Five Motivational Videos to kickstart your Summer!

Hi there.

While the sun is out, our thoughts turn to Summer holidays. Howver, if you are unable to think about taking time off and need some encouragement, read on.

This week I thought I would compile a list of top motivational videos featuring household names from across the public arena.  Hopefully, they will inspire you on a personal and business level.

One

First is the inspiring American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple –

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech

Two

Next is a video with a line up that includes the brilliant actor Denzel Washington and leadership author John Maxwell –

The Mindset of High Achievers

Three

On the list next is a technology giant who Bloomberg calls ‘Asia’s richest man’ –

Jack Ma Billionaire Mindset

Four

Next is one of America’s most well-known media figures with a net worth of around $4 billion –

Oprah Winfrey Greatest Ever Speech

Five 

This last video is one of the many superb offerings from ‘an inspiring community of achievers,’ called Goalcast with a radio DJ and motivational speaker –

Les Brown Why it Pays to Be Hungry

Watch, enjoy and remember ‘Never stop running after your dream.’

Take care

Tricia

 

 

 

 

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3 things to do (even more) when business is quiet!

Hello there.

Okay, so it’s nearly November and there are some whose thoughts are turned towards Christmas. If you are a product based business this may be a busy time; for services, maybe not so.

So, what do you do as an SME or entrepreneur or if you are self-employed?

A few things.

Catch up on your paperwork.

While no one particularly likes paperwork; it is necessary. We all must account for our time, so it makes sense to use periods which are quieter for all the ‘background’ work.

If you’re up to date with your paperwork; good for you!  You could still use this time to take stock of what has been happening in the business and sit down to write a marketing plan if you haven’t already done so.

Attend training or workshops

While you’re catching up on all those jobs that you don’t like, why not fit a few workshops, events or training into your schedule. Not only will it break up the monotony but it will get you equipped and ready for the next phase of your business.

Online courses such as FutureLearn Business Courses are there to enhance your current skills and help to develop your business.

I’ve done quite a few FutureLearn courses and they have great interaction with other learners. You may be someone who prefers to meet others face to face while learning new skills.  If that is the case, then Build.Blog.Boost is for you!

What is Build.Blog.Boost?

If you are in business and you aren’t sure about social media or blogging or PR, and you’d like to know how these strategies can help grow your business, then go along to this one -day workshop at the Let’s Go! Business Hub.

During the day, myself of PM Noble Consultancy Services, Vernette John Joiles of 7D Web Design and Colette Machado, will explain how social media and blogging can help the online presence of your business and how PR can add that extra something to your business.

Workshops are always good places to meet other like-minded business folks, who want to be more productive.  Speaking of meeting others, this leads nicely into the third thing to do during a quiet period….

Networking

You don’t have to spend a huge amount of money or join the highflyers (unless you really want to).  There is always something going on which is either free or has a small fee to pay.

Spend some time thinking about those in your circle. Who needs the kind of help you can offer? Who in your circle is a real champion of yours? Who is always singing your praises to others about what you have done for them? The effort is never wasted when we remind those close to us to spread the word about what we do.

Remember Build.Blog.Boost can be booked via Eventbrite. There are still Early Bird tickets available for £55.00. If you are a Let’s Go! Business Hub member tickets are on special offer for £45.00.

See you there!

Patricia Miller

 

 

 

 

4 simple ways to improve your business today!

Hi there.

Do you want to know about some easy ways to enhance your business?

Here are four steps which you can implement straight away:

Set yourself some realistic goals

Are your goals SMART?

Make sure that your objectives are specific. It’s much easier to target a specific area.

Are your goals measurable? For example, do you want to see an increase in sales? Can you measure this by a percentage increase?

Is what you’re hoping for realistic? Is it achievable? Being a small business is difficult enough, without setting yourself unrealistic objectives.

Is what you want to attain relevant? Should it be done? Why does it need to be done?

Time, timing or time-based. Can you achieve what you want in time? Have you set yourself enough time?

Keep an eye on current trends

Keeping an eye on current trends and keeping up to date with your own personal development and training puts you in a stronger position.   I ‘m reminded of this by PR Expert Colette Machado.

Make sure that you get regular feedback from your customers

If you want to offer top notch customer service, start asking your customers what they think you do well and (if you’re feeling brave), what areas need to be improved.

Take a break

It may seem like a bit of a no -brainer but you’d be surprised how easy it is to slip into bad habits like not having lunch and working long hours. You need rest. Your mind and your body will thank you for taking a break or two!  If you don’t believe me read this Huffington Post article.

Well, thanks for reading and I hope that you found this useful.

Take Care,

Tricia

 

 

What is your Startup strategy?

Hello there.

Do you want to start your own business but have no idea where to start?

Do you own a Startup but your progress feels stagnant?

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of help at hand. This week is a quick guide of seven points to consider when planning your strategy.

Ideas

Do you have ideas for new Startups? Do you have ideas about what to do with your current Startup?  Will the idea work? Is it creating a solution? Here’s something to consider about your next project. Paul Graham says,

‘Live in the future and build what seems interesting. Strange as it sounds, that’s the real recipe.’

In How to Get Startup Ideas Graham writes about what he has encountered and how he found solutions.

Entrepreneur.com has The Simplest Test of Whether Your Business Idea is Good or Bad.

Resources

What kind of resources do you need to push your Startup forward?

There’s online help from Start Ups. To help get you begin, you can access 10 Steps to Starting a business.

If you live in Enfield or surrounding areas, Enterprise Enfield runs programmes and offers Help and support through their expert business advisors.

Product

Do you already have a brilliant idea for a product but it’s not complete yet, read You Don’t Need a Finished Product to Launch Your StartUp by Fortune.com

Planning

Have you got a business plan? Do you need to update the one you have?

You can get some ideas from Business.com.

The wonderful advisors at Enterprise Enfield can also help with this, in one to one sessions.

Trends

If you need your business to be in the market and in some respects ahead of the game, then you’ll need help with your brand.  A knowledgeable business coach and marketer who can help to make your business and brand grow is Sara Carter of Sara Carter Business.

Investments (Funding is more appropriate)

For advice about finance and loan, you can speak to someone at Enterprise Enfield

For funding applications, Diana Roy of Up Write is an experienced expert in her field. Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/UpWriteUK .

Teamwork

Who is on your team? Are you a one-person crew at the moment?

Steve Jobs knew a thing or two about teams. He knew to have people around him with different skillsets.   While we may have to work on our own, to begin with, when we do have a team, we need to surround ourselves with people who are really good at what they do.

Fast Company has a suggestion for your team in The only 6 People You Need on Your Founding Startup Team.

I hope these seven key factors have been helpful.

If you’ like to know more about me or what I do, find out here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and like PM Noble Consultancy Services on Facebook.

Thanks for reading.

Take care,

 

Tricia

 

 

 

Is your content on fire?

 

Hello there and welcome to November!

So, it’s November the fifth, and tonight many will be heading off to organised firework displays to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night! Without going into the politics of why the UK commemorates a failed attempt to blow up the House of Parliament, the blog this week is about fire/fireworks of a different kind.

Should you wish to indulge yourself with some more information about what happened back in 1605, check out http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/guy-fawkes-history-bonfire-night-4570317 for an interesting read.

So, what are the fireworks of a different kind? Well, I am referring to having explosive website/blog content.  Sorry, I know you are rolling your eyes, but I thought the fire/fireworks theme would work really well with social media.

We all know that content is the key to attracting an online audience and we all want visitors to engage with what we write.  We want them all to stop and take notice of the scintillating flames called content.

Okay, so enough of the fire analogies, for now. So how do you ensure that the content of your website is so appealing that visitors will come back time and time again?

Well, it would take more than one blog to explain and there are excellent resources out there. As ever I will point you in the direction.

A major player in all things social media is Hubspot- http://www.hubspot.com/.  They are all about attracting and retaining clients with creative content. The website says that they have 500,000 subscribers, so they obviously know a thing or two about inbound marketing.

If you don’t know your inbound from your outbound marketing, then another popular social media source is Mashable UK with a handy infographic that explains it all.  See http://mashable.com/2011/10/30/inbound-outbound-marketing/#UL2WbWG_kkqg.

A rising star closer to home which offers a fresh approach to social media is the social media agency Happy Social –http://www.happysocial.co.uk/.  

 

With access to so much help, you will soon be breathing fire into your content!

Whatever you do this Bonfire night, be safe.

Take care,

Tricia