How To Write A Case Study With Case Study Ninja
Case studies are a fantastic sales tool, especially if you do something people have trouble understanding. Today we were joined by Sarah Dillingham from Case Study Ninja giving valuable insights to how to build and use case studies in your business.We started the show off with Kelly Culver, giving us some helpful tips and tools to how you can manage your social conversions from Instagram. It’s been a very valuable show on how you can correctly prepare and use case studies. Not only were there some valuable tips, but Sarah gave us her formula for creating case studies – it’s little trickier than you might think, but the effort really pays off. Case Study Template and Tips Thanks to Sarah for sharing her case study template with listeners and readers and you can download the PDF below. We’ve also got the word document for you to download and have a play with create your own case study We’ve also got the word document for you to download and have a play with create your own case study Case study tips and template Word Document Case Study Template PDF There are also some lovely examples of case studies on the Case Study Ninja website here Read Sarah’s Profile and Connect
Access Your Alpha State For Productivity, Clarity and Happiness – With Angela Gower-Johnson
On today’s show, we had Angela Gower-Johnson, Business Energy Strategist from Ultimate Dream Project, and boy was it a whale of a show! At the start, we were discussing some marketing campaign ideas for February (February is rife with holidays!) and about organisation. Did you know that if we spend 10 minutes each day looking for something, we spend 60 hours per YEAR looking for things? For the rest of the show, we were chatting with Angela about Alpha and Beta brain states and how you can get yourself into the right state for optimum performance. This isn’t magic “woo woo” stuff, it’s been backed by science! Listen to the show now to learn how you can become the best you for your business. If you think you should be meditating, but can’t seem to make that happen, this show is for you!
How To Be More Successful By Improving Your Fitness
Are you an entrepreneur, a student, or have a demanding job? Do you feel like you’re always on the go, stressed out, and need more hours in the day? No matter what it is we’re trying to achieve – whether it’s career progression, passing exams or being more organised at home – there’s one thing that we can do that will guarantee we’re more successful. And that’s improve our fitness. Being more productive, and therefore more successful, isn’t about spending more time working. Here’s why you need to be taking the time away from your desk in order to reap the endless rewards: 6 Ways Improving Your Fitness Will Make You More Successful Improving your fitness will supercharge your energy levels Imagine a world where you don’t get as tired each day… You’d have the energy to work longer hours, or even work the same amount of hours that you do now, but with more energy you’d certainly get more done in less time! Having more energy will definitely help you achieve more in each day, thanks to exercise. So hit the gym to increase your stamina and your working day will be juiced up too. Improving your fitness will upgrade your focus With an increase in energy comes an increase in focus. Now that you’re less distracted by tiredness, low mood, or that ‘is it time to go home yet’ kind of clock-watching, you can better focus on the task at hand. Pair energy boosting workouts with good nutrition choices and avoiding performance-robbing junk to unlock lazer-focus all day long. Improving your fitness will reduce your stress levels Working out, going for a run or breaking a sweat in any way is a great stress buster. And this doesn’t just apply to when stress strikes, so don’t wait until that contract falls through to hit the heavy bag! Exercising everyday will help you sack off daily stresses as they pop up, resulting in a happier, more productive you. Get away from your desk, take a break and go workout! Improving your fitness will help you gain perspective Making your health and fitness, and that of your family, an absolute priority in your life will help you realise that as long as you’re happy and healthy, not much else matters. When you feel the benefits and importance of great health, you’ll recognise that 99% of the shit that you worry about at work doesn’t matter. This’ll lead to better and more rational decision making abilities and a next-level mindset in business. Improving your fitness will promote your immune system Raise the bar on your health and fitness and you’ll automatically promote your attendance. Improving your fitness will improve your overall health dramatically, including boosting your immunity, thus reducing the number of days that you take off due to sickness. So taking the time out to exercise now will mean you can put the time in later, even when there’s ‘something going round the office.’ Improving your fitness will inflate your confidence Exercise affects our well-being in so many amazing ways, from energy, focus, stress, positivity, immunity… it’s not surprising that we feel so good when we exercise! But another reason we feel great after a workout is because it boosts our confidence, too. Having faith in our own physical abilities is a powerful confidence enhancer that will be reflected in other areas of our lives, including work. Smashing a few PBs in the weights room will translate into smashing that up-coming presentation, too! Improving our fitness levels will create so many improvements in other areas of our lives, that it’s such a no-brainer! (In fact, our bosses should definitely recognise the importance of great health and fitness in their employees by prioritising healthcare benefits, IMHO…) What benefits have you discovered since improving your fitness? Dani x
Tackling The Menopause And Business
It can be tricky being a woman in business, but when you’re dealing with some of the symptoms of the menopause, that can ramp right up. Kathryn helps women in business through the symptoms of the menopause from all different angles. Maybe you run a business and one of your employees is going through menopause, or perhaps you’re struggling with some of the symptoms such as sleeplessness, forgetfulness and disorganisation. Either way, we have some ideas for you in this episode, so grab a coffee, (or a glass of wine) stick your feet up and listen in. On today’s show, we were joined by Kathryn Colas, menopause expert, giving us some mature insights to symptoms and her experience whilst going through it. Laura, our co-host of the show also gave us a #ToolOfTheWeek called LyteSpark, it is like Skype just with a few extra features that you can use to interact with clients or business partners. Book of the week was recommended by Katheryn and it is “Be Gender Smart” by Inge Woudstra. It is essentially a guide for both genders to help understand the different issues both genders faces and how to go about it. We learnt a lot about how menopause can affect not only your personal but workplace life. Some of the main symptoms are forgetfulness, being confused and cross more than usual but overall quite depressed. If you are suffering, Katheryn suggests a great way to start getting help is by recognising and this and talking about it, especially if it’s people in the workplace. Accept you need a break and take one step at a time.
Drawing your way to organisational improvement – five reasons to get more creative
‘Our colleagues get scared when we bring out the Post-it notes’. This comment from a recent client sums up the dread that many people feel about the use of ‘creative’ techniques within the workplace. It’s a real shame as moving beyond the traditional flipchart and bullet points approach can free up people’s minds, encourage innovation and vastly improve collaboration and communication. One of my favourite techniques is the use of rich pictures. The clue is in the name. Rich pictures are drawings that are usually made collectively to explore or define a complex problem, situation or system. I first came across them as part of Peter Checkland’s Soft Systems Methodology, which provides a wider framework for entering and improving messy organisational problems. I deliver an annual ‘systems thinking’ workshop to MBA students at Brighton Business School and, without fail, rich pictures form the aspect of the session which students find most useful and applicable to their own work. Rich pictures enable groups to draw out key relationships, emotions and groupings in a way that makes sense to them, as a starting point for further exploration of issues and the generation of potential improvements or actions. They are great for rapidly addressing problems and for generating new ideas and opportunities. So why should you ditch the bullet points and draw your way to organisational success? Because rich pictures are: 1. Visually interesting Once people get over the initial fear of not being able to draw (it really is not about artistic prowess), they very quickly become absorbed in the creativity of making a picture. Some work very descriptively, others use metaphors or tell visual stories. Whichever way, the results are always memorable and eye-catching, and groups relish explaining them to others. A picture is often genuinely worth a thousand words. I have worked with clients for whom a hand-drawn amateur image of an exasperated nurse or a metaphorical picture of disparate desert islands has done more to shift senior thinking and gain engagement to change than any number of board papers. The images can also be reproduced and shared in newsletters, team meetings and future events. 2. Accessible and adaptable All you need is some paper or a white board and some different coloured pens. That’s it. There is no need for professional cartoonists; rich pictures are about engaging groups to produce a view of the world in their own way. I have found that the process is a great leveller. It is a fantastic way to engage mixed groups and everyone has something to input about their perspective on the situation, regardless of role or status. It’s also a very adaptable approach. Although rich pictures originated as a way to explore the current situation, I’ve found it rewarding to ask people to draw what they hope the future could look like; this can be very empowering and enables you to ask ‘so how do we get from where we are now to where we want to be?’. 3. About relationships, not just process Unlike some more ‘rational’ problem-solving approaches, such as process mapping, rich pictures enable you to very succinctly map out some of the key relationships and emotions within a given situation. Given that, within complex environments, many of the challenges and potential solutions are people-related, this gives rich pictures an edge and a different perspective. This doesn’t mean that other problem-solving or quality improvement techniques cannot be used to further explore certain aspects of the situation or system; they can be complementary. Drawing out a problem is a great route in and it helps people to collectively engage with the problem. In the end, it is likely that these people will also be the ones you call on to make improvements happen. 4. An opportunity for team development The act of creating a rich picture requires teamwork. It helps people to communicate, collaborate and creatively express themselves. Even more importantly, it encourages people to better understand others’ points of view, which can immediately help to solve problems. And, as rich pictures are intended to help explore and address real challenges, the activity may feel more relevant, tangible and useful than more general team-building sessions. It will help engage people in potential solutions and improvements. 5. About embracing complexity Rich pictures come into their own when the situation or system is messy. There are often many different people, groupings or even organisations within the mix. Emotions, relationships and communications are often challenging and at the root of some of the problems (and solutions). And these situations are usually playing out in complex and changing contexts. Rich pictures enable people to acknowledge the complexity and identify areas of focus for further problem-solving or service improvement without losing sight of the whole and the relationships between different parts of the system under scrutiny. So…why not try it? Expressing the problem situation is the first step to addressing some of the challenges and I believe that rich pictures offer an initial degree of analysis and engagement that some more traditional techniques lack. Rich pictures work best when you engage widely and provide careful facilitation, either internally or externally. Key questions to ask are: – Who are the key players or what are the key groupings/functions/organisations? – What are the main relationships and how do they work? – What are the main activities, inputs and outputs/outcomes and how do they happen? – What does this mean for clients? I’d love to hear about your own experiences of using drawing and rich pictures to explore and address complex problems or situations. And, if you would like to talk about how you can apply creative techniques (such as drawing and improvisation) to produce genuine improvements in your workplace, please get in touch at julie@specialistgeneralist.co.uk or on 07733 306155. Julie Flower is a strategy and organisational development consultant, specialising in corporate creativity. She runs the consultancy The Specialist Generalist and is a performance improviser with Classic Andy. Follow her @specgeneralist.
Be Productive – Learn to Say No!
By Moira Dunne During my first job as a consultant, my client told me that I had the ability to say no while making other people feel good about it. I think it was a compliment! It wasn’t something I planned but when I analysed my approach I realised I was protecting my work time so I could deliver on my commitments. I always tried to help but if I couldn’t at the time I would explain and offer an alternative. SAYING YES IS NATURAL For most of us saying yes comes more naturally than saying no. People genuinely want to help people. We want to be known as “a team player” and don’t want to be difficult. We don’t want to appear overloaded with work either, as if we can’t cope within our role. So learning to say no is a skill most of us have to develop. SAYING NO BY SAYING YES! So how do we do it? Well, the best way to say No is actually to say Yes. By that I mean to say no to dropping everything at the time of the request but say yes to a time or approach that suits you better. Take control. But do this professionally with consideration so that the requester understands and is happy with your alternative suggestion. And then follow through. The requests we receive loosely fall into two categories: A request from a colleague for help or advice A request from your boss to do extra work over what was agreed A REQUEST FROM A COLLEAGUE FOR HELP OR ADVICE If you can’t help straight away offer an alternative time that suits both schedules. Alternatively, consider if you are the only one who can help? If help is needed immediately direct the requester to a report or training material or another expert. A REQUEST FROM YOUR BOSS TO DO ADDITIONAL WORK If you are already working to a plan that was agreed with your boss then you are in a good position to negotiate. Offer to do the additional work but point out “This is what I am working on based on the plan we agreed. I will happily do this new work but I may need to push out one of these tasks“. So your objective is to get approval to free up time to do the new task. That way if one of the original tasks doesn’t get done, there is a common understanding why. If your boss insists that you still do everything, at least you have provided a reminder of your current workload based on the agreed plan. This can be a subtle way to highlight that your boss is being unreasonable, maybe unintentionally. TONE OF THE MESSAGE As with most business interactions the tone of delivery will greatly affect how your message is received. Find your own words. Use your judgement about how best to position your response. Consider the other persons’ perspective. If you are clear in your own head about why you are responding the way you are, it will start to come naturally. EMERGENCIES Of course, there are times when we need to just drop what we are doing and help. Again we have to use our judgment and knowledge of our work situation to identify these times. This will not be a time for alternatives or rescheduling. LEARN TO SAY NO Strive to say yes if you can If you can’t, explain your reasons professionally Provide an alternative Be committed to the alternative Negotiate priorities if saying yes Saying No can Increase Your Credibility Saying no from time to time can actually increase your credibility, as long as it’s done in a professional way. Saying no (or yes with conditions) can sometimes be the right thing to do for your role, your team and your organisation. Saying no successfully is all about using your judgement. It’s a trade-off between being helpful and being in control of your own work life. -oOo- Let me know your thoughts in the comments section or tell me what approach has worked for you.
Where did you say your office was? From employee to entrepreneur- How to build your entrepreneurial identity
If you’ve been brave enough to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur, you may have suddenly found yourself having to rebuild ‘brand you’. You and everybody else knows you are a great employee, but does your employee brand automatically transfer to the new entrepreneurial you? For most of us going from large established organisations to suddenly working from a kitchen table, there are no swanky offices, strong brands and a good reputation to hide behind. You may feel that the ‘you’ you know and love, the ‘you’ you’ve been creating for years has faded away. Here are a few points which will help you create your new identity, brand you! Who is the real you? Your brand, your mission and your purpose should be an extension of you. If you’ve thought carefully about what your product represents, then you should already know who you are as a person. Channel that person in every meeting, your marketing material and every service or product that you offer. Time to talk about yourself more Speak to as many people as you possibly can about your project. Your friends will get tired of listening to you talk about your work, however, the more you talk about yourself as an ‘entrepreneur’ the easier it is for yourself to except your new identity. “The external world of our society plays a huge role in defining our self-identity.” In other words, connecting your internal identity (how you see yourself) to your external identity (how others see you) may help put the building blocks of your new identity together. Love yourself and customers will love you too Clients will only take you seriously if you take yourself seriously. I found myself negotiating contracts worth thousands of pounds within a few days of my website being up. My new company had zero infrastructure and in my head, it didn’t really exist. New entrepreneurs should refer to their mission, think about what makes you special, what makes your company and the service you are providing different. People buy people, customers don’t care if your office has mismatched furniture but they do care about your work ethic, whether you keep your promises and what their working relationship with you is like. What do you mean you don’t own any taxis? We have reached an era where companies don’t own anything tangible. Uber doesn’t own any of its own taxis and Airbnb don’t own any real estate. This is the current trend and it is obviously one which seems to work for many, however, in the early days of starting your business, it may be harder for you to talk about what you do when it may seem that there is not much there. Practice describing your business and its model, it will help you to define what it is about and it will build your confidence when talking about it. Write about your business, blog about it or try to get some PR from a newspaper or professional blog. There is a lot of help online on how you can do this. You’re an entrepreneur from the word go It may take what seems like a century to get a sale. You may think to yourself, I’m hardly an entrepreneur if I haven’t made any money. You are wrong. If you were brave enough to have a dream, to share your ideas with people, to put yourself out there in a very scary world, then you are as entrepreneurial as they come. Go to networking events and meet like-minded people, get a mentor, someone who has been there and who understands the road you are on. Hang in there and repeat after me… you are an entrepreneur.
How Meditation Increases Productivity
by Jennie Lee The benefits of meditation are diverse and well documented, but an interesting one that is often overlooked is the effect meditation has on our productivity levels. Given how competitive the business world is, and the ever-increasing demands on our attention, it is easy to appreciate the value of a tool that can be used anytime, anywhere to enhance performance, and best of all is free and healthy! Studies show that the more times we are asked to change focus in a day, the higher our stress levels are. Stressed out minds are never productive and eventually start to make mistakes, some of which may be costly to our jobs. Meditation is a simple, natural, and effective method for reducing stress and cultivating the mental clarity we need for efficiency and maximum productivity. If you have never practiced meditation, you might be wondering how sitting quietly can help you get things done with greater ease and speed. It is because meditation is based on present moment awareness and the ability to focus the mind single pointedly on a chosen thought or technique. In the social media saturated, over-stimulated environment we live in, the mind is in a constant state of scattered restlessness. But if we cultivate the practice of directing our thought to just one thing for a period of time, we create a clear mental field, kind of like restarting our computers now and again, or erasing the history in our browsers. And this helps us operate more efficiently. Our minds need rest to perform at their highest capacity. They get some each night when we sleep, which is essential of course, but mediation offers a different, conscious rest that is extremely rejuvenating for our creative functions and intuition. Meditative focusing techniques help us to calm restless thoughts and enable the mind to receive intuitive awareness that can provide solutions we would otherwise not have considered. Mental Benefits of Meditation Improves overall brain performance Enhances focus Increases clarity of thought Relieves stress Increases creativity Combats aging factors such as diminishing memory Boosts immune system Increases sense of inner peace Regular practice of meditation increases our ability to concentrate for longer periods of time on one task, which correlates to an increase in productivity because we are not jumping around in our attention. Essentially we are able to do more efficient and extensive work in less time. Like any other skill, learning to concentrate in meditation is a process and is built over time. It is important to be patient and persistent. Even five minutes of meditation, practiced daily, can make a difference in your life and mental functioning. Simple Beginner Meditation Find a comfortable cushion or chair and follow these instructions. Turn off the phone and set a timer for 5 minutes. Inhale and tense your whole body. Then exhale, release and relax. Repeat 5 times. Sit with a straight spine and relax the body. Close your eyes and take ten slow deep breaths. Take ten more slow breaths in this way: Inhale for count of 10, hold for count of 10, exhale for count of 10. Let your breath return to normal. Silently in your mind with each inhale say to yourself “I am.” Silently in your mind with each exhale say to yourself “here now.” I am….here now – with each breath. If the mind drifts to other thoughts gently bring it back to the breath. When the timer sounds, take another moment to set an intention for a peaceful day. Congratulate yourself on doing something simple and wonderful to increase your productivity. Remember that for meditation to help you become more productive, you need to be consistent with your practice. Be sincere and give your best effort to concentrating on the breath and the affirmation of mindful presence. Do not hold an expectation that you will experience something in a prescribed way, just trust that the effects will come with time and dedication. Meditation is a long-term endeavor, but all effort is progress and soon you will celebrate the improvement in your creative performance.
Top Tips For Productivity & Organisation in 2017
2016 has been a terrific year for me in business, but not without its hurdles! I’ve learnt a lot along the way and helped clients do the same. I have no doubt that 2017 will be bigger and better, but the key to that progression? Organisation & planning! Being a Virtual Assistant takes organisation, careful coordination & a little bit of timely juggling! Remaining focussed and productive is not always easy, life is busy and there’s a lot of things to make happen. Take charge and get started on 2017- you’ll wish you had my Top Tips for productivity and organisation back in 2016! Create Plans & Schedules And I mean, for EVERYTHING. I’m talking; marketing strategy, social media strategy, blog plans, newsletter plans… these could all be put into one master plan or into a few smaller ones. Daily to-do lists written the night before are ideal – seeing your tasks lined up in black and white help the mind to focus rather than wander, especially whilst trying to figure out where to start the next day. My most important plans and schedules can be found in my social media schedules – I use Facebook Schedule and Hootsuite but Buffer and other schedulers come highly recommended also. Planning and scheduling social media in advance saves so much time and enables you to focus on other work, with the confidence that your posts will go out automatically. Furthermore, when you plan a chunk in advance, your ideas are more consistent with your wider plan, marketing strategy and branding. Break Tasks Into Bitesize Pieces Huge workload? You couldn’t eat an elephant in one go, but you could if you broke it down into bitesized chunks. The worst thing about large work loads are, that they tend to be overwhelming and put you off beginning the tasks at all – thus delaying you further, creating an even larger work load! Take each job and write down how many tasks it can be broken into, then take each one at a time – crossing them off as you go. You’ll be surprised at how quick you’ll move and realise how much less scary the task is once it’s broken down. Big Things First Take on the biggest or more important task first, before anything else. By doing this, you set the tone for the rest of the day (or week, or however long!), at very least you can say that you’ve battled with the most important task and won. This then frees you up to move forward with the smaller tasks at a more relaxed rate without the stress of bigger tasks hanging over your head. Time Block Pick up your to do list, work out the tasks involved and it’s simple: block out time in your calendar in which to complete those tasks. Use each time block to carry out just the task at hand – as well as this, turn off all notifications on your gadgets, put your phone screen face down, don’t answer calls or emails. This requires a certain degree of discipline but it is one of the most worthwhile tips I can offer. Once you’ve started and got yourself into a time block pattern or schedule, you’ll find it becomes far easier to stick to. Make & Track Goals If you can visualise something being completed, you can realise it! Think up your goals based on what you want to see happen with your business, then write them down and keep them visible at all times. Even if this is in a ‘to do list’ format – as simple as you like. Chances are, you already have these goals outlined in your business plan – if you do then great, grab a copy and keep them handy. Track these goals regularly and monitor your success. There’s no better motivator for productivity than working your way through your check list. Assess, Reevaluate, Move Forward Don’t flog a dead horse. Spend time at regular intervals assessing your efforts and ensuring that you have effective methods for measuring your success. Reevaluate social media strategies, newsletters, productivity tools, software, policies, documents… check everything you’re doing or using is performing as it should be! Keep in line with your master plan or business plan by checking back against it regularly. Consistency is key. So, my top tips for getting in gear in 2017: work out your goals, get your plans together, break tasks down into chunks, prioritise, block out your calendar, then; assess, re-evaluate and move forward! Say hello on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and let me know how you’re getting on! Wishing you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2017! Rosina
Time Management – Is It All In The Mind?
If you’re juggling your business, family, time for yourself, or just plain old getting things done, then you may be feeling as though you just don’t have enough hours in the day; you’re never going to catch up; create some space for yourself or make a success of it. You may even be wondering if it’s worthwhile being in business if you never seem to have enough hours in the day. When did you last smell the roses? I loved this video because it started from a different angle to usual and challenged the perception of how much time we have. So it’s not so much about time management, as time perception. Plus, there is also a little bit in there about how we are prioritising what we do when which can sometimes give you the heads up about what it is that you really want to achieve, and the life you want and which is sometimes a whole heap different to what you think you should be achieving.
The Start Up Tips Show
On the first show of 2017, we are joined by marketing expert Tabitha Beasley and young entrepreneur Kelly Culver. Tabitha is a PR and marketing assistant for who won awards less than a year, after starting her business back in March 2015. Kelly shares some inspirational Start Up quotes provided by listeners and insights to free or low-cost online business tools. We end the show with some informative small business marketing tips which you can take away and use to help grow your own brand and business.
Teanna LaNise – What To Do During The Holidays PLUS Branding & Marketing Tips!
On today’s show we had Teanna LaNise, owner of Kreative Eye Design, having a chat with us about why holidays are a vital time for small business owners – and not for the sales! It’s a time to either make or break your business for 2017. Listen now to learn more about creating your vision and mission statement, branding, marketing and using the holiday season wisely. Teanna LaNise is a Branding and Marketing Strategist for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners who can’t figure out how to brand and market their business. Through her bad ass branding expertise, marketing genius and get it done strategies she’s here to teach, inspire and shake up your approach to creating and marketing a brand you love. When she’s not using her creative super-powers you can find her curled up reading a book, at Starbucks enjoying a Carmel Macchiato or spending time with her children. Meet Teanna, and get ready to take your brand to the next level at kreativeeyedesign.com.
The Holidays Are Here – It’s Time To Take Action!
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20px” padding_bottom=”20px”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” hover_type=”none” link=”” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” padding=”” dimension_margin=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” last=”no”][fusion_text] December is here! Are you excited? Most people aren’t, but if you are in business you should stay. This time of year you are either laser-focused on implementing new strategy to propel you into 2017. I hope you haven’t decided to take a break or consider yourself burnt out. This is the perfect time to get ready for 2017. Let me tell you why you should be working diligently on and in your business – there is so much to do, so much to be thankful for and your future is bright! Don’t worry if business is slow, this is the perfect time to get your creative branding and marketing ideas/strategy on paper to attract more clients. Yes, I said it, wouldn’t it be awesome to double the amount of clients you serve in 2017? I know I’m not the only business owner who has said or thought I want to serve more clients – I want to make a huge impact on how I do business, how I’m serving my clients, how they do and view business as well – especially in their branding and marketing. And if you’re in business this is exactly how YOU should be thinking. The next thought is what do you need to do in order to get more clients? Let’s talk about it! Looking for recurring business and new loyal fans, followers, and clients should definitely be the goal. Your main goal should be on fostering and building lasting relationships with those who interact with your brand. Let me give you a few ideas and pointers you can work on before the month is over month to gear up for success in 2017. 1.Create a compelling message. A compelling message is critical. Make sure you’re offering a product or service that separates you from your competition. If you already have one sit with it and see if it has been resonating with your niche – has it brought you more clients? Do you need to tweak it? Do you need to change it altogether? Make sure your service or product delivers value. Make sure you are using market research, polling your customers or potential customers asking great questions to give you the information you need to revise, change or no longer offer a specific product. This is key, do you honestly know what your niche wants or desires? Is your current offerings meeting their needs? Always over deliver and under promise. Clients love this! Who doesn’t love unexpected surprises? How can you over deliver to your clients consistently to have them coming back for more and more? Understand who your ideal customer is – your target market. Know what they want, what they are looking for, why they need your product, how they buy, and where they look for suppliers of your product or service. THIS IS CRITICAL… so many business owners are marketing to everyone and you cannot be all things to everyone. Industries evolve, clients expect more, are you delivering? Do you know what to deliver and do your audience know where to find you? Promote, promote, promote! Make sure you are sharing your services/products via your compelling message. Meet your prospects where they are. If you’re not on social media where have you been? I meet so many businesses who don’t see the value in having an online presence but it’s not just about having a profile somewhere… are you consistently present? Are you building relationships? Are you providing value? If not you are doing a great disservice to your brand, products, services and your audience. Use social media to reach your target market, together with other free promotional tools on the web. Get online and use these tools to your advantage. It doesn’t have to cost money but you will need to invest time Monitor the effectiveness of your promotion– whether the activities are generating leads and sales. Take note of this! How effective are your current promotions? Are they working? If not, you need to implement new offerings or strategy. Offer excellent customer service to maintain customers and generate word of mouth referrals – always the best! It goes a long way, you’ll be surprised how far excellent customer service can take you. Time is of the essence. Don’t let this month pass you by get busy! Take stock of where you are and where you’d like to be in 2017. Take action, there is no time like the present! If you need help resolving your branding and marketing frustrations once and for all click here. Time is of the essence. Don’t let this month pass you by – get busy! Take stock of where you are and where you’d like to be in 2017. Take action, there is no time like the present! [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Women In Entertainment Stars Share The Secrets to Being Heard In Any Meeting
Ok so maybe this is a bit tongue in cheek – I can’t really imagine using a megaphone in every meeting as Ellen Degeneres suggests. But the suggestions in this article may help if you’re feeling as though your voice is disappearing – even if it’s only to give you a bit of a laugh and to understand that you aren’t on your own feeling like this every now and then. In fact – you are in some very high-flying company – so go get ’em Women in Entertainment: Donna Langley, Ava DuVernay, More Share Secrets to Being Heard in Any Meeting http://snip.ly/tr40b
A Woman In Business Story
Reframing the Family Portrait: Putting the Focus on Mothers • Kylie Bodiya created Moving Lives Photography to empower women through luxury portraits. She was led to use women as a focal point of her photos when she started to realize how many mothers would rather remain out of the frame and just have pictures taken of their children. Kylie decided enough was enough and that it was time for mothers to get in front of the camera and FEEL beautiful about themselves…http://snip.ly/a1b5v
Upcoming Business Conference Helps Women Entrepreneurs Take the Next Step
Upcoming Business Conference Helps Women Entrepreneurs Take the Next Step http://bit.ly/2hfkyVy
Tracy Crouch – MP
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ border_style=”solid”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text] Born in 1975, Tracey grew up and was educated in Kent. As the daughter of a social worker and insurance broker, Tracey left Kent to study Law at The University of Hull when after graduation she accidentally found herself working as a researcher to a Conservative MP rather than training to become a solicitor. Tracey is a keen sports enthusiast and since ‘retiring’ from playing football has become a FA qualified football coach and manages a local girls football team. Tracey likes reading, travelling, listening to an eclectic music collection, and eating! Tracey in Parliament After two years of working in Parliament (1996-1998) for various MPs including Michael Howard, Tracey left to work as a political consultant where she represented clients ranging from a major chocolate manufacturer, financial institutions and members of the chemical industry, through to slimming groups and pet charities. In 2003, Tracey was asked to return to Parliament to become Chief of Staff to the Shadow Education Secretary Damian Green, before moving to become Chief of Staff to Shadow Home Secretary David Davis shortly after. Having seen David Davis’ majority treble in the 2005 General Election, Tracey once again left Parliament to work in the City for insurance giant Norwich Union and its FTSE parent Aviva, where she worked until 7th May 2010. Tracey was selected for Chatham & Aylesford in November 2006 and became the Member of Parliament there in the 2010 General Elections with a majority of 6,069 – the largest majority since the creation of the constituency. She won with a 46.2% share of the vote – a swing of 9.4% to the Conservatives. Subsequently she is delighted to have been re-elected in 2015 with an increased majority of 11,445 with over 50% of the vote this was the third biggest Labour to Conservative swing in the UK. Tracey has been working hard for everyone in Chatham and Aylesford, regardless of how they voted. In 2012 Tracey was elected as a committee member of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee and in 2013 she was elected as a member of the Political & Constitutional Reform Select Committee. Tracey has served as Chairman of the All Party Alcohol Misuse Group, the All Party Group for Dementia and the All Party Group for Mindfulness and Vice Chairman of the All Party Group for Women in Sport. In May 2015, Tracey was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport. This is a role she is very excited about and as a keen sports enthusiast she is looking forward to promoting sport and wellbeing across all areas of society. For more information regarding Tracey’s work in Parliament please view the link at the top of the page. [/fusion_text][fusion_social_links icons_boxed=”yes” color_type=”brand” facebook=”https://www.facebook.com/TraceyCrouchMp/” twitter=”https://twitter.com/tracey_crouch” email=”Chris@Beatmyaddictions.com” show_custom=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Chris Hill – Addiction Expert and Author
Chris Hill My name is Chris Hill. I recently lost my twin brother to alcohol and drugs. It has been the most horrendous, painful experience and I hate the thought of other people suffering in this way. My own life has been a journey through all kinds of addictions, starting with smoking my first cigarette at the age of 7 through to taking crack cocaine and heroin some 20 years later. I always knew there was something fundamentally wrong with what I was doing but I had no way out, or so I thought! By nature, I am a very determined person and I went in search of the answers to solve my problems. I began reading books based on addiction, I tried various pills and poisons issued by my doctor and I attended addiction clinics to try to end my cravings for the drugs I was taking. Through trial and error and after at least 100 attempts to stop, I finally found my freedom. That was over 10 years ago and since finding my freedom I have continued to study subjects surrounding addiction and have discovered that we have a “subconscious mind” and that it is actually this that controls our lives. I am now “passing on” all of the information that I have learnt so that others can fully understand what addiction actually is and how it controls your life. Unless you understand addiction, how can you possibly make a change to your life? The answer is, you can’t. What I am giving you through this website, tutorials, videos, blogs, training etc. is the understanding of what is really going on. There is a big secret that is not being told and you are about to be given that secret. In truth, we are always being controlled, not only by other people and by our own Government but also by our own mind! Yes, I know, hard to believe but it is true. Our own mind and body have been controlling what we are doing our whole lives and we never knew about it and, when it comes to something addictive, the mind and body are in full control. This is how someone like me succumbed to a life of addiction just because I didn’t understand it. It took me over 20 years to escape but now I have my freedom, I want to share it with all of you. I want you to experience what life should really be like. I want you to experience what our maker wanted us to feel and of course that is happiness. This is our number one goal in life and that is to be happy. It does not matter what addictions you might have, whether they are mental or physical, the route to freedom is still the same. You may only want to change one or you might want to be free of several addictions, it makes not difference, you are in the right place. No matter what change you want to make in your life, all you need to do is to ask your subconscious mind. You have been doing this your whole life, you just didn’t know you were doing it. I am going to help you discover this secret and give you the life you deserve. No-one should be made to suffer this way. Society has given us all these addictions and it is now time to take back our lives and get back the life we were supposed to have. Freedom from anxiety, freedom from the pain of addiction, freedom of choice, freedom from those constant wants and needs for something we don’t actually want to do… I have been through so much pain and suffering and I know millions of people out there have too. Its time to make a change! It’s time to get out! Enjoy the content! Be happy! Be free! Pass it on! Chris on Facebook on Twitter Listen To Chris’s Show Website
How To Price Your Products And Services
In this episode, we are joined by Sarah Brown, a business advisor and pricing expert from Inspire2Aspire, who have worked with major corporates like BT, entrepreneurs and the public sector. We cover how pricing is a combination of mindset, business, maths and business acumen. Also in the studio is Dani Needham, a Personal Trainer, Gym Manager and health blogger. Dani was kind enough to let us use some of her pricing challenges as examples of how the tricky issue of pricing both products and services can be handled. Here’s Sarah’s website if you would like to get some of the free goodies she has to help your business.
Keeping Fit As A Woman In Business
Today we welcomed Dani Needham into the studio to cover some of those questions we may have as women in business… Is there a difference between men and women when it comes to keeping fit? Is there a difference between keeping fit and being healthy? How can you keep healthy as a ‘deskbound’ woman in business? Plus, we found out about how Dani is using Facebook to rejuvenate a defunct Facebook page, and we even got a video of exercises you can do at your desk – even in a tight skirt! Dani is a Personal Trainer and Fitness Club Manager in a new & growing gym in Kent. She is the health & fitness editor and co-founder of award-winning lifestyle blog, Beauty at Brunch, and now writes the online content for Whey Ahead, the UK’s first flavoured organic protein powder, as their brand ambassador.