how to spot if you don’t know you:

-being self critical,
-not believing yourself to be good enough,
-playing small,
-believing others know better and abdicating your own personal power,
-beating yourself up,
-not asking for help,
-not asking for what you need and want,
-playing the blame game,
and so on, the evidence list is long.

I often talk about the need to get to know and like yourself but how do you know when you don’t?

My Journey

I will always remember the beginning of my own journey.  When we first started working together my coach told me:  “When you change, your whole life will change”.  At the time I had no idea what he meant but now, of course, I know this to be absolutely true and it starts with becoming more self-aware.

Over the years he held up the mirror to enable me to see how I was creating the reality I protested I didn’t want.  One of the biggest insights came a couple of years ago when I was on a personal development workshop and was asked “which part of you do you want to forgive?” and, without thinking, the words that came out of my mouth were:  “the part of me that doesn’t believe I’m worthy of love”.  As shocked as I was to hear myself say that, I could not deny the truth of it when I looked at my relationships – pretty much all of them, both my friendships and my marriage.

Take Notice

The question I’m often asked is this:  “how do I become more self-aware?”

The answer is “by noticing what you do that works for you and what you do that doesn’t.”

What are you thinking, feeling, saying or doing that causes you to feel great or bad about yourself? How do your thoughts make you feel? How do your feelings make you act? How do people react and respond to you?  Why might that be? To what extent are they responding to how you’re being? Be honest with yourself; don’t play “the innocent bystander.” Ask yourself, “To what extent do I influence the tone of my relationships?

Put it in writing

Start a journal and record it all.  Also record memories, ideas, insights.  Over time you will begin to see patterns and habits, you will become aware of unconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviours that influence the quality of your life.  You will no longer operate on automatic pilot like a hamster on a wheel.  Only then will you be in a position to start making positive changes.

Change your mind

How does the interpretation of something nobody can change affect their state of mind?

The truth is that the quality of your thoughts fundamentally affects how you experience your reality.
Change the quality of your thoughts and instantly your reality changes and with that, your emotional state.

Take the weather, for example.  Some people complain that it’s horrible out there, grey, windy, rainy.  On the other hand, if they’re a gardener or a farmer then rain is great!
The circumstances are exactly the same: it’s grey and rainy but some people interpret this as miserable and others as a blessing.

Here are a couple of other questions you can ask yourself:

• “How do I contribute to those aspects of my life I keep complaining about?”
• “When I look in the mirror, do I really know who that person is?  Do I know what she stands for, what really matters to her, what her needs and wants are, what is genuinely true for her, what her heart calls her to do and be?”

Getting to really know yourself is a process.

We hide our true selves behind a whole host of masks in order to be liked, to be accepted, to fit in.

Here are some more questions you can ask yourself:

• How do you believe people expect you to be – as a person? As a friend? As a professional? As a partner?  As a woman?
• More importantly, how do you expect yourself to be?
• How do you expect other people to be? (and why do they so often fail to meet your expectations?)
• Do you ever wonder why they treat you the way they do? Do you wish it were different?

Becoming more self-aware is not just about knowing what you should say or do in any particular situation. It’s about your values, beliefs and expectations about who you really are, what you really deserve, what it is OK to expect.

Unfortunately, we are regularly assaulted by limiting beliefs that keep us playing small, holding back, believing we are helplessly at the mercy of others, even Life itself without even being aware of it.   This journey requires commitment to yourself, not like one of those New Year resolutions that fizzle out in weeks but genuine commitment.  You deserve nothing less.

But, before you can begin to shed any of your masks, you first need to identify them which comes about through the process of becoming more self-aware. Letting go of your habitual values and beliefs, thoughts and feelings – the ones that no longer serve you – takes courage but there is no other way.

Becoming more self-aware is not just realising what you say and do that’s not working for you but also identifying your limiting beliefs about what kind of life it is possible for you to have.

But it’s not only the self limiting areas of your life you need to become aware of. You also need to notice what you do that actually does work for you so you can consciously continue doing more of the same.

Becoming more self-aware is the first step to begin to shed your masks, layer by layer to become authentic so you can finally stand tall in the world.

Do you empathise with how Sandra feels? Have you felt this way before? Do feel this way currently? Well it’s all to do with the tale of 2 Circles and which one of these circles we choose to see the world from.

I’d like to offer this article as a love letter to Stephen Covey’s Circle of Concern, Circle of Influence Theory. This powerful concept which he graced the world with in the late 1980’s is still one of the most effective ways of living a full & empowered life. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989, Stephen comments;

“Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their circle of influence to increase.”

Stephen’s theory demonstrates how in life we tend to operate in either our Circle of Concern or in our Circle of Influence.

How we think, feel and behave in these Circles differs dramatically and has a profound impact upon our lives, our careers, and not to mention our moods!

Circle of Concern

This is where we focus on the things that concern us but that we don’t have any control over. When focusing our time, thoughts & energy in this circle, we are being reactive to what is happening to us and our attitude and behaviour will be negative. This allows the things that we are worried about to begin to control us and so all of a sudden a small Concern Cloud turns into a Concern Cyclone!

Circle of Influence

This is where we focus on what we can do about the things that worry us. Here we are being proactive and opt for spending our energy on controlling the controllables. Another key aspect of operating in our Circle of Influence is that we find a way of accepting the things that we cannot control. Letting go of trying to control these things is liberating in itself and can instantly make us feel better and more able to cope. Another bonus to focusing on what we can positively & pro-actively do is that by the law of nature this actually increases the level of influence we have. There’s something about sending out positive energy that helps us to attract the outcome that we want, to make things go our way. So all in all operating in our Circle of Influence is a winning formula for tackling what makes us feel worried and stressed.

Are you investing wisely?

As soon as we begin to feel low or vulnerable whether in relation to our personal or professional life, a powerful question to ask ourselves is: “Which Circle am I investing my time in?” The proportion of the time you are spending in your Circle of Concern will correlate to how you feel and what results you are experiencing.

For example, imagine you are going to an important meeting which could lead to a lucrative business deal. Which focus do you typically take?

• Concern Focus - You become overly preoccupied with what the other party will think of you. You spend hours fretting whether they will like you and want to do business with you. “Will they think my services are good enough?”, “Will they think I’m good enough?”.

• Result – Your feelings of anxiety are heightened both leading up to and during the meeting. This means you find it hard to think clearly and relax which affects your preparation and delivery. You walk away from the whole process feeling disappointed in yourself and this conclusion feeds your feelings of anxiety as to whether you and your business are worthy of success. You wonder whether they will call? You have a feeling they won’t…

• Influence Focus – You are aware that you need to make a good impression but realise that no matter how much preparation you put in or how hard you try, at the end of the day you cannot control what opinion they will form of you. You can just be the best of who you are. Rather than spending time worrying whether you will say what they want to hear, you spend time instead on a) creating an innovative way of promoting your business that you will enjoy delivering, b) boosting your ‘mojo’ by doing the things that make you feel good & relaxed.

• Result – You enter the meeting feeling relaxed. You turn any nervous energy into excitement as you’re looking forward to showcasing your services. You are thinking clearly and are ‘on form’. You walk away from the meeting feeling proud of yourself and your business. You wonder whether they will call? You have a feeling they will…

We can trick ourselves into thinking that by focusing on our concerns we are somehow more equipped to avoid pain. In fact the reality is that by focusing on our concerns too much, we take ourselves further away from the outcome we want and closer to the outcome we don’t want. It is true that we create what we focus on. What are you focusing on and what are you creating as a result?

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”       Henry Ford

Tackling Your Concerns

A good way of clearing our minds from the concern chatter and taking a good look at what is happening is the age old method of getting it all down on paper. This allows you to see the fire wood (things that you cannot control) from the fur trees (things that you have direct control upon).

Step 1 – Perform a Worry Workout

• Take a piece of paper and write “I’m worried about….” in the middle
• Then around this, write down everything that is worrying you right now
• Once you’ve written everything down take a highlighter and highlight all of the concerns that you have control over.

It is in these highlighted areas where you can invest your time, attention and action wisely within. The remainder that you haven’t highlighted fall into your Circle of Concern and that is all you can expect from focusing on them, just more concern. It is sensible to find a way of letting go of trying to control these things because no matter what you do you can’t/don’t have control. So why waste your precious time & happiness on worrying about them?

Step 2. – Put Your Circle of Influence Hat On

Now that you have identified the worries that you can focus on and those which you can let go of, put your Circle of Influence Hat on and make a plan for how you are going to transform how you feel and create the results you want. Look at each of the highlighted areas and ask yourself:

• What can I do about this?
• What can I let go of worrying about here?
• What will help me create the result I want with this?
• How will I spend my time on this from now on?
• How can I be more effective here?
• How can I make me feel better about this?

What does this exercise reveal for you? What are you going to do today? Just as importantly what are you going to let go of and stop doing today? It may help to invent a code word that you can say to yourself when you feel yourself stepping back into your Circle of Concern to give you the cue you need to jump back over the fence into your Circle of Influence.

That’s nearly all folks…

When we are overwhelmed by our concerns the dominant state we experience is a feeling of being out of control. By focusing on your Circle of Influence you begin to take control of your happiness and success and bring responsibility for these things back into your own hands piece by piece, step by step. Is it time you let that Cloud of Concern pass you by?

After all, you definitely have a clear vision for your life. And there’s little doubt as to what you want to achieve and experience, too.

Perhaps, more importantly, you have both the inspiration and the motivation to do whatever it takes to reach your goals and live your dreams. In fact, you’ve likely given everything you have in order to make them an actual, tangible reality.

So why, then, does your success remain stuck at the status quo level? And why, despite an apparently unwavering commitment to your dreams, do you find yourself struggling to create the results you want?

Unfortunately, the reason is as simple as it is uncomfortable to acknowledge—and you likely won’t like what you’re about to hear.

But the truth is, somewhere along your path to success you subconsciously stop yourself.

Yet the world outside looking in at you and at all that you are doing to “get there” would be none the wiser—which makes the truth so much more difficult to accept.

To complicate matters further, you not only lack the awareness that you are doing so, but the reason as to why, too. However, without this awareness, you don’t realize it’s merely a mindset, perspective or belief that is limiting your success—and nothing else. As a result, you’ll remain equally powerless to shift it until you do.

So what, then, is the solution?

First, you cultivate the awareness as to where and why you stop yourself from reaching your goal. Next, you shift the mindset, perspective or belief responsible for it.

What follows are four tips to help you to do just this and in the process, reclaim your success mojo:

1. Expect and embrace chaos.

Whenever you seek to step into a new level of success, this desire brings with it an often unexpected level of chaos as your world begins to rearrange itself to support your new life.

This means that whatever no longer supports your growth and continued success must leave your life in order to create space for the new. It’s a process, however, that temporarily creates an “in-between state” where your old life is leaving, but the new one has yet to materialize in any significant way.

As such, your life may feel empty, uncomfortable and unfamiliar—and without any apparent relief on the horizon. The good news, though, is that this also means you’ve not only stepped to the edge of your comfort zone, but to the edge of greater success, too.

However, it’s your lack of awareness of this in-between state combined with your fear of the unknown that turns this edge of success into a ledge of potential failure—and one from which you’d rather not fall.

Nonetheless, the temptation to retreat or to step away from the ledge back towards the perceived safety of your old life will be strong.  The best way, then, to navigate through this change is to expect and embrace the chaos.

Recognize it as a necessary and unavoidable step in the process. Begin to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, too. And when that ledge does appear, rather than step back or fall, you’ll fly.

2. Remember, even though you seek change and greater success, you simultaneously crave the safety and security from that which you are familiar.

Yet whenever the experience of status quo persists in your life, this means your desire for change and greater success is in direct conflict with a much stronger, and often hidden, need for safety and security. It’s this inherent need for one over the other that creates the impasse.

Thus, you must bring these hidden needs for safety and security to light and ultimately into your awareness. Doing so allows you to begin to identify possible solutions for meeting those needs and in a way that supports your forward movement toward your bigger dreams.

3. Become aware of your success “blind spots”.

There is a fundamental truth about life that few people ever consider in their pursuit of success. That truth is: If you have a thought or belief about something, you must also have the physical realization of this thought or belief in your life.

However, what you don’t realize is your current thoughts and beliefs often stem directly from something taught to you by your parents, your education system or your culture.

These thoughts then become the “rules” by which you live. They serve as the basis for determining what is or isn’t possible for you.

Eventually they morph into your success “blind spots.”

Not only will they halt your progress toward success, you will literally be unable to “see” the new, yet unfamiliar path you must follow to achieve your goals.

Thus, take a fresh look at your goals and dreams with this new understanding. Begin to identify the, perhaps, unspoken or unnamed rules blocking your success and keeping you stuck in the status quo.

Yet don’t just challenge the rules, break them too. Keep in mind as you do so, that if no one ever challenged the rules or what they were taught, the world would still be flat.

4. You’re pursuing an expectation or “should” rather than your actual dream.

When success remains ever elusive despite months or years of dedicated hard work, it often indicates that deep down inside you know you are not pursuing something you truly want to be, do or have.

This is especially true when you’re pursuit of a goal or dream is tied directly to your self-esteem, validation or lovability—or, in short, an attempt to live up to other’s expectations of you.

It takes courage to be honest with yourself about what you really want for your life and to acknowledge where your heart is pulling you toward, even if it is in an entirely different direction. As such, the only available option is to pursue this path.

There simply is no other way to truly step into greater success—and thus, reclaim your success mojo.

About The Author: In addition to being a Spiritual Renegade™, Jenny Boylan is an internationally known Success Mentor & Speaker. She teaches people how to think differently, so they can live abundantly and experience greater levels of success. For more information about her work, visit http://www.thespiritualrenegade.com or follow her on Twitter (JennyBoylan1)

The good news is that many small businesses are already applying the basic marketing principles without even thinking about it. To many marketing is largely advertising, selling and promotional activities but there will be other activities in the business that are an important part of the marketing mix which are carried out without the ‘marketing’ label.

For example, most businesses appreciate that they need to know their customers, and their customers’ needs, well. They also know that to stay in business they need to be able to satisfy those needs, as and when the customers require it, in a way that suits them. Finally all good businesses know that they can’t stay still and be complacent. In order to keep ahead of the competition they know that they have to develop existing and new products and services to keep the customers coming back.

The 7 Ps of Marketing

Successful marketing depends on addressing some key questions:

• What is the business offering and is there anyone out there that wants to pay good money for it?
• Realistically what should that price be?
• How is the business going to deliver the product or service to its customers?
• How will the business reach customers to let them know what’s available, what’s new etc.?

These are the traditional 4Ps of marketing – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion – but in addition there is also People, Process and Physical Evidence to make up a more complete 7Ps of marketing.

Product:

There’s no point in developing a business around a product or service that no-one wants. The market needs to be big enough to sustain the business and subsequent competition. Successful businesses start by finding out what the potential market wants and then develop the right level of product or service to suit. They stay successful by responding to customer feedback and developing products accordingly. Give them what they want not what you would like them to want. Don’t go over the top on quality if it’s not what is wanted – that’s not to say that it shouldn’t be the best it should be for the market. However, if all they really want is a Ford Fiesta don’t try to sell them a Ferrari.

Price:

Get your pricing right – look at the competition or comparable products/services if you’re not sure where to start. Your business could have the best product in the world but if it’s at a price that the customers are not prepared to pay for it it’s not going to sell. Also, too cheap can be as damaging as too expensive. The price has to match the perceived quality or the incongruity will lead to mistrust of the product, and ultimately the brand – if those gold watches you’re selling are ‘only £20’ customers might wonder at their authenticity and reliability.

Place:

Make it as easy as possible for customers to find and buy your product and pay particular attention to how they are presented – whether in a retail unit or online. Make sure they know that they can rely on your business to have whatever they need in stock, when they need it, and that it will be delivered when and where they want it.

At the same time control your inventory to make sure the business has the right things in stock and in the right place. Customer surveys show that many choose their suppliers, and keep them, on the basis of their delivery performance so it’s also important to make sure that the ‘purchase experience’ matches expectations. Everything that will be seen by the customer (including stationery, packaging, promotional materials and business environment) must reflect the quality of the brand.

Promotion:

It is not enough to ‘build it and they will come’. You need to remind your customers where you are, why they should care, and what’s in it for them if they come to you rather than the competition. Promotion includes most of the activities that many businesses associate with marketing – branding, advertising, PR, sales, exhibitions and special offers – all across online and offline platforms. In a highly competitive world your promotions need to grab the attention and get your customers interested enough to act in your favour.

People:

‘People buy people’ – something that is particularly true for services but is also true for products. The customer-facing people in your business have an impact on the customer experience so make sure that they are motivated, properly trained, and appreciate their role in marketing the business.

Process:

Customers are not generally interested in how you do business as long as it works for them but if it goes wrong they may not come back. Are your customers being kept in long queues – either physically or by telephone? Are they kept informed while they wait? Do they come away feeling valued even though there may have been an initial problem…? Excellent processes could help to keep your business ahead of the competition. If done well people will remember the positive customer service rather than the problem if something goes wrong.

Physical evidence:

Services are intangible but you can help potential customers to ‘get a feel for’ what you offer using case studies, which tell a story about what you do, backed up by testimonials from happy customers. This is an easy way to illustrate expertise and add the credibility that can help influence a purchase.

The 7Ps of marketing are the essential ingredients that make up the marketing mix and when combined they help businesses to successfully achieve their objectives.

About the author: Deborah Rowe, Consultant, Sheba Marketing

Deborah is a chartered marketer, member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and fellow of both the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing and the RSA. She has more than 20 years of solid marketing and communications experience which she puts to good use as principal consultant of Sheba Marketing.  Sheba Marketing provides no-nonsense business-to-business marketing support to small and medium-sized organisations that want to achieve great things. www.shebamarketing.co.uk

1. Be picky!

Over the years, I have become more selective about the projects I start. Now, I am more selective about what I start because I know I only have a limited amount of time to work. I would imagine the same is true for you. If fewer things make it to our list, we can focus on what’s important to us, instead of focusing on multiple things and not completing anything. Focusing on too many tasks can be overwhelming and can stop us from finishing what we start. You, your time and your energy are limited. You cannot do everything, and if you fill up your time with a list of to-do’s you might not do a good job, or you might not complete what is most important. Here, are some things to consider before adding another thing to your list. Is this project necessary? Is there another way this need can be met or fulfilled? Would you regret not doing this in 3 months, in a year, in 5 years?

2. Let passion drive the wheel

If you are passionate about a project, you are much more likely to finish what you start. When you are excited, and the project is important to you, there is a much greater chance that you will finish it! You are more likely to pick it up and are willing to work long and hard to finish what you have started. When you are passionate about something you want to complete it, because the ending is just important to you as the beginning. So before, you start a new project ask yourself, these three questions: Why is this important to me? I know I love the idea, but do I need to be the one to do it, or am I the supporting cast for someone else’s dream? Do I care enough about this project to make sure I see it through until it’s completed, no matter how long it takes?

3. Consider the cost, and decide if you can really pay it!

We all have tons of things we want to do, but all of them come at a cost. There is a cost in the beginning, and there is also a cost at the end. If this item is going to make it to your list, you have to be willing to make time to do it. Not just today, but until it is finished! Before you say yes to another thing on your calendar, think about that and think long and hard. You want to be able to finish what you start so you need to know when you are going to make time to start, maintain, and finish this project. What are you willing to give up to make sure that this project receives the time it deserves? Are you willing to give up television for a season of time? Are you willing to funnel resources in the direction of this project to get it completed? Will you get up early and stay up late do you can make it to the finish line? Will you say no to some of the things you enjoy so you can work harder and so you can focus on getting this project to the done column. If you are not willing to make time to finish the project, maybe it’s not the right time to start it. Think about the cost and make sure you are willing to pay it.

We can all stop quitting and become finishers, if we are willing to do what it takes to finish the projects we start. We would be amazed at what would happen if we say yes to the best and say no to the good. If we make sure that we are passionate about the things we start, and we consider the cost of every yes. When we are willing to pay the cost and work hard, we would all find that we have no problem finishing what we start.
By Aida J Ingram

About the Author: Aida Ingram, is the CEO of An Inspired You, a published author, Marketing strategist, and a Executive, Business and Life Coach. She believes people should BE their legacy, not just leave a Legacy. She specializes in business development, marketing, book writing, and bringing creative ideas to the marketplace. Please visit her website: http://www.aninspiredyou.com and check out her Facebook Fan Page, http://j.mp/y3xRVz. If you enjoyed this article, join my mailing list so that I can share giveaways, valuable tips, and information that will help you live the life you want and deserve.  http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aida_J_Ingram

Below is a checklist of what you should be thinking about to make sure your website is fit-for-purpose.

Do you even need a website?

If your target market has access to the internet and is likely to go online to find information on your company or what you do then yes, you should have a website.

What does your website need to do?

find new customers or markets?
communicate with current customers?
be a source of information?
sell your products/services, i.e. be an online shop?

Having a clear idea of what your website needs to achieve will make your website more relevant to your audience so it will be far more likely to deliver what you need it to.

Who are you aiming your website at?

Before you design your site or write any copy it is important to work out who you are targeting:

current customers?
potential customers?
stakeholders, e.g. staff, shareholders?
general public?
media?
children?

The design and copy should then be created around who you need to reach. For example, if your company sells children’s toys, then it should have a fun design and words, which will not necessarily appeal if your target market is OAPs!

What should your website look like?

Your website is your company’s shop window to the outside world – how it looks reflects how your company is perceived.

If you have a fun company and image then let your site reflect this with bright colours and fun images. If you want your company to be taken seriously, maybe you are a legal firm, then more sober colours and factual images will portray the appropriate image.

A good idea is to research your competitors and see what their websites look like. Are they all similar and you want to break out of this mould? Do they all feature the same type of information so you should to?

Does your home page grab attention?

Your home page… Is it striking? Informative? Interesting? Stale? Boring? The same as lots of other sites you’ve seen?

Some websites have a home page as a flash graphic (or animation) with the only text saying “Click here to enter”, if you’re lucky enough to come across any instruction at all! A splash page may look nice but it serves very little purpose – they do nothing to help your ranking on the search engines and could quite possibly turn visitors off looking any further.

Think of the “Two-click Mentality” – this is when no piece of information should be more than two clicks away – making your visitors work hard to get the information they want means you may drive them away. A splash page will use up one of these two clicks.

Is your company human?

Adding the human touch to your company, through the information on your website, can help bring your company to life – most sites call this ‘About Us’. If you have a team of staff then a photograph and brief paragraph on each of the main personnel whom customers will come into contact with can be a nice touch. The same principle applies even if you are a sole trader. Most people are nosey – so feed their curiosity.

Do your website visitors know how to contact you?

Phone numbers and e-mail addresses are commonplace, but including an address on your site adds credibility. Would you buy from someone who didn’t want you to know where they were? For some businesses, including an address is not practical – but if you can I suggest you do.

DIY or Professional?

By answering all of these questions you will have a good idea of what to include on your site. When it comes to the design and build stage, please don’t try this yourself, unless you are a web professional!

If you want your company to be taken seriously then pay someone who knows what they are doing to build your website. A site built by an amateur will look amateur and will be how your company is perceived. Is this what you want?

Research shows that Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye. The report also said that these first impressions last because of what is known as the “halo effect”. If people believe a website looks good, then their positive view will spread to the website’s content and their view of your company.

Final thought… First impressions last. Unless you give a good first impression, visitors to your site will go somewhere else to get what they want. A bad first impression from you could mean more business for your competitors.

By Lindsey Collumbell

Lindsey Collumbell of Bojangle Communications has over 20 years of experience marketing companies from start-up to international in a variety of sectors including: aerospace, financial, wedding, funerals, legal, parenting.

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lindsey_Collumbell

1.       It’s time to get personal

As consumers of products and services we tend to have an emotional response to the brands we like. Although there is no formula for edging your way into the warm embrace of your customer, people connect to the brands with human characteristics. Ever noticed how often Richard Branson appears in Virgin’s TV adverts? I’d suggest it might have more to do with the fact that he’s seen as the peoples’ champion rather than the figure head of a global business and like all knights in shining armour you want to see them as much as possible. Connecting with your customers is vital in creating a successful brand. Face-to-face meetings are the best way to cultivate lasting relationships as it helps to build trust and forge strong partnerships. However, if this is not a viable option then you need to make sure you connect with your customers in other ways on a regular basis.  Amazon is a great example of a company that remains on the whole faceless to the outside world but provides a service that builds strong and loyal relationships with their customers.  For example, they help their customers to make decisions through book recommendations eg people who brought this book also brought this one. Amazon allows people to write reviews about the books they’ve read and rate them, they send out feedback forms asking you to tell them about the Amazon experience you received.  The bottom line is you need to get up close and personal with your customers and connect with them on a regular basis. The more you connect the stronger the relationship will become because it tells your customer that you are interested in them and that they matter.

2.       Making your message as clear as water

The one thing the giant brands do really well is they are very clear about what they are offering and what they want to be known for. You don’t have to be a conglomerate to apply this to your business. The biggest brands recognise that mass appeal is no longer a viable strategy today; everything is about having a niche. Laser focusing and targeting your efforts means your energy and hard dollar expenditure is concentrated on a group of people that will hopefully overtime become loyal followers and customers. Apple is one of the most successful brands that do this well.  Apple’s products are smart, sleek and they have the added benefit of having the cool factor; they are also one of the largest music retailers in the world. The word that springs to mind when thinking about their products is ‘Revolutionary’. Other firms make similar (if not better) products but look at the Apple devotees queuing round the block to buy the latest gadget and hi-fiving each-other on the way out. Why? Because they know what they’re getting from Apple; they’ve already bought in to the brand. Small business can apply the same strategy. Create some time and sit down with one or two of your trusted business friends and get clear on what your business is about. Get them to ask you the difficult and challenging questions you may not ask yourself.  A tool to help with your thinking is a messaging map/grid. The map focuses on one single key message for a single product with supporting attributes. The grid takes it a bit further and looks at the different target audiences for your products/services and identifies how the message differs for different groups.

The most important element is defining your “sweet-spot”. This is the factor that makes your brand memorable. Like John Lewis it might be customer service? Could it be like Ikea and the flatpack revolution? Your sweet-spot might be something that only applies to you and your business but like those of other brands it will be the thing that makes you stand out and makes sure that when they are looking for a service, they call you rather than your competitor.

3.       Living up to your promise

FedEx is one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, they recognise that their business is more than just about delivering something from A to B. Reliability is a key element of their brand promise, however, they understand and appreciate that it’s about delivering items that matter to people; like their customers’ treasures, livelihoods, an important business document. As a result they have been able to elevate their brand in the eyes of their customers. So what can small businesses learn from a global organisation such as FedEx.

• Make a promise your customers aren’t expecting. Speed and delivery are probably a given for all express transportation companies. FedEx focuses on the ‘We understand’ campaign and as a result they’ve been able to give their brand more prominence in the market place.
• Make your benefits clear. Why should your customers work with you rather than someone else? When you are clear about them wrap your brand promise around these key benefits.
• Make your brand promises short, simple and direct; Volvo ‘Safety’, Apple ‘Revolutionary’, Facebook ‘Staying connected’. They are simple statements that are embedded in everything they do.
• Make your brand consistent. From products and services, strategy and execution, consistency needs to reach all corners of the business. If you are not consistent you will lose credibility, you will look confused and vague to your clients and the impression you will leave them with is that you haven’t been in business very long.

The fact that you’re small is no bad thing but if you want to be big, then you have to start thinking big. Big brands and big companies can teach the small start-ups a lot. Yes, they might have more money and resources to play with. Yes, they might have offices all over the globe and the numbers of the world’s most important people in the mobiles. But even Steve Jobs started out of his garage. Brands have to start somewhere and sometimes it’s worth pointing our gaze in the direction we want to travel and if we want to be bigger, than that’s up. The brand principles the biggest firms stick to can be adapted whatever the business. If you want to stay small then stay on the side-lines. If you want to grow then you have to get into the game and start playing; it’s the only way to succeed.

Not enough time to market to new clients while serving existing ones. Not enough time to keep on top of all the admin and accounts as well as getting products out of the door. Time for social media, to stay on top of current trends and ahead of competitors. Time to work on the business as well as in it. Not to mention time out of your business – with family, home life, social life and health – to rest, recharge and refresh.

Right now, as I’m writing this article, I have a newsletter to plan, a workshop to prepare, calls to make, invoices to send, all with a poorly three year old asleep on my lap!

If only there was an extra hour or five a day, would that make life easier? Or would we just end up working 17 hour days with just as much stress, busyness and overwhelm?

‘Not enough time’ has almost become our mantra. What if we can use it to our advantage? What if not having enough time can actually be good for our productivity?

Here are three reasons why:

1. Parkinson’s Law

Have you ever had all day to get something done, and find you still rush it all in the last half an hour?

Parkinson’s Law says that our work will expand to fill the amount of time we make available.

Which means, if you give yourself half an hour to do something, you’ll get it done. If you have four hours to do the same thing, it may well end up taking four hours.

There’s something about a short deadline that focuses the mind. Something about being timed that gets us moving quicker. I often find that the days when my diary is fairly full and I only have small windows to get stuff done, are the days when I am focused and work fast.

In contrast, when I think I’ve got all day, the temptation is to take all day. These are the days when I am much more likely to faff around, procrastinate and get distracted. I slow down and get caught up in the lull. My day gets swallowed up with bitty jobs, distractions and delays. Oh, and I do indecision, big time.

What about you? When you’ve got all day to do something, do you attack it with the same vigour and urgency, or do you spend four hours perfecting something that would otherwise take half an hour?

Perhaps in honing our focus and boosting momentum, ‘not enough time’ can actually be a catalyst to productivity rather than an obstacle.

2. It gets you creative and asking ‘How?’

We say we don’t have time, but we all have things that we make time for.

Let’s face it, however hectic a day we’re having, if our best friend or a family member had an emergency and needed us, we’d find a way to help wouldn’t we?

There would be things we would drop, timings we would reschedule, commitments we would negotiate, and people we would ask for help. We would make time, because we deemed it important.

Once you decide something is important enough to make time for, you stop telling yourself that you don’t have enough time, and you start asking how. How could you fit it in? How could you get it done within that time frame? You start to get creative and resourceful in seeking solutions.

When I was given the deadline to write a book in 40 days, after my initial reaction of ‘Gah!’ I started asking myself, “ok how would I do it? How could it be done?”

3. It gets you asking the uncomfortable questions

Answering ‘how’ can involve some tough decisions and asking some uncomfortable questions, like:

What’s the point?

Instead of the exasperated, perhaps defeatist way we usually say this while throwing our hands up in the air, asking this question straight up can give you a clarity of purpose. Purpose that gives you direction and definition, to separate actions from activity, opportunity from distraction, and business from busyness. So seriously, what’s the point for you?

What is non-negotiable?

Knowing your point and purpose, what absolutely has to happen in order for you to get there? What items on your to-do list are mission critical in relation to your goal (not someone else’s!) What are your non-negotiables?

What’s dispensible?

If something’s got to give, what would that be? At her Harvard commencement speech, J.K. Rowling explained how not having any money, job or opportunity actually helped her to write her Harry Potter books:

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.”

Not having enough time pushes you to identify and strip away the inessential so that you can direct your time and energy on what matters most. So what’s dispensible for you? What would you drop if you had to?

Where am I dispensible?

I confess, part of me quite likes being needed and busy (ahem). Given enough time, I’d probably be quite happy doing everything myself. When it comes to the crunch though, I need to honestly ask, “What would carry on without me?”

Where are you dispensible? What can be done by other people? Where can you enlist help, outsource or delegate? What if you let someone else do what they can do, to free you up to do what only you can do?

Does it have to be done now?

One of the biggest causes of overwhelm in entrepreneurs is an abundance of brilliant coupled with the temptation to tackle them all right now.

Not having enough time can give you the opportunity to distinguish between what needs to happen right now, and what can wait for better timing.

So is ‘not enough time’ the bane of an entrepreneur’s life? I don’t think it has to be. If it’s going to be a fact of life, let’s use it to our advantage to boost our focus, momentum, creativity and productivity.

What do you reckon?  I’d Love to hear your thoughts – do share them in the comments below.

Never ever stop learning.

If you stop learning you’re going to fall so far behind you risk never catching up! Seeking help from fellow entrepreneurs is probably the most sound advice anyone can follow in the business world. It may take some sweat equity and time investment, but it’s imperative that you are utilizing the most accurate info you can get your hands on. Integrating a new idea, product or software can sometimes be more challenging than finding said business growth tool!

Surviving the startup phase is, perhaps, the most challenging part of owning a business and if you’re at that stage I’d like to congratulate you!
Now let’s get you moving toward the next phase in business. If you’ve been in business for any length of time you know that information overload rears its ugly head often so let’s narrow down our field of possibilities to just the top 10 strategies you can run with today. Some of the best business decisions have been made by thinking outside the normal parameters of business and our challenge to you is to do the same with this list.

You may not see the immediate applicability of these ideas, but take some time to see how creative you can be in trying to work a new strategy into your business. The action takers in life are the success stories in life and we’re always super pumped to work with those that are ready and willing to take that leap in business (and in life, for that matter!).

1. Branch off to service another area.

If you’re bursting at the seams then it’s probably time to think about taking the next step in business expansion, be it physical or virtual (aha – did you catch that?!). Having a limited vision will simply keep your business limited as well. Your business (and your life) will only grow as big as your visions and aspirations are.

2. Stay in the black, stay in the black, stay in the black.

A lot of business owners lose sight of making a profit when thinking of growth and expansion. Keep sight of the purpose of your business – to make money!

3. Keep an eye on the market and have plans to take proactive measures.

Never become lackadaisical in keeping your finger on the pulse of your market, always be prepared to take the next step to stay in the game!

4. Staff your business with the best you can afford.

Your business is nothing without the foundation of its staffing.

5. Create a long and short term business plan.

As my Nana used to say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And it’s true in every aspect of life and business.

6. Keep ‘out of reach’ plans in a folder to call up when something shifts in your business.

While some of these strategies may not be possible at this point in your business there will typically come a time when they may prove highly profitable so make sure you keep them in your pocket to pull out when the timing is spot on.

7. Along the same lines as number 4 up there you need to evaluate your current staff.

Are they weighing you down? Are they weighing down your other employees or your clients? Just because a staff member is good at what they do that doesn’t mean you need to keep them on if they are inhibiting your company vision!

8. Duplicate your current winning strategies.

This may seem a bit remedial, but often times we can lose sight of the good things we do by focusing on plugging the ‘holes’ in weak areas. If you base your business practices on your strengths your weaknesses will eventually sort themselves out or become so minuscule they become irrelevant.

9. Implement systems to automate whatever doesn’t require immediate human attention.

This is not to say you need to take the connection (human connection that is) out of your business, but to redirect that human connection and interaction to profit producing activities versus repeating the same conversation fifteen times a day.

10. Ditch your company if it’s dragging you down.

What?! Yup you heard me – if you’ve got a parent company that is keeping your business from growing profitably then find a new one. There are very few (by few I really mean none) companies that cannot be replaced with a similar counterpart. So if you can’t work out a mutually beneficial relationship then move on baby!

Taking any or all of these steps in your business will shed light on the areas you can improve on and the areas that may need some attention. Just make sure you take one step at a time, evaluate your progress and make small changes if needed. Keeping in mind to work from your company’s strengths versus focusing on mitigating weaknesses will ensure that your company goal and vision remain at the forefront (where they belong) which will ultimately result in happy (and paying) customers.

Business growth through evolution is our trade. We empower small business growth by providing owners with the tools and practical steps to expand profits as fast and easy as possible. Constant evolution is the only effective business growth strategy in today’s market.

By Elizabeth Carbonaro

http://www.EliteBusinessEvolution.com

80% of your Clothes can Go!

The average person only wears around 20% of the clothes in their wardrobes, the rest of it is stuffed full of unused items that just get in the way.  We live in a disposable society consuming like crazy and often shopping for clothes in a thoughtless way. Wouldn’t it be great to get dressed with ease every day knowing what cuts and styles suit you, saving time and money by making more thoughtful and focussed purchases while defining your personal style all at the same time?

Focussed shopping takes time and we are all short of that.  So I’ve put together a guide for the three main body shapes – apple, pear and hourglass – with key business pieces for those shapes. But first, some general rules we could all follow to get our look defined and fabulous!

Rule 1

Make the most of your assets and detract from your liabilities.  Do this by creating focal points at your best bits.

Rule 2

It is never about the size of clothes (they all differ wildly from shop to shop) but about FIT and the right cuts for your shape.

Rule 3

Style is not to do with fashion at all; it is about knowing who you are and expressing yourself in the best way.

A body shape guide to business dress:

Apple

Your shape – Rounded , with a soft top half (big bust), little or no waist definition, often with great legs.  Should wear darker colours on top and lighter on bottom.

• Tops               This should be tight under the boobs with a tummy-skimming top
• Jackets           Always below the bottom, longer ‘boyfriend’ or ‘classic styles’
• Dresses          Empire line with little or no waist definition
• Shoes             Chose curvy rounded styles to compliment your rounder shape and the higher the heel the better.  Open toe is good
• Skirts             Always side fastening and flat fronted that ideally flip out at the side. A-line is flattering or any curvy styles
• Trousers        Tailored, wide-legged trousers
• Cardigan       Calf length cardigans

Pear

Your shape – Enviably small on the top with slight narrower shoulders than hip.  Mostly bigger legs and saddlebags – good waist definition and flat tummy.

• Tops               Fitted, tee shirts, and shirts. Something that accentuates your small top half
• Jackets           Never wear a jacket that stops at your widest point (in this case your hips). Choose longer styles that end below the bottom
• Dresses          Empire line, wrap dresses with a tie to define your waist.  Fitted and flared dresses (skater, tea dresses etc…) that are smaller on the top half then flare out at the bottom will flatter you
• Shoes             Chunky, heeled and rounded are best to balance out your heavier bottom half proportions.
• Skirts             A-line, flared, in flowing materials to skim over your curves
• Trousers        Opt for flat fronted to minimize bulk on bottom half and wide legged are good to slim the legs.  Jeans can be bootleg (when in fashion), flared or straight
• Cardigan       Long styles again for this shape.

Hourglass

Your shape – perfect really.  All bust with tiny (in comparison) waist and then those beautiful rounded hips. Wear darker colours on the bottom and lighter on top.  Match colour of shoes with trousers or skirts and hosiery to elongate your legs and look taller and slimmer.

• Tops               Go for styles that have a v-neck to flatter your ample bosom. Opt for shoulder detail to detract the eye from your bust area.  Choose fabrics that are flowing – blouses are perfect, avoid shirts, they are too straight cut for your curvy body.
• Jackets           Three quarter length sleeves are good as they show off slim wrists. Always choose a jacket with a nipped in waist that flares over you bottom. Choose rounded lapels and avoid straightness in the cut
• Dresses          Wrap dresses!!!  Any dress with waist definition to show off your curves
• Shoes             Cute rounded shoes that are a bit more on the chunky side to balance out your proportions. Open toe and platform are good.
• Skirts             Pencil skirts and any that flare out over your bottom half
• Trousers        Flat fronted that zip at the side and that flare. Same with jeans, avoid skinny cuts which will accentuate and increase the size of your hips.
• Cardigan       Everyone needs a cardi! Again opt for longer styles but belted versions are especially good for you.

By learning what cuts and styles best suit your body shape, you can turn your

clothes into outfits that enhance your best features. But most of all, knowing

you look fabulous in whatever is in your wardrobe will make dressing every day

easy and fun and we all need some of that!

Author: Lisa Gillbe, www.lisagillbestyle.com

Lisa is a professional stylist and image consultant providing image related services to companies and individuals including; Wardrobe Revamp, Personal Shopping and Colour Analysis. Her background is in finance and banking where she worked for many years in major banks, most recently in the not-for-profit sector. Most of her clients come from the business world but she has dressed everyone from politicians to garden designers and even guests for a royal wedding!