Building Profitable Momentum
March 21, 2012
By Lisa Murray, Revive Business Coaching
An article about the ‘trend’ for Chief Momentum Officers caught my eye this week, seeing as I was in a super-charged flurry of making overdue changes in each of my businesses! Everything around us is changing faster and faster and it can be dizzying to keep up.
So what’s a budding entrepreneur to do?
If you know and use your strengths in creating, managing and responding to change daily, you will find the ride smooth and somewhat exhilarating. If your strength is sticking with something no matter what, you are probably enjoying the almost unnoticeable downhill slide that often precedes slowly and softly killing your business! Maybe not your best choice…
Momentum in business is about speed, flexibility and the ability to change direction in a heartbeat.
If you are going to be the Chief Momentum Officer in your growing business, you require three capacities that are much rarer in business than we think:
- The ability to intuitively read trends, sense possibilities and become aware of what is relevant to your specific business. Not every bandwagon is worth jumping on (and nor may you have the resources either!)
- The courage to lead your business where no business has been before. To create a culture of constant change – where organic and flexible systems underpin the capacity to deliver a shot of innovation or creativity in any moment, anywhere – rather than setting in place inflexible structures that create habitual responses and tired, uninspired teams who can only do what they have always done.
- The willingness and capacity to move quickly when you know that you know! What if you have fewer projects in the pipeline, but they come to fruition much faster, taking advantage of where the market is right now? Quality thought leadership makes its mark in your bottom line. What will it take for your business to be recognised as the leader in your industry?
As the leader in your business, it’s up to you to get this momentum moving.
Momentum comes from being in the question. From a constant sense of curiosity and relaxed urgency. From a deep desire to create something that will outlive you. From knowing you are the only person who can create this vision in this specific way…
What is it about you, your talents, abilities and skills that will allow this capacity for harnessing momentum for profit to emerge in your business? What capacities do you have for changing direction in an instant and refocusing the momentum you have built so that it isn’t lost? How will you enable your team to continually perform beyond expectations in a chaotic world?
These are the questions we need to consider as we work on our businesses. With greater awareness comes a phenomenal capacity for change! Are you up for it?
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY LISA MURRAY
- Reached Your Target? Keep Moving!
- Grow Your Business: Exponentialise Your Vision!
- Change: Are You Resisting the Flow, Going with the Flow or Creating Flow?
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Lisa Murray - Revive Business Coaching/Bliss TribeLisa Murray is an experienced business mentor who brings bliss back into your business. Her holistic, unconventional and creative strategies help small business owners design authentic, ease-filled and profitable businesses. Through her BlissTribe community, Lisa is a catalyst for business owners to choose a phenomenal, rich and joyful life without compromise! The sky is not the limit… there are no limits… unless you choose them! Lisa connects the dots for you… she is an idea generator, a sounding board, a skilled facilitator, a strategist, a problem solver and a contribution to the authenticity and potency of you creating the business you truly desire and deserve. What else is possible? Ask and you will receive!!
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Diary of a Sweet Startup: Stanley & Nelson Cupcakes
March 7, 2012
By Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Strawberry Communications
December 2, 2011:
Just before Christmas, Suse Henshaw and I were discussing our love of baking over coffee with another friend. Suse had made some yummy pistachio and cranberry shortbread and was thinking of selling it as Christmas gifts. She ended up baking 28 packets of biscuits and made herself some festive season pocket money in the process.
December 8, 2011:
I was asked if I would make 30 cupcakes for a friend’s daughter’s 18th birthday party. They wanted vanilla cupcakes with white icing and pink flowers. An idea started to form that our skills would work well together baking sweet things. Suse and I spent the next few weeks throwing around some ideas.
January 3, 2012:
Suse and I met up for coffee and decided we should start a baking business. What would we call it? How do we tell people this fledgling business exists? We threw around a few name ideas until it occurred to us to name it after the furry men in our lives – Stanley (my ginger cat) and Nelson (Suse’s black Labrador).
January 13, 2012:
Stanley & Nelson was registered as a business. The next piece of the puzzle was how we get our sweet bakings out to the public. We knew we could do personal and corporate orders, but what about the wider population? This question was answered when we found out a farmer’s market was launching in Launceston. Harvest Launceston would be our storefront! The first market was in February, so we had to finalise a product line, get council approval, find a commercial kitchen and buy equipment for the stall itself.
February 11, 2012:
Everything fell into place with not too many hiccups and we even found a commercial kitchen within walking distance of our homes. After a whirlwind few weeks, we found ourselves standing at the first market, with a line of customers five deep. We sold out of 180 cupcakes in less than two hours (we thought a cupcake a minute was more than enough for our first three-hour market). A local cafe owner bought six of our specialty cupcakes and contacted us to see if we wholesaled. Yes!
February 18, 2012:
Our second market. We made more cupcakes and sold out again, paying ourselves back the $500 we’d each invested.
March 3, 2012:
We’ve now had four markets and have been taking orders for parties and events (including one for 200 cupcakes), with interstate orders and interest along the Eastern Seaboard. Now we’re looking to manage our growth as we each run other businesses. Stanley & Nelson has also enjoyed some excellent media attention in its short life.
A business that started, like many I assume, over a coffee went from an intention to start to a fully-fledged operation in less than six weeks. The world is our cupcake!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JOHANNA BAKER-DOWDELL
- Creating PR around Special Dates
- Using Photos in Your Media Pitches
- 10 Suggestions to Extend Your PR
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Johanna Baker-Dowdell - Strawberry CommunicationsJohanna owns and runs writing and public relations service Strawberry Communications. The agency builds relationships with the media and key stakeholders on behalf of its SME clients. This service is provided through careful research and strategic communication, then maintained by telling the business’s story through amazing publicity and expertly crafted words. Strawberry Communications is based in Launceston and was launched in 2007. Johanna has more than 16 years experience in the media industry and is also a freelance journalist and blogger.
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Reached Your Target? Keep Moving!
February 22, 2012
By Lisa Murray, Revive Business Coaching
Do you love the moments where you break a barrier, hit a target; arrive at the place where you knew success would be yours? Have you noticed that there is a tendency to go ‘I’ve made it’ in some way and soon after allow everything to slowly dwindle to a stop point?
Recently, I was at a class and I was expressing my frustration that everything I imagine doesn’t show up instantly in my business (I’m sure none of you have ever done that!) After going through the ‘well sometimes the universe needs to rearrange a few things first’ conversation, I asked ‘well what the hell am I supposed to do in the meantime? It’s boring waiting!!’ (Yes, I am totally Ms Impatient!)
Here it is: you keep creating and generating more… and more… and more… Yes, it may feel like you are being sold a set of steak knives (… but wait… there’s more!), but what you will create is the key to your business expanding exponentially because you have so many possibilities in the pipeline.
It will no longer be about waiting impatiently for something exciting to show up – more like, which exciting thing are you going to choose next because you have created so many?
So which would you prefer? No choice or multiple choices?
I thought so!! So the key is to keep moving… keep creating… keep generating, without a point of view as to which bits show up when. Whenever I do this in my businesses, it creates a sense of momentum and joy which becomes an invitation to others to contribute to the businesses. And that in turn expands the momentum and the possibilities even further.
Conversely, you may have had ‘slow’ times in your business when it felt like nothing was working. Did you keep creating and generating new possibilities, or did you get stuck in the points of view about what it ‘should’ be like and keep hammering away at the dead bits like a good beating would bring them back to life?
From experience, I’ve noticed that hammering the dead bits usually doesn’t create much that I would care to have. Introducing new ideas, changing what’s not working and making new choices in many directions seems to have a much greater effect! What’s interesting is that when we move onto the new, often the old will reinvent itself in ways we never expected. Those dead bits receive the break they needed and can often sprout new shoots!
Whatever is showing up in your business – keep moving forward!
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY LISA MURRAY
- Grow Your Business: Exponentialise Your Vision!
- Change: Are You Resisting the Flow, Going with the Flow or Creating Flow?
- Business is changing… are you ready?
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Lisa Murray - Revive Business Coaching/Bliss TribeLisa Murray is an experienced business mentor who brings bliss back into your business. Her holistic, unconventional and creative strategies help small business owners design authentic, ease-filled and profitable businesses. Through her BlissTribe community, Lisa is a catalyst for business owners to choose a phenomenal, rich and joyful life without compromise! The sky is not the limit… there are no limits… unless you choose them! Lisa connects the dots for you… she is an idea generator, a sounding board, a skilled facilitator, a strategist, a problem solver and a contribution to the authenticity and potency of you creating the business you truly desire and deserve. What else is possible? Ask and you will receive!!
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In what ways are you controlling and/or shaping your business efforts?
February 7, 2012
By Janet Sernack, Compass Learning
One of the key challenges that constantly confronts small business owners is finding the fine line between trying to be in control of everything that goes on in the business and then being flexible and adaptive enough to still, intentionally, shape its direction.
It’s both/and!
Whilst effective management requires us to plan and to install systems and processes that organise and focus our investment, effective leadership requires us to also be adaptive enough, at the same time, to intentionally shape both its current and future direction.
Being in control ensures that finances, production, deliveries and other resources are tightly managed. From my experience in consulting to small businesses, wilfulness often takes over and many business owners become quite myopic and very internally focused. They often find that being overly controlling can be quite exhausting and is extremely challenging to sustain. This is one of the key reasons for many small business owners to ‘quit’, as it all becomes just ‘too plain hard’!
Being flexible and adaptive enables us to not only do those important management functions, but also enables us to operate from a higher and often different perspective. Again, from my experience, once small business owners are able to moderate their need for control and begin to ‘let go’, they create the empty space for new possibilities to emerge. This is one of the most liberating decisions and the sustaining factors that keep small business engaged, creative and energised around their business.
Being both on the balcony and in the dance!
A very simple mindset to play with to support you to operate effectively in both the management and leadership space is to be simultaneously both ‘on the balcony and in the dance’! This is a powerful metaphor, and as it suggests, it means focusing your attention on both the details and the tactical aspects of your business, whilst also focusing on the bigger picture and the more strategic aspects of your business.
I enabled one of my clients, now a successful global fashion designer and manufacturer, to break her overly controlling cycle by practising doing just this. We worked on introducing some powerful meta-questions, which she could silently ask herself, prior to every business decision she had to make.
Some Dance Meta-Questions to play with:
- What is the most important thing I need to focus on right now?
- What is the worst thing that could happen if I didn’t do that now?
Some Balcony Meta-Questions to play with:
- What is really going on right now?
- What is possible in this situation?
So make best use of the small amount of free time some of you have before the year flies away, to practice asking yourself some of the big questions that, in time, will enhance your ability to be more flexible and adaptive.
You will be surprised how much of a buzz that will create around your business.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY JANET SERNACK
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Janet Sernack – Compass LearningJanet Sernack successfully runs her own international learning and development consultancy, Compass Learning, where she makes a difference to small and large businesses by designing and facilitating customised culture change programs, leadership and top team effectiveness learning programs. She is a business and marketing management consultant, corporate trainer, facilitator and executive coach. She has also held senior management positions in the wholesale, retail and consulting sectors, most recently as a Senior Consultant at Corporate Vision Pty Ltd (Mettle Group) and as Marketing Development Manager with Grace Bros (Coles Myer Group).
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If your business came to life as a person, what would your customers think?
January 27, 2012
By Vivienne Kane, Minuteman Press Prahran
When you think Virgin, you think Richard Branson. McDonalds – Ronald McDonald. Victoria Bitter – a tradie in a singlet and stubbies.
Have you ever thought what your business would be if it came to life in human form?
What are the values and impressions you’d like to project?
Would you be a cool Gen Y with a couple of tasteful tatts and slightly out there dress sense? Or possibly a well groomed corporate type in a pinstripe suit? Or maybe a grey haired lady with a nana trolley? Would you be old or young, conservative or cutting edge, middle income or poor, an innovator or a follower?
If your business is an expression of who you are, and you think that’s important, it’s a very worthwhile exercise to think about this.
Is your brand personality someone your customers would buy from?
It’s particularly pertinent when you’re growing from a one woman band to an enterprise with multiple staff, some or all of whom have contact with your customers.
Imagine if your “business personality” is a smartly dressed forty something with a quirky sense of humour , but your front-line staff are all Gen Y’s with little training and no spark or interest in conversation. Perhaps your customers might be a bit confused.
Don’t assume everyone will understand your approach by osmosis. It needs to be explained as well as modelled. Role plays are a great tool. Of course, you don’t want the “business personality” to be a straight jacket – but your core values, approach to solving problems and conversational tone should all be clear, consistent and reflected by everyone in the business.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY VIVIENNE KANE
- Do you make these 5 Online Customer Service Mistakes?
- Why You Should Guarantee Your Service – and Brag About It
- Are you making champagne promises – and delivering beer?
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Vivienne Kane – Minuteman Press PrahranAs the owner and operations manager of Minuteman Press Prahran, a franchise print supplier, Vivienne works with small business customers every day. She runs the business, and their online specialty division CalendarPrint, with her husband Nicholas and their talented staff. With a customer base which often has little experience in buying print, Minuteman Prahran’s point of difference is making the process as painless as possible. Vivienne is a strong advocate of clear and reliable communication as a key tool in winning and keeping customers. She started her professional life as a Speech Pathologist, and enjoyed a variety of roles in administration and community groups before establishing Minuteman Press in 2000. She has three Gen-Y adult children, is an almost an empty nester, loves travel and is a member of two book clubs.
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Beyond Bold… What are the Infinite Possibilities?
January 25, 2012
By Lisa Murray, Revive Business Coaching
Setting targets for 2012 has been a focus for many business owners over the past few weeks. I’ve watched myself sitting on the fence, not getting caught up in the frenzy of activity, but still being totally willing for this year to be my boldest and most brilliant yet!
What has stopped me from making detailed plans is the sense of conclusion and limitation that comes with defining an outcome.
I have a sense that so much is possible beyond what I am aware of right now, and if I make plans and follow them blindly, I risk not allowing the true possibilities for boldness and brilliance to show up in my businesses.
So I’m experimenting… for the first six months, I am taking a totally different (and some would say bold!) approach to the standard goals and planning that most people do!! I am going to operate my businesses and my life from a space of asking questions and awareness. So what does that look like?
Questions to Play With…
- What could this be like if I didn’t have a fixed point of view?
- What future could I create here that is not defined, but is greater than what I currently know is possible?
- What do I desire to create today that will expand my future exponentially?
- What would be fun for me to have as my reality in business?
- What can I be, do, have, create or generate today that will make my businesses more successful right away?
- What could I do differently that would work for me?
- What choice do I have right now that will make me money today and in the future?
- Who or what can contribute to me to make my life and business easier today?
- What do I have the capacity to create and generate right now that I never had before? (And what would it take for me to be willing to choose that??)
- What question can I be, that if I would be it, would create more change and awareness for me?
Awareness of the Process (so far!)
- There are many more questions beyond those above… asking questions every ten seconds will allow new choices, possibilities and contributions to show up with ease.
- I’m not looking for answers; just awareness of what else I could choose that could expand my businesses exponentially.
- There are no lessons to learn… just the possibility for greater awareness and more joy and bliss!
- I am following the energy rather than following the plan.
- Rather than being stuck with a defined purpose that cannot create anything greater, I am creating the capacity for priorities which can shift boldly in the moment.
Using these tools, 2012 has started with a bang! Projects are getting finished, I have launched a new business in just under a month (from concept to launch!) and the choices for creating something greater in each of my businesses are flooding in effortlessly… and all without a definitive plan!!
So what else is possible? More boldness… more brilliance… and much beyond that! Wanna play??
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY LISA MURRAY
- Grow Your Business: Exponentialise Your Vision!
- Change: Are You Resisting the Flow, Going with the Flow or Creating Flow?
- Business is changing… are you ready?
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Lisa Murray - Revive Business Coaching/Bliss TribeLisa Murray is an experienced business mentor who brings bliss back into your business. Her holistic, unconventional and creative strategies help small business owners design authentic, ease-filled and profitable businesses. Through her BlissTribe community, Lisa is a catalyst for business owners to choose a phenomenal, rich and joyful life without compromise! The sky is not the limit… there are no limits… unless you choose them! Lisa connects the dots for you… she is an idea generator, a sounding board, a skilled facilitator, a strategist, a problem solver and a contribution to the authenticity and potency of you creating the business you truly desire and deserve. What else is possible? Ask and you will receive!!
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Four Ways to Improve Your Business Pitch
January 24, 2012
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
If you had to get up tomorrow, or a week from now, and pitch your idea to an audience, how would you go?
James Stevens, Roses Only, Lindley Edwards, AFG Venture Group and Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen's Network
Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) recently gave four women the opportunity to pitch in front of a panel of judges (Dragons’ Den style) and an audience of about 60 other business owners.
These four entrepreneurs weren’t pitching for money, but were none-the-less expected to do their best to convey their message and provide enough information (but not too much) about what they were offering. In exchange, they got some business advice to help them improve their pitch and further their ideas.
I was on the panel, along with James Stevens of Roses Only and the delightful Lindley Edwards of AFG Venture Group.
Four courageous women took the stage:
- Nikki Hills, founder and managing director, Mouths of Mums
- Michelle Teague, entrepreneur looking for her next venture (Invisible ink name badges!)
- Angela Elliss, founder and managing director, Australian Home Design Directory Group
- Julie Ankers, founder and managing director, Statement Pieces
Overall, they all did a great job pitching their ideas.They (obviously) knew their business and were very passionate.
Some of the areas that they could have done better at were clarity of message, succinctness and being specific about what the outcome of the pitch was.
Despite the evening event being a great networking night for a bit of fun, the women did get some great advice from the panel, including these four areas below:
Four Ways to Improve Your Business Pitch
Length of Pitch. How Long Should Your Pitch Be?
Most presenters exceeded the suggested time limit. If you have an audience (whether with your bank manager, investors or a potential business client) and they have allocated a certain amount of time for a meeting – then stay within the boundaries. It shows you respect their time.
It’s easier to speak for a long time than to speak succinctly for a short time. So, practise, practise, practise.
Say what you need to say with the most punch and fewest words.
If you’re compelling, you can ask for extra time to expand, but don’t take it without checking in or you risk losing people’s focus.
A Clear Message Cuts Through
Nikki Hills, Mouths of Mums
It was not always clear what the intentions was behind the pitch each woman gave.
What do you want the audience/panel to do? be very clear in your outcome and state it.
For example:
Today I’d like to tell you enough about our 2012 plans to convince you to share our message with you clients.
or
I’m looking to raise $10,000 for marketing. Over the next 10 minutes, I’ll present our marketing plan and I’ll then ask for your input on our ideas.
Tell Your Story – Set the framework
Your personal story adds colour and life and allows us to see behind the person that is doing the pitch.
When I was a panelist on the Dragons Den TV show, we dragons signed up equally on the likability of the person as well as the message and numbers. People like to do business with those they know and trust, so let the audience know you.
Similar to the clarity of message point above, tell your story, but don’t get carried away. We don’t need to know your history and every detail – just enough to make a decision or follow a call to action.
Know your facts and study your competitors
If you’re going into a new market then learn about that market, your competitors and who your competition is. As much as we like to think sometimes that we have no competition, we always do. It just may not be obvious. If you’re bringing out a new telephone (I know – extreme example) then the iPhone is not your only competition – not is every other phone – it’s actually every other way that there is for people to connect with other people.
Also, the whole market is NOT your market. There’s usually a subset of the big group who you can effectively address. (This is your ‘addressable market’.)
When it comes to the numbers, get really crystal clear about what it will cost to implement a plan. If you’re not good with numbers then it’s difficult for investors to have confidence in you. Run the details past your accountant and, again, practise talking about them so that you’re comfortable if asked questions.
Remember, you may only have one opportunity to pitch in front of a particular person or group. Pitching is an art and a science, so look to improve your skills as a presenter, speaker and do your homework.
And, good luck.
Suzi
P.S. I recently interviewed Lindley Edwards about narrative in business storytelling. You can listen to the interview here on our website or tune in on iTunes.
About DWEN
The DWEN community is an invitation-only, global community established to bring together an influential group of female CEOs, presidents, founders and business leaders to share best practices within the unique and challenging world of running high-growth businesses.
With the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) and other related initiatives, Dell is spotlighting female entrepreneurial success and creating an atmosphere where women can connect with one another, share best practices, build business opportunities and recognise female influence in business and technology.
DWEN Annual Conference: Dehli, India
In 2012, Dell’s annual conference will be at the cultural mecca of Delhi, India from June 17-19. Attendance is by invitation-only.
To learn more join the DWEN “Women Powering Business” Linkedin Community: visit www.dell.com/dwen
Being part of the DWEN community creates unique opportunities to connect, share best practices, build business opportunities and recognise female influence in business and technology. In addition to the annual DWEN Conference, the community holds webinars, Tweetchats and face-to-face networking events throughout Australia.
More Than One Way
January 23, 2012
By Cat Matson, catmatson.com
Like many business owners, I use the Christmas holidays to ‘re-think’ my business – take stock, review what worked and what didn’t in the previous year and make plans for the year ahead.
This year, I spent a lot of time thinking about what didn’t work in my business as distinct to what did. And when I looked at what didn’t work, it all came back to one common theme.
I tried to follow someone else’s system, or model, for business success.
I’ve written (or ranted) about this on my personal blog, where I talked about my resistance to being ‘fenced in’ by societal ‘titles’ – I’m not a consultant, coach, mentor or advisor… I’m a combination of all of those things… but the ‘system’ that says I need to have a strong, recognisable, ‘google-able’ title… well, it sent me in circles of despair and frustration for a lot of last year. Because that model doesn’t work for me.
Another system that I tried, despite my thoughts on it, were long-copy sales letters. Won’t. Do. It. Again.
My point is not to list all the things that didn’t work for me though.
My point is:
there is more than one way to build your business
I know you know that… in theory. But I also know that just like every other business owner I’ve ever met, you’re a seeker. A seeker of information, of ideas and better ways of doing things (if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be reading this blog). And being a seeker is fantastic!
The problem arises when our seeking moves from sparking ideas to wanting to ‘replicate’ someone else’s system, you know… “well if it worked for them, it should work for me too”.
Only if your circumstances, context, experience and business is identical to ‘theirs’.
In the age of information at our finger-tips and ‘gurus’ on every second webpage, magazine cover and conference stage, it can be very easy to be lulled into the trap of thinking there is a way, a recipe, a turn-key system for building your business. But for most of us, there’s not… there’s frameworks, generalised principles, there’s great ideas and inspiration… but how you make it work for you… well, that’s very much up to you.
So if you’ve ever beat yourself up for not being able to make a system or model work for you…
If you’re a learning junkie with a never-ending list of things to improve in your business or if you just sometimes feel like you’re the ‘only’ person who feels that none of the ‘systems’ or ‘models’ out there are ‘it’ for you, rest assured. You’re not alone.
There is definitely more than one way to do anything in business. And your way might well be the best.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY CAT MATSON
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Cat Matson - catmatson.comCat is a Business CATalyst, sparking ideas for peak business performance. With a keen interest in strategy, marketing, social media and personal effectiveness, Cat works with clients to have their business firing on all cylinders. Appalled by the notion of ‘silver-bullet’, ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches to business success, Cat works with savvy business owners to connect the RIGHT resources with the RIGHT strategy to produce the desired business outcomes.
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How to Outwit the Devil, Your Fear and Other Obstacles to Your Success
January 21, 2012
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
A new book titled Outwitting the Devil is the long-awaited sequel to bestselling phenomenon Think and Grow Rich.
Written by Napoleon Hill in the 1930s, the book was too controversial to release in its time. Bestselling author Sharon Lechter has recently had the daunting task of annotating the book (given to her exactly as the author had left the manuscript 80+years ago) and working to make the important messages relevant to today.
And, she’s done a stellar job. The book is timely, easy to follow and contains poignant messages.
I read Outwitting the Devil in preparation for an interview with Sharon for the Australian Businesswomen’s Networks podcast series, herBusiness.
The interview, and the book, examine the greatest obstacles we face in reaching potential goals: fear, procrastination, anger and jealousy, as tools of the Devil (which is the way the author described them).
herBusiness podcast interview
Over 30 minutes, you can listen to Sharon tell us first hand:
- How fear, worry, doubt and indecision work against us
- Why victory goes to the people who know what they want and are determined to have it
- What the author discovered in his darkest moments that he turned around to achieve great success
I really enjoyed interviewing Sharon for this podcast. Take a listen in one of two ways:
Listen to this episode on our website.
Listen to this on your MP3 player, by downloading it from iTunes.
Purchase the Book
If you’d like to get a copy of the book, you can order it from Booktopia.
I’m a bit of a podcast addict. I love to listen to them while I drive or while I’m doing things around the house. It’s a great way to learn on the go.
5 Career Resolutions to Banish Your Workplace Woes in 2012
January 17, 2012
By Susan Wareham McGrath
Along with your personal New Year’s resolutions, did you make any career resolutions for 2012? If you’re suffering from workplace woes, here are five resolutions to help you make your career work for you this year!
1. Give your Career a Health Check
Just as you need to look after your own health, you need to look after your career’s health to make it work for you. The start of the year is a great time to review your progress towards your career goals and make plans for the rest of the year.
Consider setting aside some time to think about:
- where you are now
- where you would like to be
- what you need to do to get there
and write a simple career management plan to help you keep on track over the next twelve months.
Remember to include SMART goals and milestones; and don’t be afraid to change the plan as your circumstances change – just like strategic plans, career management plans should be living documents with built-in flexibility to be adaptable to changing circumstances.
2. Update your Résumé
Have you ever missed out on a job opportunity because you didn’t have a current résumé at the ready? Don’t let that happen again – spend some time this weekend getting your résumé up to date!
Some tips for a competitive résumé:
- Make it achievement focused, rather than a list of duties taken directly from your job description
- Consider carefully whether including a career objective is adding value – even résumé writing professionals disagree on this issue
- Try and keep it to 3 or 4 pages
- Use keywords liberally throughout your résumé
- Keep the format clean, simple and professional (no funny or suggestive email addresses please!) and
- Proofread and check it carefully
Also, remember that résumés need to be targeted to specific jobs, so always review your résumé from the employer’s perspective before submitting it, to ensure its content is specific to the job in question – recent research has found that employers take less than 20 seconds to decide whether a résumé is worth consideration, so it’s important that you showcase your suitability for the role from the start.
3. Review your Social Media Profiles
Be very careful how you present yourself on social media. It can be your best friend or your worst foe in terms of career branding, as increasing numbers of employers check candidates’ social media profiles when considering their employment application.
How would your social media profiles shape up against employer scrutiny?
When you’re engaged in a job search, it’s well worth looking through the eyes of a prospective employer at the image you present to the online world. Does your Facebook page contain content that might work against you in a job search? If so, you could consider making it private (at least temporarily).
Is your LinkedIn profile up to date and keyword rich so it comes up in searches for people in your industry? Have you used LinkedIn to connect strategically, join groups and build up your profile as an expert in your field?
Do you have an online CV?
If not, it’s never too late to start – even spending a little time on developing a professional social media profile will provide you with a very positive return.
4. Access the Hidden Job Market
It’s been estimated that up to 85% of Australian jobs are not advertised publicly; constituting Australia’s “hidden job market”. And these jobs come with an added bonus. Industry estimates indicate that only 5% – 10% of candidates know of them, so there is much less competition for them – a real bonus for savvy jobseekers!
So how do you break into the hidden job market?
There are a number of strategies you can use.
One of the most effective strategies is networking – making connections with people who can advise you of potential or current job opportunities, or who can introduce you to people who are aware of those opportunities. Personal and online networking are both very effective ways of gaining leads and introductions. In the online space, LinkedIn in particular is a great networking resource for people who are looking for a new job, especially when you approach your LinkedIn job search campaign in a focused and strategic way.
A second strategy to break into the hidden job market is to undertake industry research to identify organisations you would like to work for; then either cold call the HR department, or if you find cold calling daunting, introduce yourself in writing, advising you’ll follow up with a phone call. Prepare what you’re going to say in advance, ensuring you highlight the ways in which you can add value to the organisation. Follow up by sending a short letter or email to the person you spoke to, thanking them for their time and reiterating your interest in working for the organisation – a small gesture that has a lot of impact!
Registering with recruitment agencies is another effective strategy to access the hidden job market. Not only do professional recruitment consultants often know of jobs that aren’t advertised elsewhere, but they are skilled at promoting their candidates and can give you invaluable advice about presentation, branding and interview skills to assist you through the job application process.
5. Define and Promote your Personal Brand
In career terms, your personal brand is the way you present yourself and your unique value proposition to everyone you come into contact with who has the potential to impact on your career. This includes work colleagues, your employer, clients, recruiters, professional networks, friends and people you meet through your professional social media networks.
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression
… so it’s important that you promote your personal brand professionally from the start. When you’re applying for a job, you start building your brand with your résumé and application letter and your performance at interview is also part of your branding – whether you dress appropriately, your body language, your confidence and mannerisms.
As an employee, having a good, strong brand that clearly and consistently indicates your value to an employer in the ways they need the most will ensure you stand out from the crowd and have a head start in the competition to move up the career ladder.
A final note – value congruence is an important part of branding, so don’t force yourself to apply for a position that offends your values, or in an organisation that clashes with your ethics – it won’t work – you’ll feel fake, make yourself unhappy and your brand will eventually fall apart.
So there you have them – your career management plan, a targeted, updated résumé , a great social media presence, the hidden job market and personal branding – five career tools you can use this year to banish your workplace woes for good!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN WAREHAM MCGRATH:
- Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.
- Serving on non-profit boards – good for you, good for the community!
- How to write a winning application letter
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is an experienced Australian immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, has served as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 and leads the ABN’s herCareer initiative.
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