Feel the Force - Become a Business Jedi

I have a confession to make..... last night at precisely 17:45 I received my vaccination JAB!! Yes, a doctor stuck a needle in me and wished me all the best. I had the Pfizer jab which meant I had to wait 15 minutes to make sure there are no side effects and off home and wait for the antibodies to do there stuff. As I have said before, there are reasons to be cheerful (although that is a bit selfish). I haven't told many people about it but when I have I tend to get asked how I managed to get the jab... Sometimes I tell them I paid to jump the queue 😀 - which I didn't. Sometimes I tell them that I look good for an over 65 year old - and I do that to stop them from being that rude like my brother was. Sometimes I just tell the truth. People are clearly judging me on what they see without knowing the facts. We all do it.... judge people, judge customers....... without really understanding all the facts.  And this is the point of this blog.... Stop making quick judgement (or assu...

I talk a lot about being in the Top 20 or striving to get into the Top 20..... This term "Top20" is from a set of business statistics that highlight how only 20% of businesses are successful (ie. really making good money and thriving). And the sad reality is that while 20% are successful there is the 80% that are NOT. (80% = 60% getting by and 20% struggling) These are stats that I learned during a business conference in 2012 and hold true today. Ultimately the definition of "successful" will vary depending on what you are trying to achieve (in business and life) so consider the term "Top 20" aimed at you if you are not happy with the results you are achieving at the moment. Aiming to be in the Top 20 is about constantly learning, adapting and pushing you and your business to where you want it to be.  What I find is that so much you learn in life can help your business and so much you learn in business can be used in life.... So how did a simple walk get m...

There is no doubt that many people are not making the most of the information and functionality of the system.  This session covers off 1 Key aspect of the Ops System - The Dashboard. Do you understand what the Dashboard is telling you..?  

  KNOW YOUR NUMBERS As a serious and professional business person it is essential that you understand the key numbers in your business. Managing the cash in your bank is essential but you must not do it in isolation to understanding your key numbers; Sales per month / year £’s Gross Profit (£/%)  / net profit (£/%) No. of customers/ orders per month – No. of Average Sales per Order / customer £’s Marketing Spend in month / year £’s Cost of Acquisition (% of marketing spend / Sales) % No. of sales to break even Monies owed by customers £’s Here is a simple spreadsheet that you can populate.  CLICK HERE  (and download it to your PC)   You can get your Sales figures from the Ops System – you can export your figures directly from the system You can get your Expense figures from Receipt Bank / 1TapReceipts NOTE – if you have used the systems properly then financial analysis and tax return information is really easy. Why wait until the last minute to get your tax retu...

WTF ARE CITATIONS A citation by definition is a reference to a source of data / information. In the digital world citations can be obtained in many different ways. One of the simplest and easiest forms of Citations are online directory listings. Here is Damien’s  CHEAT SHEET  (showing a number of directory listings) There are some rules that need to be observed and followed and there are no shortcuts. As with all things digital if you try and cheat the system you will get caught out and that could be disastrous. Follow the guidance and if you are not sure then ASK. Setting up directory listings is not an exciting job which is why so many start doing a few and then stop. Don’t be like most people…. Set a plan to do a couple a day using listings that carry a good level of authority.   In this presentation we cover; What is Linking Building What are local citations Why they are important The importance of NAP Completing your Listings as fully as possible A  cheat sheet...

  The phone in your pocket gives you the opportunity to be so much more efficient. Considering that we are all on the move these days the ability to manage your business with a few clicks, APPS and short cuts is another opportunity for many. Are you as effective and efficient as you could be..? Could you save some time by using your phone more..? Sean actually shows us his phone in real life. In fact the whole presentation was done from his mobile phone.

  A session from Sean sharing 10 key tips to make you make better decisions, sell more and grow your business. The Top 10 tips are... 1.Don’t Trust Your Brain…. Know Your Numbers (FACTS) 2.Selling in “steps” – make it easy to take the next step 3.Stop Talking and Start Asking Questions à Listen 4.Busy – put your prices up 5.Poor prices = poor business (discount by anchoring your price) 6.Customer is NOT always right 7.Understand psycology…. “Is that OK..?”, “Can you do me a favour?” 8.Brass Balls moments -> be different 9.Ops System…. Use it to your benefit 10.Video communications