Strategy
1,155 posts
Why A Better Business Story Matters
Santoso and Dian live within a kilometer of each other in the once sleepy town of Ubud, in Bali. Both men are master wood carvers and work for hours every day hunched on the floor of their tiny workshops. Happily for them Ubud is now the thriving arts center of the island and thousands of…
The Best Ideas Don’t Start With Solutions
Have you ever wondered why your ‘big ideas’ get stuck in mind map central, never to see the light of day, or don’t end up being as groundbreaking as you hoped? Part of the answer lies in the way you’ve been working on implementing those ideas. Those moments of genius and excited clarity that you…
10 Rules For Writing A Compelling ‘About Me’ Page
Your about page is one of the most visited pages on your website. It’s the place where prospective customers decide if you’re right for them, and your best chance to convert more website visits to enquiries and more enquiries to customers. That’s why your about page copy is the most important sales
u2 Don’t Sing To Everyone
Back in the 80’s when U2 were starting out they knew they were singing for me, and the 520 other girls at my school. It didn’t matter that they wrote songs that didn’t resonate with my mother. They knew that we drew their album graphics with a Bic Biro on our canvas school bags and…
Don’t Follow The Money, Follow Your Heart
I know how to guarantee a spike in ‘traffic’ to my blog. All I have to do is write a post about how to build a six figure online business, or how to drive traffic to your blog! Of course you know this already, you see from your website analytics which posts are magnetic. The…
How to Create An Unconventional Business
The beauty of running your own business is that there is almost nothing you can’t do, if you really want to. The fact that there are no rules may have been one of the reasons why you started your business in the first place! Being unconventional makes you stand out and amplifies your message to…
20 Ways To Tell A Better Brand Story
Customers don’t buy your results, they buy the story about the difference those results will make. So have amazing ideas, make great things but remember to tell unforgettable true stories. 1. Name and claim a new category. 2. Clearly articulate what you do, without being boring. 3. Give people a gre
Working On Forever
Do you remember Fran who booked regular sessions and always opened your newsletter updates? Or Jean who stopped by on her way to work every day for a skinny latte? How about Jo who religiously shared your blog posts and Mark who sent design clients your way? Have you seen or heard much from them…
7 Steps to Building A Successful Online Business
Think about an online shopping experience you’ve had lately. If you covered the website header could you spot the difference between Joe Bloggs web design and Blow Joggs website design? Are you so busy trying to be good enough, that you’ve forgotten what makes you unique along the way? Potential cus
You Are The Map Maker
If you invest in that expensive viral marketing campaign will it definitely work? What’s the formula for blog posts that will get the greatest number of retweets? Which new product or service will make you the most money? Do you know? The truth is that nobody knows for sure what’s going to work. If
The Power of One
When you’re a big ideas person you have lots of things you want to communicate about your business vision and your brand. I know I’ve been there, done it and got the t-shirt. In your rush to get all the juicy, good stuff crammed into your pitch you wind up confusing people. Paring your business…
20 Quotes To Read Before Starting A Business
I’ve got a confession to make, it’s not pretty so I’m going to just spit it out. I haven’t read any fiction for the past two years. My bookcases are jammed with business, marketing, personal development and some travel books. So I thought it might be fun to put all that inspiration to good use…
Seth Godin On Being An Entrepreneur, Telling Stories And Making Ideas Matter
It’s not every day you get to speak with one of your heroes. I had the opportunity to do just that when I talked to Seth Godin recently. Seth and his work need no introduction and I hope you get to take something away from the conversation we had about being an entrepreneur, telling stories…
Increase The Value Of Your Products And Services For Free
I discovered the most beautiful tea last week. A green tea infused with cherry blossom. I experienced it by accident and would have walked past it on the supermarket shelf. The reason I later paid over $10 for a packet of tea has everything to do with my worldview. The tea was a souvenir of…
Remember Why You Started
Jessica couldn’t believe it had been only three years since she opened the doors to the tiny clothing boutique she’d dreamed of owning one day. She remembered the excitement of finding the shabby little two roomed workshop, choosing colours for the walls and installing makeshift shelving and clothin
Joining The Dots Works But It’s Not Art
Or…. why I dislike writing ‘how to’ blog posts. Do you remember as a child, when you realised that your stick men and two dimensional cats weren’t actually a true representation of the real thing? Maybe like me you tried using those join the dots books? The first time you produced a drawing by follo
The Cycle Of Striving
Are you stuck in a cycle of striving? Busy brainstorming, creating, iterating, going for it, launching, succeeding and then doing the rinse and repeat routine. Sometimes we get so caught up in our projects and wanting to make everything work, that we forget to stop for breath, or come up for air. We
Stop Waiting For Google
You’ve probably heard marketing gurus talking about ‘warm traffic’ and ‘cold traffic’. They’ll tell you that you need plenty of ‘cold traffic’, in order to improve your chances of staying in business. They will argue the case for buying traffic so that you can sell more of your ‘standard vanilla wha
There’s Something You’re Forgetting To Tell Us
It’s time for me to get really honest with you and let you know that there’s a reason why people are not crossing the street or the Inter-webs to buy from you, and it has nothing to do with how good your idea is. People might be noticing you left and right, but you’re not…
Take Off Your Little Black Dress
Maybe you look amazing in a little black dress with no help from anyone. Very few people can pull it off without at least a leg wax, high heels and an airbrush tan. Think about why you wear that dress in the first place. Is it to make you feel good about yourself? Possibly…..or is…
