Year: 2016

Let’s face it, we’re all busy most of the time.  If you’re anything like me there are a thousand and one things to be achieved in the course of a single day and never enough hours to get it all done.  I find myself going into headless chicken mode, dotting between one task and the next and never feeling as if anything’s been done properly.

You can stop

If this is you, just stop.  Right now.  It’s OK, as long as your children aren’t crying in their classroom because you’re not there to pick them up.  Take a deep breath, close your eyes if you won’t get funny looks from the boss (or even if you will).  Better?  OK, take another deep breath and read on.

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How do you communicate? Do you thrive on a good conversation or speaking to a large group?  Or do you prefer to get everything written down and handed out?  Your communication style can have a huge impact on the way you engage and interact with your colleagues.

If you need to get others on board with overall strategy and good working practice, the way you get your message across is even more important.

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Am I an entrepreneur?

When you start your own business it can come as a bit of a shock to find people referring to you as an entrepreneur. It’s certainly not a word I’ve ever identified with though I know people who do. I always think of an entrepreneur as someone who is primarily motivated by the idea of being in business and just has to come up with an idea and either learn or buy in the skills to implement it. I approached it from the other end; I wanted to use my writing to earn a living and needed to acquire the business knowledge to do it. I discovered that the definition of entrepreneur is:
“NOUN
1. a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.”

That seems to fit whatever your reason for starting your business.

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Picture the scene: you’ve had some time to devise a brilliant new strategy and you’re excited.  Your plan will help your business to grow and keep you ahead of the competition.  You gather your employees around you to tell them about it and it bombs.  Was it a bad plan?  Probably not.  So what went wrong?

If you’re a decision maker it’s likely that you’ve reached that position by having, or developing, some specific qualities.  Broadly speaking, you don’t get anywhere near the top if you’re unable to see the world in widescreen.   While some of your employees will share that attribute, there’s a vulnerability to being an employee that means they are more likely to focus on detail.  Where do they fit into the new plan?  Is their job at risk?  How will the day to day reality of their work change?

Your job is simple.  You just have to emulate the communication skills of the world’s greatest leaders.  Easy, right?  Here’s how you do it.

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We all get overwhelmed sometimes. If you’re anything like me, you spend your life either dashing about from one place to another or staring at a screen. Even when I do get some time to myself, my mind isn’t calm. I’m thinking about the next day’s work, how I grow my business or what’s in the fridge for the kids’ tea.

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I love clever stuff.  Whether you’re an artist, a dressmaker, a scientist or an engineer, if you’ve come up with something ingenious I’m going to be interested.  The funny thing is, the people with the brains and/or talent don’t always think of their talent as being anything impressive.  It’s just what they do.  My admiration isn’t solely reserved for the people who make things, it extends to the people who make things happen as well.

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I know you love your product.  The things you make and the innovative solutions you come up with are truly remarkable.  I’d worry if that weren’t the case; if you don’t think your output is amazing, why should anyone else?

The thing is, that’s just the problem.  The product features that get you excited and that you want to tell the world about aren’t the same ones that are going to interest your customers, at least not in the way that they interest you.  Your audience don’t care about how clever you are.  They just want you to tell them how the things you make are going to improve their lives.

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My lovely husband presented me with 40 postcards for my 40^th birthday, each with a different challenge.  One of them was ‘drive a 2 seater sports car’.  I love driving, but have spent my entire adult life behind the wheel of various compact hatchbacks.  As much as I may aspire to a sports car, you can’t fit baby seats in the back.

We have friends with suitable vehicles but I wouldn’t borrow one for fear of scratching it, denting it or even breathing on it wrong.  Which is why I found myself at the Lotus factory in Hethel, Norfolk, for their ‘Elise Experience’.

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It seemed as if the Christmas decorations had barely been taken down before the Easter eggs appeared in the shops. It will, finally, be Easter this weekend and we can celebrate this Christian festival by consuming vast quantities of chocolate and worshipping a giant rabbit. Or something.

I find that my daily life brings me into regular contact with cheaper, mass marketed brands, particularly those designed to appeal to children.

 

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I can never resist an invitation to link up with another writer and Mummy Barrow is one of my favourites.  When I saw her blog about her desk this morning and her invitation to show mine off, I set to work.  So, here’s my (rather messy) desk.  As you can probably see, my efforts to keep it to work items have only been partially successful so far.

1. My inbox – OK, I don’t actually have a box but my wise old owl keeps an eye on everything, especially my notebooks which have all my client information and exciting plans in them.
2. Diary – I would be lost without it.
3. Laptop – I’m a freelance writer working from home so absolutely nothing happens without this.
4. The folder with the tax receipts and my accounts book.
5. Tea mug – I turned 40 last year and this was a present from my Mum.  My Dad died in 2010 and she knew it was exactly what he would have chosen so it’s a present from him really.
6. Other people’s business cards – I’ll find a better way to store them eventually!
7. Extra TV – my husband makes software for TV companies and always needs an extra screen if he ever has to work from home.

If anyone else would like to share their desk with me (or mine with anyone else) feel free to link!