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Career  And  Business  Tips  ASBIRO TALK NOTES – 23 May 2015

Vee’s   Top   3   Tips   for   Entrepreneurs   to  Succeed  

Motivation  What’s your WHY? Having a strong reason why you’re doing your business is going to keep you motivated on the days that aren’t going so well and you feel low. Being an entrepreneur is tough. There’ll be bad days that test you. It could be months even years of lots of hard work and long hours before you see any success, so making sure you have a strong reason WHY will keep you going when many others will quit. My reason WHY was to get a better work/life balance and be there for my children. I had spent 4 hours a day commuting and more than half my salary went on childcare and I was missing out on them growing up. I wanted to work from home to give me the flexibility that I could be there for the school drop off and pick up. I also wanted to prove that I could be successful and earn at least the same I did and prove the naysayers wrong. Stepping out of your comfort zone During the course of your entrepreneurial journey, you will find yourself in situations that are completely out of your comfort zone but necessary for the success of your business. A strong WHY will motivate you to step out of your comfort zone and do

necessary things to advance your business that aren’t comfortable so that you can achieve your goals. The fear of stepping out of comfort zones is what keeps most people from starting their entrepreneurial journey or quitting before they’ve seen success. With my secretarial background I was good at making my boss look good but not at all used to stepping into the limelight and felt very uncomfortable blowing my own trumpet. Going to networking meetings, standing up and telling everyone in 60 second pitch was so out of my comfort zone I was a nervous wreck! But I knew that was the only way I was going to get clients so I persevered and attended trainings to help me deliver a good 60 second elevator pitch and eventually it was second nature. In fact a year after my first networking meeting, I was chairing that same group. Dream Big Goals Motivation is related to your dreams and goals. A vague goal e.g. ‘be a millionaire’ is not powerful enough on its own. When times get tough you are more likely to quit because being a millionaire is either too unobtainable or not really what you want. For the example ‘I want to be a millionaire’ you need to drill down into what being a millionaire means to you by asking yourself the question ‘and that means….’ Ask the same question on the answer and keep on asking and you’ll end up with the real reason.

For the example ‘you want to be a millionaire’ - it is status? Or is it what the money will buy? What exactly does it mean? How will you feel when you have achieved this. Put it in writing or pictures A good technique is to write a journal and take a typical day in the future e.g. Tuesday and write what you will be doing. From getting up, where you are, the weather, describe your surroundings, who you are with, details of what you eat, what you see in the mirror, how you feel, details of what you do during that day, notice what smells. Make sure your language is in the positive. Create a dream board of a collection of pictures and motivational words and hang that up in your office so you see it everyday. When you take the time to put in words and pictures what you want, your sub-conscious can’t tell the difference between reality and dreams, so gets to work finding ways to make your vision a reality. Which means, be careful of what you wish for! If you picture yourself failing and struggling, then guess what? Your sub-conscious gets to work bringing that to reality!

Support  Your Inner Circle Surround yourself with positive people who believe in you. When you believe in yourself, exude inner confidence and positivity, a funny thing happens…. Like attract like and you’ll find that you are naturally drawn to positive, confident people and they are attracted to you.

At the same time, you’ll find strange things happen with the negative people in your life. They step up their criticism and negative predictions to try and put you off. It’s not intentionally to bring you down, but more they see themselves as protecting you from failure. But the reality is, they’re not being very helpful so you need to reduce contact with them. Recognise that it’s their fears and not yours. There are two types of criticism. Constructive criticism is useful feedback that you can learn from and improve on. Destructive criticism is no help at all. It can be disguised as well meaning advice, but actually has no real foundation or based on any real evidence. Peers Business networking provides a great opportunity to find like-minded small business owners whom you can bounce ideas off and get peer support. They’re often make better business buddies than friends, as they are going through similar challenges or have been and are far more understanding and supportive. When I first started networking I was surprised at how supportive my fellow business owners were. It was nothing like the dog-eat-dog corporate ladder-climbing I had come from, where colleagues and bosses are more interested in their own progression at the expense of your own. Outsource Get a good virtual assistant to outsource the tasks you either hate doing, aren’t very good at/take too long, or have no expertise in. Delegating your non-fee-earning tasks frees you up to do more of the things you love doing in your business – the reason why you set up in the first place. Virtual assistants like www.mysuperva.co.uk work from their own homes/offices for several people doing everything from diary management, answering calls, responding to emails, sorting

emails and mail, book-keeping, creating documentation, slides, beautifying them, updating websites, email marketing, social media, researching and sourcing and a whole lot more. Make sure you select someone who has experience of doing the tasks you want to delegate and that they have insurance. Business Coach Take on a business coach. They can help you get clear on your goals and hold you accountable which means you’re more likely to succeed, particularly as you’ve invested money in coaching so you’re going to make sure you get a return on your investment. But choose a coach carefully. Check out how they run their own business and who they help and they’re doing what you want to do as you can benefit from their experiences. I’ve had a variety of coaches. My first coach was a VA herself and the reason I chose her was because I could tap into her knowledge and experience of running a VA practice. She could guide me around pitfalls I hadn’t even thought about. For a while my business coasted along fine, then when my youngest started high school, I found I had more time to spend on my business and grow it. I was already following a few coaches through their newsletters and attending their webinars and so was able to choose a coach I admired, were doing what I wanted to aspire to and who I felt could help me get there too. Since having a coach, my business has grown substantially – nearly doubled in turnover! So, well worth the investment!

 

 

Getting  your  First  Client  When I first set up, getting my first client seemed like an unobtainable dream. Everyone in he VA community I joined was saying said once you have your first client, the second, third and fourth are so much easier to get. So how do you get your first client, when you’re starting with nothing? For most people, it’s probably not entirely true that you start your business with nothing. Even if you have no money for marketing, you have time and you have your skills or product and you have contacts. Revisit all the people you know and get in touch with them by phone and have a conversation that includes asking them what they’re doing and explain what you do now. Make sure you ask open questions. “Do you know might use….” Is a closed question and there are only two possible answers yes or no. A better question to ask is “who do you know might use…”. This open question gets them thinking. It also takes away the pressure of alienating them by coming across too sales-like. If they are a potential customer, asking a question like ‘who do you know…’ won’t stop them saying, ‘I could use you’.

Social Media Social media as it is today did not exist when I started 10 years ago. Social media was a game changer because it levelled the playing field, regardless of the size of business. Use the social media platforms that your potential clients are more likely to be in and make sure your profile is up to date. It’s better to pick ONE channel to get good at, rather than spreading your time over several and doing them poorly. Use the channels to engage and start conversations that you then take off-line. Business Networking There are loads of different types of networking groups now that vary from meeting times, to the types of professions they attract and whether they are monthly, weekly, involve a financial commitment or drop in. Some are mixed and there are women only groups. Some have a formal structure and some are just turn up and mix and mingle. It’s best to try out several networking groups and get a feel for what type you are comfortable with, what type of people attend and whether it’s the right group for you. Use networking to make connections and find out more about how you can help the others present. Networking is not about selling your services, but building relationships. People buy from those they know like and trust, and networking is an opportunity to build that up.

Make sure you follow up with people you connect with outside the meeting with 121 meetings to aid the know like and trust. Be clear on what you do. If necessary get help from those who’ve worked with you before (in employment) and drill down on ‘what does that mean…’. Talk about the results you get by working with you/using your product rather than features. Testimonials Referrals have been my biggest source of new clients. Clients who get a good experience of working with you are your best advert. Their referrals are already ‘sold’ by the time they get to talk to you and much easier to convert. Get a testimonial from every person who buys from you.  

Vee’s  Top  3  Tips  for  Career  Seekers     These tips are relevant to both entrepreneurs and employees.

What  makes  them  tick?  Find out what makes your boss (or client) tick. This is a lot similar to tip 1 for entrepreneurs. Your boss is there for a reason and your goal is to find out what motivates them. What makes them happy. What makes them cross. Are they under pressure from their superiors? What support do they need and how can you make their job easier.

Breaking  bad  news  How do you communicate that you’ve made a mistake?

1. Be calm 2. Find a solution that mitigates or improves 3. Be prepared 4. Prepare them for the worst

So you could say “Something terrible has happened – I’ve made a dreadful mistake and if you want sack me then I’ll completely understand”. Then when you tell them what your mistake was and your solution to mitigate or improve the situation, your mistake isn’t as terrible as you’ve led them to believe and even the toughest boss will be ok.

Be  indispensible  How do you become indispensible?

• Cando attitude – people are drawn to positive people who try and solve problems. When there are job cuts, who do you think they’ll let go?

• Boundaries: Be clear on your boundaries. This includes

being clear about your work hours are and finishing when you’re supposed to finish. It also includes how available you are by phone outside of work hours. A mistake new employees (and business owners) make is being available outside work hours and allowing the work day to start earlier and finish later and later. They do this because they think it shows them keen and invaluable. The result is usually that because they do it so freely it becomes expected and you’ll end up feeling resentful and unappreciated.

• Ask questions – Never assume! Asking questions and then repeating back the answer ensures that you’ve

understood what needs to be done and the boss feels confident that you know what you’re doing, because you’ve understood what they’ve said.

• Log it! Create a procedures manual for every process you

do and continually update it as you improve the processes. Include everything from how you handle different types of communications to how you carry out tasks. It’ll prove invaluable particularly for tasks you don’t do that often or when you ready to delegate those tasks. This is applicable for new business owners too – it’s impossible to grow your business if you’re doing everything including the non-income generating tasks in your business, like admin.

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About Vee Smith Vee Smith is the Biz Tech Wiz. She is an expert in creating websites and tools to deliver

online learning and personal development programmes. She also helps with online marketing strategies. Vee takes unruly web technologies and tames them for her clients – even those who are technophobic. “Since working with Vee, I have a much better understanding of my website and how to use WordPress. Vee is one of those rare people, totally trustworthy, completely reliable and sprinkle that with a good dusting of generosity.”

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Vee works with coaches, trainers, consultants and small business owners. She enables them to leverage their time and create

profitable income streams by selling their knowledge and support via online programmes and webinars. As The Biz Tech Wiz, Vee spends her time developing and creating highly effective online solutions to manage membership websites, online learning & personal development programmes, webinars, email campaigns and social media strategies. She delivers these services with the help of the team of assistants she has personally trained in order to ensure the highest levels of service quality. With a wealth of experience to call upon, Vee ensures that her sessions are informative, participative and fun. Vee works with individuals, companies and groups of all sizes as a consultant and trainer. “Vee is a technological and on-line mastermind. I am not very techy, and it is so reassuring to feel that she knows what she is doing to help me with my websites and information marketing products. …I feel confident that you are in good hands.”

Rachel Brushfield – Energise Legal

Vee has worked with many coaches, trainers, consultants and small business owners, including Adam May - Top 10 world-wide distributor for Forever Living Products; Gail Morgan - The Image Trainer; Carole Ann Rice - leading UK life coach, author and columnist; and, Rachel Brushfield – executive & career coach Vee is Constant Contact Core Certified; a Constant Contact Authorised Local Expert; and sits on the voluntary board of the International Association of Virtual Assistants. Contact me: Tel: 0208 421 6842 Email: vee@veesmith.com Web: www.veesmith.com Tw: @biztechwiz Fb: /biztechwiz In: uk/linkedin.com/in/veesmith