Archive for April, 2011

Your 4 point plan to keep your business on track

Well what a fabulous Easter weekend! A great break for most of us to enjoy the sunshine, catch up with family and get re-energised…. ready for the next long weekend!

Most small business owners I have spoken with were looking forward to the Easter break but are seeing this coming long weekend as lost days of work. To help you look forward to the next break – come on, you work hard enough the rest of the year so you should enjoy your time off -here’s 4 steps you can work through this coming long weekend to get you focussed on the future of your business once you get back to work full time!

So set aside an hour over your weekend, tuck yourself away somewhere quiet and have a pen and paper or laptop to hand. Writing down your thoughts will get your subconscious into gear and help you take action.

Step 1 Close your eyes and think where you want your business to be this time next year. Think of it in terms of how you measure your success – something you can easily monitor to check you are on track. Is it profit margin, turnover, number of staff, units sold, number of new clients, how many hours you are working a week? Whether you have been able to book a holiday? Write down where you want to be and all the measurements that will monitor your progress. If you don’t where you are going, how will you know when you get there?

Step 2 Look at the measurements you wrote down and take a reality check. Think through where you are now. Write this down too.

Step 3 So looking at where you are now, and where you want to be, what 1 or 2 actions will make the most impact on getting you on your way? Write it down.

Step 4 Grab your diary or laptop and put this action in your diary on a specific date and do it.  If it needs breaking down more, break it down into smaller tasks and work out who can help you achieve it. If more actions came to mind make time (Read more about how to make time here) for those in your diary too.

Now you will have earned another a great weekend!

Denise

Funding is available to help equip you

with the skills you need to grow your success

GREAT NEWS! Funding for 2011/2012 is now on offer for small business owners who are ready to grow their business.

If you have ambitious plans to grow, whether you’re starting up or have been in business for a while, however many people you have working for you – you need to ensure that they are fully engaged with your plans. You need to ensure that you have the leadership and management skills to achieve this.

Through the Leadership and Management Advisory Service, owner managers and senior leaders of businesses with plans and potential to achieve high growth, have a great opportunity to develop their leadership and management skills.

Funding is available to private sector businesses or social enterprises that:-

• Have fewer than 250 full time equivalent employees, and

• Have at least one employee in addition to the senior leader, and

• Have the potential for growth

Up to £1,000 in grant funding to help pay for the solution – this grant will pay for 50% of the fees excluding VAT up to the maximum amount of £1,000.

For example:

• If the coaching programme costs £1,000 + VAT, you can claim back £500.

• If the coaching programme costs £2,500 + VAT, you can claim back £1000.

Free impartial advice at no obligation

A qualified and experienced Leadership and Management Adviser from Skills South East will meet with you to help identify your personal development needs to promote the growth of your business.

FUNDING IS LIMITED so please contact Denise straight away to find out more, to discuss your specific requirements and put you in touch with a skills adviser:

01732 440407 or email.

Wow! Well what a day at the Kent 2020 Vision Business Show. It was absolutely buzzing although a little hot!

I’d like to thank all those who made the effort to make it to my dma stand; it was a maze so I appreciate the effort. It was great to catch up with clients, acquaintances and to meet lots of new people.

For exhibitors and delegates alike, it’s now down to the follow up to make the most of our investment on the day. As mentioned in my last blog, we need to keep visible and build our credibility to grow our business. Once we have made that face to face connection, it’s time to keep in touch. For many it will be through our face to face networking but by effectively using social media, the relationships will strengthen more quickly.

Katie King PR & social media expert, will be one of the experts on my free May telesummit when I will be asking her the questions to which we all want to know the answers to get the most out of social media.

To register for the telesummit, subscribe to my Step Up Bulletin at www.denisemolloy.co.uk/stepup.html, so I can contact you with the details of the summit.

Meantime Katie has put together a great slide presentation to help us to make the most of social media. Is social media relevant to my business, by Katie King, Zoodikers

BUILD YOUR NETWORK AT

DETLING – THURSDAY 7 APRIL

I am exhibiting for the first time at Kent 2020 business show and even before the event, I am already seeing a return on my investment just from the connections I am making. These connections have been through meeting new contacts at the pre events and subsequently linking up and with them on social media sites.  The camaraderie is great and we are supporting each other in promoting our presence at the show.

The pre events have also helped both delegates and exhibitors to focus on the outcomes we want to achieve from attending the show.

VISIBILITY+CREDIBILITY = PROFITS (Ivan Misner)

Attending and exhibiting at a business show gives us all the opportunity to work this equation. Delegates and exhibitors will be raising their visibility by building on existing relationships and introducing themselves to new contacts.

Brad Chapman’s key message at the pre event was to look to the future and create opportunities. It may take some of us out of our comfort zone, but it is Kent 2020 Vision and we do need to be proactive and put ourselves out there to grow our business As it is a county based show, odds are on we will meet our new contacts again, so check out what networking events they attend so you can build on the relationship.

Whether your new contacts are local or not – connect up through social media to keep in touch.  As Mick Say presented, use the ‘Fab 5’ as part of your ongoing marketing strategy ie Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare. Zoe Cairns also gave some great social media tips, my favourite being animoto to create a short promotional video.

As exhibitors, we are raising our credibility. Tony Buddin advocated in his preshow workshop, that we should act as consultants, not salespeople. Listen to visitors to our stands and offer tips and advice where we can.

So the final part of the equation is to look towards the future and profit. Once we have raised our visibility and built our credibility, profit will be more forthcoming. As we build trust and listen to our clients and prospects, we will be better positioned to meet their needs.

Please do come and see me at Kent 2020. You will find me on stand 004c. You will have the opportunity to win a strengths profile and discuss the findings in a 1-2-1 coaching session to help you to maximise your potential and build your business success.

Entrance is FREE so do come along and network. Here’s the link

See you there!

Denise