really wanted to give it a crack regardless. She’s a great little swimmer but not what I’d call a natural fish. However, she’s very competitive with herself, so she wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass her by.

Her race was up first and it was the compulsory freestyle – not her favourite stroke, but a necessary one. I could see the nerves on her face, but she patted her friend on the back to encourage her and made a joke at the starting line to cover up her feelings. Continue reading →

The power of a mentor. If not now, then when?

The fastest known way to grow your business is by working with an experienced mentor.

Why?

Because they’ve been where you are, faced the challenges you’ve faced and know what works.

When people message me to say they’re struggling to hit their goals in their business, or that it all feels ‘hard’, I always ask them “who are you working with to help keep you on track?”

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Batching is bitchin’

Have you ever wondered how to get more done in less time? I certainly did….and still do, often (but that’s because I’m determined to only ever work a 3 day week!)

Well I’ll tell you how all the super prolific content stars do it. It’s called BATCHING. And it’s absolutely BITCHIN’ when done well (that’s surfer dude speak for awesome, cool, amazing).

So what is BATCHING?

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2017: Your voice matters more than ever

2016 was a very interesting for many of us. I know upon reflection, we can pretty well say that every year, but last year the universe really seemed to rock for many people. I know little about stars and planetary alliance, but apparently that had something to do with it. Or maybe it was just people pissing each other off.

There were many political and cultural challenges (Trump, immigration, gay marriage, legalisation of cannibis and Syria to name but a few), which prompted outrage, annoyance, confusion and hurt. And there were many amazing artists and icons lost (Bowie, Ali, Fisher, Cohen, Cole, Lee, Rickman…the list goes on). And whilst we didn’t know them, they entertained us, changed us, made their mark on the world. Why? Because they had the courage to use their own voice. Sometimes it was used well, others inappropriately. Regardless, they had the guts to stand up and be counted.

The year was tough and tricky in many ways, but the tides of change have been fuelled.

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I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions

I don’t believe in regret.

I’m also not sure that people actually change that much. And I certainly know that what’s said in the heat of the intoxicated-midnight-moment is almost definitely never going to come to light in the cold hard reality of January 1.

This scepticism may sound odd, given that essentially my chosen pathway is to support and coach people through change…given that whether I’m working with groups or individuals, I am constantly talking about change, the affects, the stories.

But here’s the thing. I’m not completely without hope that people can morph or rehabilitate or alter their pathway. It’s just that THIS is what I believe in: Continue reading →

Trump the Trump: create your own future

You would have to be hiding under a rock if you hadn’t seen or heard what has transpired over the last 48 hours in the US. The Presidential Election which has gone on FOREVER is finally at a close, with a not terribly popular (ironic, given he’s the winner) result.

The media, bloggers, journos – hell, everyone in social media land – has gone crazy reporting every minute detail about the outcome, including their own fears and freak-outs about what it’s going to mean for America and the rest of the world. And whilst I have to admit that when I first heard that Mr “You’re Fired” is now a world leader I almost choked on my protein ball, I have to say I didn’t immediately go into “the world is going to end” mode.

Little known fact: I’m actually an American citizen. I could have voted in this election. But I chose not to. One, because I don’t live there and postal votes only get counted if it’s looking like a tie, and two I wasn’t informed enough about the individuals and their parties to know what they actually stand for. I’m not an idiot, so on the surface I could see that Trump was a pretty revolting choice. His ability to shoot his mouth off and offend an amazing cross-section of the community is quite remarkable to say the least. But I felt like a hypocrite voting for just anyone in defiance of him, given I have little idea about what their policies would do for the larger population.

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A timely reality check

Keeping a reality check on what is actually achievable at any given time is SO important. Whether it’s life, work or parenting it’s important for everyone… but it’s absolutely vital for business owners if you’re going to survive beyond the initial adrenalin of the start-up phase and not burn out when you start to level-up.

I am very tough on myself when it comes to getting stuff done and making the absolute most of every single waking and working moment I have. It started out this way when I began working in recruitment. It was the late 90s and everyone I knew was working hard so they could play hard. Being seen at the right bar, drinking the right drink, wearing the right gear was high on the list of ‘success markers’. No-one wanted to leave the office first for fear of being seen as a ‘slacker’ and everyone aimed to arrive in the morning before the boss, hangover or not, so they could already be on the phone getting deals done. There were targets to meet and leaderboards to climb so everyone made the absolute most of every moment. It was a culture that self-perpetuated and I was right on board.

When I started running my own business, I felt a pressure of a different sort.

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