How to BEAT doubt

Martin Robert Hall — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:43:46 +0000

The one thing that is most common in holding people back in life is doubt.

Doubt is a form of negative thinking. These negative thoughts stem from past experiences of your own or others you know of, from your analytical brain trying to predict the future and your own belief system.

Doubt is a form of fear and as I have explained in a previous post, FEAR is an acronym for False Expectations Appearing Real.

We all face doubt every day and most of the time it is running below the surface preventing us from taking the necessary action we are capable of.

It may creep in when you set yourself a new goal or when you do something you have not done before. We face these situations all the time so doubt really does have an active presence in our day to day lives.

Doubt doesn’t like sleep!

So how do the best performers cope with doubt? How do they overcome it?

12 strange celebrity businesses

Dan Martin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:45:18 +0000

Celebrities are always looking for ways to keep the cash coming in. They never know when they'll be between projects and need to buy a helicopter or new mansion or 20-carat diamond.

To prepare for these unexpected emergencies, many stars try their hand at running a side business or two. Starting clothing lines, restaurants, and production companies are some of the most common, but other celebrities think outside of the box. Way outside of the box. These 12 bigshots got into some industries that don't exactly fit their famous personalities or the demands of consumers.

Why sticking together might help you stick at it

Dan Martin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:35:32 +0000

Nick Giles, who started his company with a friend two years ago, explains how going into business with someone else can be a powerful driver behind entrepreneurial success.

According to a new report from the insurance company Aviva, one in four of the UK’s entrepreneurs are about to throw in the towel. The poll asked: "How do you feel about running a company in the current tough economic climate?" One in four agreed with the statement: "I am actively considering returning to work as an employee." A third said they had lost enthusiasm for their business, while half said it is “too tough to be a business owner in the current climate.”

While these are undoubtedly tough economic times, these numbers imply that more than a million of the UK's four million small business owners are ready to pack up and go back into employment.

That is a statistic that I find hard to believe however difficult the current economic conditions, not least because of the personal motivations that are involved in setting up a business but also the satisfaction of running something of your own.

New Guidance on Cookies

Mairead McKenna — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:09:10 +0000

New Guidance on Cookies

Five ways to squeeze every penny out of your website

Dan Martin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:07:32 +0000

Any small business relying on a good search engine position to succeed will know that getting to the top of the Google tree is a real challenge - for many it’s a preoccupation, for others it seems like a distant ambition. Yet whatever the skills and resources we have to throw at our search strategies, we all get traffic - but very few of us make as much money out of our site visitors as we could.

How to Save on Costs With Hosted Business Email

searchblogger — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:14:17 +0000

Hosted business email is about more than just employees having access to work email wherever they are. Hosting business email in the cloud offers significant cost reductions and workflow improvements (with their own cost benefits) over running an on-site server.

Initial costs

The cost benefits of hosted business email are apparent right from the start. Rather than having to make a capital outlay for a physical server, and the office space to store it, as well as hiring a third party to install the server (or take time out of in-house IT staff to do so), hosted business email outsources installation costs to the hosting company.

New Business Start up

christinapd — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:08:01 +0000

People Discovery – Top 10 tips for New business start up

New business startup is an art. As one person or partnership starting up with a limited budget, it is sometimes difficult to know where to start when you have so many calls on your finances and time. The tips and information that follow are an attempt to share with you what I learned, and to share where I decided to invest my new business startup budget. Most businesses I used are North East Based, but some may have a national remit.

Before committing to any expenditure or agreement, always have a written quotation and compare it. Make sure that the company you employ fits your needs. Every business is different and there are a myriad of companies out there who will exactly fit the bill for you. So do shop around!

New Business Startup tip No 1

Make sure you have industry level qualifications and experience relevant to your target market. You also need to have the right personal qualities. It is not for the faint-hearted.

To think about:

A Worldwide Solution! Real People. Real Results.

robertallen — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:58:06 +0000

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Geo Fencing - Are You In?

Jeremy Bentley — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:14:54 +0000

When I first heard we were doing a job that involved geo fencing a part of central London, conjured up images of my past when I used to volunteer at a lion park in South Africa came to mind. But I couldn’t quite understand the link between what we did in the world of digital media and the fencing off of wild animals so I approached my Creative Director for some clarity on the task at hand.

I began to explain that I might have some insight into the next job that we were doing, the one with all the geo fencing, and how I used to help repair the huge electric fences in South Africa that surrounded the big enclosures of the lions separating the younger ones from the older ones so that they wouldn’t fight over territories.

My CD started to look at me with a very curious look indeed. “What the hell are you talking about?” he exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.

Online engagement strategies are key to a brand's success

Kirsty Shaw — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:42:07 +0000

Online engagement is now much wider than having a great website; ensuring your brand is represented correctly on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+ is now more important than ever before.

5 Signs it's time to Move to Bigger Offices

Clare Moorhouse — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:50:07 +0000

Feel like you've outgrown your current office and your business is bursting at the seams? Lucky you!

Find out whether it's time to take the plunge and move to a bigger office.

If you suddenly feel that you've outgrown your existing office and long for the need of more office space. Maybe you feel like your fully-staffed office is getting too over crowded, or your flourishing business has increasing needs and your existing office space no longer meets those demands.

A cramped office can damper productivity and lower staff morale, so if it's more space you're after, staying put is definately not an option!

Here are 5 signs you've outgrown your existing office space and it's time to expand to pastures new:

Cramped workstations
Your staff need to be physically comfortable and have enough space to carry out their jobs properly, if they're working in a cramped area, or practically on top of each other, it can lower productivity.

What makes a GREAT Brand

richard gourlay — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:22:15 +0000

People don't live their lives thinking about BRANDS

Despite what marketing people passionately believe most people don’t think about brands, they just get on with their lives. The coffee they buy, the supermarket they go to and petrol station they visit happen almost by accident. In Britain today we are too busy to think through these everyday inconsequential purchases, focused on saving time, not forgetting something or rushing from place to place on a tight deadline. So do brands matter and if so why and how?

Consumer Choice

Let’s start with the basics, the consumer has choices, endless choices if they choose to use them, but in many everyday cases as in my examples above, the consumer sacrifices those choices for simple expedience.

Why some prospects never get to the close

lizgilmour — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:01:12 +0000

If you have a number of prospects hanging about in different stages of the sales cycle that never seem to get to the close you need to ask yourself some questions about each one.

This exercise might seem time consuming but can open your eyes as to where you and your sales team should be focusing in order to reach the sales targets required. I have heard on multiple ocassions that the length of the sales cycle is to blame for not forecasting correctly but I think it is often about not reading prospects correctly. Here are the questions I use which you might find useful

Video: Why venture capital can destroy a business and the secrets behind Silicon Valley's success

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:27:19 +0000

David Richards is a successful British serial software entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley in the US. His latest company, WANdisco, provides software that is used by thousands of blue chip corporates. In a revealing interview with Dan Martin, Richards explains the secrets behind the success of Silicon Valley (video four), why he believes venture capital can destroy a business (video three) and what he thinks of the UK's efforts to create a British version of the Valley (video five).

1. Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.

2. What have been your key business challenges?

3. Why is your current company not venture capital backed?

An entrepreneur's guide to social media (part two): How to identify your social media goals

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:20:07 +0000

In part two of a series of seven articles on social media skills, Colette Mason looks at the four big questions that need answering in order to identify your social media goals.

In part one of my series on social media skills, I looked at how to get started. In part two, we’re going to examine the four big questions you need to answer.

Who are you going to connect with?
Where are they to be found online?
Why do you want to connect with them?
Why would other people want to connect with you?

Who are you going to connect with?

Prospects
Look for people with common interests to your target market and start interacting online in those circles - for example:

10 strategies to achieve your business breakthrough: Part two

Dan Martin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:16:04 +0000

In the second of four articles, Dan Sullivan, founder and president of entrepreneurial coaching company, Strategic Coach, reveals the key strategies that enable business owners to break free from the complexities which limit the growth of their company. To read part one in the series, click here.

Stress in the workplace. What can you do?

EverydayHR — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:58:54 +0000

So stress is now the most common reason given for employee sickness absence. Are your employees getting stressed? What is stress anyway? As with all people related matters, it's not straightforward. What stresses out one person is the kind of pressure that another person thrives on. Often it is a stressful situation at home that tips the balance when things are stressful at work as well.

Given these variables that employers don't have control over, what can you do to reduce stress in the workplace. Being able to access work systems, emails and messages 24/7 has added hugely to the problem. The more conscientious find it very difficult not to access systems when they are at home if things are busy at work. The competitive start sending emails at all times to see who sends the latest or earliest message and the workaholic is never off the system. None of these behaviours is healthy and no responsible employer would encourage them. Where has the idea that instant messages should have instant answers come from anyway?

Going from good to GREAT

Martin Robert Hall — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:52:45 +0000

I’ve been working with some fantastic coaches and leaders recently in business and sport and I have become aware of something very powerful.

The difference between being good and being GREAT.

What is the difference?

My insight may not be what you expect.

I have discovered that the difference between being good at something and being GREAT at something is quite small. Let me explain.

I am not saying that you only have to do a little bit more work or put in a little bit more effort to become great.

What I am saying is that the difference lies in the smallest of details.

Great athletes, great coaches, great leaders… they all focus on every small detail no matter how small as long as they believe it will help them and their people to improve.

And I believe that the difference lies in those individuals who are willing to pay attention to every small detail and apply what they learn no matter how small it seems.

It is this attention to detail that makes the difference.

It is a mindset ultimately.

Plumbing and carpentry will save 'rotten' education system, says entrepreneur

Natalie Brandweiner — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:59:02 +0000

As the government today announced it will axe subjects such as nail technology and horse care from school league tables, one entrepreneur has called for greater recognition of traditional trades.

More than 3,100 vocational qualifications regarded as equivalent to GCSEs are to be cut out of the school league tables, ministers said.

According to the government, the inclusion of such qualifications, which also includes fish husbandry and travel and tourism, has caused "perverse incentives" for schools to count them towards their legal table results.

The changes follow last year's government-backed review of the vocational training system by Professor Alison Wolf, who said performance tables encouraged schools to offer "inadequate qualifications".

Are All Automated Call Services Dull and Frustrating? Don't Bank On It!

andyhanselman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:08:24 +0000

One of the biggest customer service frustrations is automated phone systems. Let’s be honest, very few of us enjoy dealing with them… press 1 for this… press 2 for that….la la la….. your call is important to us (honest!)….. In fact, it is often highlighted (by me and others!) as the most frustrating thing when dealing with a business!

Well, here’s a great story of overcoming that from Norway, and amazingly it’s from a bank! Apparently the Norwegian bank DNB sponsors the Norwegian Broadcasting Boy’s Choir and in December they got them to sing the call options, and balances when you rang them!

The impact was amazing and the result was over 2 million calls to the phone line in December – the population of Norway is only 4.9 million!