Last weekend I gave this spontaneous inspirational Speech…

It wasn’t planned it just came out of me.

People REALLY liked it though and I got literally hundreds positive comments.

Here is the link, I strongly recommend watching it now as it’s only 2 mins:

After watching I would love to know what you think??

Please post your comments on the website and if you feel so inclined share it with others.

Receiving small business tips from an expert on how to become a great entrepreneur is like giving you, a business owner, a present on Christmas Day. Unwrap this present in this snapshot from an interview between Dale Beaumont and Trevor Choy. The key is to not just unwrap it and stare at the gift, but to put this gift to use and allow yourself to become a great entrepreneur.

Trevor Choy is the Managing Director of Choy Lawyers, recently voted Australias #1 Intellectual Property Law firm.

What are your top tips for becoming a great entrepreneur?

Model success – There are many successful people out there. When you take the time to study the steps they have taken you’ll be inspired and motivated. You’ll also learn what they did wrong, so that you don’t make the same mistakes and have to suffer through the same experiences.

Pay suppliers on time wherever you can and keep them loyal – Suppliers are invaluable and the last thing you want to do is cross them. Make sure you make them feel like there is a real partnership – you will regret it if they start helping out your competition.

Be prepared to sacrifice other aspects of your life for success – Success does not come easily, and often, it comes at the expense of other activities in your life. You may need to put some of your other hobbies and interests on hold for a while.

Treat your staff better than your competitors treat theirs ¬- Your staff are the key component of your business. You need to treat them as equals; happy staff create happy customers. If your staff are genuinely passionate about their work, people can sense that.

Build a brand – Brand names build loyalty and recognition, which leads to greater market share and growth in the industry. Building a brand creates an identity for your product and ensures that people have an image of what makes your company different.

Keep a record of all your business undertakings – Legal disputes are resolved by a judge who assesses evidence. Written evidence carries much more weight than oral evidence, so having a witness to something is generally of little use. It is much better to have a good diary note, or better still, a written agreement. Make sure that you have a record of all business and financing deals to ensure ‘protectability’. It’s also good to have a stringent record of everything in your business so that you know what you have done and what you need to do.

Fore more on Small Business Tips and this interview check out Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!

A formula is a method used in order to achieve something – to succeed. Wouldn’t it be great to know the formula to grow your business to its fullest potential? Brad Sugars shares with Dale Beaumont the five ways to grow your business. Apply this formula to your business and watch it grow!

Brad Sugars is Chairman of Action International, currently the 16th fastest growing franchise in the World and World #1 Business Coaching Company.

You say that there are only five ways to grow a business. What are they?

That’s right. Most people that come to one of our Action coaches generally want three things – more customers, increased turnover and higher profits. However, you can’t change those things on their own because they are simply the result of other factors in the formula.

So here are the five ways to grow a business:

1. LEADS
(prospects or potential customers)
X
2. CONVERSION RATES
(the difference between those that could have bought and those that did)
=
CUSTOMERS
(the number of different customers you deal with)
X
3. NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS
(the average number of times each customer bought from you that year)
X
4. AVERAGE DOLLAR SALE PRICE
(the average price of the item you sell)
=
TOTAL REVENUE
(the total sales of the business)
X
5. MARGINS
(the percentage of each sale that is profit)
=
PROFIT
(something every business owner wants more of)

It’s important that you work at improving each of these five areas simultaneously. If you don’t, it’s a bit like going to the gym and only working the muscles in your right arm for one month, then the muscles in your left leg for the next month. It doesn’t make any sense.

Fore more on Small Business Growth and this interview check out Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!

Knowing and understanding the secret ingredient to business success may very well be that one thing that you need in order to continue on in your journey and attain that success you desire. Find out why P.A.S.S.I.O.N is the key to business success in this snippet of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Wayne Burgan.

Wayne Burgan is the creator of the book-keeping software Cashflow Manager who has served on the Public Practice Committee, the South Australian Small Business Committee, and the Small Business Centre of Excellence for CPA Australia.

What is the most important thing you have learnt about succeeding in business?

I am often asked to speak at business meetings and my presentation is usually called ‘The Secret Ingredient of Every Successful Business’. It is based on an idea I once heard in a message by the National Director of Youth for Christ, Tim Brown, when he was talking about a successful life.

And what is that secret ingredient? Passion. Passion is the most important thing for succeeding in business – but there’s more to it than just passion.

P is for ‘Purpose‘ – your purpose gives you direction and stops you from throwing in the towel when everything becomes overwhelming. To use business jargon, your purpose includes your vision and mission, which is another way of defining your reason for being. Having passion and purpose allows you to plan knowing that you have the direction and the zeal to make it happen.

A is for ‘Attitude’ – Jim Rohn says, ‘It is your philosophy, not the economy that determines your level of success’. When I had the privilege of hearing Michael Gerber (the author of The E-Myth) speak he used a saying that I have never forgotten: ‘The fish stinks from the head down’. As the leader of your business, your attitude toward obstacles, opportunities, risk, customers, staff, suppliers, honesty, integrity and hard work will reflect throughout the culture of your business.

S is for ‘Service’ – the Bible says to be great you must be a servant (Matthew 20:26), and it is the same for business. After consulting with businesses about what makes them different from their competitors they often say that it is their service. However, the truth is that the general standard of service in Australia is not very good, so businesses that can provide exceptional service will always stand out from the pack. I believe this is where a passionate small business has a huge opportunity over larger companies.

S is for ‘Sow’ – I think it is very important to continue learning and to then implement what you have learnt. You reap what you sow, and what you sow today determines your results for tomorrow. It is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind of doing the business but it is essential to set time aside for when you work on developing your business. The Pareto Principle (otherwise known as the 80/20 rule) applies here too. Only about 20 per cent of people are interested in learning how to improve themselves and their businesses, and I estimate that only about 5 per cent actually implement what they learn. But if you are in that 5 per cent this gives you a huge advantage over your competitors.

I is for ‘Incentive’ – the financial rewards of a successful business are an obvious incentive, but so is the value you add to others when you have passion and purpose.

O is for ‘Ownership’ – everyone is looking for someone else to blame. Accept responsibility so you make an impact. If you don’t have a go, you’ll never know. And if things don’t go right all the time, accept responsibility, learn from it and move on. I think it was President Truman who had a notice on his desk saying, ‘The Buck Stops Here’. Good advice!

N is for ‘Never give up’ – succeeding in business requires an overdose of persistence. A small business owner undergoes pressures that others would not even imagine. Develop an immunity to criticism and an unshakable belief that you will succeed.

For more info on Secret Ingredient to Business Success and this interview check out Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!

As budding country or rural entrepreneurs, the beginnings of business building can be slightly overwhelming, especially if you want to begin this journey outside of your own backyard. In this snapshot of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Phil Anderson discover some golden nuggets of advice on how to achieve success in your business, no matter where you come from.

Claiming he would be a millionaire by the time he was 30, Phil has kept to his word. He has just opened his 20th Five Star Fitness Centre, and he is also diversifying into other markets and opportunities.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur from a country or rural area?

For any budding entrepreneur, especially country or rural entrepreneurs, my advice is do not let your conditioned beliefs hold you back!

I often use the example of ‘the flea in the box‘ when I’m giving presentations to demonstrate this advice. That is, if you place a flea in a box it will jump up and down hitting its head on the lid of the box. Sooner or later the flea will get sick of hitting its head and stop short of the lid. If you take the lid off the box, the flea will still continue to jump up and down at the same height because it believes it will never get out of the box.

Unfortunately, there are some people who have been conditioned just like the flea. They believe they will never be wealthy, never have amazing relationships, and will therefore never dare to have amazing goals and dreams.

What is worse is when people step out of the box but get pulled back in by people in their life. I even see people climb back into the box themselves because they feel they are outgrowing or losing their friends.

You need to understand that being an entrepreneur is not normal and if you have read this much of this book you are probably either already outside of the box or very ready to get out. Your next step is vital.

My suggestion would be to surround yourself with great books and empowering people, and use these positive sources to counteract the negative influences in your life. If you are serious about becoming a truly great entrepreneur, commit yourself to personal development and continue to grow daily. Your success hinges on your self-belief, so don’t worry about what everyone else believes.

We only have one true goal in life and that is to become everything we are destined to be. We must choose to shine as brightly as we can, not so we steal attention from others, but so that other people behind us can see the way.

My aim is to create a path for my children and all the other people I come into contact with, so they too can create the lives that they dare to dream about.

For more of this interview and Rural Entrepreneurs check out Secrets of Entrepreneurs Under 40!

If you need tips on how to develop a small business, you’ve come to the right place. This is your chance to learn from the best of the best. Discover seven top tips on how to develop a great small business in this fraction of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Wayne Burgan.

Wayne Burgan is the creator of the book-keeping software Cashflow Manager who has served on the Public Practice Committee, the South Australian Small Business Committee, and the Small Business Centre of Excellence for CPA Australia.

What are your top tips for developing a great small business?

1. There are four primary functions in a business and you must provide adequate focus on all four: leadership and direction; marketing and sales; product or service fulfillment; and administration and finance.

2. Delight your customers. Focus on their needs rather than on getting them to accept what you have to offer. Surveys show that most customers change suppliers because of the perception that their current supplier doesn’t care about them. So focus on delighting them.

3. Get good people around you. This applies to mentors and mastermind groups - people with experience from whom you can learn, gather ideas and fast-track your success. It also applies to your advisers and to the people you employ as your business grows.

4. Be continually working on your business. It is easy to get so focused on the demands of delivering products and services that we ignore the other elements of building the business. Allocate time to work on things such as your marketing, strategic direction, planning, and both personal and business growth.

5. Learn and implement. We received an email from a client recently thanking us because their average contract had increased from $3,000 to $30,000, and they had grown from a one-man operation to seven employees as a result of a marketing book we had sent them. The difference between them and everyone else who received the same information and didn’t experience similar results was that they implemented the information they received. Knowledge without implementation is just knowledge. Knowledge plus implementation equals unbelievable results.

6. Make sure that you have passion and all that entails from what I have discussed before.

7. Remember that your business is a means to an end, not an end in itself. To be successful in business you need to lead a balanced life so don’t become so absorbed in your business that it becomes your life and everything else falls down around you.

For more info on 7 Top Tips on How to Develop a Small Business and this interview check out Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!

If you are in the decision phase of whether or not to take the step of owning your own business, this success tip is for you. There is a lot of “information” out there as to why you shouldn’t own your own business, but let’s take a different look at it and find out what the benefits would be if you were a business owner. Find out four major benefits from someone who was once in your shoes in this segment of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Suzi Dafnis.

Suzi was the founder of Pow Wow Events, a company distributes books and other learning products, and occupies more than 50% of the market in the personal finance, personal development and business skills segment. Having now sold that company, she is the director of the Australian Business Women’s Network.

What do you think are some of the major benefits of having your own business?

Being as passionate as I am about business, I am sure I could easily write a whole book on this question alone. However, here’s a quick summary of what I think are four of the main benefits of business ownership.

1. You get to think differently – I remember in 1998 Apple launched its ‘Think Different’ campaign. Its ads featured a montage of people such as Albert Einstein, Richard Branson, Amelia Earhart, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Picasso, and the voiceover said: ‘They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward’.

In other words, they change the world. That’s the way I feel about business. By daring to build your own business you are forced to think differently, and by doing so you touch the lives of thousands, or possibility even millions, of people.

2. You get to be your own boss – One of the main reasons I decided to start my own business was because I don’t like limits, rules or being told what to do. That’s my nature; I think it is in every entrepreneur’s nature! In most jobs, regardless of how senior your role is, or how hard you work, you’re expected to be somewhere at some time, and do something in exchange for a defined pay-cheque at the end of the week, fortnight or month.

I started my own business so that I could have the freedom to create my life just the way I wanted it. Today, as my own boss I work harder (much harder) than I did when I was an employee, but I love it! The good thing is that I work because I choose to, not because I have to, and when I want time off, I take it. It’s a great feeling.

3. No glass ceiling and no ladders to climb – Another upside of entrepreneurship, especially for women, is that there is no glass ceiling and there is no corporate ladder. No one can put a cap on your earning potential and you don’t have to play politics just to keep your job.

Business doesn’t care about your past, whether you’re a man or a woman, your age or your background, it doesn’t have prejudice – it is just a creative process and anyone can use business as a vehicle to obtain their own sovereignty.

4. The alchemy of business – With business you have the power to create something out of nothing. First there is an idea, then you add your knowledge, time, money and intention – and suddenly, you have a new ‘something’. That’s magic.

I believe business is the ultimate creative endeavour. I’ve often thought that I’m not using my creativity, until I check in and remember that there was once nothing and now there are hundreds of thousands of people with experiences that resulted from something I created. It’s very humbling.

For more on the Major Benefits to Owning Your Own Business and this interview check out Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!

Understanding the keys to business success is a necessary strategy that will propel you and your business into a future of success. No one said it would be an easy journey, but it is something that is worth attaining, and the attainment of it can be within your grasp. Discover six keys to business success direct from a CEO of a multi-million dollar company in this fraction of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Sue Whyte.

Sue is the CEO of Intimo Lingerie, a multi-million dollar company in the direct sales industry. It has over 50 staff and more than 1,000 consultants across Australia and New Zealand.

What are the most important things you have learnt about succeeding in business?

I have learnt six key values over the years:

• Keep your customers happy – If you have a happy customer you will have a customer for the long term. The quality of customer service is just as important as the quality of the product. Our customers are happy because they have a beautiful, exclusive product, they receive individual and personalised attention from their consultant, and efficient processing and delivery of their orders. Our product is unique and the service they receive is genuine, caring and professional throughout the entire experience. Our consultants are not only attentive at the time of purchase, they also follow-up to make sure that customers are satisfied and happy with their purchases. I often receive letters from customers who were delighted with their consultant and their purchasing experience. Your customers are the most important part of your business because without them there is no business. Give them reasons to be loyal and satisfied.
• Surround yourself with people who share the vision – You must surround yourself with people who share the same vision and passion as you. I could not have built my dream company without my loyal staff by my side, many of whom have been working for Intimo since the beginning. Good people are a company’s greatest asset and it is important to retain the right people. Communicate regularly and get to know your people. Understand their needs and their lives outside the office – get to know their partner’s and children’s names, and find out what’s important to them. Everyone’s needs are slightly different so it’s important to care about them as individuals, not just as someone doing a job.
• Delegation - Don’t be afraid to delegate. Trying to do everything yourself will inhibit the potential of your business. Learning to delegate and become more selective of what I devoted my time to removed what was holding me back – and it also empowered my staff. Delegating demonstrates trust and gives everyone a sense of ownership of the organisation. It is also a key to managing growth. As a business owner, it can be difficult to let go of ‘your baby’ and trust others to treat it with the same level of care and understanding. This comes down to making sure that you employ the right people. If you don’t let go, the business will never realise its true potential.
• Transparency – Make sure your staff has a very clear understanding of what you are about and what you are trying to achieve. By engaging them and collaborating you are taking them on the journey with you, not for you.
• Commitment - Never lose sight of what you believe in and never give up. Absolute commitment and determination mixed with an ability to always see the positive is vital. Try not to dwell on the negative. If a difficult situation arises, always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel. None of us is perfect and unexpected things do happen. It’s okay to make a mistake as long as you don’t lose your focus. Deal with it, learn from it and move on.
• Treat the business like a marriage - “You need to take as much care when selecting a business partner as you would in choosing a life partner”, and you need to constantly work on developing that relationship. Never take it for granted. Nothing can stall an organisation faster than a deteriorating business partnership.

For more info on Keys to Business Success  and this interview check out Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!


]]> http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/six-keys-to-business-success/feed/ 0 http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/the-importance-of-a-business-coach-or-mentor/ http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/the-importance-of-a-business-coach-or-mentor/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2012 06:05:33 +0000 BusinessBlueprint http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/?p=4102

Not many businessmen and women know the incredible value and importance of a business coach or mentor. For starters they are someone from the outside looking in, a new and varying perspective that can bring new ideas and new ways of thinking. Find out more on the importance of business coaches in this snippet from an interview between Dale Beaumont and Joshua Nicholls.

Joshua Nicholls is the owner of Platinum Electrical Contractors, which in just four years has experienced a growth of 790%. From it’s humble beginnings, Platinum Electrical has now grown to have over 30 employees and has been a finalist and won many small business awards.

Why do you believe that having a business coach or mentor is important? How have they helped you?

Having a coach or mentor is really important because they are an independent sounding board with business experience and great wisdom. A coach is not a consultant who comes into your business and tells you what to do or does it for you. Rather, a coach spends time listening to where you’re at in your business and then initiates discussions to facilitate problem solving and strategic planning.

This concept was a little hard to get my head around at first, I couldn’t believe that I was paying a lot of money to do all the work myself. However, the ‘coaching’ technique is definitely invaluable because it is not the quick fix that many consultants who come in and out of your business in a hurry usually provide. Instead, coaching forces you to think and learn for yourself – the first-hand knowledge acquisition and personal development lasts for a lifetime. I have found that you cannot grow your business without first growing yourself.

When I started my business I was definitely an experienced electrician but I had no real idea about running a business. Eighteen months along and working almost 90 hours a week, I employed the services of a business coach and have never looked back.

The best thing about a coach or mentor is that they keep you accountable to your vision. Often as a small business owner you can get caught working in your business and not spending enough time working on it and moving toward your business goals. Having weekly or even fortnightly meetings with a coach forces you to take a few hours out to specifically think about your business and where it’s heading.

Although taking this time out is extremely important, small business owners often say they are too busy and don’t prioritise it. This is dangerous and small business owners often don’t meet their goals because they don’t spend enough time strategically planning. This is where coaches keep you accountable and regularly challenge you on your progress.

I have also found that having a coach can stop you from learning the hard way and making big mistakes. Because I have listened to the words of wisdom of other people, it has allowed me to progress quickly without too many deterrents as a result of making wrong choices.

Fore more info on The Importance of a Business Coach or Mentor and this interview check out Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!


]]> http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/the-importance-of-a-business-coach-or-mentor/feed/ 0 http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/tips-to-increase-media-coverage-and-your-and-exposure/ http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/tips-to-increase-media-coverage-and-your-and-exposure/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2012 05:53:43 +0000 BusinessBlueprint http://www.businessblueprint.com.au/?p=4098

Getting great media coverage can do wonders for your company, however it comes down to knowing exactly how to increase media coverage. There are so many possible stories out there, so what is it about your company that will be a winner? Find out some great tips on how to increase your media profile and exposure in this segment of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Justine Herald.

In-demand corporate and public speaker. Founder of Attitude Clothing, a multi-million dollar company he started with only 50 bucks.

What are some of the tips you can give people about how they can increase their media profile or exposure?

The best advice is to think about why the media would want to do a story on you. The reason they would do a story on me is because I have a story behind the story – the fact that I started with $50 is what the media like, what I started is totally irrelevant to them, it’s the whole emotional angle that they want.

So they might do a story on who you are, why you started the company and what your product is, but the product itself is of no interest to them. So if you have a story behind your story, I’d be getting that out there.

When it comes to talking to the media, I don’t talk about my products that much. They do, but I don’t, because the minute I do they start thinking, ‘Hang on, he’s just after a big product plug here’. I don’t want them to think that so I talk about other stuff, I’ll talk about people in business these days and I’ll go on about other people and then they’ll always come back with, ‘As Justin has done with Attitude gear… and his t-shirts say this… and this shirt is sold in this place…’ And I think that’s wonderful.

I use the media as part of my marketing plan. I’ve never spent a single cent on advertising in nine years and I never will because the media has done it for me. I manipulate the media, in the nicest possible way.

Fore more Tips on How to Increase Media Coverage: Your Profile and Exposure and this interview check out  Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!


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