As an entrepreneur who didn’t come from a sales background, this was one of the areas I found the most challenging when I started my business and sometimes even now it’s something that can get the better of me on occasion. Even if you’ve come from a sales background, there’s a huge mindset shift you must make from selling someone else’s products and services to selling your own, especially as a coach or consultant. When selling your expertise and knowledge, the people who hav

According to an article in the Telegraph, 660,000 new companies are registered in the UK every year, which is equal to 70 new businesses being formed every hour! Unfortunately, this same article highlights that 60% of those businesses will go under within three years and 20% after just 12 months! So, what are the challenges and how can you start a business and focus on the skills you need to develop in order to sustain your venture for the long-term? It All Starts with You! T

In part 2 of this article, I felt it pertinent to focus on the costs of maintaining your business online because whether you have a physical operation, or you run your business online, the predominant tactics you will use to build awareness and grow your brand will be digital marketing. Inevitably, you’ll be enticed by different affiliate marketing products and services that can help you run your business such as off the shelf pre-built websites; software that will help you t

If you look at most social media adverts from internet marketing experts, it’s not difficult to get caught up in thinking that stating a business is easy and very low cost. Whilst it’s not necessarily untrue that getting your business online can be a minimal outlay, there are many costs that new entrepreneurs don’t consider when they start-up. In part 1 of this article we are going to look specifically at your potential start-up costs and then in part 2 we will move on to mai

Overcoming the Misconceptions of Starting Your Coaching or Consulting Business If you are thinking about getting into coaching and consulting, it’s important to address some of the reasons that may hold you back from starting your business and being successful in what may be a profession that is perfect for your experience and skill set. So, below I am addressing these misconceptions which will hopefully help you to feel more comfortable and confident about becoming a consult

There are literally thousands of different awards for businesses and individuals to enter nowadays, but deciding on which ones to enter and leveraging the benefits for your brand awareness and overall business growth is a decision that should be based on strategy if it is really to add kudos to your brand! Different awards have different entry requirements and legitimacy themselves. The high profile prestigious awards for your industry or profession are probably the harder on

It seems like almost every week there is another brand cutting jobs and closing stores around the UK and no doubt other countries are being affected too. The latest names on the British high street hit list in addition to Toys R Us and Maplin who went into administration in February, New Look last week announced the closure of 60 stores and almost 1,000 jobs cuts, with other chains such as Moss Bros, CarpetRight, Next and Mothercare, likely to follow suit! It’s doesn’t paint

Starting a business is one thing, building a brand is quite another! There are so many different ways to start a business and as technology and innovation improves in the coming years, no doubt it will become even easier and quicker to start up your own enterprise. However, as a business that means with increased competition it is now even more important to focus on how you build a brand. Why, because a creating a sustainable brand is what will help you stand out and continue

The above Guide to Content Marketing for Financial Services recently published by Raconteur Media discusses how financial services fims need to understand the opportunity cost of content marketing to their target audience who are typically 57% of the way through their purchasing process before they contact suppliers. It also focuses on understanding how to manage the challenges of working within an ever changing regulatory environment and the need to focus more and ore on imp

We all receive hundreds of emails every week from companies vying for your attention promoting their products or services. Most people will skim over their inbox and delete the majority unless it has a headline that grabs their attention. Ultimately, you will never really know how many people will actually be interested enough at that very point of receiving your email to click your link or contact you directly to enquire and make a purchase. With the exception of having a

Whatever marketing campaigns you have planned for the coming year should all have a core purpose and objective for helping you reach your business goals. I come across many firms who conduct marketing campaigns because they think it's the right thing to do, using resources and money with no real purpose behind what impact they expect their promotion to have. Marketing campaigns will generally be conducted to; increase brand awareness and consideration, generate new business,

With 2015 just a few weeks away, you understand how important it is for your clients to regularly review their financial plans or policies to see if they need to make any necessary changes to keep them on track towards their financial goals. The same is true for your business and therefore, you should be considering what your goals are for the New Year and making your own plans to ensure your business objectives are also on track. From your operations, finance, sales and mark

Marketing campaigns are an essential tool that all financial services businesses should be using to promote their services. In an industry that relies on trust, knowledge and experience to obtain new leads and retain existing clients, advance planning will help to capitalise on the opportunities throughout the year to raise awareness of your brand. CAMPAIGN PLANNING With years of experience planning and running successful campaigns that have generated hundreds of new busines

Understanding how to market your business online in this day and age is critical to ensuring you stay up to date with how your customers or clients are accessing information about your products and services. Building your business successfully in this way involves employing a variety of strategies that will help raise awareness of your proposition as well as providing value through expertise and knowledge: Websites are the shop front to your business and probably the place yo

​All businesses need good marketing support. Unfortunately, this can be one of the most expensive areas of your business to fund and as a business owner, this may not be your area of speciality. Whether you have been operating your business for a long time or you are a new entrepreneur, if you have ambitions for growth as well as maintaining your existing client base, a good marketing strategy onling with ongoing planning will help to make those amibtions a reality. So, how

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