This is how I made mine – and why I’m looking forward to chairing the Difficult decisions and how you make them discussion at the Brighton Summit. When I left the BBC, I had a romantic idea of being a ‘portfolio’ worker. Someone who would offer a range of services, based on my broadcasting background…. Read more
How do you show your company’s best side?
Create a visual library that tells your business story. (Not everyone else’s). I issued an intruder alert in my last blog post. I’m not scaremongering, but have a group of strangers gate-crashed your website and your social media? By strangers, I mean the people who crop up in stock business images. Presentable and well turned… Read more
How do you measure business success? It’s the emotion, stupid.
(With apologies to James Carville, Clinton’s campaign strategist.) I remember when I first started my business, I’d put on my best ‘brochure’ face when I went to networking events. When asked how my fledgling enterprise was doing, I’d give a stock answer, “Fine, thank you”. Normally my questioner would respond in kind, “Me too”. This… Read more
Be clear about your company’s future. Tell your stages story.
When you’re running your own company it sometimes feels like you’re hacking your way through a jungle. You’re not quite sure where you are or what you will encounter next. It would be nice to have a scout who knows the route and could warn you about the low-hanging snake 500 metres ahead. Even though… Read more
Give your track record the credit it deserves. Go back to the real beginning.
People assume that they began their career when they got their first professional qualification and had a certificate to prove it. I’ve interviewed many entrepreneurs and company founders and I think their working lives start much earlier than that. Toddler? Teenager? Trainee? When did your expertise emerge? Pick a skill that you use in your… Read more
A festive personality test for your website: is it a pickpocket, pianist or panto baddie?
I have spookily long fingers. A villain? They are so long, that the eight year-old daughter of a colleague once asked her mother, in hushed tones, whether I was a witch. A proper witch like the ones in Roald Dahl’s The Witches – with wigs, clawed hands, large nostrils and no toes. For the record,… Read more
Don’t dry up #2. Use national days, weeks and months for content ideas.
In ‘Go sober for October’ I began looking at different ways to keep the content on your company website fresh. Way #1: make the most of any events your organisation is planning. Workshops, talks, conferences, away days. They’re fertile ground for home grown content. Awareness campaigns help. Way #2: keep across the national and international… Read more
Keep learning. The hallmark of great entrepreneurs. Are you one of them?
I’ve interviewed an eye watering range of business people over the years, in mainstream and niche sectors. The group that stands out is the one made of ‘Founder-MDs’ – the women and men who’ve forged their own businesses from ideas they’re committed to. They’ve had gut-wrenching moments along the way, sometimes when an idea hits… Read more
The story behind your business values. Not sure what it is? Or what it’s worth? Read on.
The values you bring to your work were shaped long ago. Well before you applied for your first job or set yourself up in business. And if you’re like the ‘amazing and driven’ person below, you’re probably taking your values for granted. Don’t! As Mebrak’s story shows, your values help you to stand out from… Read more
Build trust. Tell the story of your purpose.
If your audience is sceptical, tell the story behind your product. Why and how you’ve gone to such lengths to develop it. This is the story of the ODC. An insightful profiling tool that takes 10 minutes to complete but took its creator, Willem de Jager, 15 years to perfect. “I was struggling with the… Read more