"Can You Do This On Your Own?"

Clients have been sharing their 'self-talk' with us and I am not sure how healthy it is!

Many think that the trick is to work harder and to work longer hours. The self-doubt starts to niggle: "Will you make it? Have you got what it takes? Why don't my people get it? What happens if...?"

The question I would pose is "Can you really do this all on your own?". I suspect you can't.

If you are a small business then you may well kill yourself (not enough time, money, resource) unless you start working smarter (and how do you figure out how to do that?).

And if you employ 20+ staff then 'letting go' is a big part of the trick (as long as you can trust the people you are letting go to - and how do you do that?).

A 'finger in the air' piece of work we recently conducted at seminars confirmed the relationship between the cost/depth of the intervention and the impact on your business. And it makes sense really.

There seems to a continuum where the impact is greater with the deeper/costlier intervention:
- search the Internet - you can find some great stuff - FREE
- read newspapers - you can read some great stuff - ALMOST FREE
- read books - you can read some great stuff - ALMOST FREE
- watch videos - you can see some great stuff - ALMOST FREE
- attend seminars, workshops - you can see some great stuff and maybe get fired up and motivated - SOMETIMES FREE
- consultancy intervention - you can hear some great stuff and get really fired up and motivated and take the action required in your business - NOT FREE AT ALL

Of course there are caveats written all across the words above; some books/papers/seminars/consultancies are truly dreadful and some are simply wonderful.

Does anyone really expect to fundamentally change their business fortunes by just reading, listening or watching. No - the answer is in you taking action - and whatever it takes to get you to take action is what is required.

I can read till the cows come home but it won't motivate me to take the massive action (and take the tough decisions) that the business requires...

So, can I really do this on my own?

Probably not. Who are your stabilisers?

Your turn...


RELEVANT LINKS
Let's Talk - seminars for business with less than 10 employees (and their advisers)
The Directors' Centre consultancy for growing businesses.

A Suit That Fits - Love The Idea

My current obsession is looking for business concepts that are simple... obvious... and remarkable. asuitthatfits.com seems to fit the bill.

You get a 'bespoke', personally designed suit for less than you'd normally pay. Better quality, unique style according to your choice of material, lining, lapels, pockets buttons, cuffs etc etc. Maybe too many options but then they show you what your basic style looks like...

You design online then they send it away to be manufactured and the next thing you know, you are trying it on..!

I am going to have to give it a go. You can do it all online or you can have a fitting. And it all seems to be incredibly good value.

Has anyone used them? A similar concept mejeans.com where you design your own jeans has also caused a stir - there seem to be some critical comment about them if you google them... the power of the net!!

Meanwhile read about A Suit That Fits: Cutting its cloth to profit from recession from The Daily Telegraph Business Club.


RELEVANT LINKS
asuithatfits.com
mejeans.com
Cutting its cloth to profit from recession from The Daily Telegraph Business Club

The Award-Winning Training Programme: Let's Talk...

Congratulations to everyone involved in the Barclays 'Let's Talk...' programme for winning the 2009 Business Moneyfacts award for 'Innovation in the SME Finance Sector'.

Fantastic news and recognition for all our hard work. The Directors' Centre is delighted to have contributed to this success by delivering the Let's Talk... programmes for existing businesses. The NFEA has been delivering the programme elements aimed at start-ups. Barclays have masterminded and led the whole initiative.

The Directors' Centre team have been involved in the development, project management, marketing and delivery of the following events:
- Let's Talk... More Profit - new dates just published!
- Let's Talk... Bright Marketing - new dates just published!
- Let's Talk... Green Business
- Let's Talk... Exit

On our side I have to thank Kiki, Louise, Jim, Lesley, Debbie, Trish, Holly, Ant, and Laura for their noble efforts. Particular thanks go to Kay, Debbie and Jane at Barclays!!!

Here's to a great new season kicking off on 6th May in Nottingham with the More Profit event.


RELEVANT LINKS
Moneyfacts press release
Let's Talk Programme Dates

Start-Up Rates Not Declining (yet)! (the mystery vanishing post!)

Start-Up activity is always an indication of what's happening for the rest of us so.

Latest figures suggest that start-up activity in '07 and '08 were almost identical - 1% in it! Let's see what '09 brings!

Business Start-Ups in 2008 from ifalife.com says: "Figures released by Barclays show that the number of new businesses remained at high levels in 2008, rising from 432,300 in 2007 to 436,600.

The total number of businesses increased by 1 per cent.

In terms of percentage growth women outperformed in comparison to the national average and overtook men. Female-only starts ups increased by 9 per cent to more than 90,000 in 2008. Male-only start-ups showed a slight increase of less than 1 per cent, to 300,000.

• Start-up activity increased by 8 per cent in Yorkshire and 6 per cent in the East Midlands. However, the number of businesses started up declined by 6 per cent in Wales and 3 per cent in the South West.
• New property service firms fell by 13 per cent and there was an 8 per cent decline in businesses associated with construction. In contrast, start-up activity in the area of health, education and social work increased by more than 13 per cent."

RELEVANT LINKS
Business Start-Ups in 2008

April Fool's Day Pranks

According to The Museum of Hoaxes The Top 100 include:

1. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
2. Sidd Finch
3. Instant Colour TV
4. The Taco Liberty Bell
5. San Serriffe
6. Nixon for President
7. Alabama Changes The Value of Pi
8. The Left-Handed Whopper
9. Hot-headed Naked Ice Borers
10. Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity

Good Luck this morning - its a jungle out there!


RELEVANT LINK
The Museum of Hoaxes

Recession Tips (from Colin Mills)

A useful set of Recession Tips comes from Colin Mills at The FD Centre.

Many of our clients at the Directors' Centre do not have their own FD - they can't afford one, at least not full-time. Companies like the FD Centre may well be the answer as they provide part-time FDs for businesses.

Take a look at their website to get a feel for what they do and how they do it.

RELEVANT LINKS
Recession Tips from Colin Mills
The FD Centre
Directors' Centre

The Great Facebook Experiment

Our time is up. One month on I said I would get back to you with the results.

"WHY DID RC LOOK AT FACEBOOK...? There are a few answers but in brief:
1) At least half of my audiences (6-7,000pa) are under 40y old (and I am not) and are v small businesses...
2)We run marketing/delegate acquisition programmes for some of our sponsors and clients and wanted to see if this was another/alternative channel to use... (vs google adwords, Ecademy...)
3) We want to explore/experiment ourselves (my office not just me!) before we disregard it out of hand.

We had several measures of success (delegates to Barclays events... potential speaking bookings... consultancy discussions) but our main objective was to prove FB's value (or not) for ourselves."


GENERAL SUMMARY
It has been great to find a whole bunch of old school friends It has been great to get to understand how FB works. The volume of activity is very high but not very focused or relevant. Great to have another outlet for the blog.

BUSINESS SUMMARY
We have not sent out a single additional invoice as a result of our FB activity. Without a half-decent search facility, people will never find you unless they have been specifically pointed towards you. Question: What does your FB activity (and that of your 'friends') say about you? LinkedIn has been far more useful even if the interface isn't desperately user-friendly.

Question: Is it crucial to the success of our business?
Answer: No