Our monthly networking group Hampshire Winning Women meets this week.
Sometimes we need encouragement, sometimes inspiration and sometimes we all need a good old laugh.
Come and join us - we're having a laugh!
On Thursday 26th February from 7- 9.30pm
at The Lysses Hotel, High Street, Fareham.
Laughter Facilitator Lisa Sturge will be inviting you to 'play' with your laughter, and learn about the benefits of laughing for your health, wellbeing and business.
You will be invited to join in with laughter exercises, experience Laughter Yoga and enjoy a group laughter meditation.
Come and discover how to incorporate more laughter in your everyday life.
We look forward to laughing with you!
"Excellent session... I was a little aprehensive at the start but as time went on I began to relax and really enjoy the whole session. Laughter meditation was the hi-light for me - I haven't laughed so much in a long time."Nikki B. (West Sussex)
No need to book just turn up on the evening
Please note new cost £7.00 on the door
Winning Women - much more than a networking group
Monday 23 February 2009
Monday 16 February 2009
Are You Skating on Ice or Clinging to the Edge?
My friend’s 18 year old daughter, Sophie, has been staying with us and yesterday she took my 12 year old daughter to the local ice rink.
They had a great time by all accounts, Sophie was keen to share her amazement at watching 4 and 5 year olds demonstrating their intricate moves.
“It was like a mini Dancing on Ice”, she stated, “It put me to shame.”
“Put you to shame?” I enquired
“Yes, I spent most of my time on my back or clinging on to the edge – I was too scared to let go.”
Interesting I thought. These young children were skating confidently, full of self belief, showing off their spins and jumps at such a tender age.
“Did they ever fall over?” I asked Sophie, “ A couple of times but they just got straight up and carried on skating.”
“That’s their confidence shinning through,” I added, “they aren’t concerned about who is watching them and what others might think of them. All they are interested in is enjoying the moment.”
“Unlike me, I was really worried people would laugh at me as I clung to the edge of the rink.”
“Exactly,” I replied. “They’ve got great inner confidence and resilience not unlike a baby learning to walk. He takes his first tentative step and falls over, what does he do? He just picks him self up and tries again. And will keep on trying until he gets it right. You can learn a lot from watching babies and young children, they don’t give up at the first hurdle, they are very smart, they have great tenacity and determination, otherwise they would never grow and develop.”
“Mmm” said Sophie, “ A bit like me keeping on with my studies, I know where I want to get to I just have to keep working at it until I get there.
"Just like the women I work with." I said
They had a great time by all accounts, Sophie was keen to share her amazement at watching 4 and 5 year olds demonstrating their intricate moves.
“It was like a mini Dancing on Ice”, she stated, “It put me to shame.”
“Put you to shame?” I enquired
“Yes, I spent most of my time on my back or clinging on to the edge – I was too scared to let go.”
Interesting I thought. These young children were skating confidently, full of self belief, showing off their spins and jumps at such a tender age.
“Did they ever fall over?” I asked Sophie, “ A couple of times but they just got straight up and carried on skating.”
“That’s their confidence shinning through,” I added, “they aren’t concerned about who is watching them and what others might think of them. All they are interested in is enjoying the moment.”
“Unlike me, I was really worried people would laugh at me as I clung to the edge of the rink.”
“Exactly,” I replied. “They’ve got great inner confidence and resilience not unlike a baby learning to walk. He takes his first tentative step and falls over, what does he do? He just picks him self up and tries again. And will keep on trying until he gets it right. You can learn a lot from watching babies and young children, they don’t give up at the first hurdle, they are very smart, they have great tenacity and determination, otherwise they would never grow and develop.”
“Mmm” said Sophie, “ A bit like me keeping on with my studies, I know where I want to get to I just have to keep working at it until I get there.
"Just like the women I work with." I said
Sunday 8 February 2009
6 Ways to help you Maintain Passion for Your Business
Do you jump out of bed in the morning enthusiastic about the day ahead?
When you started your business, you probably did. I remember having positive visions of being inundated with enquiries, masses of satisfied clients with huge brimming smiles on their faces coming back time and time again. But if we aren't careful following the same routines day in day out, complacency can set in and we may find ourselves making excuses for our lack of action.
So how can you rekindle and maintain the passion that was there at the beginning?
Friedrich Hebbel once said, "Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." Or in other words - nothing great will be accomplished in your business without passion and furthermore when you love what you do success follows.
Just imagine how different your business would be if you oozed passion adn boundless enthusiasm each day? - Here are 6 ways to get you there.
1. Set Realistic Goals
People who have goals and a clear vision for their future are naturally more passionate. Take the time to set goals and know your limits - we often demand more of ourselves than we would of others and quite often more than we are capable of. Passion dissolves and frustration sets in when goal setting is unrealistic, so once you have established your goals, be prepared to try different approaches to accomplishing them. If the obvious approach does not work, create a new one. Be adaptive and modify your actions to solve your problems.
2. Create the Right Mindset
Passionate people create passion in others. Passionate people are inspiring and draw others to their cause. Passionate people ooze energy and are just great fun to be around.Bearing negative thoughts will not only hamper your performance and production but will prevent you from loving your work.
3.Communicate with Passion
Whenever you have an opportunity to talk about your business communicate with enthusiasm. Tone of voice equates 38% of your communication. Therefore the way in how we talk to our clients and prospects makes a huge impact.
The words we speak account for only 7% of our communication so listen with genuine interest and I suggest that you occasionally repeat or paraphrase what your prospect says, especially picking up on the key words or phrases used.
Remember to make eye contact to maintain a good rapport. 55% of our communication comes from our body language. Become aware of your body language and what it says about you. Simple tips, keep arms unfolded, legs uncrossed, and remember to smile:)
4. Become a Problem Solver rather than a Complainer
There is no getting away from the fact that we all have problems - how we deal with the challenges we face is what really matters. Some people will see a problem, throw up their hands and give up immediately.
Problem-solvers on the other hand go the extra mile to find a solution, it also gives you a great sense of personal achievement.
5. Focus on your Strengths - Delegate the rest
Many of us feel overwhelmed by our workload from time to time. Most self employed people are in love with what they do, not, with the minutiae of running a business. Doing everything but your actual job, will impinge on your performance so focus on your strengths, and stick with what your good at - delegate the rest! Without support in running your business, you'll end up struggling to be a success, and all your passion and enthusiasm will drain away.
6. Celebrate Your Success
When you are successful it is a great feeling. Learn to recognise and celebrate your successes, however small, after all you've put in a lot of effort and time to reach this point. You deserve it.
When you started your business, you probably did. I remember having positive visions of being inundated with enquiries, masses of satisfied clients with huge brimming smiles on their faces coming back time and time again. But if we aren't careful following the same routines day in day out, complacency can set in and we may find ourselves making excuses for our lack of action.
So how can you rekindle and maintain the passion that was there at the beginning?
Friedrich Hebbel once said, "Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." Or in other words - nothing great will be accomplished in your business without passion and furthermore when you love what you do success follows.
Just imagine how different your business would be if you oozed passion adn boundless enthusiasm each day? - Here are 6 ways to get you there.
1. Set Realistic Goals
People who have goals and a clear vision for their future are naturally more passionate. Take the time to set goals and know your limits - we often demand more of ourselves than we would of others and quite often more than we are capable of. Passion dissolves and frustration sets in when goal setting is unrealistic, so once you have established your goals, be prepared to try different approaches to accomplishing them. If the obvious approach does not work, create a new one. Be adaptive and modify your actions to solve your problems.
2. Create the Right Mindset
Passionate people create passion in others. Passionate people are inspiring and draw others to their cause. Passionate people ooze energy and are just great fun to be around.Bearing negative thoughts will not only hamper your performance and production but will prevent you from loving your work.
3.Communicate with Passion
Whenever you have an opportunity to talk about your business communicate with enthusiasm. Tone of voice equates 38% of your communication. Therefore the way in how we talk to our clients and prospects makes a huge impact.
The words we speak account for only 7% of our communication so listen with genuine interest and I suggest that you occasionally repeat or paraphrase what your prospect says, especially picking up on the key words or phrases used.
Remember to make eye contact to maintain a good rapport. 55% of our communication comes from our body language. Become aware of your body language and what it says about you. Simple tips, keep arms unfolded, legs uncrossed, and remember to smile:)
4. Become a Problem Solver rather than a Complainer
There is no getting away from the fact that we all have problems - how we deal with the challenges we face is what really matters. Some people will see a problem, throw up their hands and give up immediately.
Problem-solvers on the other hand go the extra mile to find a solution, it also gives you a great sense of personal achievement.
5. Focus on your Strengths - Delegate the rest
Many of us feel overwhelmed by our workload from time to time. Most self employed people are in love with what they do, not, with the minutiae of running a business. Doing everything but your actual job, will impinge on your performance so focus on your strengths, and stick with what your good at - delegate the rest! Without support in running your business, you'll end up struggling to be a success, and all your passion and enthusiasm will drain away.
6. Celebrate Your Success
When you are successful it is a great feeling. Learn to recognise and celebrate your successes, however small, after all you've put in a lot of effort and time to reach this point. You deserve it.
Friday 6 February 2009
Are your Clients VIP's
Imagine if all our clients were repeat clients – wouldn’t that be great?
I believe that to keep your existing clients and turn them into raving fans is always a good investment. Not only is it cheaper to market to existing customers than to find new ones its also a lot easier.
However, there is more to it than providing a great service and exceeding your customer expectations. Like everything else in business it takes effort on your part to nurture and maintain those relationships.
Earlier this week I was totally surprised to receive an email from the company I’d commissioned last summer to design my new logo. I wasn’t surprised to receive an email as such but pleasantly surprised by their message. They had looked at my website and noticed my logo looked a little bit ‘fuzzy’ and were attaching another file that would make the logo look sharper. What a great example of exceptional service and totally unexpected too.
So what are you doing to go show your customers how much you C.A.R.E?
Follow my tips to go that extra mile and get your clients coming back for more
1) Continually keep in touch – more than a regular newsletter, send a card or note at regular intervals, complement your clients on their successes, remember birthdays and other important milestones.
2) Appreciation - Not only is it polite to say thank you to those who buys from you, let your clients know how you enjoyed working with them and how grateful you are that they chose to work with you.
3) Reminders - use a direct mail campaign, postcards work well and are a popular form of marketing right now. Alternatively send out a personal invitation offering a discount or similar incentive for new services for past clients.
4) Exceed Client Expectations - Always provide that extra value by becoming a resource to your clients by offering tools, tips, referrals and information your customers might find useful.
Remember the lifetime value of your customers. Be sure to treat each customer as a Very Important Person. They will rave about you.
I believe that to keep your existing clients and turn them into raving fans is always a good investment. Not only is it cheaper to market to existing customers than to find new ones its also a lot easier.
However, there is more to it than providing a great service and exceeding your customer expectations. Like everything else in business it takes effort on your part to nurture and maintain those relationships.
Earlier this week I was totally surprised to receive an email from the company I’d commissioned last summer to design my new logo. I wasn’t surprised to receive an email as such but pleasantly surprised by their message. They had looked at my website and noticed my logo looked a little bit ‘fuzzy’ and were attaching another file that would make the logo look sharper. What a great example of exceptional service and totally unexpected too.
So what are you doing to go show your customers how much you C.A.R.E?
Follow my tips to go that extra mile and get your clients coming back for more
1) Continually keep in touch – more than a regular newsletter, send a card or note at regular intervals, complement your clients on their successes, remember birthdays and other important milestones.
2) Appreciation - Not only is it polite to say thank you to those who buys from you, let your clients know how you enjoyed working with them and how grateful you are that they chose to work with you.
3) Reminders - use a direct mail campaign, postcards work well and are a popular form of marketing right now. Alternatively send out a personal invitation offering a discount or similar incentive for new services for past clients.
4) Exceed Client Expectations - Always provide that extra value by becoming a resource to your clients by offering tools, tips, referrals and information your customers might find useful.
Remember the lifetime value of your customers. Be sure to treat each customer as a Very Important Person. They will rave about you.
Sunday 1 February 2009
Do You Enjoy a Good Movie?
Then here is one to watch out for.
A couple of years the movie 'The Secret' was released. based on the Law of Attraction, it has been viewed across the world by millions of people.
It's now time for the next movie.
It's called "The Compass" and will be very differenet to The Secret. Not only educating, it will also inspire you, point you in the right direction to have the life you may have only so far dreamed about.
Brian Tracy and Joe Vitlalie, two great inspirationsand authours also star.
You can see the trailer and pre-order the DVD here
A couple of years the movie 'The Secret' was released. based on the Law of Attraction, it has been viewed across the world by millions of people.
It's now time for the next movie.
It's called "The Compass" and will be very differenet to The Secret. Not only educating, it will also inspire you, point you in the right direction to have the life you may have only so far dreamed about.
Brian Tracy and Joe Vitlalie, two great inspirationsand authours also star.
You can see the trailer and pre-order the DVD here
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