In this article we’ll be looking at marketing budgets and how to work out what’s working and what’s not. Because beneath the fluffiness, marketing is maths. John Wanamaker reputedly said. “Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don’t…
According to a survey by Barclays Bank, only half of SMEs have a business plan and of those only half actually refer back to them. Having looked at several hundred over the years I think I know the reason why. They are typically way too…
Starting and running a small business is one of the great adventures in life – and it’s one that needs to be rewarding both financially and emotionally. The only way to achieve this on a sustainable, long-term basis is to leverage the skills of other…
You’ll have realised by now, that when it comes to time management, the most efficient and productive you will ever be is right before a big deadline or a holiday. I’ve heard some suggest that the key to improving your use of time is to…
If you spend any time on social media browsing your newsfeed, you’ll come across your fair share of posts about having a positive mindset. These tend to fall into one of two categories: Telling you to adopt a positive mindset Showing you how positive the…
The problem with people. When you were young, did you ever hear the mantra “always treat other people how you’d wish to be treated”? This is great advice when it comes to ethics – but very poor advice when it comes to communication. Whether you’re…
Are you fed up with your team coming up with innovative ideas, taking responsibility and putting in great performances? Are you pining for those exciting days of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants chaos and fire-fighting? Here’s how to break your team in 12 easy steps. There are no quick…
Motivation is all around us – but does it actually work? It’s hard to spend more than 5 minutes on Social Media without tripping over a motivational quote designed to inspire. I find many of them enjoyable and some are genuinely challenging – but do…
The story so far You may well have read a book or been to a workshop on time management and come across the Default Diary being touted as a universal cure. (For those that haven’t: this is where you ring-fence blocks of time to allocate…
The 5 big questions you should consider (and 7 you shouldn’t) I’m in quite a good position to write this particular blog. As well as being a full-time business coach since 2011, I’ve also been lucky enough to have been coached (both informally and as…
