Sadly bullying doesn’t just happen in the playground, it happens in business as well and small business owners and entrepreneurs are incredibly vulnerable…but there are ways to protect yourself.

I’ve invited Jeanette Jifkins who is a commercial lawyer and dear friend to join me for a 90 minute webinar to discuss:

• What constitutes bullying in business?
• What is the difference between bullying and blackmail?
• How should you best address a bullying or blackmail issue when it comes up?
• What courses of action are available for business owners when faced with this situation?
• What legal documents should you have on your website to protect yourself in these situations?
• Are there any other options to protect yourself/business?
• 4 Questions to ask yourself to help decide which is the best course of action for you
• How to maintain your confidence, self-esteem and center of balance when you feel attacked

I encourage you to watch the recording of this webinar below and hope that...

Do you have a pile of business cards that you’ve collected? Perhaps that pile has morphed into boxes of them!

You know that there is potentially gold hiding in there in the form of leads and sales, maybe a few strategic alliances or a big opportunity that could transform your business, but you’re just not sure how to follow up from this point.

So what’s the next step to maximise this potential and sift out the gold that’s hiding in there?

You can watch the video on the link below now or keep reading for all the tips 

Video - Tips To Follow Up On All Those Business Cards

Well first, we need to avoid making some big mistakes that can break trust faster than Vanilla Ice’s music career.

Mistake #1 – Adding them to your newsletter

Unless they have specifically given you permission to do so, most people really hate being added to a newsletter or email list. Their inbox is already overflowing so adding to that pressure without permission is going to...

There are few things worse than having valuable leads and potential revenue leaking out of your sales funnel and slowing your businesses growth.  Leaks in your sales funnel can happen at any point between creation of a lead and closing the sale.

Finding the leak requires some investigative work.  If your ratio of leads to closed sales is low or there are a high number of stalled opportunities, that’s a red flag that you probably have a leak.

So how do you find and fix any leaks?

Here are 5 ways you can examine your funnel and make it stronger:

1. 1. Storyboard your current sales process from start to finish
      Take the time to write out each individual step of your buyer’s journey from lead to close. Understand what a lead needs to do in order to do business with you and how can you optimize that journey.

      Think about any roadblocks that could make it hard for them to do business with you – break down any barriers that you identify. Test all your systems to...

Starting your own business sounds like a bed of roses right?

You get to be your own boss.
You get to work your own hours.
You get to do what you love.
You get to spend more time…at the beach/with the family/fishing/whatever floats your boat right?

It’s the dream drifting through the head of every budding entrepreneur.

Don’t get me wrong…I celebrate those who are willing to start their own business.

I’m one of them.

But there is a dark side to entrepreneurship that many people don’t talk about.

Let me tell you, it can be very lonely.

You’ll find yourself in a bubble where the only other people who will understand what you’re going through are other entrepreneurs.  While your family and friends might be proud of you, they are watching safe from the sidelines. They aren’t the one in the arena with the blood and sweat on their brow.

Perhaps you head off to attend your local business network breakfast where you meet...

Have you ever received a referral to your business that is just plain AWKWARD? You know, where someone says ‘Hey I know someone who really needs your service, here’s their number, you should give them a call?’

Being the diligent business owner that you are, you duly give the person a call only to discover they have NO IDEA who or why you are calling. Yep, totally AWKWARD!

Now imagine how it would feel like to get amazing referrals in your business that practically pre-sold your services before they even talk to you? Sounds great doesn’t it? 

There is an art to building a successful referral business and it starts with YOU.

First you need to become really good at giving GREAT referrals. It’s a little bit like the ‘Golden Rule’...Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. 

So what is a GREAT referral?

To give a great referral, there needs to be a great process. Your process may differ depending on...

The rise of visual marketing has taken the Internet by storm. Visuals like infographics, picture quotes, graphical presentations and slideshows are used to present information online. This trend has made Slideshare.net a great tool to help entrepreneurs get the message across to prospective clients and customers.

What is Slideshare?

Slideshare is a unique channel that allows you to promote content in either PowerPoint presentations, PDF's or video. It has gained a strong response since it was launched online in 2007.  Slideshare.net has over 500% more business traffic than any other website on the internet, which is one of the reasons that LinkedIn purchased Slideshare in 2012.

Tips On Using Slideshare

To get you started, here are a few tips and hints on how to present your information in a slideshow presentation.

1. Thought leadership. You are the expert when it comes to you business and you want to share your expertise in a presentation. It is important to...

“Everything we do is based on agreements we have made – agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

Many years ago I read Don Miguel Ruiz’s little book “The Four Agreements” where he reveals where self-limiting beliefs come from that rob us of the joy in our lives. If you haven’t read this book, let me share what The Four Agreements are:

• Be Impeccable With Your Word
• Don’t Take Anything Personally
• Don’t Make Assumptions
• Always Do Your Best

Over the years I felt that I had embraced the lessons and incorporated them into my life…I always put my best foot forward, reminded myself that jumping to conclusions was an exercise fraught with danger and that what others do and say comes from their issues and situation at that time in place, not because of me.

Yet when it comes to the very first Agreement...

“Sometimes my mouth hits the accelerator before my brain has gone into gear.” – Julie Mason

Have you ever said ‘Yes’ to something when deep inside you is screaming ‘Noooooo, don’t do it!!!”?
And when you do, the energy you bring to whatever it is that you have agreed to do is just not your best energy. You drag your feet. Procrastination moves in and gets comfy. Then guilt arrives and you start avoiding the person you gave your agreement to…sound familiar?

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Well, it comes from this deep need for other’s approval. But lurking underneath that is where we really get to the core of the issue…and that is how you see your own self-worth.

Self-worth is a slippery thing for many of us who are passionate about what we do but not yet internally convinced that the world sees our value. That’s why we accept less than we are worth and then we get quietly resentful. And resentment is a nasty...

We have all heard the story of Oprah, from poor little black girl in Mississippi to Queen of the talk-show, billionaire businesswoman and arguably the most influential woman in the world.

Imagine having that power to connect with so many people; to have an influence on the books they read, products they buy and lifestyle choices they make…phenomenal!

How did she get this great power to connect?

Is it something she was born with or a skill she learnt?

More importantly, can we get that same skill to connect and influence both in everyday business and in your social media marketing?

Absolutely!

You see, when Oprah first started on TV she didn’t think that her own personality would be good enough so she tried to be Barbara Walters in the way she spoke and acted. And there’s one thing that people can pick a mile away is when someone is faking it…not being real. Our BS radar comes up and mistrust creeps in because we sense that something isn’t right.

...