Year: 2016

How do you communicate? Are you blunt and to the point or do you prefer to use inference to get your message across?  Do you worry that you’ll hurt people’s feelings if you speak your mind?  Everyone is different.  If we weren’t we’d all have to do the same job and that would never work.

The way you communicate grows out the type of person you are.  You might be a ‘big picture’ thinker who makes decisions based on your overall impression of a situation.  You’re likely to lose patience with someone who thrives on data and wants to talk you through all of the details.

Why your style matters

Whatever the size or structure of your business, you’re likely to meet people who communicate differently from you.  Managing those relationships well is key to ensuring your business succeeds.

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Every business woman I know (and a lot of the men too) have struggled with their eating habits at some point.  Of course, that isn’t restricted to business owners.  It’s just as easy for someone with a full time job to eat junk too.

We’ve all heard the lectures about healthy eating but really, who has the time?  We’re busy and the advice about what we should be eating seems to change every week.

The thing is, your business could be depending on you to stay healthy.

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Everyone I talk to about marketing these days tells me how important it is to have an e-mail list. They’re right, of course. Unless you get marked as spam, e-mail marketing is the most reliable way of keeping in contact with prospective customers. The Facebook algorithm that decides how many people get to see your posts seems to get more confusing by the day. I’ve lost count of the number of posts I’ve seen from businesses wondering if there’s anyone still there.

I started sending newsletters out a few months ago but my list building efforts have been a bit haphazard so far. I’ve decided it’s time to get organised.

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I admit it.  I’m short changing my kids.  I promised myself that self-employment would mean spending more time with them as I could work flexibly.  Whilst it’s true that I can be there for the school run and sports day I’ve lost count of the number of times I sit next to my eldest son while he watches TV and I respond to emails or check my latest social media statistics.

Well, they say that the first stage of recovery is admitting you have a problem so at least I’ve got that bit out of the way.

 

Do you have a vision for your future?  If you do, are you working towards it or is it something that you hope might eventually happen without you putting in too much effort?

I was recently involved in a 14 day business building challenge where the participants were encouraged to think about their goals and where they eventually wanted to be.  The responses were amazing.  Some people simply wanted to keep their business going and be able to afford a reasonable standard of living with a few treats thrown in.  Others had much grander plans.

Me?  I love writing.  I’ve always thought of myself as being pretty introverted but I still enjoy asking nosy questions.  When I was advising clients on the law I used to be able to poke around factories asking about working methods and how they handled employee communications.  You wouldn’t believe how many personal injury claims can hinge on whether someone understood an instruction properly and if anyone checked.

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Do you spend your days spinning lots of plates?  I know I do.  Whether you’re self-employed or working for someone else, life is always going to be a juggling act in one way or another.

Your need for time to yourself can easily get pushed to the back of the queue.

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I love writing my blog.  I know it’s no surprise that I love writing, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it for a living. I spend a lot of time writing for other people so it’s great to be able to use my own voice for a change.

It’s also my chance to talk to you, entertain you and give you something you’ll find useful.

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Let’s face it, becoming self-employed represents freedom.  Freedom to work in your own way, set your own schedule… and to spend every waking hour thinking and worrying about your business!  We all have other commitments so having a clear boundary in place between your working life and the rest of your life is essential if you’re going to avoid a stress induced meltdown.

Setting boundaries doesn’t just help your personal life either.  It can boost your business too.  I often find that I’ll have a lightbulb moment when I’m loading the washing machine or going for a run when work is pretty much the last thing on my mind.

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When I first started my business I read everything I could get my hands on that could teach me the new skills I would need to reach potential customers.  I’m still reading, but over time I’ve worked out where my time is best spent.  Even though I write marketing content I’m constantly learning about marketing strategy and if there’s one lesson that I hear time and time again it’s this:

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER!

Even if you think your product or service could be for anyone, it couldn’t.

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As regular readers will know, I received a wonderful birthday present for my 40th last year (if you’re not a regular reader, catch up here).

The beauty of a yearlong present is that it keeps on giving, however there’s always the risk of a lapse in attention.  I’ve found that whilst I embarked on the challenges with huge enthusiasm in the early stages, I’m now panicking at how little time I’ve got left until my next birthday at the beginning of September.   (Don’t worry, I won’t sulk if you don’t buy me a present.)

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