Wednesday 16 February 2011

Great Definition of Success

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
I've lost more than 300 games.
26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.
I've failed over and over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed."

Michael Jordan

Thursday 16 September 2010

What Every Business Owner Needs

In order to succeed in business today, every small business owner needs a coach. That’s not to say that without one the business won’t survive, however the challenge is how to make the business thrive.
This may seem arrogant however its worth asking the question. At what point in the day does your business turn a profit?
I mean specifically. At what hour are you doing more than just covering your fixed and variable costs and moving into profit? Is it 15:00 or 16:00?
The sorry truth is that the majority of business owners probably won’t be able to answer that. And that is why a coach is so vital. The coach will snap you out of day to day operations and get you focused on the reasons you went into business in the first place. Suddenly you become accountable again and that has many additional benefits.
At MindEdge we have a very simple formula that most SME’s have not stumbled upon and this formula focuses on 5 key performance indicators. By analysing where you really are currently we can then start to work with you to define strategies that will grow these areas. Even a change as small as 10% across the 5 KPI’s could herald as much as a 60% increase in profits.
If a 60% increase in profit is of interest then drop me a line….

Thursday 9 September 2010

Getting it Right For The Future

Wow. Having dragged myself screaming and kicking back into the real world and out of the virtual one I am acutely aware of how the days are swallowed up as soon as I spark up the PC and hit the world wide web.

It has certainly been a voyage of discovery these last few days, making sure I have everything in place to secure my web based success and registering on new sites every few minutes. I have adopted a new schedule that sees me rising at the normal time, but not returning to the land of slumber until around 2 a.m.

I have managed to reduce consumption of that time-sponge that is television for over a week now. Of course, there is the odd exception when Lee Mack makes his regular appearance on 'Would I Lie To You?'. Other than that, I have been focused exclusively on putting processes and procedures in place that will allow me to maintain MindEdge's web presence in the future with a minimum of effort, so that I can focus on the important stuff - changing people's lives through coaching.

Medium and large companies employ teams of people full time on these sorts of activities, however for SME's its a 'big ask' and whilst there are companies that will offer packaged services for this, I don't believe they offer particularly good value for money, preying on the uninitiated and inexperienced.

My longer term plan is to provide this service to a handful of SME's on a retainer basis. I propose to look after the Internet interests, marketing strategy and profile of  just a handful of local businesses that can really benefit from such a service.

My first client is likely to get this service for free over a 3-month period starting early in the New Year. If you are interested then please drop me a line via email.

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Avoid Fools Gold - Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese approach to business involving constant and never ending improvement to your business. Companies like Sony use it to drive their business forward.

I am using the Kaizen concept to stay focused on the important issues that will ensure the future success of the company and thereby the success of my clients too.

It's very easy to lose focus and stay in one's comfort zone, doing jobs that we enjoy and losing track of time, rather than administering the kick up the derriere that's required to get back on track.

This is even more evident when developing internet marketing strategies, with each new 'nugget of gold' unearthed taking you further from the main objective. There really is a wealth of great information available and where we siffered previously from infofamine (a lack of information) we now suffer from Infoglut - hence the rise of the Bing 'decision engine'.

It really reinforces the point that the more I learn I realise how little I know. Just enough to be dangerous.

I suppose it's called lifelong learning for a reason.

Today was Lijit, Ecademy, Twitter and Facebook profiling and I even managed to fit in a business meeting too.

This is where having a focus and a clear set of goals and milestones helps immeasurably. I've got into the habit of planning my day on a whiteboard every morning now, checking my progress in the middle and at the end of each day.

As a coach I need to walk the talk that I preach and setting up this new venture requires every one of the skills, tools and resources I have acquired in order to ensure that MindEdge doesn't just become another failed small business.

MindEdge Site Launch

During the nect three weeks MindEdge's site www.mindedge.co.uk will launch, providing a comprehensive range of products and services connected with performance improvement. These range from life coaching services to ebooks and audio downloads. Watch this space for more info and all things related to personal development.