Business Basics

Lots of information on the practical side of growing your business – hints, tips and articles
that will help you being to love marketing and selling yourself and your services.

What do you need to do to make your business thrive?


This is a great idea I came across just recently. To make your business thrive, there will be certain things you know you need to do, and only you will know what they are. Sometimes it can be difficult getting clear about them — but this method will help you.

List ten things you can do that will interfere with the success of your business.

That’s all. Yes, read it again — that will interfere with the success of your business. By focusing on the opposite of your business thriving, you’ll give yourself the very things you need to do to keep it thriving. Each time you specify something that isn’t working, you have the opportunity to turn it around to see what you do need to do for (more...)

Handy newsletter hint


Have you noticed that there’s a lot less time around these days?

Daft, isn’t it, even that very notion! But that is what it sometimes seems like, when I’ve noticed that I like to know in advance how long a YouTube video is going to be before I start watching. Or with an article, I scroll to see how long it is before I start to read, or find out how many pages on the PDF file I’ve been sent.

You can turn this to your advantage if you’re sending out newsletters or information - let people know in advance how long your MP3 will take to listen to; write in the number of words of your article and how long it takes to read it. The whole (more...)

Automated database mailing lists


also posted in Jane's Blog

I’m just about to take the train down south to the Lake District, to take part in a one day seminar. A working trip, I plan to use the time on the train to write plenty of articles for my next lot of newsletters.

One of the advantages of having an automated database from where I send out to my mailing list is that I can do this kind of thing in advance. This frees up my time for other things. For instance, I can’t get on the web on this particular train, so I am free from what sometimes can feel like the ‘tyranny of the internet’! But I can use the time for more creative things. If you haven’t investigated an automated mailing (more...)

Following up enquiries


I’ve signed up to Drayton Bird’s 51 marketing tips (see www.draytonbird.co.uk). His site was recommended to me by a good friend, also in marketing.

I’ve just read tip no 5, and it’s about how you spend your time on getting new clients. Mostly people put a lot of effort into attracting new clients ‘cold’ — ie posters, fliers, adverts etc. And not so much effort into following up with someone who enquires - and yet why not???

It is these people, who effectively have said, ‘Hi, I’m interested’ who need to have more attention paid to them, not less!

And as I was reading this tip, I realised I had done this with someone the other day. He had emailed me after listening to a teleclass, saying he really (more...)

What value do you place on your services?


also posted in Jane's Blog

This morning after singing practice, I was asked by a colleague if I could mend his backpack for him.

‘Could you mend it for me? I’m willing to pay at least a fiver’, he said.

‘No, no’, I replied, ‘don’t worry, it’ll only take me ten minutes or so’.

‘No, no’ he also replied, ‘it’s worth at least that much to me, it’s been irritating me for so long now’.

Fortunately at this point a glimmer of light went off in my brain, and I told him I’d think about it. And think about it I did, as I walked back through the woods before starting work.

What I said was a great example of what not to do when valuing your services! He did not have the tools, equipment, knowledge or experience (more...)

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