Do you know where you’re headed as a person and a business?

Well it could be that you’re on the path that was chosen for you or it could be that you chose the path yourself. Sounds deep doesn’t it but I will explain.

I met a guy the other day who came to me with an idea, a good idea, and we talked it through in some depth and I thought here’s a guy who has a plan and will probably see it through, he seems to have the conviction and the drive, go for it I thought.

Now to me he seems to be on his chosen path, or will be soon, and that got me thinking, how do we know when we are doing what we truly enjoy or love and I think it has to be both, we as human’s need to be satisfied and content. Do you know or even care that we are doing something that we love that also brings in money and satisfaction.

I see many people who would love to do their own thing but the moral of the story is, don’t follow but lead, yes you can take a little bit here and their and then add your own ‘spin’ to it but make it yours. I think it was Tony Bennett, the great jazz singer, who said “steal from one and you’re a thief, steal from everyone and its research” a fantastic sentiment.

For a little bit more on this read Mikes thoughts on this here

Do we still speak to each other or not?

So how do we filter all the noise that’s out there vying for our attention with the likes of Twitter, FaceBook, blogging and all the other platforms we can ‘speak’ to each other on a meanigful level. Well I have a radical theory that maybe the time is fast approaching when meaningful conversation is best done face to face. Goodness who would have thought it?

Example, I was in Edinburgh on Thursday for a seminar…but that’s another story, let’s just say I won’t be forgetting the sat nav again!!! Anyway I had spoken to Robin a couple of times through email etc regarding some work I wanted him to do for the company and I have to say I am a little old school when it comes to working relationships, I like to shake their hand and look into their eye to get the measure of the person and if its something we can do together.

Anyway great first meeting and we will definitely be doing future projects together and I guess it will work out good for the both of us.

The point of all this is social networking is great and as a company we use it a lot plus we give clients help and advice on how to best use it for their company, not all companies benefit from it though, its not a one size fits all scenario. But at the end of the day I still think it best to meet and shake hands and my feeling is that great and meaningful relationships are always done this way…do you agree?

Photo Credit: MariSheibley

Do you have a rock’n’roll lifestyle?

Is being an entrepreneur the new perceived rock’n’roll lifestyle? It seems to be in vogue at the moment. In a way I feel that’s misleading as it’s still as risky as it’s ever been.

But having said that, we live in a society where people value being in control of their own lives and destiny’s and starting a business is the single one thing anyone can do to achieve that. It can also be a very good way of making money and immensely satisfying, you just have to go about it in the right way. Remember if you, in the first few years, enjoy working long hours and having very little money then this is for you, if not don’t do it! That said I enjoy every moment of it even though its been tough at times.

There are lots or ways to become an entrepreneur and online is no different from the traditional 'start a coffee shop' scenario except you don’t have a coffee shop! You can start an ecommerce business selling to customers in the UK and across the world, it’s never been easier, social networking, we all know about this one as its so ‘high profile’. Have a look at ‘becoming an expert’ and work out for yourself what you are good at and what could make you money, there are lots of great resources out there in the sea of self employment so jump in, but be careful of the sharks!

Let me know how you get on?

photo credit: dubassy

How to become an expert!

The definition of an expert is:
“Someone widely recognised as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well distinguished domain. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability in a particular area of study.”

Dominating a sector is also extremely cost-effective and we are far better committing all our time, energy and money to a specific target, than trying to accommodate everyone in that sector.

Why do companies self harm?

So you have a multi million pound company and no social networking policy in place, hello what are you thinking, they can do what they like, when they like, who are we talking about? You're staff!

If you run any sort of company at all , regardless of size, you need a policy in place especially if your staff have access to social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook as this gives them licence to say what they like when they like instantly. Nothing can kill a brand or company quicker than disgruntled staff.

So what do you do about it? Review your policy and if you don't have one or your not sure what you need to include in it we can help so don't delay. The longer you leave it the worse it can and will get.

Imagine the scenario you just let one of your staff go, even worse they could still be working for you, and the next thing you know your company is being 'dissed' all over the web and how do you rescue that reputation, not as easy as it sounds.

This might all be a little scary and you're sitting reading this thinking "that's never going to happen to me", but don't be so sure and how do you know it isn't!

That's the best way to kill a company...?

photo credit: the|G|™