Aaron Parry's Blog, page 3
December 5, 2017
Stop procrastinating, start doing
Some people are productivity machines. They smash through tasks everyday, ticking things off their list, batting away problems and issues as quick as they crop up.For others (me included), we don't seem to have enough time in the day. Even when we create to-do lists, they can quickly get out of hand and seem like insurmountable tasks. So what's the answer? What can we do to improve our productivity and start smashing out tasks day after day?
1. Plan in advancePlanning in itself can be time consuming, so prepare for your days the day before. Spend 30 minutes at the end of your work day or in the evening laying out what you need to do. Planning out what you need to-do ahead of time avoids the too familiar first part of the day being lost to finding out what you need to do. Set tasks with priority levels, an easy way to do this is with a task manager, there is plenty of software out there to choose from. You can allocate time to each task then, by estimating the amount of time each task will take you, so you don’t try to achieve tasks that take 12 hours into one 8 hour day or 4 hour morning.This would be a surefire way to fail. Make sure you're setting realistic, actionable goals with reasonable time limits.2. Screw your inboxIf something is really important, people will call you. Email is a non-urgent form of communication, so there's no reason you can't put it off for a couple of hours at least. The best thing to do is not even look at your email until 11am, avoiding any distractions or things that'll take you off task. I'd even recommend doing the same in the afternoon, after 1 hour in your emails between 11-12 you shouldn't need to revisit them until 4-5pm. In that hour you can plan any tasks that are in your inbox for the next day or later dependant on the priority of the task.I used to fin that my email would dominate my day, dictating my schedule and drag me from pillar to post through a minefield of uncompleted tasks. Ditch the email and focus on your to-do list, add tasks from your email to your to-do list as appropriate and stay out of your inbox as much as possible.
3. Pick a problem and dominate itYou always get that one task that you do not want to do, your absolutely dread the thought of it. Either because it's complex, tedious or simply a job you hate doing. As crazy as it sounds, that's the sucker you've got to jump into and wrestle with first.You're fresher and usually more motivated at the beginning of the day, not to mention you have more time at that point than any other point in the day. You should be able to progress through it faster and more effectively than later in the day. Plus, once it’s done, not only will you no longer have it hanging over you like a dark cloud, but It will give you a big boost to make an all out assault on the rest of your list.If the task is huge and absolutely terrifying then you need to break it down, right down. Create smaller tasks within the task (again most task manager software enable you to do this) which makes it less daunting. By ticking off these smaller tasks you'll be on a one way train to smashing that big ugly task you put off for so long.4. Unfinished businessYou're always going to have a few tasks you weren’t able to complete. If you played your cards right then these will be the lowest priority tasks. If you're honest with yourself and realise that you won’t necessarily get everything done, you won’t feel so bad if you're pushing a task to the next day.At the end of the day create a new list and ditch the old one. Move whatever you have to on to the next list or push it further back if you have to. You can use the day's events to guide your next list. Meaning if you underestimated the time each task would take, then you can adjust your future lists accordingly being more realistic.No matter how much you get done in a day don't kick yourself, instead, see it as an opportunity. You've set a milestone, now you can improve your process daily and become better and more productive day after day until you are one of those productivity machines we're all jealous of.
1. Plan in advancePlanning in itself can be time consuming, so prepare for your days the day before. Spend 30 minutes at the end of your work day or in the evening laying out what you need to do. Planning out what you need to-do ahead of time avoids the too familiar first part of the day being lost to finding out what you need to do. Set tasks with priority levels, an easy way to do this is with a task manager, there is plenty of software out there to choose from. You can allocate time to each task then, by estimating the amount of time each task will take you, so you don’t try to achieve tasks that take 12 hours into one 8 hour day or 4 hour morning.This would be a surefire way to fail. Make sure you're setting realistic, actionable goals with reasonable time limits.2. Screw your inboxIf something is really important, people will call you. Email is a non-urgent form of communication, so there's no reason you can't put it off for a couple of hours at least. The best thing to do is not even look at your email until 11am, avoiding any distractions or things that'll take you off task. I'd even recommend doing the same in the afternoon, after 1 hour in your emails between 11-12 you shouldn't need to revisit them until 4-5pm. In that hour you can plan any tasks that are in your inbox for the next day or later dependant on the priority of the task.I used to fin that my email would dominate my day, dictating my schedule and drag me from pillar to post through a minefield of uncompleted tasks. Ditch the email and focus on your to-do list, add tasks from your email to your to-do list as appropriate and stay out of your inbox as much as possible.3. Pick a problem and dominate itYou always get that one task that you do not want to do, your absolutely dread the thought of it. Either because it's complex, tedious or simply a job you hate doing. As crazy as it sounds, that's the sucker you've got to jump into and wrestle with first.You're fresher and usually more motivated at the beginning of the day, not to mention you have more time at that point than any other point in the day. You should be able to progress through it faster and more effectively than later in the day. Plus, once it’s done, not only will you no longer have it hanging over you like a dark cloud, but It will give you a big boost to make an all out assault on the rest of your list.If the task is huge and absolutely terrifying then you need to break it down, right down. Create smaller tasks within the task (again most task manager software enable you to do this) which makes it less daunting. By ticking off these smaller tasks you'll be on a one way train to smashing that big ugly task you put off for so long.4. Unfinished businessYou're always going to have a few tasks you weren’t able to complete. If you played your cards right then these will be the lowest priority tasks. If you're honest with yourself and realise that you won’t necessarily get everything done, you won’t feel so bad if you're pushing a task to the next day.At the end of the day create a new list and ditch the old one. Move whatever you have to on to the next list or push it further back if you have to. You can use the day's events to guide your next list. Meaning if you underestimated the time each task would take, then you can adjust your future lists accordingly being more realistic.No matter how much you get done in a day don't kick yourself, instead, see it as an opportunity. You've set a milestone, now you can improve your process daily and become better and more productive day after day until you are one of those productivity machines we're all jealous of.
December 4, 2017
Crush it like a boss!!
So you want to be the boss do ya?! Well you're not the only one, everybody at least one time in their life has thought about being the boss. Imagining how good it would feel to have the power to decide what you do, how you would be so different to your current jerk of a boss, and definitely how much more freedom you'd have. Sounds pretty good, don't it?! Well every year almost 300,000 people are jumping into that dream and becoming their own head honcho. If you haven't already taken the leap of faith, then maybe this year will be your year. Maybe you'll finally get fed up of working hard for someone else, feathering their pocket with money you're earning them. Instead of that bullshit, you want a piece of the action, a slice of capitalism pie, where you reap the rewards of your hard work. The problem with this glorified image is, this isn't the movies, and being the boss is not plain sailing. You need to do the unglamorous stuff, the grunt work behind the scenes and if you're new at this then get as much help and advice as you can! You need to consume content and leverage other people's knowledge as much as possible to get a solid foundation before you become the big boss man. Business isn't as it appears on TV, it’s bloody difficult, it's time-consuming and as I found out at my own expense, super isolating. But the hard work and difficulty won't stop at you, oh no. This venture will impact on those around you too, family and friends will need to be understanding with the inevitable changes that are coming. You'll need to lean on them from time to time, will have less down time to spend with them and you'll need their unwavering support in times of doubt. You can’t go into business on a wing and a prayer, I did that and it made things ten times harder, not impossible but so much harder than it needed to be. By not planning you're simply asking for trouble. There are organisations in the UK that can help you, like the government small business advisory service; Business Link. They can help guide you and work out whether an actual sustainable market exists for your particular products or services. It's a nationwide organisation which offers free for advice and support for people in or starting a business. If after all this you still want to be a show stopper and run your own business then you should at least know how to set one up. Meaning, is your business going be run as a sole trader, partnership or more often than not, a Limited company. Each one of these has differing tax regulations that you need to be aware of, and they also come with differing levels risk. I would highly recommend getting in touch with an accountant before moving forward with this decision, you need to discuss with them your current situation and your desired outcome before registering a company. A good accountant will point you in the right direction.Sole Trader As a sole trader you are basically self-employed, the upside is you get what you want, in that you have full control of all aspects of your businesses. Another positive about going down this route is that it's simple, a single for or two and your set up ready to roll. As with anything in life, and especially in business, there is a downside. That downside can be brutal because you will be held personally responsible for any debts you run up through your business activities, which means all of your personal assets, including your house are at risk. Now, if you're anything like me, I don't feel it's worth risking my family home, rendering my wife and kids homeless. As you can imagine I went a different route.Partnership You may decide that you'll be going into business with someone else, sharing the risks, costs, losses, profits and of course decisions. Whenever you bring someone else into the fray business becomes more complex, heck life is more complex when you're dealing with people. No matter how good your relationship with this person, you need to be clear from the beginning what your goals and priorities are. Partnerships are often useful for leveraging other people's skills or finances to get your business up and running, among other things. But really spend some time to pick your partner, do soso very carefully because many businesses fall apart due to partners disagreements. Having had some disagreements with partners in the past, I can assure you it can get bumpy!! I implore you to get yourself a solicitor who can draw up a partnership agreement before you begin trading. One that will set out exactly how the business will be run, who has the authority to do what and what’s expected of one and other. If you fail to do this then you will have no end of problems which are not easily resolved. I learned the hard way, spend the time to do it right!!! You will need to spend time addressing issues that will crop up much further down the line, such as how the profit will be split, how much each party has to put in financially and a whole host of other issues that could arise. SO DO NOT RUSH IT!!! With a standard partnership the same risks as being a sole trader remain. Meaning if all goes south and you end up owing a lot of money, then your assets are at risk. You have a partner, so you'll be equally liable. Problem is, if one partner can’t pay, any other partner or partners will be forced to pick up the tab, which is far from desirable. There is a way you can protect yourself to a degree within a partnership, that would be by setting up a limited liability partnership which can help protect you and your assets in this situation. If this is something you're keen to do then I would strongly recommend seeking the help of a solicitor to ensure things are done correctly!!Limited Company The other option and the path I chose is to set up a limited company. To me this is a no-brainer, protect yourself and your family as much as you can, preventing the very worst from happening. With a ltd company if all goes wrong you'll only be required to pay the debt up to the value of the shares that you hold in that company. If you've already put that money into the company for the shares, then you'll essentially owe nothing and only the business asset will be seized. I think most people opt to be a limited company for safety reasons, but there are the odd few who thinks that ltd after their business name adds a certain credibility. A thing to consider when starting a ltd company is that you will pay corporation tax on your company profits and have to send annual financial returns to companies house. If you're successful enough and have a large enough turnover, chances are you will also get audited. You've been warned.Employees Well hiring staff is a whole other world. While it may seem great to have your very own minions, there is a lot to learn about employing people, and it can be a steep learning curve. If you are going to be hiring employees then make sure you were aware of the Employment Laws relating to what you can and can’t do. Spend time researching this, it's not something you want to get caught with. You don't want to be at n o employment tribunal trying to avoid massive bills because you couldn't bother your arse to learn this shit!!Getting Money Raising money can be difficult to do, especially if you don't have a proven track record. Why? Well it's simple, remember the small business failure rates?! 80% in the first 18 months, equals a bad return on investment. Your best option is to apply for any grants that are available to you and avoid loans altogether if you can. You could even consider taking a look at crowdfunding these days, though I'd ensure that you get the details right, you could potentially get caught out here. I'd recommend a good accountant to help you with any financial setting up, the good ones will usually give you advice for free and be easily contactable.Getting paid Here's the real joy of being your own boss, seeing the money roll in from all of your hard work and effort. It's not the sole reason you do it, but it's a key element, after all this is what keeps you afloat and your family with a roof over their heads. In my opinion, whenever you are selling a service/product you need to have a good system to make sure you actually get paid on time. You need something in place that makes it easy to deal with and prepare invoices, as well as chasing any money that’s owed I've spent far too much time in the past chasing people who owed me money, don't let yourself get into that situation. Set clear payment terms and stringently enforce them from the start, for example I now to not deliver any goods or services without a payment upfront. The one good thing I learned by being owed money is that you can actually charge interest. If you don’t receive your money in 30 days you can charge interest, the rate you can charge is the Bank of England base rate +8% on any amount you're overdue. A handy tip and way to encourage people to pay on time, but of course you don't want to get to that point, or worse still, end up in court.
December 1, 2017
Branding without the BS
Branding is possibly the most important aspect of any business, large or small, B2C or B2B. An effective brand gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. Why? Because your brand is your business. It's the very essence of it!!So, what the does "branding" really mean? How does it affect a small/medium business like yours? Quite simply your brand is how you're perceived by others. Not what you think your brand is, not what you want people to think your brand is, but what people actually think of your brand. It is what they say to their friends, how they feel when they interact with your business, it's everything that reminds them of your business. It's their expectations of your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors'. Your brand is derived from who you are and who you want to be, but in the end is what people perceive you to be. Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can't be be all things to all people. Who you are should be is based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be. Become a problem solver for those people, offer them value and you'll be on the right path. The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials (all of which should integrate your logo) communicate your brand. Now a logo and the colour choices you make can draw on emotions and feelings deeply ingrained within people, ignoring that fact will limit the value of your logo. Make sure you get this right, while a logo is not your brand as people believe, it does make up a part of the visual branding.
Brand StrategyLet us look at Brand Strategy as the branding and marketing experts will want you to hear it. Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy too. Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built a powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product--and customers will pay that higher price. Bored yet? i know I'm falling asleep writing this. Let me rip open Brand Strategy and tell you how it really is. You need to know the following:Who your target customers are (and I mean in detail, get right into the weeds of it)What problems and frustrations they have in their livesHow you can solve some of these problems and ease their frustrationsSimple. Find out who you're targeting (don't guess or skim over that part!!! It's key) Connect with them and find out what they need and want to make their life easier. Then find a way to deliver that service/product to them in a way that surpasses their expectations. Then you have created a solid brand. You're offering more than a product or service, you're offering a feeling and friendship. We are all human, connect with people on a human level and they will appreciate that, drop all the fluff and get real with people, they'll love you for it. And when you stop pretending and start being yourself, you'll be happier too.
Defining Your Brand Now, let us look at Defining Your Brand as the branding and marketing experts will want you to hear it. Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:What is your company's mission?What are the benefits and features of your products or services?What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?I think I just blacked out again. More waffle and keywords to confuse baffle and put it out of reach. Sod your company mission, the company mission is your mission. You have goals, desires and beliefs of your own, and that's what is driving your company. You are your brand, sod the company mission it's YOUR mission, what do you want to do? Can that business achieve your goals? If not consider other options. The benefits features of your products or services?! I'm not sure that's for you to decide. Your customers will decide the benefits of your products and services, not you. You can make all the claims you want, but if the customers don't feel the same way then you're flogging a dead horse my friend. Taylor your services and products around the customers you want. Adapt change and bastardise them until they fill the gap that they want filled. What do customers and prospects already think of your brand? Well that one I will give them. That's basically asking what is your brand at the moment? How will you know if you've not been connecting with them on a human level? You wont, so get yourself out there and engage them people like they're your best friends or loyalty will be nothing but a distant memory. What qualities you want them to associate with your company is a bit of a hopeful approach if you ask me. It will help guide your initial dealings maybe, but surely the compass is your mission, that's the address you've tapped in to the Sat Nav, and like a Sat Nav, it don't always take you the way you want to go but you still have to embrace it. The customer will decide what qualities they associate with your company. Let's take Red Bull for instance. They came out on the market to be an energy drink big wig, something athletes would take and compete with the likes of Lucozosade. But when you say Red Bull people think Vodka, or at best extreme sports where lunatics try to kill themselves on motorbikes for a laugh. The second one is only because they use their huge revenue to sponsor these events, the first one is what it has become to most people. Red Bull have used this and embraced what customers think of their brand rather than fight it off. After all it doesn't prevent them from achieving their goals and arriving at their destination. Their mission reads:Red Bull are dedicated to upholding Red Bull standards, while maintaining the leadership position in the energy drinks category when delivering superior customer service in a highly efficient and profitable manner. So they simply want to maintain their position in the market while delivering superior customer service, be highly efficient and profitable. So by allowing the association with alcohol and making a large profit from this area, they have been able to pursue the extreme sports avenue and invest in becoming synonymus with it thanks to the profit made elsewhere. Don't lose sight of the destination to get lost by the journey. Let your customers drive as long as you know where you're going. Great place to start your branding journey:Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.Write down your brand messaging. The key messages you want to communicate. Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.Integrate your brand. Branding is everything-how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same colour scheme, logo placement, look and feel. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.
Brand StrategyLet us look at Brand Strategy as the branding and marketing experts will want you to hear it. Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy too. Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built a powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product--and customers will pay that higher price. Bored yet? i know I'm falling asleep writing this. Let me rip open Brand Strategy and tell you how it really is. You need to know the following:Who your target customers are (and I mean in detail, get right into the weeds of it)What problems and frustrations they have in their livesHow you can solve some of these problems and ease their frustrationsSimple. Find out who you're targeting (don't guess or skim over that part!!! It's key) Connect with them and find out what they need and want to make their life easier. Then find a way to deliver that service/product to them in a way that surpasses their expectations. Then you have created a solid brand. You're offering more than a product or service, you're offering a feeling and friendship. We are all human, connect with people on a human level and they will appreciate that, drop all the fluff and get real with people, they'll love you for it. And when you stop pretending and start being yourself, you'll be happier too.Defining Your Brand Now, let us look at Defining Your Brand as the branding and marketing experts will want you to hear it. Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:What is your company's mission?What are the benefits and features of your products or services?What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?I think I just blacked out again. More waffle and keywords to confuse baffle and put it out of reach. Sod your company mission, the company mission is your mission. You have goals, desires and beliefs of your own, and that's what is driving your company. You are your brand, sod the company mission it's YOUR mission, what do you want to do? Can that business achieve your goals? If not consider other options. The benefits features of your products or services?! I'm not sure that's for you to decide. Your customers will decide the benefits of your products and services, not you. You can make all the claims you want, but if the customers don't feel the same way then you're flogging a dead horse my friend. Taylor your services and products around the customers you want. Adapt change and bastardise them until they fill the gap that they want filled. What do customers and prospects already think of your brand? Well that one I will give them. That's basically asking what is your brand at the moment? How will you know if you've not been connecting with them on a human level? You wont, so get yourself out there and engage them people like they're your best friends or loyalty will be nothing but a distant memory. What qualities you want them to associate with your company is a bit of a hopeful approach if you ask me. It will help guide your initial dealings maybe, but surely the compass is your mission, that's the address you've tapped in to the Sat Nav, and like a Sat Nav, it don't always take you the way you want to go but you still have to embrace it. The customer will decide what qualities they associate with your company. Let's take Red Bull for instance. They came out on the market to be an energy drink big wig, something athletes would take and compete with the likes of Lucozosade. But when you say Red Bull people think Vodka, or at best extreme sports where lunatics try to kill themselves on motorbikes for a laugh. The second one is only because they use their huge revenue to sponsor these events, the first one is what it has become to most people. Red Bull have used this and embraced what customers think of their brand rather than fight it off. After all it doesn't prevent them from achieving their goals and arriving at their destination. Their mission reads:Red Bull are dedicated to upholding Red Bull standards, while maintaining the leadership position in the energy drinks category when delivering superior customer service in a highly efficient and profitable manner. So they simply want to maintain their position in the market while delivering superior customer service, be highly efficient and profitable. So by allowing the association with alcohol and making a large profit from this area, they have been able to pursue the extreme sports avenue and invest in becoming synonymus with it thanks to the profit made elsewhere. Don't lose sight of the destination to get lost by the journey. Let your customers drive as long as you know where you're going. Great place to start your branding journey:Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.Write down your brand messaging. The key messages you want to communicate. Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.Integrate your brand. Branding is everything-how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same colour scheme, logo placement, look and feel. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.
November 30, 2017
Happiness is a choice.
Today when I called in to the post office to collect a parcel, the lady behind the counter just lit up when I smiled. It was half 8 and I was customer number 23, yet I was the first person al morning who had smiled at her and treated her with positivity.The lady reciprocated and was clearly more motivated than she had been while serving other customers. It's easy to smile and be welcoming towards people, It's easy to be happy, you simply make a choice.Instead of whinging about what we don't have or all the things that are wrong with our lives, why not be grateful for all the things you do have. There is much beauty in the world yet we are all looking at Instagram and getting jealous of everyone else.Put envy aside, take a look at your life and appreciate all the amazing things that you have. Here's a little more on positive mindset from Rhiannon Roberts.... Rhiannon is ever positive and optimistic in the face of criticism and doubt. I think we can all learn a lot from the way she conducts herself. Happiness is a choice so chose to be happy. Positivity is infectious and you can start the spread of it by leading from the front.I've found myself being pretty pessimistic and miserable in the past when working a job I didn't particularly like for people I had no respect for. But looking back now I see that my attitude and feeling were my own to control, no matter how they treat me.I shouldn't have given these people the permission to make me feel low, I could have instead appreciated the good in my life, of which there is plenty to be thankful of. I'm fortunate enough to have a roof over my head, a beautiful family who loves me and my health to enjoy it.I still have my days, we all do. But when you actively try to be positive and happy, the change is remarkable. I'm a million times happier than I was, and that's through. conscious choice, not material things or more money.
November 29, 2017
5 Steps to a badass website
It’s almost 2018 so by now you should really have a website for your business, you can’t escape it. Whether you’re B2B or B2C you need to have an online presence or you won’t be taken seriously.Like most, you may already have an online presence, but are still trying to figure out how to make it profitable or have realised that it’s in desperate need of a redesign. You may be the other side of the coin and rushed to build a website without truly considering how it fits in with your goals and how you can take advantage of your online presence.I'm going to drop a quick overview of what you should do to create a shit hot business website like Highstreet Media's. This one being a personal one which I have not monetised in anyway can get away with being a little rough around the edges like it is.STEP 1Like I said it's almost 2018 so the good news is, there are plenty of good websites out there where you can draw your inspiration from. Start digging around other business websites in your industry, find the commonalities, observe what sets them apart. What makes them good or bad? Research as much as you can and play with the functionality of the sights too get a good understanding of the direction you should take.STEP 2You can use a template and do it yourself much like I have done here if you see fit, but if we're talking a business, then you really need to be spending the money and get a quality web designer to create something bespoke and professional looking. You can get pages designed for as little as £115 per page if you have all your ducks in a row, meaning you have your colour scheme, images and content ready to be used. Any copywriting services or images could potentially cost you extra.If you plan on using a template then chose one that requires the least messing around with, something as close to what you want as possible. That way you'll save yourself a shed load of work, headaches and mistakes.STEP 3You'll need to get yourself a domain name in order to go live. No one wants a business address that reads www.mybusiness.wordpress for example. It looks cheap and unprofessional. For a personal blog then sure that's fine, but not a commercial enterprise!! Once you have your domain and publish your site then you may want to consider also getting an email which is @ your business as opposed to @yahoo etc.Professionalism and perception is key in business, on and offline. STEP 4The fun doesn't stop there. You'll want someone to use your site and give you feedback when it's up and running. Looking for usability, design and copy errors which you can tighten up and correct. A website is never "Done" it will need to evolve with the time and technology to stay current otherwise you will get left behind.STEP 5 Congratulations you have a web presence of sorts. If it still looks shit at this stage then you're going to have to bite the bullet and call in a professional to save your bacon. But having a website in itself isn't going to solve all your problems. People are not going to miraculously stumble across your site as per chance in their thousands. You'll need to deploy good quality content, links and nail your SEO to get traction and get your site the visibility it needs to become an effective tool. SEO isn't a do it once and forget about it number either, it's something you need to continue to work on, adapt and adjust in order to keep the traffic coming.RELATED ARTICLE: HOW LONG DOES SEO TAKE TO WORKI appreciate that this is just a little overview of how to get yourself a badass website, this is simply to get the cogs turning in your mind initially. I will bring you a more in-depth look on how to do this in the future, in the meanwhile if you want to learn more on Web and Graphic design in general, then head over to highstreet-media.co.uk
November 27, 2017
The 1 way to be successful, on your own
Let's face it, we all want to be successful. No one wants to fail as an entrepreneur, but how can we ensure that we're giving ourselves the best chance of success?For years prior to beginning my journey as an entrepreneur I worked for various organisations where my creative thinking and entrepreneurial personality was suppressed. Throughout this time I was forced to conform, to behave and make decisions based upon what others expected of me. Doing such things over time really grinds you down, you start forgetting who you really are and become a "company man", someone they want you to be. The problem with this is, you can never reach your full potential when your personality and abilities are being restricted.Now on my entrepreneurial journey I am finding my feet, growing in confidence and realising who I once was and who I'm meant to be. I've made a million mistakes already but I keep moving forward, how? Because this is who I am, I'm simply being me. By being me I may find that people don't connect with me, that I won't achieve all that I want to achieve. But I'd rather fail on my own terms than I would constrained by others, forced into conformity and unable to be truly happy.You see, win or lose, right now I'm happy. I'm enjoying the journey, following my dreams and staying true to myself. It's truly a liberating feeling to be doing what you want to do, and not having to answer to anyone. I've still not fully shaken my previous hang ups caused by conformity, but I'm making progress.I'm putting content out for people to consume if they so choose, if they don't want to then that's fine, because first and foremost I'm doing this for me. It's therapeutic, it's a journey of self-discovery. I'm exploring my own ideas rather than regurgitating information that has been forced upon me by organisations or institutions. 
Everyday I get closer to the true freedom of being me, and I feel my confidence and power grow with every passing day. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur you first and foremost have to take the leap. I would never have reached this point had I not taken the leap. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.My advice to you if you want to be successful is simple, BE YOU.Everyone is out there looking at metrics and analyzing their stats, they think they're doing what’s best for their business. But they're only concerned about the immediate future, they're not considering the long term implications of what they’re doing.I’m not talking about unethical people here, though there are plenty of those in business too. I’m taking about the day to day actions of people who actually mean well. They're trying to meet specific targets and follow specific blueprints set by others.The thing is with business, if you mean well or not it’s irrelevant. The economy doesn’t give a shit if you mean we’ll, it’s a monetary system not your grandmother. Your metrics only tell you so much, they'll guide you as to some strategies, but others are untrackable. Putting out content and building a brand is not something you can get metrics on, yet the long term implications are huge.The reason people are concerned with short-term metrics of course is that they're chasing money without thinking about bringing long term value to the market. Yeah sure you can chase money and be relatively successful in the short term doing so, but if that’s the only thing you care about then you fail.Why? because people see through that shit, they don't care about you or giving you money. When you follow a blueprint and copy everyone else, trying to monetise things at every turn, sell shit online course etc, you'll become just another "guru". Avoid that pitfall, become you!! Find who you really are and how you can bring people genuine value, if you can do this opportunities will arise and you'll be better for it. Focus on QUALITY, HONESTY and INTEGRITY and you will succeed. But you will also have to exercise patience and not sell your soul. Money will come after time when you bringing value to the market, Money is a by product of your success, not the single focus. Now get out there, produce content and be you. Trust me it takes a while to find your voice and behave as you normally would on a camera, the only way to do it is by consistently putting yourself out there.
Everyday I get closer to the true freedom of being me, and I feel my confidence and power grow with every passing day. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur you first and foremost have to take the leap. I would never have reached this point had I not taken the leap. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.My advice to you if you want to be successful is simple, BE YOU.Everyone is out there looking at metrics and analyzing their stats, they think they're doing what’s best for their business. But they're only concerned about the immediate future, they're not considering the long term implications of what they’re doing.I’m not talking about unethical people here, though there are plenty of those in business too. I’m taking about the day to day actions of people who actually mean well. They're trying to meet specific targets and follow specific blueprints set by others.The thing is with business, if you mean well or not it’s irrelevant. The economy doesn’t give a shit if you mean we’ll, it’s a monetary system not your grandmother. Your metrics only tell you so much, they'll guide you as to some strategies, but others are untrackable. Putting out content and building a brand is not something you can get metrics on, yet the long term implications are huge.The reason people are concerned with short-term metrics of course is that they're chasing money without thinking about bringing long term value to the market. Yeah sure you can chase money and be relatively successful in the short term doing so, but if that’s the only thing you care about then you fail.Why? because people see through that shit, they don't care about you or giving you money. When you follow a blueprint and copy everyone else, trying to monetise things at every turn, sell shit online course etc, you'll become just another "guru". Avoid that pitfall, become you!! Find who you really are and how you can bring people genuine value, if you can do this opportunities will arise and you'll be better for it. Focus on QUALITY, HONESTY and INTEGRITY and you will succeed. But you will also have to exercise patience and not sell your soul. Money will come after time when you bringing value to the market, Money is a by product of your success, not the single focus. Now get out there, produce content and be you. Trust me it takes a while to find your voice and behave as you normally would on a camera, the only way to do it is by consistently putting yourself out there.
