A classic case of shifting priorities
Forgive me father for I have sinned, it's been a month since I last wrote on my blog.
Normally when I talk with people about blogging I usually recommend writing roughly once a week but lately my own blogging effort has been a little lax.
In all honesty I have little excuse, I've had the time to do it, it's been in my diary to do it, I've even had in mind several topics to write on.
So what's gone wrong?
Well, it's a classic case of 'shifting priorities'.
In other words, I've had so many other things on my plate that blogging has fallen by the wayside because those other things seemed to more important at the time.
But here's where I remember that blogging is important. I had to think about how important blogging is to me and I concluded that I've dropped something important.
Blogging enables me to share some of things I learn in my life and business and this helps other people, it helps my search engine rankings, it improves my profile as a writer and speaker, and it boosts my credibility in my sphere of influence.
Now, the question is: What am I going to do about it now that I've reaffirmed how important blogging is?
Well, I've re-committed to blogging each week. I've brought my blog back up the list of priorities.
So, the lesson from today's sermon is this: Things in life are constantly changing and your priorities will evolve with it. But when you realise that something important has been neglected it's rarely too late to pick it up again.
Want help with starting a business in Leicestershire? Free event on 25th April
Thinking of starting a new business or would like assistance with your existing business? This event brings together local people interested in running their own enterprise with a range of organisations and businesses who can help your idea get off the ground.
FREE to attend, you'll hear Top Tips for starting a business, meet other people interested in starting a business and will have the chance to receive free business advice and consider how it may affect your benefits.
Agenda for the day
10.30am Welcome and chance to look round the exhibits
10.40am Inspirational talk from a local businessperson
11.20am Top Tips sessions including Thinking of launching a new business?, How to Use Social Media and Getting the attention of Local Media
11.30am Top Tips sessions including How to improve your confidence, Tops Tips on Self Employment & Tax and How to raise finance for your startup
11.40am Break and chance to look round the exhibits
11.55am Business Advice Clinics - get your questions answered
12.25am Lunch
1.00pm Business Workshop - How to set Powerful Goals
2.00pm End
Exhibitors Include
- B-Inspired www.enterpriseasalife.org.uk
- HMRC www.hmrc.gov.uk
- The Prince's Trust www.princes-trust.org.uk
- LCB Depot www.lcbdepot.co.uk
- Engage Multimedia www.engage-multimedia.co.uk
- Skills for Enterprise www.skillsforenterprise.co.uk
- Lab3Media www.lab3media.co.uk
- Spring to Action Ltd www.springtoaction.co.uk
- Positive Vibrations www.positivevibrationsuk.wordpress.com
Exhibitors include business startup funders, creative business support organisations, community and social enterprise support, business support agencies and web designers for startups.
Where is it?
The event takes place in the heart of the city at the former Library, 2 Wellington Street (please note the entrance is on Belvoir Street, opposite Fenwicks). Enter through the main door where you'll see signage, and the event takes place on the first floor in the new Leicester Photographer's Gallery. Full disabled access is available.
Click Here to book your place to attend, which will give us an idea of how many people will be attending. But if you forget to book, do feel free to just show up.
For more information or any questions please call us on 0116 217 9250 or emailkate.cowan@springtoaction.co.uk
This event forms part of the Enterprise As a Life project, helping local people start a business.
This event is organised by Spring to Action in partnership with Positive Vibrations
It’s often not the product that customers actually buy
On Monday I did a bit of training for a woman called Zoe who is new to being self-employed. She recently started an ironing service and I was helping her to learn about keeping financial records.
During our session we discussed how much she wa
s charging and she quickly realised that she is far too cheap, possibly by as much as 50%. So any new clients will be paying more than her current ones (sorry).
But part of the discussion was why people buy an ironing service. Why would anyone pay someone else to do their housework?
We came up with a number of reasons: some folks are short of time, others won't be very good at ironing, many will feel that they'd rather be doing something else, and some will pay to have to have it done because they hate the task.
For most people it's a case of saving time. Most of the clients will simply value their time at higher than the rate that she charges. They aren't buying the ironing, they're buying the time it saves.
So what Zoe is actually selling is time. She's giving those with the money and inclination the opportunity to pay her to take away an undesirable job and get back the time it would have taken.
And this set Zoe thinking a little more about the value of time. You see, time really is the only finite resource, when it's gone you're not getting it back. And it was at this point that she realised that she didn't value her own time highly enough. An important lesson I feel and better learned sooner than later.
But the most important lesson that Zoe has learned is that her client don't buy ironing, they buy time.
Zoe now knows why her clients really buy and she can now focus her marketing on what her clients gain from her service. She can now further emphasise the benefits of buying back time rather than just taking away an undesirable job.
So, here's a question: can you do a similar exercise to work out what your customers really gain when they buy from your business?
Get out for 10 minutes and cut stress.
This last weekend I went to Scarborough for the FSB national AGM and conference. It was a great getting involved in helping to shape the future of an organisation I believe in.
Although the event was very full-on there were still little slots of time available for a relaxing 20 minutes on the beach.
I have to admit that it was a very welcome respite from the business focus that surrounded it. It would have been a travesty if I'd not taken advantage of the beautiful sunshine to roll my trousers up and freeze my toes off in the North Sea.
But there is a lesson in this: I believe that no matter how stressed and busy you are, you should always keep an eye out for an opportunity to go for a walk on a sunny day.
It's very refreshing and enables you to go back to where you were with a little more energy and also some oxygen in the lungs (assuming you're not in central London).
So, next time you're stressed, just get out for a slight change of scenery. I promise it'll help.
FSB and local government supporting entrepreneurs
It's great to hear from local authorities and the FSB that the small business community is a priority, despite the national government's lack of action.
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Recent Articles
- A classic case of shifting priorities
- Want help with starting a business in Leicestershire? Free event on 25th April
- It’s often not the product that customers actually buy
- Get out for 10 minutes and cut stress.
- FSB and local government supporting entrepreneurs
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- Free pre-startup and recent startup business event in Leicester on Friday 9th March
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- Don’t do this if you want to keep your customers
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