by Angela Taffs | Sep 15, 2015 | Business Success, Personal and Lifestyle
Overcome your fear
Running a small business on your own can be a scary place at times and often we find it necessary to step outside of our comfort zone.
This could be from having to cold call, contacting a difficult client, chasing a bad debt, public speaking or simply putting yourself out there to promote your product or service.
There are many ways to help overcome your fear but here is a top one I was given a long time ago and which works.
Think of someone that you admire and are successful in your industry. Get a picture of them and print it off to keep near your desk or workstation. When you get the jitters, simply look at their picture and ask yourself what they would do in your situation.
Take a deep breath and then take the action that you believe they would take.
Really try to get into the mindset of the person you have chosen if they were dealing with the situation. Think about the following:
- What would they be wearing?
- What language would they use, and what tone of voice – friendly and fun or assertive and commanding?
- Would they be standing or sitting?
- Where would they be – at their office or at the client’s premises?
- What method of communication would they use – email, telephone, letter or face to face?
- What would they have with them or near them– client records, a notepad, a glass of water?
By emulating a successful person that you admire, you can feel a connection with them and know that whatever step you take is going to be one step closer to becoming as good as they are.
Try it out for yourself and see if it helps you overcome your fear. Pop over to the Facebook page and let me know.
by Angela Taffs | Sep 7, 2015 | Business Success
I have met a number of businesses over the years and two stick in my mind that I saw within a week of each other. One was completely floundering and projections were to turnover just £4000 by the end of the first year. Sales were not coming in and morale was at an all-time low.
The second business was flying. It had been trading for nine months and was one of the most successful start-ups I have seen in a very long time. Turnover was incredibly high and profits were very healthy indeed.
So what was the difference between them? Why was one sinking whilst the other was flying?
During conversations, it became increasingly obvious that the first business owner had gone out and pinpointed something they thought would make money. They had no experience in the industry and had no enthusiasm for the business other than trying to make sales and extract money for themselves.
When talking to this business owner, there was no vibrancy in their voice and when talking about what they were doing and why, all they spoke about was facts and figures with no emotion.
The second business owner had started a business doing something she loved and was incredibly good at. She had test traded alongside her full-time job and orders came rolling in so she quickly made the decision to give up her full-time work and set up a company.
Her passion, enthusiasm and energy were infectious. When I asked her questions, she spoke from the heart and her eyes lit up. She knew her product inside out. Whatever she was selling, I wanted to buy it.
The two conversations were like chalk and cheese.
Too many people focus on the money and what they can get from it when starting a business. This, in my experience, rarely leads to success.
On the other hand, those that concentrate on something they love, have a passion for and are good at tend to be far more successful. Their passion helps them through the tough times. They enjoy what they do regardless. And they don’t have to sell their products or services. Their enthusiasm rubs off on others who become intrigued, and if the offering fits, want to buy.
I have always said that the key to success in business is to find something you love, something you are good at, and something that enough people will pay the right price for.
So stop chasing the money first and foremost. Do something you love and what people want. The money will soon come of its own accord.
by Angela Taffs | Sep 1, 2015 | Business Success
There is one almost guaranteed way to lose even the most loyal of customers. And that is to make promises that you cannot keep.
It is often in our nature to want to do the best for everyone and to never say no, but this can ultimately do our business more harm than good. If you are already stretched to breaking point, trying to squeeze in just one more client or fulfil just one more order could well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Or it may be that we promote a product or service where we simply do not have the capacity to supply to enough people
I have been searching for a business mentor for the past couple of weeks. Even though I mentor others, I still need someone to be accountable to and to use as a sounding board myself. I have decided to invest in myself and my business and so was prepared to pay to get the right person.
I watched a few webinars and did some research and came up with a shortlist of some apparently highly qualified and highly sought after individuals. The two it boiled down to have both just opened up spaces to take on clients and have been promoting this heavily.
I contacted my first choice. I was promised a comprehensive plan and if she was not available at any time, her support team would there for me. I decided to check out the support team and went on live chat to ask a simple question. The smoke screens and lack of ability to answer my questions was quite ridiculous and after giving them every opportunity to redeem themselves, they failed miserably to give me what I wanted. I then emailed the mentor direct and after no response tried to gain her attention through social media. But the only thing I got in return was silence.
I then went to my second choice. After many promises of how wonderful she was and what a perfect fit we were we decided to book a starter session together by phone. But the call never came. I waited and waited but was met with silence again. I emailed and was told by her assistant the appointment was not put in the diary.
I felt completely let down and if this was the way these people ran their businesses, they certainly didn’t meet the standards I have for mine.
So if you tell someone you are going to do something, simply do it. If you offer a free call to try and gain a new client, treat it with the importance it deserves. If you say you are going to deliver a product at a certain time, make sure it arrives precisely then, or even better, before.
It is far better to tell someone that you cannot fulfil their wishes at this moment in time than let them down and gain a bad reputation. I have spoken to a number of people today who have all been let down by another particular business advisor and word is spreading like wild fire locally that this person is unreliable. This is undoubtedly going to damage their business.
Remember the adage to under promise and over deliver. At the least, make sure you invest efforts to keep your promises and then exceed them if you have the time and ability. Stand out from the crowd and gain a strong reputation for all the right reasons.
by Angela Taffs | Aug 24, 2015 | Sales and Marketing
Don’t lose your manners when using social media
Quite often when I am using social media, whether on my own personal pages or in a group, I see people asking for recommendations. This could be someone asking for a personal trainer, a graphic designer, a virtual assistant or something else to help them personally or in their business.
If I know of someone and have used them myself, or have heard good things about them, I am all too happy to recommend them and tag them in a post. What is then lovely is when the person I recommend puts a quick thank you for the mention in a subsequent post or private message to me.
This takes them seconds to do but lets me know that they value my support.
But what about those who fail to use basic manners in thanking someone for their help? I have recommended a particular business on a few occasions recently and tagged them. They have then seen this tag, and subsequently joined in the conversation to take advantage of the mention and to try gain business for themselves. But no thank you or acknowledgement of my support was forthcoming.
Now call me picky, but I personally take this as blatant bad manners. If I was at a dinner party and I introduced someone to another person who I thought would be a good contact for them and they totally ignored me, I would feel rather insulted. And the same goes for social media. Don’t forget the social part of social media.
What actually flabbergasted me this week was a small business whose posts I have been sharing and I have recommended to a few people, actually took the time to private message, not to thank me for my support but to tell me (not ask) to share and promote a new range of products they now have. No thank you. Just a demand for more support.
Do you think I am going to help them? No, I am not. I simply take it as incredibly bad manners.
So remember that social media is about building relationships. Nurture those people who are effectively doing free marketing for you by sharing your content and tagging you in posts. A few seconds to say a simple thank you can go a long way. By having good manners you can gain yourself more future free marketing from your supporters who are likely to continue sharing your business with others.
[Tweet “Using good manners in social media can gain you free marketing”]
Just don’t miss the key tactic of good manners when your content is shared in social media
by Angela Taffs | Aug 22, 2015 | Finance, Tax and NI
I have been catching up with the latest episodes of Dragon’s Den. Whilst I appreciate the show is heavily edited, I am still amazed at the number of people who enter the Den without a clear understanding of their figures.
So many have no idea of the difference between turnover and profit. The episode I have just finished showed a woman who was so proud of her £20,000 turnover but could not understand why the dragons were aghast when she said she had a negative figure for her gross profit. She was questioned about her understanding of what gross profit was and she obviously did not have a clue.
Therefore, let’s clear up the key meaning of turnover, gross profit and net profit in case you are unsure. And if after reading this you still don’t understand, please don’t bury your head and feel scared to ask for fear of looking stupid. These figures are imperative to your business success so seek advice and explanation from your accountant.
Turnover: This is simply the total amount of your sales income over a specified amount of time. VAT is excluded from this figure if your business is VAT registered.
Turnover = income received from sales
Gross profit: This is the money that is left from your turnover once you have deducted the direct cost of making your product or providing your service (such as raw materials) but not the general indirect running costs of the business (such as insurance, salaries etc).
Gross profit = turnover – direct costs
Net profit: This is the money that is left once you deduct the indirect running costs of your business such as marketing, insurance, salaries etc from your gross profit.
Net profit = gross profit – indirect running costs
A simplified example:
Mary makes luxury cushions. She sells her cushions at £50 each. To make each cushion she needs to buy £7 worth of material, cotton, stuffing etc. The running costs of her business for insurance, telephone, personal drawing, marketing etc are £1500 per month.
Over the last 12 months Mary sold 500 cushions.
Her turnover was £25,000 (500 x £50)
The direct cost of marking the cushions was £3,500 (500 x £7)
Her gross profit was £21,500 (£25,000 minus £3,500)
Her indirect costs were £18,000 (12 months x £1500)
Her net profit was £3,500 (£19,000 minus £18,000)
That’s it in a nutshell. If you need any more help, pop on over to The Small Business Kit and drop me a line.
