Defining your target market

Underpinning any marketing strategy is your target market i.e. who your customers or clients are.  But tackling this question is surprisingly difficult for most business owners.  Answers are usually vague and when asked for specifics, many reply with demographics such as gender, age group, income – answers that are not quite enough for strategy formulation. When I try to tease the answer …

No more elevator speeches…. PLEASE

Here is what comes to mind when I think of elevator speeches… It’s artificial and it’s contrived.  Worse, it’s painful, making most of us, whether we are giving or receiving them quite simply…. uncomfortable. There is such a thing, even in networking situations, as a normal conversation.  It is what normal people do.  You make small talk and something in …

The One Thing (Book Review)

Looking for the solution to constant chaos and overwhelm? The author promises extraordinary results if you can identify the “one thing” that you need to do. The “one thing” that is like the first domino which creates a domino effect.  It is essentially another version of the 80-20 rule, but a very simplistic one that suggests you reduce your focus …

Cash flow lesson – Should you hold on to seasonal stock?

With Christmas over, this would be a pertinent issue for retailers who have stocked up on Christmas goods.  While it may seem like it is only relevant to retailers, other business owners could also learn something by considering this scenario.  Financial management is an essential skill for every business owner. This particular question relates to cash flow and opportunity cost.  I’ll be using …

Book review - David and Goliath

David & Goliath – Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants (Book Review)

I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s books and as usual David and Goliath challenges ideas and beliefs that most of us take for granted.  Like the title suggests, ‘big and strong’ do not always prevail, but it is not for the reasons that we believe.  Rather than actually being the underdog, David had many advantages but first and foremost, it was …

Business etiquette - no spamming

Business etiquette tip – Don’t spam your networking contacts!

It seems ridiculous that such an obvious statement needs to be made, but I’ve written about this before – that it’s poor business etiquette to spam someone you’ve met networking. No matter how you sugar-coat it, adding someone to your list without their permission is spamming (see definition on the right). Handing over my business card when I first meet a …

Meetings Don’t Have to be Boring!

Sitting on a hard, plastic chair in the overly warm/chilled conference room, your eyes slowly drying up as you try to focus on the presentation in front of you, your brain drifting into wistful thoughts of the upcoming weekend…we’ve all been there. Hell hath no fury like the tedium of a pointless meeting. Meetings have a bad reputation as being …

Every step counts

Habits, comfort zones, procrastination whatever you want to all it, all keeps us stuck.  Stuck doing the same thing over and over again. I found this quote incredibly compelling: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” I want to put it out there that every step counts, even the tiniest of changes, because every step takes you closer to …

8 tips for planning a successful event

Event planning is often a stressful and time-consuming process.  When time and opportunity cost are factored in, many decide to outsource to specialist providers.  However, if you have budget constraints and are prepared to give this a go by yourself, here are some tips from Mary Tan from Plan Ahead Events Camberwell. How to create a successful event? Success has a …