Category Archives: marketing

On-line reputations and why we should avoid politics

In Britain we are fast coming up on a General Election. This is leading to some people getting animated about policy, criticizing politicians they don’t like, and generally displaying their views on-line for all to see. Frankly some of us … Continue reading

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Is networking not for everyone?

It is the strangest thing, but there must be a lot of small business owners who simply do not get out to networking meetings. People do not like to get out of their comfort zones, but it seems an awful … Continue reading

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Networking and knowing when to say “thank you”

We all know that to be successful networkers we should give, and give unconditionally, and in business networking we give in order to build trust. We benefit later on from referrals and recommendations, sometimes years later. In the meantime we take pleasure in the giving. Continue reading

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Economists with the truth

I went to an interesting meeting last night. Two out of the three speakers were economists. It is often said that there are as many opinions of economic issues as there are economists. There were two opinions of the economy … Continue reading

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How I use Twitter

I love Twitter. Many people blog about it, but a networking friend of mine is struggling to understand how she may benefit, and this is what I have told her. Continue reading

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Why we need to be courageous in business

We all have fears of the unknown, of measures we have not taken before. Sometimes we need to spend a little money as an investment to take our businesses forward. It is hard in this environment to spend money on the unknown, so the answer must be to spend it with experts in their field about whom we have heard good things. Continue reading

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Why we should not always take the easy way in business

If you are as lucky as I am, you will enjoy your work and running your own business. We have at least some control of our destiny even given the trials and tribulations of the economic downturn. However, I was … Continue reading

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Why you should define your offering as a freelancer or consultant

In these challenging times with regard to the state of the economy there are a lot more people without full-time employment who find themselves looking for freelance work and who are seeking to offer one form or another of business … Continue reading

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Why we need to take an outside view in business

I am in a reflective mood. I am coming to the end of an engagement helping a client; an engagement which should not be ending. This is not just because obviously an income stream will stop; I have other clients. … Continue reading

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Why customer service is important even to those who are not customers yet

I am feeling a bit let down by the local commercial hospitality providers. The hotel told me they were closed for the week for refurbishment. It is a pity no one told me when I made what I thought was a booking, and it is a pity too that no one realised the error and telephoned me. All-in-all it was pretty poor customer service. Continue reading

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