It was about three and a half years ago when I first heard my mentor use the term ‘Business Mindset’ and it really made me sit up and listen.
She explained the difference between women who run their businesses successfully and those who have some intermittent success is simply down to their business mindset.
She described this as the difference between those who ‘play at having a business’ and those who go out there and really make it happen. It was the bit about those who ‘play’ at business that struck a chord with me. I resonated with that, I hadn’t taken things a seriously as I could’ve up until then, I had hoped that by coaching a few friends, they would refer me and my business would take off, I’d do a little bit of advertising (in all the wrong places I might add) and that would be sufficient. When my mentor talked about investing time, effort and money right from the start I knew I had to go back to basics, review my business plan, (at least I had that!) And start over like a professional and not an amateur.
So, what is the difference between a Business professional and a business amateur in this context? A business amateur wakes up in morning and thinks ‘Oh, I’m not feeling motivated, it’s a glorious day outside, I can’t be bothered to make those follow up calls today’. On the other hand a business professional will go to any length to do the things they need to do whether they feel like doing it or not. A professional will say ‘I am going to do one thing every single day to grow my business’.
Bear in mind that if that is the case, then over a course of one year - 365 days, imagine what a difference one small tiny step would impact on your business development. If your mindset isn’t right then you are only going to achieve limited success.
Every business decision you make today will affect your business tomorrow, next week, next month and in the future.
It’s so vitally important to get this mindset, this attitude in place right NOW.
Stephen Covey, author of ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, offers this advice, ‘Begin with the end in mind’. He advocates working backwards from where you want to be in order to make the choices that will lead you there.
Having a business mindset is about becoming more strategic in your thinking and getting clear on what it is you want to achieve before you invest in any business activity.
And if your mindset isn’t quite at the right place yet, what are you going to do to change it?
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Monday 11 May 2009
Entrepreneurs who do their homework increase their chances for
I have spent the weekend preparing for my family holiday, treating us all to some new clothes and making sure all the necessary plans are in place to ensure we set off happy and relaxed. When you add it all up it can come as quite a surprise exactly how much time we spend planning and preparing for our hols. You start off months before hand carrying out research to find the best resort, you compare prices and travel companies to find the best deal available and that’s all before you even make your reservation.
So, it makes sense that when planning something as important as
setting new goals for your continual business development you carry out research to determine if your ideas are viable.
Lack of sufficient research is one of the fundamental mistakes that many small businesses owners make in the early days of setting up and running their own business. Likewise, it is also one of the reasons many fledgling companies fail.
Let’s imagine you have created a new product or service that you are certain to be a winner. But how can you be sure?
Firstly , ask yourself, is there a demand for the product or service you will be offering?
How big is the market?
Will the product or service you plan to offer be profitable?
Who else is offering the same or similar products or services in your area?
What will differentiate you from your competitors?
How will you make your business idea stand out?
Who are your customers? How will you find them? How will they
find you?
It’s not enough to just ponder these questions, you need to set
aside some time to sit down and focus on the answers. There’s no
time like the present, so commit now to starting your research by
answering the questions above.
‘Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.’
Marston Bates
So, it makes sense that when planning something as important as
setting new goals for your continual business development you carry out research to determine if your ideas are viable.
Lack of sufficient research is one of the fundamental mistakes that many small businesses owners make in the early days of setting up and running their own business. Likewise, it is also one of the reasons many fledgling companies fail.
Let’s imagine you have created a new product or service that you are certain to be a winner. But how can you be sure?
Firstly , ask yourself, is there a demand for the product or service you will be offering?
How big is the market?
Will the product or service you plan to offer be profitable?
Who else is offering the same or similar products or services in your area?
What will differentiate you from your competitors?
How will you make your business idea stand out?
Who are your customers? How will you find them? How will they
find you?
It’s not enough to just ponder these questions, you need to set
aside some time to sit down and focus on the answers. There’s no
time like the present, so commit now to starting your research by
answering the questions above.
‘Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.’
Marston Bates
Tuesday 5 May 2009
Are You making the most of Public Speaking
Have you ever found yourself watching someone and thinking ‘I could do that’.
That happened to me when I was sat in the audience listening to some of the UK’s top business strategists and speakers presenting on internet marketing and personal development. Having the ability to speak well in public opens up a world of opportunities, So what was stopping me?
I was keen to explore this with one of my coaches and it was interesting what came up. Being shy or lacking confidence surprisingly wasn’t the issue, for me it was a real fear of forgetting my subject matter when in front of an audience. I can tell you, an audience looks quite different when you are facing it rather than part of it.
So let me share with you some of the actions I have taken that will also enable you to take your public speaking to the next level.
1.Be yourself. You are an expert on you. No-one in your audience knows your subject better than you – at least not from your perspective.
When my coach drilled down on my fear it became apparent I was concerned about being judged. It was then that I realised my perspective, my experiences my opinions were the messages I would be sharing with my audiences I suddenly realised the fear wasn’t so bad. No-one can judge my perspective!
2.Prepare and practice. Brain storm, mind map or bullet point the main points and then run through your entire presentation as often as you can. Some people suggest you practice in front of a mirror but personally that just makes me laugh!
What I prefer to do is visualise the whole presentation, from arriving in the room right through to close of the presentation, being very careful to include every little detail, from starting with a bold statement, a question to get your audience thinking or by telling an interesting personal story, to making eye contact with the participants to listening to the sound of your voice, ( is there any passion there, are you speaking from your heart?) to noting how your audience responds to you – the positive outcome you desire. Really go to town on this and note whether you are associated or disassociated from the experience, or in other words in your visualisation are you watching yourself perform or are you actually in the picture seeing things with your own eyes? Play around with this and see what happens.
3.On the day. Aside from the practicalities, prepare yourself. Have you ever been at a seminar before and turned around to see the guest speaker make a flying entrance from the back of the room? This is a popular speaker trick to get the adrenalin pumping before going on stage. Remember to stand at the front of the platform, if you stand too far back you risk demonstrating you are nervous of your audience. Try to include humour in your presentation, it reduces tension and helps you build rapport with your audience.
If you are wanting to share new information with your audience the quickest way of doing so is to begin your sentence with ‘ you probably already know ……’ before you have even finished those words your audience will be nodding and their neural pathways will be ready to accept the new information.
And lastly remember like learning any new skill it takes time to perfect, so most importantly enjoy the experience and the opportunities speaking to an audience will open up for you.
Gerald R. Ford famously said: "If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on two areas: learning to write and learning to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively."
That happened to me when I was sat in the audience listening to some of the UK’s top business strategists and speakers presenting on internet marketing and personal development. Having the ability to speak well in public opens up a world of opportunities, So what was stopping me?
I was keen to explore this with one of my coaches and it was interesting what came up. Being shy or lacking confidence surprisingly wasn’t the issue, for me it was a real fear of forgetting my subject matter when in front of an audience. I can tell you, an audience looks quite different when you are facing it rather than part of it.
So let me share with you some of the actions I have taken that will also enable you to take your public speaking to the next level.
1.Be yourself. You are an expert on you. No-one in your audience knows your subject better than you – at least not from your perspective.
When my coach drilled down on my fear it became apparent I was concerned about being judged. It was then that I realised my perspective, my experiences my opinions were the messages I would be sharing with my audiences I suddenly realised the fear wasn’t so bad. No-one can judge my perspective!
2.Prepare and practice. Brain storm, mind map or bullet point the main points and then run through your entire presentation as often as you can. Some people suggest you practice in front of a mirror but personally that just makes me laugh!
What I prefer to do is visualise the whole presentation, from arriving in the room right through to close of the presentation, being very careful to include every little detail, from starting with a bold statement, a question to get your audience thinking or by telling an interesting personal story, to making eye contact with the participants to listening to the sound of your voice, ( is there any passion there, are you speaking from your heart?) to noting how your audience responds to you – the positive outcome you desire. Really go to town on this and note whether you are associated or disassociated from the experience, or in other words in your visualisation are you watching yourself perform or are you actually in the picture seeing things with your own eyes? Play around with this and see what happens.
3.On the day. Aside from the practicalities, prepare yourself. Have you ever been at a seminar before and turned around to see the guest speaker make a flying entrance from the back of the room? This is a popular speaker trick to get the adrenalin pumping before going on stage. Remember to stand at the front of the platform, if you stand too far back you risk demonstrating you are nervous of your audience. Try to include humour in your presentation, it reduces tension and helps you build rapport with your audience.
If you are wanting to share new information with your audience the quickest way of doing so is to begin your sentence with ‘ you probably already know ……’ before you have even finished those words your audience will be nodding and their neural pathways will be ready to accept the new information.
And lastly remember like learning any new skill it takes time to perfect, so most importantly enjoy the experience and the opportunities speaking to an audience will open up for you.
Gerald R. Ford famously said: "If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on two areas: learning to write and learning to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
