This is a college professor’s view on “Why you will fail to have a great career“.  Only 15 minutes and worth it to unearth any excuses buried deep.  One of a series of TED talks.

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1.  Yes the commitment to half an hour a day – in the day – has been easy to maintain.  In fact it has been a bit of a revelation!  I have given myself permission to read at times when I would not normally read.  Because it is a “good” book that I “ought” to read and I have the time limit, it has been easier to do this every day than I imagined.Setting the boundary at 30 minutes has helped me to concentrate, and make consistent progress, which I don’t think I would have achieved if I had just read when I want to, or when I “have time.”

2.  Am I enjoying the book?  Yes – and sometimes I end up laughing out loud.  Knowing that I am keeping to a promise I made to myself to read it could be helping.  The book itself is a bit of a bonus!

3.  What is it like reading on the Kindle?  You can alter the font size to suit you – which I have done.  As the Kindle is not a screen but a type of ink it is much easier to read than a computer screen what ever position you hold it in.

The Kindle is much much better than reading a book with poor paper.  Often the classics are reproduced on thin paper, with small print, or alternatively on thick paper where the ink nearly disappears into the page.  (Which I hate!)

But I am missing having the context of the book.  You end up having a more myopic view and you can’t (of course) tell how much you have read simply by touch.  I hadn’t realised this would matter but at the moment it still does.

As this is a complex book with a large cast of characters it would be useful to quickly flip back to the beginning and see the cheat sheet on who they all are.  But I don’t want to lose my place and it feels a bit tiring to find it again.

The other disconcerting thing is that there are no page numbers.  I have altered the font size so suppose that it is too complicated a process to realign page numbers.  At the bottom I can tell what percentage of the book I have read.. which at the moment stands at 17%.

So there are definitely things I am having to get used to.  So far so good, though.

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Robert Stuart paints in pastels

Robert Stuart took part in his first Bucks Art Week, and is still in his first year as a full time artist. The week was very successful  and he enjoyed talking to the visitors and made a first non-UK sale.  Robert works in pastel which suits his temperament as there is no need to wait for paint to dry, and the paint is applied immediately.  Robert brought a painting into the studio entitled “Ironstone” which referred to the fact that the chalks used in pastels are the most ancient and direct method of painting.  Ancient man took the earth and mixed it with liquid to make a paste for the cave walls.  Iron of course gives a whole range of brown and yellow colour ranges.  He has always loved painting but only been a professional painter for 6 months.

Keith Beckett-Hester by contrast, has been a painter all his life.  A teacher at school recognised his talent and suggested he went on to train in High Wycombe.   He paints in oils and acrylics using very fine brushes.  Keith brought two paintings into the radio studio.  One of Bisham church with the river in the foreground, and one of the woods in Bisham.  Keith is particularly inspired by trees and woods.  In his childhood he was able to explore the woods all day long and this fascination has lasted his whole life.  Keith paints in oils and acrylics using very fine brushes.  He works slowly and intuitively.

We discussed the sources of inspiration, and how it is possible to make a living as an artist.  Robert, who is an experienced computer software expert brings his business skills to his work as an artist, while Keith has established a good reputation over many years.  Both agreed that they thought there were lots of opportinities for artists nowadays.

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My brother has been working in a traditional Japanese business.

He came back to the UK after the recent tsunami, and has now returned. I have just heard that his apartment is still standing and he has electricity.  This is particularly good as he is in the Fukushima area but out of the evacuation zone.  While I am worried for his health and well-being it is his decision to return which I completely respect.

He has been telling me about the business culture which I found fascinating.  Here are some specific points:

Traditional Japanese way of business

All the employees clean the building and are expected to contribute and nobody is employed as a cleaner.  Cleaning takes place every day before the official working day starts.

Salespeople do the physical work of helping to get the product on the vans for delivery.

All customers are treated with equal importance whether large or small.

Any problem with product is a very shameful (and rare) event. The whole department bow and apologise to the rest of the company.

A gong sounds for the start and end of the day, tea break and lunch break, but nobody stops working immediately. Two girls make tea and bring it round to everyone at lunch and tea time.

Phones and computers are shared, and some accounts still written out manually.

There is a meeting everyday which all attend.  Each employee takes it in turn to lead the meeting and announce any particular details.

Salaries are paid into the bank, but the payslip is handed over personally to each individual by the boss who is also the owner.  The staff wait in line, and are handed the payslip with a bow and a word of thanks, and receive the document with an expression of gratitude and again a bow.

An exercise period of about 10 minutes takes place at the start of the day in a covered courtyard. Attendance is voluntary.

I understand that individuals are by and large safe in their jobs for life with this company.

There may not be very many businesses like this, where everyone does everything.

From the western perspective it seems like an old-fashioned way of doing business.  I personally find it inspiring to hear of the different ways of creating a business.  In this instance I am attracted to the idea of more of a community, but imagine there is more injustice, too. But as the  community is tighter than in a western medium sized business it may help them to weather the economic trouble after the tsunami.

In case you wondered, my brother is the only westerner working in the company.  His Japanese is excellent.

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Good marketing helps you reach the people who want your services and pay you so you make a real difference. You don’t need deep pockets for social media you need ideas!

Find your spark in social media!

Are you using social media to develop your business?

Do you know what to say?

Do you know how to get started? Keep going?

Is it fun? Rewarding?

Social media is a huge free marketing opportunity

but it has to be approached in the right way.

Join us on for an inspirational morning to celebrate

International Women’s Day and discover your spark.

You will

• learn how to use social media to develop your business
• discover your spark
• find your best clients
• know what to say – and how to say it
• keep going once the initial excitement has worn off!

More “how to” information – is delivered

on line so you get comfortable working on your own computer

at your own pace. But we are kick-starting with a face to face

meeting to boost our energy and celebrate International

Women’s Day!

When: Tuesday March 8^th 9;30 – 12:30

Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Road, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 4PF

Plus: 4 modules on line delivered over 3 weeks

to keep you motivated and up to date.

Cost: Only £ 50 (not £ 295) as it is International Women’s Day

- the perfect day to help women communicate and make

more difference!

If you can’t make the day, don’t worry you will have access to all the information.

Email Jean or phone 01628 850082

to reserve your space.

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Entrepreneurs have often been viewed as having to be tough and ruthless in order to be successful in business.  “The Apprentice” is a prime example.

A recent survey in the USA demonstrates a more caring and committed side to entrepreneurs.  The survey of nearly 150 CEOs and founders reveals that nine in 10 (89 percent) of entrepreneurs donate money, both personally and through their companies, to support charitable causes.  Plus 70 percent also donate their time.

Here in the UK the image of entrepreneurs as generous creators of wealth is helped by programmes such as “The Secret Millionaire” where millionaire business people go under cover and act as volunteers for charities.  They have to live locally and find charities they can support.  In nearly every case they become involved with the cause and willingly donate.  The final reveal of their status is often very moving.

Entrepreneurs are top of the agenda this week in Global Entrepreneurship Week.. and as corporates continue to shed people it could be that entrepreneurship is the solution to many of the world’s financial problems.

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Next – facebook keeps changing and it can be hard to keep up.  Plus there is a lack of transparency over what is going on and a few legal issues.  His hero status starts to be interrogated.

Finally – facebook is amazingly, popular with users, and financially very successful.  Oops very scary indeed.

Three easy ways to go from hero to villain.

1. In the start up phase (preferably while you are young, poor and working from a bedroom) it can be easy to win hearts and minds.

Your business is probably pitted against more powerful establishment businesses and you look like the attractive new kid on the block.

Think Richard Branson, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs in the early days.  Richard Branson even signed up musicians because he liked them -

even though he hadn’t heard their music demonstrating he was all-heart, plus good instincts.)

2. When the market is dominated any lack of transparency is seen as ominous.

3. Extreme financial success elevates the individual or company to villain status.

Google reaching 80% of search results, Microsoft owning the desktop market and charging for continuous upgrades,  Ipad sales topping 2 m in a few months means the general public (consumers and pundits) can feel threatened.  Apple’s treatment of its Chinese workers, brutal management at Virgin, Google slaps that are difficult to analyse and general We-love-to-hate-Microsoftishness get more air-time.

It is just the tall poppy syndrome.

As fortunes get made more quickly the hero to villain cycle becomes more rapid.  It has been six short years for  Mark Zuckerberg and it is getting more personal.  He is being portrayed as a villain in a new film.   The appealing story of a student developing a way for friends to stay in touch in the dorm at Harvard is being taken into new dimmensions of the tall poppy syndrome.

As facebook now has users totalling  the equivalent of the third biggest country in the world, and they are making a lot of money ($800 m) they have become an extremly tall poppy.

Mark Zuckerberg and facebook may or may not be adversely affected, but as a small business owners it is important to keep our customers, stakeholders and the press on side.  Building an appealing brand at all stages of development is mandatory.

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Email marketing that is so valuable your readers pay you would be a great way to make money – provided your emails are valued by your readers.  In reality your emails are in hand-to-hand fighting in the inbox with spam and other email messages and could be beaten.

One way round this is the new idea that emails are on a pay-per-read basis. On My attention people are saying how much they would charge a reader.  The real question is of course, how much would people pay to read.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that in the original days of the postal system it was the recipient who paid the man on the horse delivering the mail. Before you broke open the seal on the letter, you would decide whether it was worth it!

Improving your chances of getting your emails read is the first step – whether or not paid-for email becomes a reality.

1. Write to people you know (or who have heard of you).  It is spam to send to strangers, anyway, but the principle of a small list of fans rather than a huge list of connections is useful, so you build up genuine communication.  Your marketing generally will help to get your name into the minds of people in your target market, so the list can grow.  If you are writing from your name it is better to carry on, even if at some point this task is performed for you.  Your name is valuable.  Once your name is known, the chances of email being read, letters being opened and phone calls being received are increased.
2. Be consistent.  This sounds easier than it is!  Even if you have decided to write a monthly newsletter only, commit to it, and make it a top priority.  If in doubt be consistent, and then build up to frequenqy.  In some ways writing more often is actually easier, and the ideas flow, but the worst thing is to start in a blaze of enthusiasm and then stop.  It happens a lot, so don’t worry if it has happened in your business.
3. Write a headline which is interesting for the reader so they will want to open it.  At the start you have to provide excellent value.
4. Write a headline which can be read in one eye span.  Headlines that are too long will be cut.  Short and snappy is best.
5. Relate to your readers’ life and issues.  The more closely you know what life is like for them, the more credibility you and your company will gain.  Modern email systems let you target sub-groups without wasting trees or spending long days slaving over a hot computer.
6. Once you have written your newsletter, take a break. When you come back to it you will look at it with new ideas.  Often ideas develop during the writing, and you may be able to focus the content more clearly.
7. Check to see that you are providing value. You can be a guide-post to interesting and relevant stuff, as well as give it yourself.  You will know if you have done something amazing because people will tell you.  However, it is worth asking customers when you see them.  If your market is not very computer confident, they might prefer to tell you in person.
8. Don’t be 100% serious. We all like entertainment, and we all want to relate to real human beings not machines. Once you have gained trust, let people into your world.  The more you enjoy sending email, the more likely it is that your readers will enjoy reading it.  A few surprises can be good, too!
9. If you are giving good value it is fine to ask for a response. It could be to click a link, make a phone call, buy something.  Once you are the authority for your market, you will be doing them a disservice if you do not let them know about other opportunities.  Shake up the ratio of value to response – never just hit people to buy.
10. Deliverability and Reports. If using your own servers make sure you get the information about opened emails, bounces etc. If you do not have your own servers use a good third-party email software company.  Sending a lot of emails could get you banned, but in addition to delivering bulk email, the software will give you reports on opens, bounces etc, and will integrate easily with your website.

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Blogging Workshop on International Women’s Day

Blogging is such a great way to build company reputation, and leads to more money, and more happiness through self expression.  Many small business owners find writing their website difficult, but have no problem talking about what really matters to them in a blog.

Women are natural bloggers, and can get more spark into their marketing more easily with a blog.

International Women’s Day 8 March 2010 is the date for a blogging workshop led by Jean Wolfe

The workshop will help you gain fluency as well as understanding the interactive benefits of blogging

• What to do before you get started
• How to grab your reader’s attention
• How to write for the other audience – the search engines
• Which blog platform to choose and why
• Where to find stuff to write about and make it relevant
• 7 Principles of Copy-writing which should be obeyed
• How to fit blogging with email, twitter and social media

In honour of National Women’s Day we will also have a look at what women have had to do to get their work read.  They have not always had it so easy …

You will go away with more spark for your business and a clear plan of blogging action – with work done already.  Make the most of this unfair advantage in your blogging career.

Date: Monday March 8^th International Women’s Day

Place Berkshire / Buckinghamshire border UK

Time: 10 am – 2: 30 with an additional hour for personal questions 2:30 – 3;30

Cost: £ 99 which includes three weekly follow up blogging newsletters and an online session on March 29^th. Open to men as well as women.

Bloggers Are Us! will breathe new life into all your communications – even one to one meetings..  But if you have not doubled your investment of £ 100 within six months I will happily refund your ticket.

“It’s your enthusiasm which makes all the difference” KN

“Jean you are a natural-born motivator” AS

“You are always a breath of fresh air and I think in a different way. I also feel better about myself and would like you on tap, please, every day!” PH

Jean Wolfe is a champion of independent businesses and communication that builds business wealth. Ex-drama teacher, ex-publicist for authors, ex-creator of solar powered product markets internationally.

To reserve your place please get in touch via the contact form or the comments below.

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125 year anniversary for Marks and Spencer

I happened to see this bag left on a seat at Paddington station in London.  Somebody forgot their shopping but it looked like a good advertisement.  I immediately thought ” Oh is there a Marks and Spencer here”, and went to find the shop.

Good to see the anniversary celebrations not simply staying within one calendar year.

You don’t have to be as big as Mand S or as long established to have your own anniversary which could encourage real footfall within premises or virtual visitors on the web.  What anniversary have you got to celebrate in your small or medium sized business?

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