Crashes and other disasters

On Monday I had the mother of all crashes, my computer not car, I have everything backed up from previous experiences but it got me thinking that if we applied this to our clients and business where would we be without a backup?

If you lost one or even two of your major clients today what would you do to replace them and have you even given any thought to it? Well it happens to all of us at some point and you have to have a ‘plan b’ in place or you are well and truly sunk!

Most small businesses run on maybe ten to thirty clients, dependent on your type of business of course, but let’s say you run a retail business my guess is that you will have a handful of ‘golden clients’ that keep returning week after week and year after year, but then disaster strikes and you get a phone call to say they no longer require your services. Panic sets in and then you think what can I do to make up that shortfall? Well in most cases you will be nurturing other ‘warm’ clients and if not you should be. Just like I back up all my content just in case, you should also have a ‘just in case list'.

You may have other ways of doing this, please let me know what they are?

Photo credit: lordog

What inspires you?

I was asked a question the other day “what inspires you?” now sometimes I have to think about this one as a lot of things have inspired me over the years some of them being people, painting, music and the main one family, as without them I wouldn’t be what I am today.

But thinking about it we can all draw inspiration from lots of different places without ever really knowing it. My web background started about twelve years ago from a painting and design background and just seeing some great work really inspired me, and still does today. But I think as we all move forward on this exciting journey of ours lots of things and people will continue to inspire me and hopefully you too, if we look at it logically lots of people do great things but the web has given rise to groups having more of a say than ever before and really influencing politics and decision making, we saw the first political online vote not so long ago, and this trend will continue and you have to use it to you’re advantage in whatever it is you do.

So again I think the new pioneers really inspire me and long may it continue, let me know what inspires you?

Photo credit: nicasaurusrex

What do you do that’s so different?

After reading a post by Seth Godin, [link to post] it got me thinking what do we offer that is so different, a product a service, well yes that could be the thing but I think it is more likely to be ‘you’.
Lets face it in this ‘fast paced’, ‘in your face’ and ‘hyper speed’ world we can sometimes offer a very similar service to another company and then it comes down to what you offer as a person, as we are told ‘client’s buy people not products’ and I believe this to be true so when looking at you’re competitors yes you may be similar but I bet you are not similar people so get out there and show the world just how good you are at what it is you do.

Photo credit:  pshutterbug

Do you know where you're headed?...part two

If you had the choice or chance would you change anything? If you could go back to the very beginning and start again would you? I ask this question because as business people we like to reshape and progress things as much as we possibly can, always looking for new things and avenues to explore.

After watching an old program about Peter Jones, from Dragon's Den, last night it suddenly struck me that we reinvent ourselves regularly to survive and stay ahead of the game and this can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. Personally I thing it's a great thing and I try to look at the business at least once a quarter, maybe even sooner if I get the chance, and decide if its headed in the right direction. Watching Peter Jones I get the feeling that he likes a challenge and to experiment in new things, now this might be ok when you are a millionaire but what about the rest of us, well it doesn't cost anything to look at the business and its direction every once in a while.

I would urge you to take a little time out of your schedule and write down where you are and where you would like to be, it might just help you realise which path you are on and is it the right one for you and your business.

photo credit: д§mд