December 30, 2012

5 ways to make an infographic on a budget

By JaneFrankland | Established business, Marketing, New business | 2 Comments

What's the purpose of an infographic?

Infographics are everywhere and can be powerful tools for communicating a concept or message quickly, and increasing your brand exposure. So let's look at exactly what they are.

An Infographic (or information graphic) is a graphic visual representation of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. Infographics improve cognition by utilising graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends. They're especially loved by visual learners and as they're so shareable they can do a lot for your brand.

Viral bait

When an infographic is done correctly, it can spread like wildfire. It enables you to have a much larger reach than you'd get using other methods, too. Given their popularity and effectiveness, they really are a tool worth considering. So, let's look at the top 5 free infographic generator tools.

1. Easel.ly allows you to create your own infographics using its ‘Vhemes’, which are infographic templates that you can customize. It has some great icons and graphics too and makes creating and sharing your visual ideas online a dream.

2. Create.ly is a diagramming tool, which can help you to wireframe an infographic before putting it into production. It includes a new real-time collaboration feature, allowing you to work on a design with a colleague or client simultaneously.

3. Infogr.am is very easy to use, with six templates. It's great for creating standalone charts.

4. Piktochart provides you with a choice of six free templates (more if you upgrade). Colour themes are easy to change, and you can create charts manually or by uploading CSV files.

5. Visual.ly has templates that allow you to create an infographic based around Twitter or Facebook data. And if you don’t have the time to produce your own infographic, then you can even outsource them to the Visual.ly marketplace.

How to make a great infographic

Have a great title: Write a clear and catchy headline. The title is the first thing viewers read, so make sure it explains what the infographic is about while being fun and exciting.

Use good data: Don’t use information from Wikipedia. Your research needs to be unique. Make it information that you've discovered, which could be from a survey you've performed. Always make it valuable i.e. useful to your market.

Simplify: Keep your information simple and think in terms of design. If the research you've done and the data you have doesn’t add value, it shouldn’t be used. A good infographic needs no introduction or explanation.

Make it fun: People share things that are fun. So keep in the mind the three Es – I'm always referring to them in my classes – to entertain, empower and educate. If your infographic is interesting, provides new content, and is entertaining, your audience will want to share it again and again.

Now I want to hear from you

Please let me know whether you've used an infographic and if so, what's your favourite tool.
Please share your experiences and feedback in the comments below.

Guilty as charged: working too hard!

By JaneFrankland | Established business, Lifestyle, New business | 7 Comments

Working too hard: all work and no play!

Uhummm. Yes, hands up, you caught me….I’m guilty as charged! This time it's for working too hard and not taking enough time out to rest and play. And that’s a BAD thing! And I know better. Doh!

I’m going to explain by starting right at the beginning. We’ve all heard the old adage “Work hard – play hard”. But what does it mean to you? And do you really know how to do apply it, especially when you’re an entrepreneur or even worse an entrepreneur starting out in business?

[box]“You'll never succeed in idealizing hard work. Before you can dig mother earth you've got to take off your ideal jacket. The harder a man works, at brute labor, the thinner becomes his idealism, the darker his mind” – D H Lawrence TWEET THIS[/box]

Imagine if you could get a lot more done at work, a lot better. Imagine if you could really relax every day and then be rearing to go to work the next day with your ‘batteries’ fully charged and your brain fully focused. Imagine not working too hard!

Two years ago I read an incredible book by Jim Loer and Tony Schwartz, “The Power of Full Engagement.” I was on my way to Johannesburg to meet my new team and I felt I needed to be even more bright and perky. Anyway, the book is amazing in so many ways, but the most memorable lesson for me is that we need to fully engage in both work and play to get the most out of our focus and lives.

Jim and Tony examined the way we lived in digital time. They observed that our pace is rushed; it's rapid fire and relentless. Facing crushing workloads, we try to cram as much as possible into every day. We're wired up, but we're melting down. They found that time management as a solution was not viable. Instead, by researching peak performing athletes and then C-Level executives, they found that managing energy was the way to enduring high performance – as well as to health, happiness and life balance.

Anyway, getting back. Let me explain exactly what I mean about the detriments of working too hard.

Have you ever worked hard for the whole day? You’ve got a million things done. You’ve put in a day’s work, spoken to prospects and clients, sorted out the kids (done the school runs, homework, form filling, fed them, washed their clothes, washed them, and split up the sibling fights) and the housework, and it’s 8 pm and you can’t even think straight anymore.

So you’ve sat down in front of the TV, with the kids to watch your favourite program, and it’s downtime – or so you think. Unfortunately, however, your conscious/thinking brain has other ideas. It steps in and wisely advises you, during the commercial break, that despite being fully deserving of this ‘couch potato’ moment you’ve forgotten to do something that’s super critical for your business.

Of course, in most cases nothing is required. What is needed is method for learning how to fully disengage from work.

When you don’t disengage, you live in the grey zone – the zone between engaged and disengaged; a zone when you’re NOT focused and are least productive. You end up neither fully rested, nor fully satisfied with your day’s work. You end up going to bed and feeling dissatisfied with being an entrepreneur, like this work thing is never-ending and that perhaps it was better being an employee!

So what’s the solution?

Well in theory, it’s easy, but in practical terms it’s hard to implement. Here are three tips to help you though.

Step 1: Awareness

You can’t even begin to fix something, if you don’t know it’s happening. So check yourself, become aware. Every time you rest make sure you really are. Every time you work do the same. Be present in the moment and stop working too hard.

Step 1: Preparation

When you catch yourself in the grey zone be prepared to check yourself. The easiest way to do this is with language. Give your behaviour a trigger name, something that’s memorable and brief. That way your brain has easy access to the solution – fast.

Step 3: Action

As soon as you notice what you’re doing i.e. the problem – take action to correct it. Take action right away. RIGHT AWAY. Yes – not in two minutes time, but immediately! By doing this you’ll begin to treat the issue consciously and then it will become an automatic response to make sure all distractions are cleared.

So I wish you well with this very normal issue for entrepreneurs. Please let me know what are your thoughts on this? What does “work hard – play hard” means to you? And how you cope with it? Are you guilty like me of working too hard and not being present in the moment for much of the time or have you found a way to accomplish this? Please share your experiences and feedback in the comments below as I’d love to hear. Finally, thank you, as always for reading and contributing here. If you found this useful, please share it with your friends!

With love and gratitude – as always,

November 27, 2012

5 ways to solve the ‘no time for social media’ challenge

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Established business, Marketing, New business, Sales, social media | 4 Comments

Social media for sales and business growth

I rarely make a bet, but now I’m going to. How many of you at first glance, thought that using social media wouldn’t take up much of your time? I bet the vast majority. Most people start with either Facebook or Twitter, so I'd wager that at some point you thought, ‘surely sending a few Tweets can't take long can it? The posts are limited to just 140 characters, right?' WRONG!!!

Social media is a very time intensive process if you don’t handle it in the right way. The main problem with it is that social media happens in real time, like a conversation. Individual items might not take much time, but they happen all the time. As much as multitasking is applauded (especially by women, who use it the most), continuously going back to social media throughout the day can seriously hamper your overall productivity. Check out my post on multi-tasking for the low down!

So what’s the solution? Well it’s actually quite simple, and I genuinely speak from experience. You see, I too have suffered from social media overwhelm. And in order to get a grip on it, I've had to look at it in a very strategic and process orientated way. I know those words may sound too formal for many of you, but it's true. In order to avoid social media overwhelm and maintain productivity, the solution I found was to automate my social media marketing as much as possible. By taking care of my postings all at once, I freed up the rest of my day to work on other things. Then all I had to do was to check in at scheduled times so I could engage and respond to my prospects and customers, in other words – YOU!

So here's my advice. In order to ensure that you’re not spending all your time on your social media marketing, there are a few steps you should take:

1. Decide on your objective. Agree upfront what you want to achieve by using your chosen social media platforms. Only by setting the objective, can you measure the results and determine whether the campaign has been effective.

2. Develop a strategy. Start by determining which social media platforms to use, and how to use them. Each social media network has its own personality and its own function and you’ll need to decide which is the best for your market. You’ll want to focus your efforts on the social media platforms that will deliver the best return on your time investment. Sadly you can’t just copy the same content to every social media site without being penalized. You'll need to understand the merits of each platform and what makes them unique. Once you’ve got this sussed you can then decide when to post.

3. When to post. You’ll be scheduling your social media posts in advance, so you’ll need to set them for times when they’ll be most effective. You’ll therefore need to research when your followers are most likely to be online and engaging with your social media.

4. Choose the right automation tools. There are a number of tools that allow you to automate your social media marketing. Many are free, or at least offer basic functions for free with the option of adding more features through a paid account. Hootsuite is by far my favourite and you can use it to manage multiple social media platforms.

5. Consider your ability to engage and respond. Social media is a social platform and so you really don’t want your social media efforts to look automated or robotic. Social media is still about interacting with people so make sure you only schedule posts when you’re available to respond. Set up notifications to let you know when someone does reply to an automatic post so you can respond in a timely manner. This will set you apart from the crowd and enhance your relationships.

I know that by following these steps you can manage your social media marketing to full effect without suffering from social media marketing overwhelm.

As many of you know, I'm experienced in start-ups without capital, but please tell me about your experiences with social media marketing, as every business is unique. I'm so interested to hear how well you're doing with your social media. Please share your experiences and feedback on ways to solve this issue as so many face it in the comments below as I’d love to hear. Finally thank you, as always for reading and contributing here. If you found this useful, please share it with your friends and check out another blog I have on ways to build your authority for your brand using social media including how to generate a lead.

With love and gratitude – as always,

November 20, 2012

Colour psychology: an interview with Bernay Laity from in:colour

By JaneFrankland | Established business, Marketing, New business, Sales | 3 Comments

Colour psychology and its affect on sales

I’ve read an awful lot of articles on branding and picking colours but it was only when I met Bernay Laity, Creative Director of in:colour that I felt I truly understood colour psychology. Until then I’d understood the significance of colour for branding, but what I hadn’t grasped was actually how much colour psychology influenced sales.

So now I fee stupid!

But I ask you, how many of you have ever considered how colour psychology affects your brand? Or whether it can turn off prospective customers and clients to your product or service? Or even how it affects your romance and dating, or the place where you work, chill out or think!!! Probably only a few of you have.

The big retail brands certainly know this and that's why they play to it – strategically. They often spend years surveying their market to discover their values, beliefs and attitudes towards colour. And, they design their retail outlets with this in mind. Recently I heard of an international hairdressing brand that took two years to find out about colour psychology and how it affected their customers buying attitudes. They then went on to launch and sell with increased success – as you'd expect!

So how does colour affect our buying decisions? How can understanding colour psychology help us to sell more? Well as someone who loves selling, these are questions I had to find the answers to. Thankfully, Bernay Laity from in:colour, a consultancy that specialises in colour psychology was there to help me. She took the time to answer my questions on colour psychology, human behaviour and buying. And, as a former textile designer I was loving it!

She started with an explanation of the application of colour psychology in our world. Science informs us that colour is a vibration of light but that it's more than just visual. Colour affects us on all levels, even if we appear unaware of it. Our life may be ‘coloured’ by pleasant and unpleasant experiences creating strong likes and dislikes of colour, but there is actually much more to it than casual preference.

According to Carl Jung, colour is the mother tongue of the subconscious.

Unbeknown to me, we use the language of colour to interpret what we see, and we relate to it at an instinctual level. In our natural environment colour signals to us the changes of season; what foods are safe to eat, and warns us of any likely danger.

The key to colour psychology is harmony i.e. everything has a relationship. In the natural world we see harmony and organisation in the variation of colour from season-to-season. Each season has its own specific qualities and characteristics of colour. It has distinct hues and tones that operate ‘in harmony.'

Our sense of colour is strongly linked to our emotions, and like a language we use colour to express how we feel – whether consciously or unconsciously. Colour psychology teaches us how to understand the effects of colour on the personality and then how to use it to enhance the interior environment and improve communications. It goes far beyond “use red to convey passion, or aggression or creativity.” It looks at the tones, the hues and the colour families all in accordance with personal beliefs of the individual or brands values of the business.

Bernay Laity discusses colour psychology

Look out for the advice on colours to wear for dating and the out-takes at the end!

To find out more about Bernay and the amazing work she does on colour psychology visit in:colour, at www.incolourconsultancy.com.

Click the link to learn more about finding your perfect brand colour.

Now I want to hear from you…

So finally, my questions to you are:

How are you using colour psychology in your branding, workspace and home?
Have you ever changed a colour in your home or workspace and seen a difference to the way you approach work, think or relax.
Have you noticed how your mood is affected by colour? If so, what colours turn you on or off?
Or have you ever considered seeking an expert colour psychologist for this or to improve sales?

Please let me know as I'd love to hear.

Thank you, as always for reading, watching and contributing here. If you found this useful, please share it with your friends!

With love and gratitude – as always,

November 2, 2012

Social media marketing and how to spot a faker

By JaneFrankland | Established business, Marketing, New business, Sales, social media | No Comments

Social media marketing outsourcing

Following on from my last post on how to establish your authority by using social media marketing, I wanted to concentrate on what to look out for when you're outsourcing your social media marketing, or employing someone to do this as part of your team.

Today, more and more businesses are looking to social media as a way to grow their business, promote their brand and engage with their clients.

However, businesses often have little experience with this new technology and consequently don’t really know how to tell if they're engaging with the real deal or a fake social media expert.

With the growing demand for expertise in this field, unfortunately there’s not enough supply of real talent. Gary Vaynerchu recently commented that 99.5% of social media marketing experts are clowns and sadly from what I’ve seen I’d have to agree. Not everyone who claims to be a social media expert is one. So, it’s important to be able to identify who’s a fake and who’s competant. So, here are some key indicators to help you.

Social media marketing experts are…

Social media experts are experienced and active users of social media. In my opinion it doesn’t matter whether they’ve been consulting, training or managing social media for years. Let's face it, it's a new technology and not even a decade old. However, what does matter is that they're active users, engaging with their networks, and getting results.

You'll want to see if:

They've updated their profiles
They've completed their About page and it has hyperlinks
They're adding fresh, unique content daily i.e. posts, Tweets, pins and blogs
Their branding looks professional and isn’t breaking any of the social media platform rules
They're up-to-date with the latest social media trends
They're using the latest and most appropriate tools
They're engaging with their network promptly.

How to check engagement…

On this point there are a few ways to check. For example on:

Facebook, see how many fans are talking about their page. It will say this next to their profile picture.
Do they have apps installed?
Are they branded professionally?

On Twitter, you can see from their Tweets.

How often are they Tweeting other people’s content?
How often are they Tweeting unique content?
How often are they replying? (Look for the @ sign)

On YouTube, check to see:

How many views they have
What's going on with their comments

On LinkedIn:

How many people are they connected to?
Have they set up user groups?
Are they a publisher that's publishing good quality content?

Social media marketing fakers are…

Social media fakers are well connected but lack quality connections. Whilst they may have lots of Facebook Likes or Twitter followers, they lack relevant followers and actual clients. They chose volume over quality every time.

On this note, it's worth knowing that you can buy hundreds and thousands of connections for as little as $5. You can also buy services to follow or add fans that are automated.

Social media fakers are poor at engagement. They don’t connect or get back to their fans. They're still operating push marketing strategies. They're inexperienced at converting prospects into ‘fans' and clients. And, they often lack a niche and insight into their clients. As a result they don’t have the knowledge to meet their clients needs.

To wrap this up…

Social media is a powerful tool for business development. However, it's not the only strategy that should be used for business development. Social media marketing should always be complemented by other elements of marketing. It doesn’t replace traditional marketing methods. Instead, it’s used to enhance them.

Always be wary of those claiming it’s the right strategy for every business. Whist there are many merits for employing social media as a tool to develop the business, especially for exposure, influence and ranking, determining whether it’s the right strategy requires careful analysis of the business and the context in which it operates.

Unfortunately it’s so easy for people to jump on the social media marketing bandwagon and say they’re experts when they’re not. Fakers give social media marketing a bad name and as a result many in business simply render the use of social media ineffective. However, when social media marketing is used strategically it's an incredibly powerful tool to support the business' commercial efforts.

Now I want to hear from you…

What are your thoughts? Are you a believer in social media as a technology to drive your business development forward? Have you fallen victim to a faker or been lucky to engage with an expert who knows their trade? What makes someone a social media marketing expert in your eyes?

Please share your stories and experience here, and if you’ve got a question, just pop it down here. If you want to contact me for a strategy call click here.

Thanks for being a sport and participating!

P.S.

Finally, if you know someone who'd LOVE the insight from this social media for business post, please send them a link. You’ll find business owners, consultants and yes, even sales and marketing managers who manage people who'll be interested to hear about this.

October 26, 2012

Finding your perfect brand colour

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Established business, Marketing, New business, Sales | 3 Comments

Colour as a sales tool – well I never!

Being a creative and visual person, whenever I see these statistics like the ones I'm going to share with you it brings a smile to my face. I like being a pro and to me getting your branding right so that it supports your sales means incorporating all of these key elements.

The Institute of Colour Research says that 92.6% of people when surveyed put MOST IMPORTANCE on visual factors when purchasing products or services. As colour plays such a huge role in what the visuals look like, and the impact the visual creates in the minds of both prospects and customers, it's imperative not to play down this phase. Statistics show that colour matters for these reasons:

92% Believe colour presents an image of impressive quality
90% Feel colour can assist in attracting new customers
90% Believe customers remember presentations and documents better when color is used
83% Believe colour makes them appear more successful
81% Think colour gives them a competitive edge
76% Believe that the use of colour makes their business appear larger to clients

*2003 survey conducted by Xerox Corporation and International Communications Research

Research also highlights that people make a subconscious judgement about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing, and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on colour alone (Source: CCICOLOR – Institute for Color Research). Colour increases brand recognition by up to 80% (Source: University of Loyola, Maryland study) and it can improve readership by 40%, learning from 55% to 78%, and comprehension by 73% (Sources: “Business Papers in Color. Just a Shade Better”, Modern Office Technology, Embry, David, “The Persuasive Properties of Color”, Marketing Communications, Johnson, Virginia, “The Power of Color”, Successful Meetings).

So if colour matters so much to a brand or products success it's right to understand the psychology behind it, right? The answer is hell YES!

The importance of colour in branding

Have you ever considered the importance of colour in branding? Probably not! But, think about it for just one moment. Coke is red, UPS is brown and IBM is blue. Corporations such as these have spent millions on their branding and they understand that the proper use of colour is vital to creating a positive image of their brand amongst their consumers. Colour also plays such a huge role because of memory recall. It stimulates all the senses, instantly conveying a message like no other communication method. And, when the customers feels good about a brand or product – they buy!

Choosing the right dominant colour for your brand is crucial. This colour should appear on all your promotional materials, including your logo, product packaging and potentially the clothes you wear to meetings or in front of your customers. As much as possible, the colour you choose should set you apart, make you stand out, work with your industry and image, and tie to your brand promise. It should also take into account colour psychology, as colour can convey different things depending on the culture, situation and industry.

Here's a fairly universal guide to help you decipher their meaning.

Colour psychology – what are your values?

Blue: Cool blue is perceived as trustworthy, intelligent, dependable, fiscally responsible and secure. Strongly associated with the sky and sea, blue is serene and universally well-liked. Blue is an especially popular colour with financial institutions, as its message of stability inspires trust.

Red: Red activates your pituitary gland, increasing your heart rate and causing you to breathe more rapidly. This visceral response makes red aggressive, energetic, provocative and attention-grabbing. Count on red to evoke a passionate response, albeit not always a favourable one. For example, red can represent danger or indebtedness. One of the most powerful, attention grabbing. Associated with ACTION. Creative, energy but also good for familiarity. Pushing boundaries.

Green: In general, green connotes health, freshness and serenity. However, green's meaning varies with its many shades. Deeper greens are associated with wealth or prestige, while light greens are calming. New beginnings.

Yellow: In every society, yellow is associated with the sun. Thus, it communicates optimism, positivism, light and warmth. Certain shades seem to motivate and stimulate creative thought and energy. The eye sees bright yellows before any other colour, making this a great colour for point-of-purchase displays.

Purple: Purple is a colour favoured by creative types. With its blend of passionate red and tranquil blue, it evokes mystery, sophistication, spirituality and royalty. Lavender evokes nostalgia and sentimentality.

Pink: Pink's message varies by intensity. Hot pinks convey energy, youthfulness, fun and excitement and are recommended for less expensive or trendy products for women or girls. Dusty pinks appear sentimental. Lighter pinks are more romantic. Calming and feminine.

Orange: Cheerful orange evokes exuberance, fun and vitality. With the drama of red plus the cheer of yellow, orange is viewed as gregarious and often childlike. Research indicates its lighter shades appeal to an upmarket. Peach tones work well with healthcare, restaurants and beauty salons. As it inherits some of the traits of red it inspires action but it is also about learning. It's great for information products.

Brown: This earthy colour conveys simplicity, durability, credibility and stability. It can also elicit a negative response from consumers who relate to it as dirty. From a functional perspective, brown tends to hide dirt, making it a logical choice for some trucking and industrial companies.

Black: Black is serious, bold, powerful and classic. It creates drama, elegance and connotes sophistication. Black works well for expensive products, but can also make a product look heavy.

White: White connotes simplicity, cleanliness and purity. The human eye views white as a brilliant colour, so it immediately catches the eye in signage. White is often used with infant and health-related products.

Grey: Grey or silver is a conservative colour and conveys reliability, an established brand and security.

All the colours above can be categorized into two basic categories: warm and cold. In general, warm colours, like red and yellow, send an outgoing, energetic message, while cool colours, like blue, are calmer and more reserved. However, brightening a cool colour increases its vibrancy and reduces its reserve.

So before you begin work on your next campaign, consider the information on colour psychology listed above and share it with your creative team if you have one, to ensure colour is used effectively and supports your branding.

Please let me know which colours you are using in your branding, and how you're getting on with creating a new brand or revising an existing one as I'd love to hear. If you have any more advice, please just add a comment. Thank you, as always for reading and contributing here. If you found this useful, please share it with your friends!

With love and gratitude – as always,

September 7, 2012

Working a Job while Building a Business [Do’s & Don’ts]

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Mindset, New business | 3 Comments

For most people, resigning from a salaried job to start a business is an unaffordable luxury. With bills to pay and a family to support it’s far more sensible to keep the day job and build your new business in the background. This means working a job and then building your business after work. It means working the weekends too and doing this requires energy, focus and prioritisation. It’s incredibly hard. I speak from experience. It involves a delicate juggling act fraught with stress, complexity and occasionally conflicts of interest.

However, there’s no reason why you can’t do it as many of the world’s top companies have demonstrated. Balancing a full-time job with a start-up business can have real advantages. For example it can enable you to set up, gain exposure, contacts and advice while testing your market and commitment to the business that you’re building.

So, here's my advice (9 tips) on exactly how to do this.

Tip #1. Love your job and fill your head with things that empower.

According to Dr Deepak Chopra, we have around 65,000 thoughts per day and many of them (around 95%) are the same thoughts we had yesterday. And, the day before that. And, the day before that. Automatic thoughts can be positive (realistic and goal oriented) or negative (distorted, unproductive and work against us achieving our goals).

Becoming aware of the power of your thoughts is so important at this stage, for when you fill your head with things that empower you e.g. your dreams, ambitions and thoughts about how you're going to get there, you can achieve so much more. However, when you fill your head with resentment and negativity you become dis-empowered, bogged down and drained. It’s vital for you to stop wasting energy and to use your job as a financial cushion whilst you get clear on your business. I suggest following Oprah’s advice:

[box]“By doing the best in this moment you put yourself in the best position for the next moment.” TWEET THIS[/box]

Tip #2. Build a business plan.

Build a clear, realistic time-line for starting your business. And, set targets and achievable goals for all your activities. Remember, what gets scheduled gets done so put it in the diary and make that commitment. By doing this, you’ll maintain focus and avoid frustration.

Tip #3. Get into a routine.

Structure is even more important when working at home after the day job. Set out a timetable for the exact time you’ll be starting and stopping work each evening, and then do the same for the weekends. It’s a bit like setting a revision timetable! Once you’ve created your timetable, make sure you stick to it. Don’t take refuge in excuses that allow you to procrastinate and don’t work a minute beyond your finish time. The more disciplined you can be, the better your results will be.

Tip #4. Consider your contract.

Check your contract. Many terms of employment stipulate that you can’t work another job or have shares in another business whilst in employment. However many are only concerned with a conflict of interest and will grant it if approached. If you do this, be sure to get everything in writing from HR. Be aware that once you've mentioned this you may be watched more closely, and that the quality of your work may be questioned.

Tip #5. Respect your employer.

Always be respectful toward your employer and deliver a good day’s work. Even if you can’t bear your day job be a professional. Remember: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Tip #6. Get support.

Building a business is a lonely affair and it’s great to be able to lean on a friend, mentor, or group. I belong to an entrepreneurial group that meets regularly, plus several groups online that offer round-the-clock advice and support. Having an accountability buddy is another useful thing to do.

Tip #7. Choose your place of work.

When you’re working a job and building a business you have to make best use of the time you have available. It’s therefore essential that you find a place of work that allows you to achieve maximum productivity without distraction. If you don't like working from home use hotels, or coffee shops that have free wifi. If you're ok with working from home set up a dedicated space, or work from an outbuilding.

Tip #8. Be professional and avoid crossover.

Never bring the activity of your business into your day job. The two must be kept completely separate. This means avoiding the use of work email, phones and printing in addition to booking meetings and taking calls for your start-up.

Tip #9. Use resources. Take your time, study, learn and implement whilst you have time. Be an apprentice for your business on the job if you can. Ideally try to get some money behind you before launching too. Some recommend having 3-6 months of your salary saved as a safety net.

Watch the tips via video

Now I want to hear from you…

In the comments below, tell me …

What your biggest frustration or challenge is with working a job whilst building a business.
What top tips you have for dealing with it.
Let me know what action you'll take as a result of reading and watching this post too. I'd love to hear.

Thank you, as always for watching, reading and contributing here. If you found this useful, please share it with your friends!

With love and gratitude – as always,

August 19, 2012

Guest blog by Claire Brummell of Feminine1st

By JaneFrankland | business start ups, Established business, New business | 3 Comments

The Feminine Approach to Business Success

Us women have got a bit of a tough job these days. Not content with the roles of wife, mother and home-maker, we decided (many years ago) that we wanted more. We wanted equality, we wanted everything that men had, we wanted it all…and now we’ve got it all.

The downside – we have absolutely no idea how to manage it! We’re wearing dozens of different hats, trying to be everything to everyone and quite frankly, it’s exhausting. One of the biggest challenges in this huge change has been how to create our success in the business world.

In order to be considered equals in the workplace, a lot of women have felt the need to prove themselves…and many still do. Prove that they are equal to, or better than, their male counterparts. Unfortunately a lot of women have mistaken then word ‘equal’ for ‘the same’. In order to prove our worth in the business world, a lot of us have taken on the approach of the men. We’ve modelled the people at the top of our respective fields and in doing so have replicated a very masculine way of working.

Women in business have become tough, independent, uncompromising and ultra competitive. They have stepped into the shoes of the men at the top and in doing so have also taken on ‘their way’ of doing business too. I’ve lost count of the number of times that when referring to a woman in business I’ve heard the phrase “she’s got balls”….need I say more? 🙂

There are two main challenges with taking this approach. The first is that it’s not actually the most effective way to work. In some circumstances a very masculine approach works very well…in others, to be blunt, it doesn’t. You only need to look at the statistics to see what a women’s touch does for corporate success.

When looking at the Fortune 500, the difference in performance between companies with a minimum of 3 women on their boards and those who have none is very revealing. Those with at least 3 women on their boards outperform those with none by 46% for return on equity, 60% for return on invested capital and 84% for return on sales. The numbers don’t lie…

The second challenge is that if the woman in question is feminine at heart (which the vast majority of women are…although many of us have lost touch with it), it actually jars with our nature. We’re physically not built to be able to operate in a masculine way for extended periods of time…to do so takes testosterone, a chemical that we only have in small supply. When the testosterone has gone we’re left running on adrenaline, which can lead to exhaustion as well as other health and energy issues. We end up feeling tired, stressed, frustrated and often unhappy.

So what is the alternative?

The answer is that there is a very effective approach to business that comes from making the most of our feminine traits (and no I’m not referring to high heels, short skirts or low cut tops…before you ask).

This isn’t to say that we never use the masculine approach (in fact, there are times when it is incredibly useful, even necessary) just that we feminine women operate from a more feminine approach the majority of the time, and then utilise the masculine traits like a toolbox to pull out as and when the situation requires it.

So what is the Feminine Approach to Business Success?

Earlier this year I put together a series of 30 videos each with a different tip or tool to help you employ the Feminine Approach to Business Success:

For the next 30 days I invite you to watch one of these videos each day…and ‘try on’ a more Feminine Approach to Business Success and see how it works for you. You might be surprised…

Stay fabuous!

Claire x

About Claire Brummell

Having lived for 20 years of her life behind a masculine mask herself, Claire Brummell now has a passion for helping women and men reconnect with what it really means to be feminine or masculine in order to transform their lives.

Claire works with women and men all over the world to help them fulfil their potential by reconnecting with their natural strengths and rediscovering their authentic power.

Many women spend a lot of their time battling a sense of overwhelm, inadequacy and pressure; their lives feel like a continuous juggling act. Claire’s engaging content helps women to release the struggle for control and perfection that so many experience, allowing them to feel more confident, effective and fulfilled by stepping into their full potential.

Connect with Claire here:
www.feminine1st.com
Blog: www.feminine1st.com/blog
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