I’m regularly asked why I continue to visit my network, meet with friends and their colleagues when I have stated on numerous occasions that I’m not looking to attract ‘just any, or all, kind of business.’ Not for me the ‘stacking them high to sell ’em cheap‘ kind of working. The type of potential client I’m interested in meeting? He/she wouldContinue reading “Rate your chances”
Tag Archives: legacy
Independence
It was during our regular ‘Weeklybiz’ meeting when Gareth asked the room for their opinion. Gareth is a coach; he has great skills in bringing the best out of people by simplifying the bigger issues. His question today raised great debate … “I’d like to know what makes someone decide to start up a business, workContinue reading “Independence”
Off to market?
How do we know when the time is right?
Be like Mr Costas
I received sad news recently that an old friend, someone I had known for years, had passed away. The news was entirely out of the blue (as most sudden deaths are) and when I was asked how I best remembered my buddy Mal, I immediately thought of how much he gave. Mal was the typeContinue reading “Be like Mr Costas”
Serendipity?
Brian D. Powell was born in York in 1932. and as a young boy, he frequently accompanied his grandfather down by the River Ouse. With Britains involvement in WW2 Brian spent many a day ‘sculling’ the (mostly) servicemen/women back and forth across the river. It was during 1944 that Brian Powell, budding artist, spent a dayContinue reading “Serendipity?”
When our bird has flown
Growing up in Australia, I’ve known Diane Merrick’s family since I was a youngster, she and her brothers were always sharing our apple tree, the mischief. Here’s part of the story when catching up with Diane, some 15 years later: ‘So Charlie, picture this, February 1971, I’m 20 years and 3 months old, six weeksContinue reading “When our bird has flown”
Your gift, share it.
Life is too short! Heard that one before? At some point in your career, there will come a morning when you’ll awake and ask yourself, “What am I really doing?” It’s at this point that earning money by making/selling ‘stuff’ will no longer be motivation enough. However, if your answer to that question reflects aContinue reading “Your gift, share it.”
Simple vision … through words
For a good while now I’ve stuck to my three-word principle. It’s a mind reference, something that keeps me ‘on track’ with where I want to get to and what I need to do to be there. Each word is a pointer, representing the path I need to take in achieving what I used toContinue reading “Simple vision … through words”
Lazy marketing? Get real, get personal…
It’s Time to Get Personal A little something from Chris Brogan … Phew. You’ve never heard that before…getting personal? But here’s the thing. It’s more true than ever before because Facebook and other technologies are now penalizing LAZY marketing. If you’re just lobbing crap over the fence, it’s not going to be seen. By anyone.Continue reading “Lazy marketing? Get real, get personal…”
Show passion, get lucky!
I consider myself lucky. I am able to count my true friends on the fingers of both hands. Sure, I have several hundred network ‘friends,’ cyber contacts and ‘likes’ out there although while I sit here enjoying the first cup of tea of the day I’m struggling to add to that true friend count … although the toes are always optimistic 🙂 It’s a fact, that this handful of true friends is indeed my family, direct family and partners in fact. These are the people who understand me, know my ambitions well and know where my passions really lie. My family have spent time with me, grown with me and experienced life as we see it. So why am I sitting here, supping tea and dwelling on where my true allies really lie? I‘d met James earlier this week, he introduced himself through a mutual acquaintance as a ‘utilities expert.’ James explained that he was ‘giving networking a go’ as for the past few months he’d found business pretty slow. It turns out James had signed up with to promote his utilities solutions in support of his other, ‘main job.’ He was looking to add to his income. Sure, even I could understand this. We’re all in business for a lot of different reasons, working to provide a better standard of living for our family is as good a reason as any, right? James explained that he was unable to offer a lot of time to promote his new business as his main job kept him ‘busy’ although he was hopeful that any time he went out networking he was going to ‘get lucky’ and find some business and after all, if it didn’t work out, he’d simply ‘throw in the towel.’ I asked James to give me an idea of what he was passionate about, not to tell me he was in the job for the chance of business, is this what he told his family? If it was, this was likely why he had found only limited success … I’ve suggested to James that he treat his network with the sincerity that an extended family deserved. People like to do business with passionate people, with those who they know and who they trust. I asked James who he trusted … family, right? Build your network and look after them as you would an extended family … Show passion and get lucky. ‘people buy from people.’
