owning a business means
November 12th, 2009
owning a business means you never have to admit you’re wrong or say sorry*.
(*except every few years to the liquidators)
Archive
Archive for the ‘random’ Category
if great members of staff are hard to keep hold of…
November 5th, 2009
why have you been doing the same job for so long?
should I start my own business
November 3rd, 2009
If you have had enough of living on the breadline, working long hours to line sombody elses pockets and feeling like you’ve been given an indefinite jail sentence…then no, you definitely shouldn’t start your own business!
great small companies
August 11th, 2009
In a great big company, you might be the person that makes tea, or signs cheques, or divides rolls of sellotape up, or does the invoicing, or cleanses databases, or writes job ads, or fields calls, or does staff reviews, or … well…you get the point.
In a great small company, there is no such thing as “or”.
So does that means your review forms will not be as well written, or your invoicing will not be as tight, or you databases will not be as cleansed, or your phone will not be answered as quickly etc?
Nope, it just means you need to work harder, and nobody will thank you.
I’ll have it
July 28th, 2009
Who would like the last glass of wine?
Would anybody like the last roast potato?
There’s only one chair left…does anybody want it?
We’d all like the last potato/wine/chair/(whatever)…but you take a moment to consider how much you want something in relation to the needs of others. But then isn’t there always some rude bast**d superfluous to the needs of others, staking claim to the last “X”. And it’s usually the same person.
We all admire it, and we all resent it. The important message, is that whilst you stand up with your empty glass still feeling a bit hungry, somebody else doesn’t.
In social circles, that’s ok, because our aims are not selfish.
In business, you better start learning when and what to take very quickly, because some bast**d is out there laying claim to everything, regardless of whether they need it.
find the right balance between holiday and work
July 21st, 2009
Work isn’t about work, it’s about results.
If you don’t take a break, you’ll be respected for working hard, but you wont be admired for poor results. Let’s say (make up) you only achieve 80% of your potential when you are consistently burnt out. But take praise out of the equation, you’re the boss, you do it for love and / or money.
If you take too many breaks, your less likely to get good results, and you definitely wont be praised for working hard. Let’s say (make up) you only achieve 80% of your potential when you take too much holiday.
There’s very little difference between taking too much and too little holiday except a bit of martyrdom. Why not stick to a normal amount.
choosing hold music for your business
July 20th, 2009
<song>”no, no, no, no, no ,no, no, no, no, no, no, no, there’s no limit…“</song>
“I’m sorry sir that line is engaged, would you like to continue holding?”
“ye..”
<song>”no, no, no, no, no ,no, no, no, no, no, no, no, there’s no limit…“</song>
“I’m sorry sir that line is engaged, would you like to continue holding?”
“wel..”
<song>”no, no, no, no, no ,no, no, no, no, no, no, no, there’s no limit…“</song>
“I’m sorry sir that line is engaged, would you like to continue holding?”
“fuc..”
<song>”no, no, no, no, no ,no, no“</song>
If you can, find out how long your customer with the longest wait was on hold for in the last month…and give it a whirl yourself. How did you find that experience?
Pretty crap huh?
Tips:
Use more than one song
No greensleeves, and particularly not played in that child’s toy piano tone
No (very long) silences
Sales messages can be interesting in moderation
An apology sounds week after the 75th automated rendition
Classical guitar or french jazz or just a simple (not too) infrequent beep is fine.
Too Unlimited is not.
remember who your friends are
July 15th, 2009
As you go on to become a wild success in your new venture, it’s important to remember where you started (for 1 simple reason).
The friends you make in your youth or early adulthood are not founded on how much money you have, or how “successful” you are.
They tend to be deep rooted, emotional or intellectual connections with people who expect nothing more from you than reciprocal affection.
The friends you make and meet as your success develops are more likely to reflect your own wealth and status.
If you abandon and forget all the friends you made along the way where materiel possessions/gain were not the issue, you leave yourself open to one glaring vulnerability:
Who the hell are you going to brag to?!?!
running a small business is like riding in the tour-de-france
July 9th, 2009
You are competing with lots of excellent businesses doing exactly the same thing as you (thanks to the Internet).
The rewards for being a tiny bit better are exponentially greater.
If you burn yourself out early on, you’re screwed.
If you fall to far behind, you’re screwed.
You can’t win it all in won day, but you can lose it all.
Ultimate success comes from recognising that the race is run in stages. You need to complete each one well, but you don’t have to win them all.
Identify your strengths and differentiate yourself in those areas.
There will be mountains to climb, accidents, adverse conditions and equipment failures.
You’re almost certainly not too old to start again.
It’s a lot easier if you can find some decent drugs.
how much is enough?
July 8th, 2009
How much is enough for you or your business?
Have you ever defined it?
How will you know when you’ve got there?
If you did know, what would you do when you got there?
Would you redefine “enough” and carry on, or would you stop?
Why not stop now. For today at least. You’ve had enough.