I Have A Dream

Are you in the early stages of building your empire?

Before you sit down and put pen to paper to write your first business plan then you need to have one thought in mind

THINK BIG!

There are no limits to your business (well apart from the ones that other people put in front of you)

Do you think Martin Luther King had any doubts when he delivered his “I have a Dream” speech? 

Did Ray Kroc believe that after meeting Dick and Mac McDonald back in 1948 he was thinking small?

These inspirational figures had vision, the kind of vision that is mocked by others, and yes you too will be ridiculed by even the closest people in your life.

The moment YOU stop believing in your dream and accept things for the way they are, that will be the way they stay.

As Winston Churchill once said 

Who is your Business Yoda?

Everyone starting out in business needs help, you don’t always know how to access the answers that believe it or not you probably “already know”. 

Allow me to explain:-

I hate business consultants with a passion, But Why?

The reason is not them but me,  I would get frustrated that all they seemed to do is take stuff that I “already knew” put it in a report and sell it back to me.

That’s the key, you do “already know” most of the answers, the trouble is that you don’t always believe what you tell yourself!

This is sometimes called a  “gut feeling” or “intuition”

What you don’t need to do is spend hundreds of pound that you don’t have paying a fee earning Business Consultant. There is another way; I call them Business Yoda’s (just because its sounds cool).

Where do you find your Yoda?

Well believe it or not they are everywhere, Networking groups, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn or even in the local pub, you don’t need to crash your X-Wing fighter into a swamp to find yours.

You’re looking for people who understand who you are and what you’re trying to achieve, they don’t need to understand your business, they just need to know how to run one.

Take the softly softly approach with them, find out more about them, join there circles, follow them on social media.  Get them to like you and more importantly find out if you like them! if you don't, find another one. 

Over time speak about your business and the problems you are facing, if they start to respond and give you sound advice, then guess what , you are on your way to becoming a Jedi Knight as you may have just found your Yoda. There are also no rules on how many Yoda’s you can have.

How Do You Stay Positive

How Do You Stay Positive

We all know that starting a business from scratch is no easy task. (and if you didn’t you soon will). Business owners often experience stress far beyond the pressures of a normal job.

Often it’s very difficult to continually remain positive, to keep the belief that one day this will all be worth it.

I’d love to get some feedback from other on how YOU stay positive so that other can benefit on what works for you.

I’ll start you off with my favourite:

Stay away from negative people, they will bring you down. You know the type, the ones that complain about everybody else, and the ones that think they could do it better than you but never try!

STAY AWAY from the people who don’t believe in YOU

Please add your advice in the comments box so we can share them with others

Copycat Marketing

“I’ve done it….yes, I finally work for myself”

Remember that feeling? 

You may also remember the feeling of once being the best at what you do?

You were the best hairdresser, electrician, web designer or retail manager. You know you are that’s why you once said those magic oh so life changing words…….

“I could do this better than my boss”

You must have uttered those words once or at least something like it. You are the best at what you do and that’s why you are now doing it for yourself, and hey, so you should.

The problem most start-up businesses realize very early is that you might be the best hairdresser, electrician, web designer or retail manager, but you don’t know diddley squat about marketing!!

This is when it happens; this is when most start-ups make that first critical error,

“Let’s see what everyone else does, and copy them”. 

 If it works for them surely it will work for you, right?

Let me ask you a question,

When you sat down to write your first business plan whether it was a 10 page manuscript or on the back of a cigarette packet, did you mention that you would strive to be the same as everybody else?

That you would offer the same poor level of service as everyone else? That you would charge the same, look the same or even give yourself the same name? 

Of course you didn’t (if you did then close your business today and go get a job).

You started your business because you knew you could do it better than the rest.

We wouldn’t want to be different would we? What if somebody notices!!!

Try to be a bit different but whatever you do, don’t do nothing and bury your head in the sand.

One result I can promise you is that you will always get NOTHING from doing NOTHING. 

We don’t need fee earning Business Consultants

Business Consultants and why we hate them!!

A Business consultant will borrow your watch to tell you the time, then walk off with your watch.
If you’re just starting out in business I have some important advice for you………..
YOU DO NOT NEED A BUSINESS CONSULTANT!!!

What if you couldn't fail?

What if you couldn’t FAIL?
Just imagine, you get up in the morning with the same excitement you have every day.
You look around the office and with a smug look on you face you say to yourself “I did this”
Now imagine the possibilities without FEAR?
You have great ideas every day, you visualise the possibilities of where your business COULD go.
And then it hits you like a sledge hammer, what if I F*** it up and it all goes wrong?  What if this?  what if that?  Can I pull it off?  What will people think of me?
Now, the little voice in your head is driving you crazy because the little voice is starting to make sense, and the voice in your head is given you the biggest problem we all face…..DOUBT.
My question to you, and a simple question it is at that. WHAT WOULD YOU DIFFERENT IF YOU KNEW YOU COULDN’T FAIL?
Entrepreneur is a word that is used far too often to describe a business owner. Anyone can start a business and anyone can call them self an Entrepreneur, however the real test is how we deal with the FEAR FACTOR.
Do we
A:  Give ourselves reasons not to?
B:  Not even consider option A
Fear is merely an emotion that can be controlled

Bad News – you have a bucket list!!

The creation of a Bucket List is an admission that you failed yourself in your life.
You spend your life wanting more, wishing you had e done more and then, bad news knocks on the door. Your life expectancy stopwatch is drawing to its climax and you panic and start to have regrets.
Why wait for the Grim Reaper to give you a wakeup call, why wait, why wait, why wait. 
If you are remotely like me, and you believe that you only have one chance at life, then why would you spend half of it wishing you could have done more?
Do something NOW
Before you decide to throw caution to the wind and grab your life savings, leave your significant other and abandon your kids, STOP. You lost the chance to do things rash a long time ago.
Now you have more commitments in life you’ll need to do things slightly different!
We need to have a plan.
I know………. that all sounds a bit business consultancy like, but believe me my previous
Blog on “We don’t need fee earning Business Consultants” may explain what I think of them!!. All I mean by planning is, have a beginning, middle and the most importantly an END.
DON’T Justify the Bucket List when the time comes.