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September 25 2011
June 21 2011
Starting my career as a drug dealer
The year was 1986, and I had just been caught dealing in drugs. I was thirteen.
It was my first small business that I can really remember. I discovered that drug dealing is actually quite profitable, but also somewhat risky. The drugs I sold were small pills that I got from the doctor to help me control my childhood asthma. There wasn’t a sudden outbreak of asthma in my school at the time but there was a demand for these pills as I discovered that they had an interesting side effect on me – they made you fart. To my 13 year old friends (the male ones of course), this was brilliant. They wanted some. I had the product, and they were willing to pay.
So I sold them, for 20p each or 3 for 50p.
It was going great, I got the pills on prescription so they were free and I took in the money. I didn’t think about supply issues further down the line (I just figured that the doctor would keep supplying them if I came up with enough excuses).
Then one day a teacher caught me. The small business was over. It was a short career being a drug dealer. The really great thing though, was that it sparked something in me about business. I was hooked.
So what’s your story?
June 13 2011
Escape from your desk
As I write this, I am sat in a field, smelling the fresh cut grass, enjoying the view over the river and loving the English sunshine. It is one of those perfect days that we occasionally get in the UK where the weather is fantastic, not too hot, not too cold.
The thing is, it is still before 5, and I have been here for 30 minutes already. Oh, and it is Friday.
In theory, I should be at the office, sat at my desk, working hard. That is what I expect of my staff, and it is what I expect of myself. Whenever you see a business man on TV, he has a suit and tie and is either in his office or on his way to visit someone in an office. That was my life for a long time.
I love the office as well, I really do. We have a great place to work and have worked hard to provide a good working environment for all of us. There aren’t many workplaces that can boast of having their own gym and thermal spa suite with 5 saunas and a steam bath at the office, but we can.
More and more, though, I am of the opinion that the “sit-at-a-desk” model of business needs to change, especially for the entrepreneurs driving the business forward. There are a number of reasons why I think this:
Rest
If you are like me at all, you cannot stop working. Even when you are sat at home watching a movie, you have the laptop on your knee and you are doing something from checking emails to writing quotes. Business, life and work all seem to merge together, and I think that is OK if you love what you are doing and have a passion for it. But we all need to rest. Sitting in the park today, listening to a Podcast (albeit about business) has been really restful. I managed a 10 minute snooze too and feel loads better.
Space to think
This is perhaps the most important reason for me. When I am in the office, I am constantly interrupted by the phone, email and staff. There is a to do list that is constantly nagging at me (and it always gets bigger, never smaller). Yet when I step out of that environment, the interruptions stop and I have time to think.
It is brilliant. I can think about things, brainstorm, mindmap, write, draw and all the other amazing things that you can do when you escape your desk. And too be honest, I have always had the best business ideas when I have gone out on my bike, for a stroll through the park or some time out in the quiet corner of a coffee shop.
Try it, taking with you nothing but a notebook and pen (analogue kind) and a book to read. Sit in the park for a few hours, head to the beach, get on your bike or go sit in Starbucks. You’ll soon discover all kinds of answers or ideas that you wouldn’t ordinarily have until you escape the desk.
People Step Up
It is easy in our office to ask me a question. It is an open office, and we deliberately set it up that way but it is probably the main reason I get interrupted. The thing is, when I am not there I don’t get a whole bunch of calls from the office, maybe one or two, but not lots. It is not as easy to get me on the phone so people think through their problems for themselves. It is magic, they step up and solve the problem or answer the question that they would have otherwise asked me. I think the team becomes more productive and they are better for it.
It is easy to think “I should be back at the office”. You feel guilty or out of control, both of which are things that you should deal with. There is no need for either.
It is easy to think “I should be back at the office”. You feel guilty or out of control, both of which are things that you should deal with. There is no need for either.
Make it a priority
I am speaking more to me here than anyone else. As I sit here, I realise that it has been a while since I have done this. Work has been busy, really busy recently – so I have been constantly responding to things. Maybe that was right? Maybe that was a season? But it has been too long. I had to fight hard to get out early today, I didn’t leave until 4. I should have escaped at lunch.
A good rule for me that I try and follow is this: 50% office time, 50% working some where else time. I definitely don’t always achieve that balance, it is a tall order but for me it is a desirable one at this stage of my business life.
Wherever you are at, try and escape your “desk” at least one afternoon a week, even you are self employed and don’t have a team working for you. You can forward your calls to an answering service and pick up messages later. I wish I had started doing this much sooner, I can tell you.
So have a go, see what happens. I am pretty sure that you’ll be better at what you do because of it.
June 07 2011
Lessons learned from a Pro Waiter
Read Time: 2 mins
I am sat in Zizzi at the moment, watching life go by and enjoying my lunch. It is one of the rare, but massively enjoyable moments. The sun is shining, and all is right with the world. Well, mine at least.
I am sat here watching a master at work too. This guy, one of the waiters, seems to undertand that he is doing more than just taking food orders. He is the main link, the main connection the customer will have to this restaurant today. He seems to know that the one thing he can’t control is the food but that he can control everything else about the customer’s dining expereince.
My top tip to restaurant owner: empower your waiting staff to make the dinning experience amazing
When I worked as a waiter, I was a student. Like many of my colleagues, I was young and inexperienced with life. I just thought I needed to get the food order and clear the plates. Now I realise that a waiter is much more than that. They are responsible for the sales and marketing of the restaurant was well as customer services and account management. The guy I am watching at Zizzi’s knows this.
A family came in, and he spoke to the kids in a way that engaged them. As a parent, I can tell you – this would be bring me back time and time again! If my kids enjoy the experience, I will enjoy it. He made the mum laugh and the kids feel special. He is a pro.
Whatever Zizzi is paying this guy, they should add more to keep him. There aren’t that many waiters I can say that about if I am honest. He does stand out.
I reckon that he must get higher tips too. There is no doubt in my mind that this guy has realised that making people’s dining experience extraordinary has an impact on his financial bottom line. Great customer service always does. I’d love for my customer service guys to come and sit and watch this guy, they could learn a lot from him.
May 16 2011
Smart Business Idea: Do the basics, and then do them with style
I am convinced that doing the basics of your business exceptionally well will have a bigger impact on your business than looking for the latest thing, fad or clever idea. So often, we look for the latest thing at the expense of what is really needful for us.
A few weeks ago we were down visiting family for a few days, and I needed to get a few things done – so I popped into Windsor for a quiet day’s work. I often will pop into the nearest town to do some work, I love the space that it brings and on this particular day, the sun was shinning – so I felt even better.
The Basics for a Coffee Shop
My ingredients for these quiet work days (or space days): a coffee shop of some kind with comfortable chairs, wi-fi (free is better), a power outlet that I can use to charge stuff and a feel-good ambience.
Optional extras that make it even better: a great view, healthy food and not too much noise.
I am not actually too bothered about the prices if I get the above. I’ll even pay extra if I get the optional extras. I am also not bothered about the latest fad way to drink another hot beverage.
So, here I am in Windsor, looking for something that can meet these fairly straight forward requirements of mine
Starbucks Windsor…Yikes!
Like most people, I tend to be a creature of habit, so I stick with what I know: Starbucks. There is a great Starbucks in Liverpool that I regularly frequent so I stick with what I know and using Google Places on the iPhone, I find the nearest Starbucks. I didn’t spend more than 30 seconds in Starbucks Windsor as it definitely did not meet my requirments of ambience and low noise. It was awful.
So I spend the next 30 minutes walking around Windsor looking for a place. 30 minutes! In my head, I should have found a place in 3 minutes. So why did it take 30 minutes?
Tell customers about how you meet the fundamentals
I am looking for the Wi-Fi stickers in the window. I can’t be bothered to keep going in and asking, so I look for the simple sign that I have come to love and recognise. Yet not one of the cafe’s that I came across had a Wi-Fi sticker in the window, that’s what I spent 30 minutes looking for. I want Wi-Fi, it is fundamental for me. I imagine that it is fundamental for most people using this type of service. It is a business basic – and nobody in Windsor were announcing that they had Wi-Fi. Why not?
This is one of the basics that I am talking about. If you don’t offer Wi-Fi then you are nuts (unless you are doing a very niche shop that prohibits outside connection, in which case – tell me you do that and don’t leave me guessing and thinking you are nuts). However, if you are offering Wi-Fi, then why in the world aren’t you making it easy for me – the customer – to see that you are offering this service? Don’t worry about reading the marketing manuals just yet – focus instead on marketing the stuff that you do do, the stuff that I expect. Make it easy for me to see. A sticker in the window will do that.
After 30 minutes of searching, I think to myself that perhaps these folk in Windsor think the stickers in the window are sooo last year. Perhaps it is now a given that Wi-Fi is offered, so no sticker required? So, having had enough of walking around – I pop into the next coffee shop that I am walking past. It is a small, independent coffee shop that is trying to compete with the big boys.
Make sure your team know about how you meet the fundamentals
I ask, “Do you have Wi-Fi here?” to one of the rather bored looking Baristas.
“Yes,” comes the reply.
“Great” I say, thinking to myself that they should put a sticker in the piggin window then, but I keep my helpful thoughts to myself.
I sit down. The shop looks OK, and I grab a small seat in the window – good ambience. I order a smoothie. Things are looking up.
There’s no power outlet though. This is a minor frustration for me. I do have a full charge on my laptop so hopefully it will last. Hopefully.
I don’t know the exact cost of putting a power outlet near the table – but I am not convinced that it is a lot. It is a simple thing that if you do well, will keep people coming back time and time again. Repeat business is essential, especially if you are a small independent competing with the big boys.
The shop did have a drink that I’d never heard of though. I didn’t try it.
The Barista comes to me – smoothie in hand. “Sorry sir, we don’t have Wi-Fi I’ve just been told”.
Oh come on! You’re kidding me, right?
Fortunately, I have got the new HotSpot service on my iPhone but there is minimal battery left. Of course, I can’t charge it as there is no outlet. I am now frustrated.
As I finish my Smoothie, another couple enter and ask if there is Wi-Fi. You know what, if two people in the space of ten minutes come in and ask the same question – I would take that as a trend! I would do something about it.
I won’t even begin to tell you about the toilets.
What happens when you don’t meet basic expectations
The result of all of this – I left. I didn’t order any more drinks. I won’t go back, and it is a shame – as this could have been a great independent coffee shop. But it won’t survive because I imagine that the repeat business is weak (if you have low or weak repeat customers, you can probably bet that you are not doing well in meeting the basic expectations of customers).
The thing here is, with our businesses there are certain things that our customers expect. These expectations will raise every year as the industry grows and develops.
Meeting the basic expectations of customers is the minimum we should be doing as small business entrepreneurs. Meeting them with style should be our aim. Once you have met them with style, then you can move on.
2 Key signs that you are not meeting basic expectations:
- Low level of repeat customers for your industry. I don’t know what the stats are for coffee shops – how many of the customers go back and buy another drink, or how many even go back another day. I am gonna bet that this independent coffee shop though had low repeat customers relative to industry standards. If customers are not coming back – you are not doing the basics well enough.
- I noticed people coming into the coffee shop and asking the exact same question that I had been asking about Wi-Fi.If there is a trend emerging in the questions from your customers, you can bet that you are not doing the basics well, or you are not communicating well enough as you customers are unsure.
What can you do to be sure?
Simply ask your customers. I emailed a bunch of our customers recently and asked them in a really open and honest way for some feedback. What they sent back to me was immense and really helpful. When asked in the right way – people will tell you what they think and will go out of their way to help you.
What we cannot afford to do, though, is to assume that you are doing well. That is a big mistake.
It would have been easy for me to assume that we are doing well as the company is successful. We get a lot of repeat customers and I monitor customer service enquiries to spot trends. But actually, just that simple email which took me about an hour to put together has highlighted so many simple areas that we can improve — all key, basic areas — and it will have an extraordinary impact on the business. I am totally glad that I did it.
The Bottom Line
I felt sorry for that coffee shop as I left. I want to support the small independents, I really do. But they had forgotten a really important business lesson – that sales and marketing these days is all about keeping your current customers. If you give your customers a great experience, they will tell their friends through all kinds of channels from Facebook to the phone and this will grow your business. If you give your customers a bad experience, they never come back and you have to start all over again.
I would have stayed in that place all day if it had offered my this kind of experience, and I would have spent a lot me than I did. I may have even gone onto Google Places or Yelp and written a good review. Now, though, I am wondering whether to write a bad review – all over a basic feature such as wi-fi.
It is the little things that we’ve come to expect that can make or break your business.
VictoriaSturgeon
May 10 2011
Book Review: How Companies Win by Rick Kash, David Calhoun
A few months ago, I was sent a book called How Companies Win: Profiting from Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You’re In by Rick Kash, David Calhoun
Boy, is this book a read! You have to be determined to get through this one that is for sure. Overall, I really enjoyed the book – but it is does load the thinking part of your brain. You can’t quickly speed read this bad boy so it took me a little longer to work through than normal.
The most disappointing thing about this book
The reason for this is the way the book is written, and this is the most disappointing thing about the book. The message is good, and gave me some great ideas but it has been written in “academic language”. Let me show you what I mean:
“The goal of demand profit pool analysis is to develop an empirical understanding of the distinct decision criteria that different groups of people use to select a product or service—and then to quantify the pools of common demand to determine their size, growth potential, and profitability.”
Sounds all very academic to me – and this appeals to some, mainly those that run large corporations that feel the need to talk like this or professors at Harvard. Me, on the other hand, I like talk to be plain, simple and practical.
The other “issue” I have with the book are that it feels like it is written for people that run companies that have a few million dollars to spend on market research. I love all their stories and examples – but they are about McDonalds and Budweiser. You have to work hard to understand how this applies to your small business, and how you put into place some of their ideas without spending a few million on their research services.
The things that were great about this book:
OK, that is the moan over. Aside from these few points, the book really is enjoyable. You’ll see some great reviews on Amazon, and with good reason too. It has some great ideas and questions that have really challenged me to think about my business in a different way.
Here are some of the key ideas/takeaways from the book:
- There is a shift from a supply-side economy (one where we look at the supply side of things: making supply quicker, cheaper and easier with low prices for example) to a demand-driven economy where we don’t just look at how we distribute stuff, we look at building great connections with our customers and involve them as much as we can – our “businesses are based on what customers want, rather than what the suppliers already had”. This is especially important and the business world finds “themselves in a period of hyper competition driven by flat demand and significant increases in lower-cost supply” – so the way you win, is to focus on demand, not supply now.
- Some good direct questions out of the book: Who are my most profitable customers? Identify the top 10 percent heaviest spenders in your market. What do these customers have in common? What is it that drives their decisions? What is the demand they are really trying to satisfy? What is their unsatisfied current, latent, and emerging demand? How do I differentiate my products and services so I better satisfy the demand of those most profitable customers? Precisely which of your customer targets creates the most net profit for your business? What is the action plan so I can align the people inside of my company to satisfy the demand for all of our customers outside of my company?
- Demand Gaps: “they are the distance between what your customer wants and what it gets from you or your competitors” These are areas that you can really exploit for maximum impact.
- Pricing: “The foundation of any successful pricing strategy is to price to demand, not to markets”. I have long held true that a business strategy that relies on low pricing has no real longevity, especially in this technological age. There is always someone else that can undercut you and there will be nothing that you can do about it.
- This is the statement that struck me more than any other in the book: “A 1 percent price increase has a 50 percent greater impact on operating income than does a 1 percent decrease in variable cost. More remarkably, that same 1 percent price increase has a 215 percent greater impact on operating profit than a 1 percent volume increase in sales.” I put this statement out on Twitter when I read the book (one of the really cool features of the Kindle) and asked if anyone had experience of this. Most comments coming back talked about the truth of this, at least an academic truth that can be bourne out on paper. I am personally still working it through on our companies to find it out for myself. What it does highlight it that actually finding a way to increase your prices by pricing for demand has a greater impact on your business than just cutting costs.
In Summary
Would I recommend the book for a small business owner to read? Yes, I would. A lot of it my not really apply but you can still get some good stuff out of it. I can see why the guys at Vayner Media send it out – it focuses on the customer which is what Gary’s book, The Thank You Economy is all about (I am half way through it and will review it soon). Be prepared to battle your way through in places, but take notes as you will get some good ideas.
Ratings:
Value for the small business guy:
I got some good value out of this, but it wasn’t written for me – it was written for the guys at Apple or any other large corporation that has a large research budget, so you have to work hard to extract some of the value.
Ease of read:
Didn’t like the language, felt I was at university again. This made is harder for me to read.
Practical insights you can use:
Got quite a few actually (even though you have to mine some of them), especially about pricing and finding different areas of demand, and marketing to them. I am still implementing these ideas, so time will tell if they actually work for me.
Impact of key ideas on your business:
I am of a strong belief that actually the key ideas from this book will have a huge impact on the small business, especially as you stop focusing in on price and look more towards delivering something that the client actually wants. In my experience, there are big profits in doing that.
Use of stories for key ideas:
I like stories that I can hook ideas on, it makes it easier to see how it applies to me. I enjoyed the use of stories in the book – it is just a shame that they examples were pretty much all mega large corporations like Budweiser and McDonalds.
My Overall rating:
Amazon.co.uk Rating (at time of blog publish)
(2 reviews)
Amazon.com Rating (at time of blog publish)
(11 reviews)
Amazon Link (affiliate): How Companies Win
April 30 2011
How to write better business emails
Email is where most of your time can be spent these days, especially for the small business entrepreneur. I’ve noticed more and more with our team that they spend a lot of time writing emails. It is part of our DNA now. So an important skill is understanding how to write better business emails. In fact – learning how to write email is a fundamental skill that should be taught to everyone, not just those that write business email (that is my opinion at least).
So, given that I get some awful email everyday from people – I wrote the following memo to my team regarding writing company emails (a good chunk of the principles, I got from David Rock’s book: Quiet Leadership
Dear Team
A few thing have struck me recently at the office, one of which is the use of email. We spend a lot of time writing and responding to email, so I wanted to give some clear guidelines to the use of email now. Personally, I have found these principles cut out a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth emails and misunderstandings. Please absorb, inwardly digest and use accordingly. Thanks.
- BRIEF. If an email takes up more than one screen then I don’t send it. Instead, email an agenda and schedule a phone call. This saves a lot of time as people don’t read long emails, and if they do the response is often long and not very productive. If sending long technical information or quotes, send them as a well presented PDF document, not lot’s of text.
- CLEAR. Make it easy to see your central point at a glance, in one screen (clear use of Subject Line, or Headlines in the body text). Emails work best if they are about one point. I appreciate that this is not always easy, so where you do need to make multiple points that can’t be sent over different emails or a PDF document, use clear headlines.
- THINK. Never send an email that could emotionally affect another person unless it is pure positive feedback. Emails are only to be used to share data and information, and to schedule live conversations. Don’t email anything that might bring about an emotional response in either the sender or the receiver, this is about anything personal, any type of feedback (I appreciate that it can sometimes be helpful to write the email to get it off your chest, but then save it in drafts and delete it a week later). We think that by emailing we won’t have to deal with emotionally charged issues, when in fact the opposite is the case. Emotional issues must be discussed by phone; email should be used only to book a time for a call. If you accidently break rule number three, phone the person immediately, apologise, and discuss the issue by phone.
- CONFIRM. When you talk with a client on the phone and agree new facts or information during that phone call, confirm this agreement in a subsequent email to them as near to the end of that telephone conversation as is possible. Things that are agreed in conversation that aren’t written down and sent to them often become grey areas that aren’t helpful and can come back to bite us in the proverbial wotsit.
Let me know if anything is unclear – but also let me know how you get on with them
Matt.
Injecting your company personality
The rules above can, if left unchecked, create dry and boring email. Often this is OK, but I think email should contain something of your company culture in them, they should contain a large part of your personality. For example, when you send an email to customer services, you usually get a dry and boring email:
Hi
Thanks for contacting us.
You email has been received and we will contact you shortly. Your support ticket ID is: 123456789
Sure, this meets most of the above rules, but it doesn’t get across anything else about your company culture (unless you work at a really boring company that is not really that interested in helping folk). Here is our copy of the same email:
Hi Customer First Name,
Thanks for contacting our rather lovely team here at Support.JerseyBeautyCompany.co.uk.
This is just a quick email to let you know that we have received your support questions and will be in touch very soon.We are using a new support system that we happen to think is pretty great, well I guess we would but hope you do too! You can follow progress online and even add additional comments at: http://www.customers-direct-ticket-url.com or you can just reply to our emails. The great bit is that they are magically contained in one convenient place so never got lost, forgotten, deleted or misplaced.
Your support question has been allocated a unique number that you can use to keep a track of things. Keep a copy of this ID so if you ever need to get in contact, we can track you down quicker than a quick thing. Your unique number is: #123456789
We keep track so you don’t have to so here’s a copy of the support question you sent to us. If you need to update or amend your question, simply reply to this email with the updates or go to the web link (http://www.customers-direct-ticket-url.com) and make the updates online.
————————————————————–
Copy of Customer’s Support Request
————————————————————–
We strive for perfection and never rest on our laurels so keep an eye an our support website from time to time (http://support.jerseybeautycompany.co.uk) where we are making regular changes and updating new FAQ’s as they arise. There is also the community support and feedback forum which has just launched http://feedback.jerseybeautycompany.co.uk and may help you find what you are looking for.Thanks for getting in touch and now relax, we will be in touch with a full response soon.
The Support Team, here at JerseyBeautyCompany
PS: You may find that you question has already been answered on our support forum, if you haven’t done so already – have a look. It is full of fab information – check it out at www.oursupportforum.com
As you can see, the feel of the email is light and fun, which is how we want it to be. This is not dry – but it does relate to the rules above, and it contains some of our company personality (and it meets our values of fun but also delivering WOW customer service).
Getting the Balance Right
There is a fine balance between the rules and injecting your company personality in to emails. You should have fun if it is part of your values (and it really should be) without being flipant or not considering the emotional response of the reader of the email. From my experience, though, most people use email in a really bad way – and yet so much more could be done with it if we break out of our default usage patterns. I know that I find it easy to reply with just one line and nothing else, but I am now trying to stop that an inject a little more “humaness” into each email, without breaking the rules above.
Have fun with this one, look at some of the emails you wrote recently and see if they violated the above rules, or are they really dry? Rude even? Writing better emails gets much better engagement and connection with folks and this is only ever a good thing!
April 18 2011
Avoidable Frustrations for your Customers
I am trying to login to Virgin Media at the moment to set up a Direct Debit that I thought had already been set up.
I can’t remember my password, because Virgin have such a set of bizzarre rules for creating one: it must be between 6-10 character, contain only letters and numbers and it has to start with a letter. Oh, and you can’t use the word “virgin” in your password either.
Why oh why did they do this? Who do they think is going to break into my Virgin Media account with a password that doesn’t meet these conditions? I wonder how many people click the “I can’t remember my password” link on this website because of these very constrictive rules. I feel like I am at prep school. I don’t need these rules for a password Virgin Media, your system is broken and you should change it and give me the benefit of the doubt that I can come up with a password that I will remember by rules that I already have.
This, as always, leads me to ask a question about the services that my companies offer: what “rules” do I enforce on my customers that make absolutely no sense to them whatsoever? Is there something that I am doing that is causing an avoidable frustration for my customers?
PS: Other crazy things on the Virgin Media site that I have found which cause avoidable frustrations:
- The “back” link they put on the page doesn’t go to my previous page, but a page I wasn’t actually on.
- You can only use letters when setting up a direct debit, which is not useful for joint accounts that have a “&” symbol in them
- you have to click a box saying that you are the ONLY person authorised to set up a direct debit — again, not true in the case of a joint account, but you still have to click this to proceed.
- I have to re-enter my account details and desire to have only e-billing: all information the shop clerk took when I signed up for the account. This is really, really frustrating. It reminds me of those phone lines where you are asked to key in your account number before speaking to a human being for the human being only to ask you for your account number as soon as they talk to you…grrrr
OK…that’s enough of beating up Virgin Media (for now at least). The key point in all of this, though, is avoidable frustrations: get rid of them ASAP.
April 06 2011
“Waist Disposal: The Ultimate Fat Loss Manual for Men” Book Review
Like most men at Christmas, I had started to realise that I had put on a few pounds. Well, it was more than a few pounds truth be told. Finally, at Christmas I was truthful with myself about my health, weight and fitness.
Typically, I come to this same place every couple of years it seems. I would do something about my weight and then would let it slowly creep back to default and the weight would come back over time. And to get my weight down, I would do the same thing as everyone else: cut out fat and exercise more. Only this time it wasn’t really working for me.
Then I stumbled across this book on Amazon’s Kindle website and purchased it on an impulse. It was the first book that I had seen about the issues of weight and health that had been written specifically for men and that is the main reason I purchased it. So I read it and was stunned by what he had written, so much so that I handed the book over to the person that I trust most when it comes to all things food and health – my wife. And guess what? She loved it. I knew if Sharon loved it, it had to be good.
So I started to put in to practice the principles. I had rapid weight loss at first and this has slowed a little now. I am still loosing weight, just not at the same rate. The key facts for me:
- I have lost around 10 kilos since Jan. This is about 1st 8lb (or 22lbs). This is a 10% reduction in weight for me. I have about 3 more kilos to loose I think, although I am not really monitoring it now. I figure my body will balance out at some point
- I feel healthier, a lot healthier. This is a biggie as for me I haven’t increased my level of exercise at all from the cycling to work that I was doing
- The author, Dr. John Briffa, talks COMMON SENSE! This is important for someone like me to not only understand what is being said but to actually buy-in to his ideas
- I had a specific medical question so I emailed the author and got a really quick, personal response back…loved that!
Here is an extract from my Kindle notes that cover the main points of the book and I’ll add comments where I think appropriate:
Waist Disposal at a Glance
- Body weight and the body mass index do not reflect body composition, and are therefore limited in their usefulness. Estimations of body fatness and waist circumference are much more relevant measurements in terms of assessing health and fat-loss progress.
- Whether a food is fattening or not depends not just on the calories it contains, but on the form those calories take, as well as how good the food is at sating the appetite. Forget about counting calories (was really chuffed about this point), and concentrate instead on eating a diet rich in foods that counter the accumulation of fat in the body, and at the same time quell the appetite most effectively. (Basically, this means eating protein and lots of it – which is no problem as I love meat!)
- The chief fat-storage hormone in the body is insulin, which is secreted most plentifully in response to carbohydrate (sugars and starches). The most fattening foods are therefore those that cause most disruption to blood-sugar and insulin levels. These include foods with added sugar, as well as starchy foods such as bread, potato, rice, pasta, noodles, crackers and breakfast cereals. Eat as little of these foods as possible.(This hasn’t been too hard for me, although I do still have the odd slice of bread and few spuds every now and then)
- Fat is not inherently fattening, and certain fats (e.g. omega-3 fats) have distinct health benefits. Fats to avoid include refined vegetable oils (in excess) and industrially-produced processed fats such as ‘trans’ fat (in any amount). Otherwise, eat fat freely.(Does chocolate count? I wish!)
- Protein has superior appetite-sating properties to carbohydrate, and causes less insulin secretion too. As such, a protein-rich diet can therefore assist fat loss. Protein is also essential for the maintenance and growth of muscle tissue, which is important for improved body composition. Protein (e.g. meat, fish and eggs) should be eaten freely.
- Vegetables (other than the potato) are, on the whole, nutritious foods that tend not to cause much disruption to sugar and insulin. They, generally speaking, should be eaten freely.
- Eat enough (in terms of volume) and frequently enough to satisfy your appetite fully. In particular, ensure that you do not let your appetite run out of control. This may require healthy snacking (e.g. nuts) between meals, especially between lunch and dinner. At the same time, ensure you eat only when you are truly hungry (not when bored or in need of distraction). Eat ‘mindfully’ – focus on what you eat, savour food, and chew it thoroughly. (I must remember to slow down when I eat still that is for sure. I find that hard)
- Make water your prime fluid, and keep a supply of this close to you (e.g. a bottle of water on your desk). Coffee, tea and herb/fruit teas are generally healthy options too.
- Incorporate brisk walking into your daily schedule as much as possible, even in short bursts. In addition, engage in resistance exercise (such as the 12-minute exercise routine outlined in Chapter 10) regularly.
So what have I done?
I have cut out a lot of carbs. I still eat some, but in tiny amounts compared to what I used to do. I have found now that if I have too many, I don’t cope well with the extra sugar in my system and don’t feel great – so I have a good incentive to keep the carbs out and as a result my blood sugar levels are much better. Now I eat more protein with salads and (some) veg. Food is still tasty. For breakfast though, I still have a slice of toast – but only one and I have it with eggs and ham. Love breakfast time!
I drink only water and teas, with the occasional beer and glass of wine. Sorry to all you Coke Shareholders as the shares have fallen in value since I stopped drinking it! I have also cut out the fruit juice I used to drink but still have the occasional smoothie. I wrote an article on how I drink more water on the 1530 Habit website: click here to read it
I have treats every other day as I love treats!
I snack mainly on nuts. In the evening I love throwing some nuts into a blender with natural yoghurt. I add flake almonds, sometimes a little fruit and a small amount of honey (sorry Dr John!). Love that.
I have yet to increase my exercise, but will start walking more and cycling as the weather picks up.
The end result
For me, there has been a quantum shift in what I eat and I am really enjoying my new healthier food choice (and so is my wife with the new leaner and slimmer me) and wouldn’t go back to the old me at all really. My recommendation is buy the book, it will challenge your thinking (especially about fat and exercise!) and give you some good common sense. You can also read Dr John’s blog at http://www.drbriffa.com. I like his stuff because he doesn’t just take things on face value but looks at the facts, the studies and the common sense side of things. Read his article on sun cream and you will see what I mean!
This book is a keeper, and definitely a 5 start rating. You can buy the book at Amazon by clicking here
April 02 2011
The nightmare of defining the Small Business
I have been doing some research for my book, the one I am writing on how to set up and run a small business. I wanted to find a definition for a small business but it turns out that this is not a simple thing to find out! UK law, the banking association and the EU all have different definitions which, of course, is different to the definitions offered by the US Small Business Administration.
Let me show you what I mean:
Head on over to sections 382 and 465 of the Companies Act (2006) give us an accounting definition: a small business has a turnover of less than £6.5m, a balance sheet value less than £3.26m and less than 50 staff. Break these rules and you head into being a medium sized company.
The British Bankers Association tells us, though, that our turnover has to be under a £1m to be a small business customer and the European Commission breaks the small business up into two sections: a micro enterprise and small enterprise. The Micro enterprise has a turnover and balance sheet under €2m with less than 10 staff and a Small enterprise has a turnover and balance sheet value under €10m and less than 50 staff (this is at least close to the definition from the Companies Act).
In the US they have a different idea altogether and have thought it through a little more and have decided that what might be classed as a small business in one sector wouldn’t be a small business in another sector. So they have common size standards in each industry – for example, a small business in retail and service sectors is a turnover under $7m but if you are in wholesale, you are a small business if you have under 100 employees. This classification makes more sense but makes it more complicated to define and understand.
Dan, one of my business partners defines a small business as anything with a turnover of under £3m. He admits, though, that he just plucked the figures out of the air. Still, given the complete lack of cohesion in definitions from the so-called Powers That Be, it could be just as valid.
So, how do we sort through the nightmare and come up with some idea of what a small business is? For me, it is more about mindset and less about the figures. I have companies that the EU would call a micro enterprise. I have companies that the bank wouldn’t call a small business and neither would the SBA, but the UK Companies Act would.
I love being a small business owner, so I own and run small businesses. The US, EU and UK governments and banks may or may not agree with me but too be honest, I am not that bothered if they do or don’t. I am a small business owner.
And being a small business owner is a good thing. A very very good thing.
March 25 2011
Start your business for next to nothing and win some cash at the same time
I have been like a kid at a toy store today. I have downloaded the eBay app on to my iPhone and redisovered the addiction of eBay. I especially love how you can use the app to scan a bar code to either search or sell and item. Genius! Even the wife had a look on there and is now watching some stuff. All the surfing and buying stuff I don’t really need has led me to ask an unusual question:
Can you start up a business, buying everything you need off eBay for next to nothing?
For example, if I wanted to open a men’s hair salon, what would be the saving of buying everything on eBay from the chairs to the scissors? The flooring, the lighting – everything. Everything is second hand, nothing new – a business built on the true principle of recycle. Or if I wanted to open a sweet shop – would all the display stuff be there? Maybe a wholesaler that buys all used metal shelving.
What about an office with used desks, chairs, computers, software and even extension leads? And if you need a little more space, rent a small office and buy a second hand mezzanine floor from eBay to keep your costs low. This idea has a lot of merit and I am fairly sure that it could work with all different types of small businesses.
Of course, you don’t have to just look at eBay – but you get the point. Forget the blingy new stuff but go with the idea of recycling and cost reduction. Whether you are starting a coffee shop or a knitting factory I am sure it can be done.
I’ll give you the cash and promote your company
Here’s what I’ll do – I will offer a grant of up to £150 to any new business start up in the UK that can prove to me that they have started their business on the principles outlined above. The grant will go to the person with the best story that matches the principles (and that will be my decision alone). The only thing that I ask in return is that we can put your story on the website.
You’ve got until the end of April to get your entries in. Be creative, have fun – and let me know.
It can be for any type of small business. You could have already started your business (earliest point is Jan 1st 2011), and remember, I want proof: receipts, eBay links etc. The better the bargin the more likely you are to win. The winner has their story on this blog and I’ll promote you company on my twitter account too which is worth way more than the £150 as I have over 32,000 followers).
Post your questions below and I’ll answer them as best as I can. Send me your proposals (don’t leave a comment asking for my email address, you’re an entrepreneur – use your initiative to contact me, you’ll find a way!). The proposals have to be either written, or a video link to YouTube.
March 24 2011
Please take the initiative…
OK – lesson from the day: take initiative! If you do, you will stand out and become remarkable, someone that will never be out of work and highly sought after.
The opposite of taking the initiative is doing nothing, and then justifying why you should do nothing and why everyone else should be doing something. “It is their responsibility.” “I thought they were doing that.”
We seem to operate in a world of greyness where it is easy to pass the buck to someone else and have zero personal responsibility. The only thing that causes though is frustration. Frustration for you, for your colleagues and definitely for the guy hiring your services (ie me!). The wake up call here is that no amount of justification that you provide will get rid of that frustration.
What the world needs is men and woman who, when faced with greyness, take initiative and drive the thing home until the greyness has gone. It might not be your responsibility but that doesn’t matter – you will find out who’s responsibility it is an not just leave it, festering. You see that if left on the current course, the frustration that you are starting to feel will grow, so you intervene and do something about it.
“It’s someone else’s problem” is no longer an adequate excuse, especially for the small business entrepreneur. It might be more work for you, more inconvenient and it may even cost you money or resources that you don’t really have, but you do it for the greater good. You do it because you are a leader and you are more concerned that a great outcome is achieved than you are about your personal level of comfort or right to pass the buck.
And by doing that you create a small business that is sustainable and an absolute delight to work with. Customers talk about you and the amazing ease in which you seemed to work with them. Problems were magically solved and you looked good because you weren’t complaining or gripping along the way.
Watch out world, someone amazing is coming through! They are called “Initiator” and his secret power is just getting on with it! And I for one, can’t wait to see you in action.
March 22 2011
“Can I Help You?” Probably the most needed question in the world
You may have read my blog post, “Yesterday, I pulled a dying man from a car”? It is still the most read article on my blog, and with a few hours of posting it – it went viral. Comments, emails and tweets came in from all over the world about it. News companies even wanted the press release. Something about the story captured people’s imagination in ways that I never even thought possible. Although there was a tragedy at the end of the story, there was still something quite magical about the way it touched people (especially me).
If you don’t know the story: a few months ago, I came across a road traffic accident. It had just happened, and no medical personnel were there yet. Ordinarily, I would have done what almost everyone else was doing – I would have continued to drive by. This time was different though, I got involved because I have spent the last few years learning and improving my first aid skills with the British Red Cross. I pulled the driver out of the car as he wasn’t breathing and along with a few others – we started CPR on the him. Despite our best efforts, the man died.
The simple question I missed
The reason I stopped and didn’t keep driving was that I had a little bit of confidence thanks to my British Red Cross training. I knew I might be able to help. So I stopped and asked a simple question. In fact it is so simple, that in my initial writings, I left it out. I asked, “can I help?”. This is what makes the story unique. Without that question – there would have been no story.
I have no doubt that the hundreds (if not thousands) of people that drove by in their cars would have helped in a heart beat if they could. A handful of people went a step further and stopped to help, they just didn’t know how to. I’ll never forget the guy that asked me if was OK to rip the door off the car so he could get in, he had the muscles to do it too. He wanted to help, and when asked – he jumped in with both feet. Amazing.
This has led me to understand that there are 4 types of people in scenarios like this:
- People who could care less and are just annoyed at the interruption to their day if it slows them down. These are few and far between
- People who are genuinely good people that for one reason or another just keep driving by. This is where most people are. This is not a bad thing, or a criticism, it is just an observation.
- People who stop to help but don’t know what to do until someone asks them.
- People who find out how they can help and get involved.
There is a subtle difference between group 3 (those that stop to help but wait for someone to tell them what to do) and group 4 (those that find out how they can help and get involved). One is proactive, the other reactive. Group 4 asks: “How can I help you?”. Group 3 people need group 4 people to ask: “Can you help me?”.
How helpful are people?
Let’s take another example that I witnessed recently. I was in London on business, using the tube system as transport. If you have every been on the tube, you will know that the escalators are pretty steep, so when they stop – it is a nightmare for people as they have to walk up a lot of steep steps. On this particular day, I was at the bottom of an escalator that had stopped. We weren’t moving. I looked up to see that we had all stopped in the bottom half of the escalator. Someone half way up was holding us all up. I noticed people then started to squeeze past the blockage and walk up. I couldn’t see what the blockage was, but like most people on the tube that day, I just wished that it would hurry up and moved as well as crumbled to myself that the escalator wasn’t working. I eventually got to the top and saw the reason for the hold up: an elderly Chinese couple with a lot of luggage.I went and asked if I could help. I didn’t know if I could, I just know I needed to ask the question.
They had to carry luggage all the way up the stairs, and the gentlemen was severely out of breath and clutching his chest. Like everyone else, I looked at them a little longer than usual more out of being annoyed than anything, and like everyone else I walked past, despite the obvious and clear signs – this guy was in a bad way.
I know, that at heart, I am a good person that will help people when I can. Yet, I still walked by. I know that all those people that pushed past them on the escalator, annoyed and not helping them carry their luggage up stairs were mostly good people, even in London where you don’t often discover friendliness. After about 10 steps, I stopped and looked at them some more. In my head I am debating whether or not to get involved. I go through all of the standard arguments and reasons why I shouldn’t get involved, the main one being – they are Chinese and will not speak English. But I remembered my lessons from the car incident. I went and asked if I could help. I didn’t know if I could, I just know I needed to ask the question.
These incidents have taken me down a really interesting path of thought – how helpful are people? Based on my experience (and it is my experience, I am not sure if any scientific study has been done on this), I came up with the following info graphic showing the 4 types of people I listed above:
Apart from the small-minded minority, most human beings genuinely want to be helpful to their fellow man, especially in a time of need. But, and it is a huge but: most of the time, it is just a desire that is not translated into needed action.
The Catherine Genovese Murder
I came across a really interesting story in Caldini’s book: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Two psychologists, Latane and Darley, thought there had to be more to the story than people just being unfriendly in New York. Like most of us, they understood humans to be a different bread of people. So they did some research into the events of Catherine Genovese’s death and the results of their study, I find absolutely fascinating especially based on my experience.
They noted that bystanders weren’t separate individuals, i.e. other bystanders are present. So, in the road traffic accident, there were other bystanders (drivers). On the tube, the bystanders were the hundreds of other commuters walking past the distressed couple. This is significant as they noted in their study, that bystanders are unlikely to help when there are a number of other bystanders present.
Why would this be so? Why would humans be less willing to help and get involved if other people are around them? Caldini, in his book, draws out two of the significant reasons to be as follows:
- With several potential helpers around, the personal responsibility of each individual is reduced: “Perhaps someone else will give or call for air, perhaps someone has already done this.” So with everyone thinking that someone else will help – no one actually does help.
- It draws on something that Caldini calls Social Proof. For example, with the Chinese couple in the underground, it wasn’t obvious whether it was an emergency or not. Was the man having a heart attack, or was he just breathing heavily? When things are uncertain, we look at the actions of others for clues. When we don’t know how to behave or act – we look at what everyone else is doing as a guide. So people walking past the Chinese couple would have been uncertain to their condition and therefore they looked at what everyone else is doing to get some clues as to how they themselves should behave. Everyone else isn’t stopping – so I won’t either.
What we don’t realise is that everyone else is also uncertain. Latane and Darley say that this is the “state of pluralistic ignorance…in which each person decided that since nobody is concerned, nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, the danger may be mounting to the point where a single individual, uninfluenced by the seeming calm of others, would react”. Latane and Darely did some further experiments to test these theories.
In the first experiment, a college student who appeared to be having an epileptic seizure received help 85% of the time when a single bystander was present but only 31% of the time with five bystanders present.
Much research has been done into when a bystander will offer emergency aid – and what has come out of that research is that when a bystander is sure that they are witnessing an emergency – they will offer aid almost 100% of the time. It is only when their is uncertainty that we have a problem.
This leads me back to the title of my blog post: “Can I Help You?”: Probably the most needed question in the world.
When we are unsure of what is happening, when we are unsure of whether or not we can help – we have to do something that is different to our natural tendencies and wiring. Rather than look around and see what else other people are doing, why not ask someone if you can help? I believe that it is the most needed question that we have to ask other people at the moment.
How about in Business?
I have been trying a little experiment at work over the last few weeks: simply to ask everyone as often as I can and as genuinely as I can, “how can I help you?”. The results have been quite interesting, and I have found three key things I have noticed:
- People are always glad that you asked that question. It changes them some how when you ask them.
- It gets right to the heart of the issue, it focuses people in on to what is needed at the time. This focus saves a lot of time!
- The third thing, which was a real eye opener, was that it challenged assumptions. I often think I know what help people need, and I start heading down that path. I’ve discovered that my assumptions of often more wrong than right! Asking “how can I help you?” often clarifies what I should be doing rather what I assume I should be doing.
It does come with a warning though, well two actually:
- If you are not genuine you can come across as rude. It is the same question people ask when they want to hurry you along, so being authentic is a total requirement.
- You will actually be told – so then you are in a position where you will need to do something!
Anatomy of the question
Look at the question again: How can I help you?
It is a different anatomy to the question: “do you need any help?” And the differences are important. “How can I help you?” implies that the person you are talking to actually does need help in the first place. It is a big assumption that has been made, but with powerful repercussions. Usually if you ask people if they need help (especially men), they say no. Just watch a sales assistant in a clothes shop. They must ask that question thousands of times a day with very little take up, yet everyone in that shop needs help in someway (especially men!).
By assuming that people actually do need help, you re-frame the question. This actually catches people off guard a little (at least in my experience). They have to think about an answer. They may still give a Yes/No answer, but they have to think about that first.
I
Remember that Latane and Darley talk about the reduction of individual responsibility when bystanders are present? This question brings that responsibility back – you claim all the individual responsibility with the subject – how can “I” help you? That means stuff gets done. You are not guessing if other people have done stuff, you have taken the initiative. I believe that this is what leadership is all about. Once I was on scene at the road traffic accident, I understood what my responsibility was. I could then delegate and ask others for help. It made it much easier.
This is different from the question: “how can “we” help you?” that I hear from companies these days. It is not about we – because that takes is right back to the problem that Latane and Darley discovered – a lack of individual responsibility. This is where the guys at Zappos have made a massive difference in customers service: the gave their staff the ability to help customers without the need for approval from others. The customer service staff become individually responsible for the customer’s well being. The results have been astounding and I wish that people who run UK call centres would follow suit because then we wouldn’t feel like we are talking to the heartless machine.
You
The other part of the question is “you”: how can I help “you”?
This shows a total focus on the other person. It is you that I am interested in right now, and I will use whatever resources I have at my disposal to help you. You, the individual. I am not talking to a group, I am talking to you specifically. ”You” makes people feel valued, immensely valued. And doing that simply leads to magic.
Can you ask the question?
If you were on the tube that day, would you have walked past the Chinese couple or would you have stopped and asked “can I help you?”. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to big myself up here because I stopped. On the contrary I carried on walking by at first, and I should have known better!
After some research and personal experiments though, I have realised that understanding why I kept walking by has really helped me to stop and ask, rather than just keep walking. Sometimes it is embarrassing, sometimes people look at you funny but more often than not – people really do need help and are glad that you asked.
Remember the power is in the asking. I don’t know if I can help, but I am at least going to ask and find out.
March 07 2011
Dealing with confusion
I am working on re-branding the website at the moment. Well, I say re-branding. It is probably more correct to say – clarifying the brand of the site. It took me a while – but I realised my website was a little confusing. Confusion is the opposite of clarity.
I love to find a story to help illustrate a point, and I have a great one from today. As I cycled home from the office – I came across a guy who had obviously fallen off his bike. There was a small crowd surrounding the guy who wasn’t moving and was lying face down on the floor. It was a typical scene of someone that had an accident: people stood around, watching and not knowing what to do. One person on the phone to the ambulance service, giving them details. But no-one was really helping the guy.
So, I got off my bike and got involved. I was trying to talk to the guy on the floor, who was drifting in and out of consciousness and at the same time pass information on to the lady on the phone to the ambulance service. Others were trying to be helpful and a first aider turned up with a defib machine and a willingness to help. The problem was – it was very confusing. The lady on the phone to the ambulance service began shouting instructions at me. The other first aider wanted to do things that I didn’t feel were right. I was trying to focus on the casualty, but all the surrounding noise and confusion was not helping me to do that.
So I took control of the scene. I wanted to stop the confusion and bring some clarity, and then I could focus on the casualty and bring help.
I felt like my website was a bit like that scene – had bits of everything and was a little confusing. Too much was trying to grab my attention, and I wasn’t focusing in on the core issues. So I am working on bringing some clarity as to what this website is now about. So I have decided that first and foremost, it is about the small business – how they work, how to make them work better and what life is like as a small businessman.
In other words, I am starting to focus, I am starting to clarify and stop the confusion. And it feels pretty good. The question I am left with, though, is: why didn’t I do something sooner?
February 01 2011
December 30 2010
Why making a New Year’s resolution is insane and what you can do about it
Einstein once famously said that, “insanity was to do the same thing over and over again but expect different results”. So are we insane to keep making our New Year’s Resolutions? Year after year we make our resolutions, expecting the results to be different – but they usually aren’t. D’oh! I guess we are insane.
Call the doctor…let’s get committed!
So is there another way? Or are we doomed to failure year after year?
Tips to fail at keeping a new year’s resolution
Richard Wiseman (a professor of Psychology who wrote the excellent book 59 Seconds: Think a little, change a lot
Most of the 78% of people who failed to keep their resolutions focused on the downside of not achieving their goals and relied on will power alone. The new year resolution is made out of a desire to change something that is not going to well (work is too stressful, therefore my resolution is to change my job etc) or because of something we think we should do (I must loose weight, I really should start to exercise).
I have issues with the word “should”. When coaching people – I am always listening for that word, or it’s equally nasty cousins like “must”, “need” and “have to”.
- I must loose weight.
- I should exercise more.
- I just need to get organised
- I really ought to visit my mum more often
Oh you do, do you? I don’t think so.
Must v’s Choose
You don’t have to do any of those things! It is not a legal requirement but rather an expectation put upon yourself, usually by others or society. And that is not a great way to choose your new years resolutions.
For me – it is much more interesting to find out what you think. What do you want to do? What do you choose to do?
“I really want to loose weight” is a very different statement. You are choosing to do this. That has motivation and power behind it.
Ask yourself Why?
But just changing a word in a sentence is not enough. We have to look at the WHY? Why do you want to loose weight? Asking yourself Why 3-5 times is a real eye opener. It also stops you making a spur of the moment commitment and helps you really think something through.
I want to loose some weight.Why do you want to loose some weight?
Because fat can lead to all kinds of illness, and I want to avoid that. Why do you want avoid illness?
Because I have a family, and I want to enjoy that more.
You will often find the real issue if you dig deeper, and motivation is buried deep within the WHY. So, when I wanted to loose weight, I went through the questions above. My motivation for loosing weight quickly turned into the idea of being healthy, not just for me but so I can enjoy my family life more. So I wasn’t driven by the need to look thinner, but for my family, and for me – that is much more motivating.
Loosing weight is quite a negative idea, but creating a new habit of being healthy – that is much better! It is a positive thing. Which leads me to me next point:
It is easier to create a new habit than stop an old one.
In case you missed it, I’ll say it again – it is easier to create a new habit than to stop an old one!
Habits are deeply embedded into our thinking. This is why diets don’t work – you don’t need a diet but you could change your eating habits. If you don’t create a new eating habit, when you have finished your diet – you go back to the old eating habits and you put the weight right back on. Then you need to diet again.
It is much better to make slow and steady progress to a new habit.
So you have something you really want to change in your life. You have dug down by asking why to find out what the real aim is. You understand what habits you need to create so the next step for you – a plan.
I love it when a plan comes together
Wiseman said, “Many of the most successful techniques involve making a plan and helping yourself stick to it.”
So what should that plan include? According to the good man himself, Richard Wiseman suggests:
- Break the habit (resolution) down into a series of smaller goals or habits.
- Reward yourself when you achieve each one of these.
- Tell your friends about you goals.
- Focus on the benefits of success.
- Keep a diary of your progress.
Simple eh?
1530 Habit – a great tool for you to use
The beautiful thing about Wiseman’s findings is that it ties in with the 1530Habit idea sooo very nicely!
- You breakdown your goals into something you can do for 15 minutes a day for 30 consecutive days.
- You reward yourself when you have done this (my personal experience is that not having to move the band from my wrist for 30 days is more than enough reward for me).
- Tell your friends about your goal – well, we encourage you to tell your friends and the whole world by putting your goal on the 1530 website. You can then send updates to Twitter and Facebook at the touch of button and everyone can encourage you in your efforts.
- We focus on the benefits of success, and using the band is a simple and effective way to do this.
- Keep an online diary (blog) on the 1530 website of what you are doing. This will help you and help others that are trying to do the same thing.
So – setting a New Year’s resolution is insane if you stick to the same old methods. Hopefully – there are enough tips and ideas (backed by serious scientific study of course) that can help you have some real success with your new year’s resolutions making it a very Happy New Year indeed.
Oh, and you can find out more about the 1530habit by visiting the website at www.1530habit.com
December 24 2010
The 1530 Habit
For the last few months, I have been setting up a website called 1530habit.com and finally, on Christmas Eve – it is ready to launch. Check it out: www.1530habit.com
The 1530 idea is about challenging yourself to spend 15 minutes a day for 30 consecutive days to create a new habit. We have two real simple tools to help you do your challenge: a wristband and something called Grace Days. Turns out that the idea is really effective and works well. We have even tried it with several hundred people committing to do acts of kindness for 30 days. That worked well too…time will tell if it takes off.
Would appreciate your thoughts and feedback on both the idea and the site as it is just developed.
December 17 2010
November 27 2010
November 01 2010
I’m thinking about writing a book on how to start a business
I know it is stereotyped, cliché, predictable and even trite – but I am seriously thinking of writing a book (several of them in fact). The first book I am thinking about is about how to start a business the entrepreneurial (aka right) way.
Why, yet another business book on how to start a business?
The obvious answer is that what I am good at (starting businesses, being entrepreneurial etc) – but the main answer is that I coach other new entrepreneurs in the early days, and we always come to the same set of common problems that could easily be addressed in a book.
So – what would be in the book?
These are a few ideas that I am playing with at the moment:
- Forget the business plan! The first thing most new entrepreneurs want to do is to create a business plan. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me to help them with their business plan. Ask most new starts what they need to do to get their business up and running, and “create a business plan” will be on their list. Yet, I am sure that 9 times out of 10 – this is for bank managers that are thinking about extending you an overdraft. If you don’t need financing – you don’t need a business plan.
- The uncommon art of marketing. We all know that the world has changed – so how do we exploit and understand that? I’ll look at some of the hints and tips that we have used to simply test and develop businesses. I mentioned earlier about the list that most new starts have and that creating a business plan is on there. Well, also on that list: get a website, business cards and letterheads. They should also be scrapped (at least in the traditional sense of thinking).
- Einstein’s theory of insanity. Einstein stated that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, but expect different results. Yet most new entrepreneurs want to start a business that is exactly the same (apart from the name) as everyone else. Why? It’s insane. So, in the book, we’ll look at how to create something that is unique and magical – something that stands out and captures the imagination of people. Case and point: web design companies! So many of them are the same as everyone else. It is scary and incredibly competitive. So the sane thing to do with the insane idea of starting a web company is to not be like every one else!
- The value of Hustle. Hustle is a word that I have picked up off Gary Veynerchuck. You’ve gotta respect that guy for what he has done, and he uses this word over and over again – hustle. You have got to be willing to hustle in your new business. That is not about hard selling – but it is about getting out there and connecting with people in whatever way you can.
- The Power of Purpose. Long gone are the times where you set up a business just so you can make some money. Their has to be a purpose behind what you are doing, otherwise people don’t connect with you, not your customers, your suppliers and especially not your team. Making money is good – but what’s the purpose? This is something that we’ll discuss at length in the book.
- Your education hasn’t stopped. We all must keep on learning and growing – but where to start? I would venture to say that is not in the night business classes run by people that have never even owned a successful business, trying to tell you the best way for you to grow your dream. For me it is in experience, networking and reading. So we’ll talk about some of the best people to follow on twitter, blogs to subscribe to and books to read to help you continue to grow and develop in your business.
- The pillars of business: finance, cashflow, sales, brand, marketing, building a team and changing the world – all these things should be understood before you start building your company.
- The power of just doing something! How do we do something rather than just talk about stuff? How can we test our ideas? Is there merit in working part time and starting your business? What are the things that stop us from doing something? We’ll talk about all of these things and see where it takes us.
So what won’t be in the book:
- How to create a business plan
- The subtleties of law and finance for your part of the world for setting up a business – there are plenty of books that will do that or see a good accountant.
- Anything that encourages you to take advice of people that have never run a business, such as your mum, a bank managers, business lecturer at school or local business link service (I might be harsh here, and things might be changing – but hey ho)
- Health and safety information
So what do you think?
What should be in the book? What questions would you have? Your ideas – thoughts and musings would all be welcome. Full credit, will of course be given in the book! Anyone got a decent title suggestion too?
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