Let’s End The Year Off Right – with Peter Sage

Posted on 30/12/2012 by mochabella

*Have you ever thought about becoming an entrepreneur but was too driven by fear to make that dream a reality? Maybe you were afraid of the hard work and persistence it takes to become a successful entrepreneur? Maybe you were afraid of the possibility of failure? Or maybe it was the possibility of success and the expectations that it would bring? The start-up life of an entrepreneur, the life that exists between the start of the journey and the destination, is never easy. It’s full of turbulence. You’ve got to be passionate! You’ve got to be willing to ride the waves to success! And lucky for you, I’ve got some more bits of entrepreneur inspiration to share with you from The Entrepreneurship Conference 2012 that I attended in November. The notes aren’t the best – I’ll admit that, it’s hard to re-enact such heavy words of wisdom from these millionaires into 4-5 sheets of paper, but my hope is that at least one thing jumps out at you guys from this screen that would help you to do things better, change your thinking or even revive that dream of becoming a wealthy entrepreneur. That goal has been accomplished time and again! If individuals like John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Tony Hsieh, and Mark Zuckerburg can defeat the odds and claim massive amounts of wealth and success, then so can YOU!*

PSage Here we are! We’ve finally reached the conclusion to my entrepreneurship/personal development tips and hints to end 2012. I hope you guys have found these posts as enjoyable to read as I’ve found them enjoyable to write! Our final speaker for this year is Peter Sage. This guy is the jack of all trades! He’s a well-known international serial entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience in growing fast-paced enterprises. He’s also an international bestselling author and public speaker with dozens of articles published in numerous magazines, newspapers and journals over the last two decades. As an expert in human behaviour and motivation he has spoken on 5 continents and is frequently asked to deliver keynote addresses, entertaining and inspiring audiences across the globe where he has been booked to share the stage with high profile people such as Kofi Anan, Sir Richard Branson and Former US President Bill Clinton. Lastly, Peter is an expert in personal development and is committed to bringing those skills and experience to a global audience, a philanthropist and an active supporter of multiple charitable causes. As a personal sidenote, Peter was probably the best speaker of those 4 days. Here he speaks to us about easier ways to make more money in business.

Making More Money In Your Business, Made Easier

There are five ways to get money:

1) Inherit it

2) Steal it

3) Win it

4) Make it

Statistics:

85% companies do not make £1 million in annual sales
95% companies do not make £5 million in annual sales
98% companies do not make £10 million in annual sales

Only 1 in 25 companies even last 10 years

BIGGEST CHALLENGES:

– Skills & mindset of entrepreneur

– What kind of person grows a company?

– Working smarter, not harder, on impact areas – and with great intensity

1^st Competency:

The Right Mental Foundation

The ability to handle uncertainty
Where does certainty exist in nature?
The quality of life is a direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can live with – Tony Robbins

Entrepreneurs TAKE RISKS! Pour as much in as you can – don’t be tentative!

JUST DO IT – Don’t talk yourself out

FORGET overwhelm/anxiety/fear etc.

2^nd Competency:

Capital vs. Initiative

How to get what you want without paying for it

– You don’t need money; you need a better strategy

– How can you add more value? – You need to give before you get

Create 4-5 pages of what the business actually looks like as a finished product before beginning

3^rd Competency:

Don’t Sell, Develop a Core Story

Get a (60 second) stadium pitch
The majority will not be interested, a great pitch will drive people forward

Make your story compelling – target the ‘pain points’ of customers FIRST! – Kick off with something that grabs them.

What would you want to accomplish?
What would your objectives be?

HOW TO HAVE CLIENTS, NOT CUSTOMERS:

1) Be an expert in your field

2) Focus not just on your products or services, but your entire field

Know your MARKET data, & educate the buyer
Be willing to risk letting go of what you’re gripping onto to get what you want!

(Bio courtesy Peter Sage)

Check out this inspirational TEDx video of Peter speaking about moving beyond the limits:

The best part of his advice for me was the ‘Take Risks/Just Do It/Forget’ strategy simply because those are the hardest things for me to do. I’m a complex female – I over-think practically everything, most times to my own detriment. So succumbing to the ease of simplicity in 2013, my goal is to refrain from making mountains out of molehills and take risks in my career, my relationships & my adventures; I’m going to stop over-thinking and over-processing information because it’s simply a way of keeping me from moving forward – I’m going to Just Do It; and I refuse to dwell on my emotions such as regret, overwhelm, fear etc. These negative feelings will not be holding me back from experiencing the true joys that life has to offer in the future. But what about you?

What have you learned from these posts? Do you find it easy to take risks, act, and forget? Do you feel more knowledgeable and better prepared to tackle various areas in your business? Do you feel like you’re ready to start your own business? I love hearing from you 🙂

Let’s End The Year Off Right – with Kate Hardcastle

Posted on 30/12/2012 by mochabella

kate_hardcastle On this last day of Entrepreneurship posts, you’re firstly going to get tips from Kate Hardcastle – also known as the Queen of Customer Service. She’s an award-winning entrepreneur, founder of a charitable organisation & a musician. Business (Founding Partner of Insight with Passion) and Charity make for a large chunk of her life, yet behind the well-known work she’s a committed mother, family member and faithful friend. Like any busy family member Kate’s all about maximizing time and most importantly having fun. Kate’s drive and passion to achieve her ambitions has seen her in some challenging situations (including being very nearly kidnapped in China) but what she learns she loves to share. Her rule of thumb – Passion, Persistence, Persuasion, Patience and Politeness (and on one occasion Chinese Law Enforcement) makes a good recipe for success. She’s the kind of woman who’d rather dry shampoo to spend an extra hour with her family than spend hours doting upon herself in the mirror. She would actively give up a rare spare afternoon to support a local charity rather than put her feet up. You won’t find her sitting still when there are things to be done! Her ‘No is Never the Answer’ attitude makes her a force to be reckoned with – it’s seen her create astonishing results with her charitable organisation The Charity Dreamgirls, assist in transforming 20 clients with her business Insight with Passion and become patron of the RSPCA. Here, she talks about what she knows best – giving excellent customer service:

Customer Service

– Bad customer service is likened to people who don’t do their job properly

– ‘The Customer’ needs to be at the heart of every business plan

– Customers are the best form of advertising and marketing

– Broken company promises = Customer frustration

– You need to live with the wants of the customer – when it comes to your business, put yourself in their shoes all the time

Reasons Given For Top 10 Performing Companies:

– Innovation

– Reliability

– Respect

– Consistency

– Happy Employees

– Blogging & Keeping In Touch

Ways To Understand Customer Wants & Needs:

– Surveys

– 1:1 Interviews

– Online via Social Media

– Listening Groups

– Feedback & Questionnaires

Frequent Mistakes When Determining Customer Needs:

– Don’t prioritise your internal business needs over customer needs

– Don’t fail to update assumptions concerning customer needs – assumptions are good when it comes to getting customer needs right

– Don’t fail to recognize that multiple customers have conflicting and competing needs

Think LIKE a customer to think FOR the customer
Think from the Outside-In, not the Inside-Out
Communicate with customers in THEIR language
Measure what customers value the most regularly & consistently

Customer Incentives:

– VIP Scheme

– Discount Cards

– Letters of Thanks

The best brands live customer service!

Customer Service Inspiration:

– MAC

– Macy’s

– Selfridges

– Harrods

– John Lewis

– Sephora

(Bio courtesy Kate Hardcastle)

Check out this clip of Kate, speaking about her story and her rise to success:

What did you think of this post? If you’re a customer, what good customer service did you experience, and what was its effect on you? If you’re a business, what can you do better to improve the customer experience?

Let’s End The Year Off Right – with Bill Walsh

Posted on 30/12/2012 by mochabella

bill-walsh Last on our list for today’s entrepreneurship tips and hints is Bill Walsh. He’s the CEO & Founder of Business Coaching & Venture Capital Firm Powerteam International. His passion is to empower entrepreneurs and business owners to create massive success. He loves helping people understand specifically what it takes to build successful companies. He has a very accomplished background in finance and marketing. He has spent two decades working with a wide range of companies, from start-ups to major global brands; increasing sales, productivity and overall success. He is also an innovator with a remarkable ability to determine and dictate success strategies that seize global market opportunities. For everyone that owns a business or would like to capitalize the entrepreneurial dream, his message will enlighten them with knowledge and action principles to turn that passion into success! Here’s the wisdom he bestowed upon me in his talk called ‘The Foundation’. It’s about turning the dream into a reality and actually launching a business but a lot of what’s discussed below can apply to many other facets that need improvement in your life:

To Launch:

1) Be a leader: People follow the leader, not the team

2) Build a great plan: Be realistic about the numbers and what it takes to generate customers

3) Create an exit strategy: Create a strategy that allows you to get out of your business if need be. Don’t tie yourself fully to it. After a while it would be necessary to let others hold the reins; and this is very important when it comes to either selling your business or letting it go if it’s unsuccessful, in order to move onto another project.

Create value for your customers– DON’T CHASE MONEY
BE FLEXIBLE
Co-ordinate an inside team & an outside team – DELEGATE
QUIT trying to do things you suck at! – If you try to do everything, nothing gets done.

To Market:

1) Marketing = 90% of business success

2) Build a website that makes money

3) Stop discounting your prices, simply add more value for your customers

4) No Money? Need Marketing? – Consider joint ventures. Find industry leaders that have a sphere of influence and believe in you and your business, and add value to them first.

5) Everyone is approachable – Don’t be afraid to make contact with profitable people in your industry. Just remember to add value to their lives first.

6) People want to know you before they get to know your product or service – Who’s the person behind the brand?

7) You are always on the air – Brand yourself to win! What’s your market pitch?

Customer Service:

1) Add tons of value & ask for nothing in return – Serve with no expectations

2) Your customers buy results – They always want to know what they’re going to get for their money

Personal Development:

1) When you work part time on your dreams, your dreams work full time for you

2) When opportunity shows up for you to step up your game – STEP UP!

3) If you have your priorities straight, everything else will fall into place

4) Schedule all of your success today – don’t plan for your failure

5) Don’t fear the dream – embrace it

6) If you don’t have a plan with a target, it’s simply a dream

7) A dream without a plan is a waste of time. It starts with a plan of where you’re going – date it! Where will you be a year from now?

8) If there’s no date, it’s not real! Date your goals and your dreams

9) To be successful you need to be on path & on purpose: Don’t lose your FOCUS

10) Many of us live someone else’s plan or dreams for ourselves– we need to step into our individual visions!

11) Your gut feeling = spiritual intuition: It guides you to where you’re supposed to be going, always listen to it.

12) Don’t start a business if you’re not ready to build it

Success starts today and it ALL begins with your mindset

Here’s what you can begin to do:

Plan: “A small piece of something really big is better than a big piece of something small” – It doesn’t matter how you start planning; JUST START!

Create a great experience for your customers – Keep them coming back for your service

Team: Have an outsource team and an insource team

Action: Stop surrounding yourself with negative people. Surround yourself with people smarter than you – make them a part of your team

Find a Big Cause: aka ‘The Bigger Picture’ – How can you use your success to help others? Do you want to get your family & friends out of debt? Do you want a better future for your children? Do you want to help save the environment or the world’s dying children? – Why do you get up every morning wanting to do what you do?

Forget-Me-Nots:

If you don’t own your space, someone else will! Be the best in class – become an expert at your craft!

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great

Once you begin to elevate your game, there’s no going back – keep moving forward, don’t be afraid of success

Self-doubt is the ultimate killer of all small businesses

Small victories always add up to big success

Persistence + Failure = Success

Final Quotes:

“I’ve failed over and over again in my life & that’s why I succeed” – Michael Jordan

“When you think about success the way that you think about breathing, then success will show up for you” – Just as badly as we depend upon the air that passes through our lungs in order to survive, that’s how badly we need our determination to succeed to be. If you want it badly, your life will depend upon it.

(Bio courtesy Bill Walsh)

Live Your Passion: