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The Independent Publishers’ Magazine

NO PUBLISHER IS AN ISLAND!

SPRING 2015

COMMUNITY

Brad BurtonBrad BurtonBrad BurtonBrad BurtonThis month’s interview.Life, business - is it easier?

EDITOR’S LETTEREDITOR’S LETTEREDITOR’S LETTEREDITOR’S LETTER

It always seems impossible…... until it’s done” said Nelson Mandela, who needs no introduction of course. Well that’s how I’ve been feeling recently on the public facing

Numbers, a project which I have been working on to compile industry data, for publishing later on in the year. Pushing the bchallenging, even if you really passionately believe in something. I’m sure I’m not the first, and I certainly won’t be thepeople consider crazy, challenging or even impossible and it certainly seems that this project fits neatly into the ‘you’re babout this I am going to ignore the critics, naysayers and merchants of doom and plough on, knowing that I am supported by soresults will outweigh the efforts and pushing I’ve had to do to get this done.

“What’s it all about?” you might be asking. For those of you who aren’t already involved there’s more about the project on p

invitation to get involved. Your input is important and will help to define how we work in the months ahead.

Moving on, I was delighted to be interviewing Brad Burton this month. Many of you will remember his Quaynote speech at the 2

on their seats shouting and clapping and indeed his pitch created a mind set shift in a big number of delegates. Indeed it w

field, rendering you reeling from some of the content to the point that a bit of introverted reflection was needed over the n

him or not, no-one could deny that his energy and enthusiasm spilt out in buckets and in the bar during the evening he had lots

delegates, who pronounced him “a really great guy actually” (to be fair there was an element of surprise from some of you!).

Check out our chat on page 14 and find out a bit more about the shaven headed entrepreneur from Manchester.

We’ve also got lots of other publishing related goodies for you this issue too. Our Community Magazine of the Year 2014

winner, Lily Goulder of Village People shares her thoughts on this years awards, and we cover a bit about the lady behind

the award in our first article overleaf.

And our popular ‘nose into a world’ of another publisher also features the lovely Robbie Rutherford who publishes an A4

community magazine in the Murcia area of Spain. Oh to be able to wear shorts and flip flops for more months of the year

than we can in the UK (although this doesn’t stop Sean at Quay HQ at all of course!)

So, grab a cup of tea, snuggle yourself down and get stuck in to this issue of COMMUNITY. It’s filled with love and compiled

with care and we all wish you a fabulous quarter of publishing.

EDITOR

Coralie Todd

ADVERTISING

Contact Kelly on01329 630013

info@aoimp.com

CIRCULATION

COMMUNITY mag ispublished 4 times a

year for the Associationof Independent

Publishers by QuaySystems and is free to

members of theASSOCIATION

4 Quayside CommerceCentre, Lower Quay,

Fareham,Hants, PO16 0XR

Copyright 2015.All rights reserved.

No part of COMMUNITY

magazine may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system or

transmitted in any form or by any

means without the prior consent

of the editor. Although every

effort is made to ensure the

accuracy of material published

the publishers can accept no

responsibility for any claims

made by the contributors,

manufacturers or advertisers.

EDITOR’S LETTEREDITOR’S LETTEREDITOR’S LETTEREDITOR’S LETTER

” said Nelson Mandela, who needs no introduction of course. Well that’s how I’ve been feeling recently on the public facing launch of Publish By

Numbers, a project which I have been working on to compile industry data, for publishing later on in the year. Pushing the boundaries on anything is alwayschallenging, even if you really passionately believe in something. I’m sure I’m not the first, and I certainly won’t be the last person to attempt something that manypeople consider crazy, challenging or even impossible and it certainly seems that this project fits neatly into the ‘you’re barking mad’ criteria! Because I’m so passionateabout this I am going to ignore the critics, naysayers and merchants of doom and plough on, knowing that I am supported by so many already and that ultimately theresults will outweigh the efforts and pushing I’ve had to do to get this done.

“What’s it all about?” you might be asking. For those of you who aren’t already involved there’s more about the project on page 8 - take a look and accept my genuine

invitation to get involved. Your input is important and will help to define how we work in the months ahead.

Moving on, I was delighted to be interviewing Brad Burton this month. Many of you will remember his Quaynote speech at the 2014 conference which had publishers

on their seats shouting and clapping and indeed his pitch created a mind set shift in a big number of delegates. Indeed it was so powerful that it hit a few of you left of

field, rendering you reeling from some of the content to the point that a bit of introverted reflection was needed over the next few days. Whether you resonated with

one could deny that his energy and enthusiasm spilt out in buckets and in the bar during the evening he had lots of engaging conversations with the

delegates, who pronounced him “a really great guy actually” (to be fair there was an element of surprise from some of you!).

Check out our chat on page 14 and find out a bit more about the shaven headed entrepreneur from Manchester.

We’ve also got lots of other publishing related goodies for you this issue too. Our Community Magazine of the Year 2014

winner, Lily Goulder of Village People shares her thoughts on this years awards, and we cover a bit about the lady behind

And our popular ‘nose into a world’ of another publisher also features the lovely Robbie Rutherford who publishes an A4

community magazine in the Murcia area of Spain. Oh to be able to wear shorts and flip flops for more months of the year

than we can in the UK (although this doesn’t stop Sean at Quay HQ at all of course!)

So, grab a cup of tea, snuggle yourself down and get stuck in to this issue of COMMUNITY. It’s filled with love and compiled

Much love,Coraliex

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CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

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Editor’s Letter P2-3

Interview with Lily Goulder P5

Publish By Numbers P8

PNG News P10

From My Point of view P12

The Brad Burton Interview P14

Association News P16

A Day in My Life P18

Tip of the Month P22

Fire Safety at Work P24

Competition P27

When You’ve Gotta Dash…. P28

Coach’s Corner - feed your mind P31

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You all knew the wordsto the song......but Lily was lost for words as she hit the stage at theIndependent Publishers Awards.

Surrounded by claps andcheers to the well known“YMCA” song, Lily Goulderhit the stage in October toreceive the coveted overallaward - CommunityMagazine of the Year 2014.

Village People Magazinesalso took away the crystalsfor Best Magazine Designand Best Front Cover so tosay that Lily was totallyoverwhelmed was anunderstatement!

Lily has been publishing hermagazines since 2008 whichshe lovingly describes as“little Vogues”. Love, careand attention is poured intoevery available page of thethree titles even down to anamusing tale of insistingthat a birds beak was re-coloured on the coverbecause it didn’t quitematch the rest of the “look”.

Entering her home office isa joy. Every one of yoursenses is beautifully hit fromthe moment you arrive atthe door. Visually there are

myriad colours, eclectic andcleverly used to create anenvironment that feels like across between Cath Kidstonmeets Bohemian Buddha.

An enormous money plantfills the bay window and ifyou look carefully there arefeng shui touches allaround. Little Chinese coinsand everything pointing inprecisely the right waymakes you feel at easealthough you just don’tquite know why.

I am delighted atthe recognition wereceived at theIndependentPublishers’ Awardsand now I’mworking on making“The Best” evenbetter!

Right: Lily can’t believe it!

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But what you can be sure ofis that you will be greetedwith an enormous smile anda genuinely friendlydemeanour. She’s not oneto be messed with - butwhy would you?

The passion for her business- and indeed for life ingeneral - is evident allaround Lily like a colourfulblanket of energy. Sure, sheworks incredibly hard tomaintain the standards shehas set herself and there aremany late nights in front ofthe screen making sure thatevery detail is correct. Thewhiteboard in her office hasan ambitious sales target

which makes her and herteam giggle. They love it!And most of the time theyhit the target so Lily jumpsup to change it - anotheraggressive target goes upand they work harder to seeif they can catch that one.But there’s no aggression intheir sales. Their advertisersand readers know VillagePeople is a robust productthat is excellent quality andtruly congruent to thecommunity it is aimed at.

Indeed Lily has excellentreader engagement andensures that anyone whowrites in to her, enteringcompetitions or writing to

the editor, gets added to anaddress list so that she cankeep in touch with themand do regular surveys,ensuring that they areinvolved and seeing whatthey need in the magazines.

Lily has a great work-lifeethic and trips to Barcelonaare always scheduled in forsome R&R, and I’m prettysure I spotted a space for asoon-to-be-installed winefridge in the kitchen.

Lily may looked as chilled asthe wine in her cabinet butdon’t be fooled. She hasshrewdly worked out howto maximise her efficiencieswith the correct balance of

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outsourced or delegatedjobs to enable her to beevery inch the strongbusinesswoman that she is.

“We make sure the officeis a really positive, happyplace to work and I believethat is reflected by thesuccess of our magazines”She’s never one to do thingsby halves, nor conform toquite what you’d expect butLily has really hit onsomething with the overallpackage of her business.

If you want to see some ofLily in action, then take alook at the Welcome to myWorld video which is hostedon the Association Website(www.aoimp.com)

I’m sure if you popped in tosee her, you’d be welcomed

with a chilled bottle ofpinot, accompanied bygiggles and fun - well isn’tthis all part of Village PeopleLife?

When the nominationforms go up for the 2015awards, get yourselfincluded!

If you are too shy to self-promote then please getone of your colleagues,readers or friends to do thefirst draft for you. Seriously -get over any “I’m notworthy” nonsense. Therewere so many people whokicked themselves formissing the opportunity in2014 so don’t be one ofthose next year. It wasfabulous that many more(over 203% in fact) steppedup this year, bit the bulletand showcased what theycould do. But we want tosee more of you!

There’s no excuse not togive yourself and or yourmagazine the chance toshine!

Watch out for the 2015forms coming soon.

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I’ve heard so many publishers for so longskirting around questions with each otherwhen the bottom line is they just want toknow how everyone else is performing!

So for some time I’ve had a projectbubbling in my head. But it stayed there forsome time because I wasn’t sure I couldmake it work. After all, no-one has evertried it before.

And after all, trying to do research like thiswould feel like open heart surgery on a lotof businesses. When many of them don’treally want to be opened up!

But it kept niggling at me because I knowjust what a sharing industry we work in andhow, by supporting each other, and with abig dash of abundance chucked in for goodmeasure, we could make this project reallywork.

So without looking backwards I havelaunched Publish by Numbers. And thereis a way of doing it without compromisingyour business.

We won’t show any data specifically for onecompany. We can pull it all together toshow how, for example, people running 64

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page magazines might be performingacross the country.

Or indeed how many hours these guysmight be working each week and how itcompares.

So although we have lots of data alreadythe more we get the better the result foreveryone.

Indeed those who have taken part alreadyhave realised that the process itself hasbeen really useful. That’s even before thedata is analysed!

So if you run a local or communitymagazine then please be part of this.

All data is confidential and nomagazine will be identified.

This is about publishers, for publishers.

One magazine owner said:

This has made merealise I need to sortmyself out a bit in thisdepartment so good frommy perspective

All you need to do is go to the website (seeback cover for details) and download thespreadsheet. Fill it in and send it back -anonymous entries are fine. Just betruthful.

Coralie

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You may have heard about our recent launchof the Publishers’ Networking Groups -

regional networking groups across the UK set upjust for Independent Publishers like you.

These will allow you the opportunity toinformally meet up with like minded businessowners on a regular basis at a more local venueto chat about all things publishing (and more,knowing you lot!)

The only charge for these meetings will be tocover costs of refreshments and venue althoughthese will be kept to a minimum whereverpossible.

Each group has its own facebook page so thatyou can keep abreast of meeting dates andtimes and share thoughts and ideas with eachother.

If you fancy popping in to another region thenthat’s absolutely fine, especially if you’rewanting to join in with one of the special eventsthat will be running. .

The PNGs offer you a freedom passport whichmeans that you can go to whichever region suits

you best and indeed attend our ‘all region’events.

These special events will involve planning andtraining workshops with members of theAssociation Dreamteam (see pages 16-17 fordetails of the Association) and will be held asspecial, paid for functions for as many of theregions as possible. Quay will also use theopportunity to dive in and provide extra systemtraining to those of you who need it.

Activity in each of the regions will ultimately befed into the main Association website - this willbe the ‘umbrella’ organisation run by Quay thatwill look after all of the event and groupactivities.

Members are already signing up to the PNG’sand the Association. If you haven’t got yourname down then let us know and we’ll allocateyou to your closest group. Don’t worry if youdecide to change at a later date, or want to popin to another one - this doesn’t force you intoone region for life

To sign up for the PNG’s register at

WWW.AOIMP.COM

Publishers’Publishers’Publishers’Publishers’NetworkingNetworkingNetworkingNetworkingGroupsGroupsGroupsGroups

They’re all for you!

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It made me feel like a propermagazine person!

That was one of the ‘quotable quotes’ from thevery first meet up of the PNG Central Westregion on the 27th February.

In a rather lovely pub, 11 of us got together andfrom the moment the first few arrived thepublishers ‘gabbling’ started.

Every range of topics were covered, from whoruns the magazines (so many more men joiningtheir partners it would seem) to insurance andhow distributors are managed. Lots ofquestions bandied around the table aboutwhether to take on more staff, how to chooseand pay the right person and whether anexpansion should be on the cards. The nextdate was set for Friday 5th June.

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FROMMY POINT OF VIEW...FROMMY POINT OF VIEW...FROMMY POINT OF VIEW...FROMMY POINT OF VIEW...

A voyeuristic nosey into your working worlds from behind your desks!Send yours to info@aoimp.com

(but don’t cheat - show it as it really is!)

Sharon StephensSONA Publishing

Sharon’s neat and dy desk with co-ordina ngpen pots and files.

All (my) human life is here. To my right on the wall are three calendars - showing this month, next month andthe month a er. The themes are astronomy, steam trains and the seaside, my three biggest outs de interests.Above them is a framed photograph of a place that's as near to heaven that I have ever known. Above mylaptop is a photo of Mary si ng on a graffi adorned park bench taken on one of our daily walks with ourdog, Tigger. The graffi reads "Some come to sit. (Tigger's in heaven now). Closest to my right hand (next tothe mouse mat) is a small photo of the two ladies who mean the most to me in all my life - Emily, mydaughter and Mary, my Wife. Just out of shot, on the window sill my Mum and Dad on their wedding day 65years ago and my son Sam and his Wife Ka e on their wedding day in 2013. In the book case are some of thebooks that contain the knowledge that defines my life - the maps, the dic onaries, the thesaurus, quota onspoetry, biographies, NLP business, gardening, bibles, railway history and photos, and on and on in an evergrowing eclec c array of interes ng stuff. Mary grumbles at my un diness "Its not un diness, it's me",' Say l'

On the desk, menacing, sits my phone. "The bringer of good and evil in equal measure."

This is balanced by the framed quote on the wall facing me - "God grant me the serenity to accept the peopleI cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the Wisdom to know it's ME"'

Steve JohnsSoar Valley Life

li le pile! (if you don’t know about filers and pilers then check in

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One of Coralie’sdesks…

Full of sta onery, large post itnotes, pens, a mandatory A4diary, photos of ski-ing trips,momentos from the kiddies andmy phone which never leaves my side.Then white walls, a white desk andkeyboard for some calm and cleanlinessin my world!

But of course no desk is completewithout…. a dog underneath!

Phil WilliamsThe Alcester Connec on

The blue thing is a wrist rest but Iuse it as an elbow rest. The dogchewed a bit off the end lol

Lynne & Steve HeardYour Call Publishing

Mine and Steve's desks, mine is the dy side of course andDonna sits on the far end not shown in the picture when she's

in the office with her laptop.

Michelle Thompse -CarollAllsorts

My desk, I'm a definite filer with the occasionalli le pile! (if you don’t know about filers and pilers then check in

on the PNG Central West Facebook group and ask them!)

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What hurts, and how do youdeal with it?

It hurts when you have helped andsupported someone but the very first timeyou have to say no to them, they take tosocial media or whatever and call you outas not caring. What I've learnt along theway is that you can't do people's press upsfor them and have to be careful not tocreate a relationship based on dependencywhich actually creates for them a largerproblem than the initial one, it needs to bea relationship where they at least try toresolve their issues before coming to meand expecting me to have all the answers/bail them out.

Who would you have dinnerwith, one to one, on a desertisland?

Tony Blair - his time in office gave me theopportunity to start my business. I was oneof the new hopefuls caught up in the waveof euphoria that swept the nation whenLabour came into power and I would loveto have the opportunity to sit down andhave dinner with him.

Cool cars - a businessnecessity or a personalityextension?

A combination of both, just as it is with yourlife and your business, the lines are blurred.I've talked before about howmuch I wouldlove to own a Lamborghini but the truth isI'm not prepared to make the sacrifice oftime with my family to put in the hours andwork needed to make that wish come true,it's just not that important to me anymore(but if I won the lottery, then yes I wouldhave one without a doubt). MyBradmobile now is a (relatively) sensibleAudi A5 Coupe, 3litre ladies, just saying ;)

What would you changeabout yourself, and why?

That is a powerful question! We're allimperfect in our own ways, we all haverulebooks with incomplete sections so it's asliding scale. I'm a fast thinker, I don't like toprocrastinate and I think I would be foolishto change any element about me asit would ruin my recipe for success.

The Interview

On the road, with Brad Burton

Brad Burton is an author, genius, motivational speaker and really modest/hilarious www.BradBurton.Biz

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Dark or milk chocolate?

Out of the two, milk but actually I don'tthink you can beat white chocolate! Giveme a man sized Milky Bar! The great thing isI've got an eight month old daughter whichallows me the excuse for buying Milky Barbuttons, one for Bonnie, one for Daddy.

PS I've got diabetes type 2, no really. I canfeel my blood sugars raising, mmmmmilkybars...

Biggest influencer on yourlife (a person or a thing)

Tony Blair - same reasons as above

What’s your favourite bookand why?

23 Steps To Success & Achievement byRobert J Lumsden. This book changed mylife. The copy I had cost me 20p, it had no

cover but itsteered meand createdwho I am. Itwas writtenin 1976 butthe timelesscontent intherehelped meso much inmy times ofneed, when I was fearful. In some ways itwas my bible and offered me protectionand made me feel safe. It moulded me intowho I am as an individual.

Sum up in one sentencesomething about yourself thatwould tell someone thatdidn't know you, who you are.

I like to live by my own religion, Braddism.Help many, hurt few, live life.

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WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?

FORUM MAGAZINES TRAININGCOMMUNITY

In other words, we understandjust how it feels to be workingIN your business, every day, andfeeling at times perhaps a bitisolated, or frustrated that youneed some support and afriendly ear. We understand thepressures of constant deadlinesand the need to work ON yourbusiness regularly to ensure yousucceed.

If you want to learn new skills ordevelop new ideas to help runyour business; meet like mindedpublishers along the way toreassure and support you thenthis is the place for you.

Your membership will open youup to a ream of benefits that will provideyou with strategies, knowledge,accountability, tips and tricks to help youget the most out of yourself and yourbusiness.

You’ll be given special offers on productsand services which can only help yourbottom line!

You’ll also receive a quarterly magazinededicated totally to your publishing world

as well as monthly workbooks, checklistsand planners to keep you on track.

And on top of that there are now thePNG’s - regional Publishers’ NetworkingGroups across the UK for you to join freeof charge. Check out the back page forfull details.

No publisher is an island!

Publishers’ Networking Groups

Publishers’ forum

Fellowship

on your magazine material to show that you have the support of many other publishers and experts

Learning

Publishing Pearls

Downloads

Events - every year we will have an Independent Publishers Awards ceremony giving YOU the chance to

showcase what you do best! And of course there’s the yearly conference as well as special training events.

SIGN UP HERE: WWW.AOIMP.COM

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WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?WHY JOIN THE ASSOCIATION?

TRAINING PNG’S WORKBOOKS AWARDS

The Association and regional groups are the gift wrapped, cherry-topped with a bow all around present you’ve all been waiting for.

Support, community, knowledge, offers, friendship and training all inone place from the makers of Quay Systems. We know all about yourworld and we’re here to make it better. This is for people who arecommitted to themselves and their businesses, who want to succeed atwhatever level they choose and who never want to look back on theircareer and say “rats - I missed that chance”.

WHAT DOYOU GET?Publishers’ Networking Groups - your regional meet up group to get together informally and share

ideas and knowledge.

Publishers’ forum - you can ask questions, chat about whatever you’d normally chat about next to the

coffee machine and help other publishers all around the globe.

Fellowship - no more will you be on your own! You’ll receive specially designed logos that you can use

on your magazine material to show that you have the support of many other publishers and experts

behind you.

Learning - we’ve got a dream team of experts lined up who will be providing a set of webinars, face to

face mastermind classes and knowledge throughout the year.

Publishing Pearls - You’ll have access to the latest printables and videos of other publishers to keep you

on track, motivated and learning to keep you ahead of your game.

Downloads - iphone and pc graphics to complement your work that month to keep you focussed.

Events - every year we will have an Independent Publishers Awards ceremony giving YOU the chance to

showcase what you do best! And of course there’s the yearly conference as well as special training events.

And you know us. There’ll be more where this lot came from too!

A Day in My Life…

Robbie produces an A4lifestyle magazine for BritishExpats in the Murcia regionof southern Spain that goesout to 5000 homes eachmonth. He’s been runninghis magazines for fouryears.

7.00am:Wake up and have a strong expresso to bringme round. Spend the first half hour of the day on socialmedia, and going over my plan for the day.

8.00am: Become involved in a lengthy discussion withmy 5 year old about which of his collection of trilby hats

Robbie Rutherford:The Journal

he should wear to school today. I look at the date on my phone to check if I accidentlywoke up in the 1930’s.

9.00am: Drop Oscar at school and head to the boxing gym to train. I love to train firstthing as it leaves me feeling charged for the rest of the day.

10.30am: Leave the gym and get the first of my “Five a day” under my belt. (This is areference to my sales call quota and not how many fruit and vegetables I will eat today.) Ivisit a Spanish owned tyre and exhaust garage, and I get the advert. They will be leaving acompetitor to join us. I do nothing to stop myself feeling smug.

11.15: The British Funeral Director calls and wants to give me some more business.Thankfully he means advertising and not dead bodies. He is too busy to come to myoffice and it looks like we will miss the deadline. The only way round it is to drive over tothe funeral parlour and catch him in between services. A definite contender for the mostrandom place I’ve ever held a business meeting!

12.35: I arrive at the business centre where I have my office. Today, I’m there to meet aninsurance company that have moved in to the building. We agreed a 6 month bookinglast week and now I need to take some photos and notes for an article to go alongsidetheir advert.

13.30: Return home and do some emails. Gemma brings Oscar home from school andwe eat lunch before she leaves for work teaching English in afterschool classes. Oscar andI enjoy some Hot Wheels and Lego time.

16.00: Drop Oscar at football training and Igo for a quick 25 minute run. I make a pointof not taking music, as running in silence isperfect thinking time. I use the time to thinkabout the objections that I might get at asales appointment tomorrow. I get back forthe final half of football training and get intwo more of my “Five a day” over thephone from the sidelines.

18.00 Dinner and bedtime routine forOscar and then Gemma gets home. Wehave dinner together and catch up on eachothers day, before slumbering in front ofthe TV to watch the latest episodes of “TheWalking Dead”

21.30: Spend 30 minutes doing the lastemails of the day. I sleep better knowingthat that I will wake up to an empty inbox.

I schedule the majority of them to bedelivered at 5.45am the next day. (I like tothink this helps me look committed to mywork!)

10.00: Reflect on the day, how it went,what I did, didn’t do, could have donebetter and need to do tomorrow.

10.15: In bed with my book, but fall asleepbefore I even turn a page.

Robbie's three reasons why he loveshis magazine business:

1. The freedom to be myself -I don'tneed to pretend to be "Corporate".

2. I work in shorts, t-shirts and flipflops most of the year.

3. I choose who I work with, when towork and when not to work.

The Conference has a shiny newwebsite all of its own! Take a look at:

www.aoimpconference.com.

You’ll find photos from last year, details ofthis years speakers, agenda, event infoand links to buy your tickets.

Not been to a conference of ours before?See some of the twitter feedback fromthis years’:

wellingtonedge@QuayPages Great Conference. Used toattending legal and similar conferences -this was much more fun. @BradBurton wassuperb

insidemagazinesAnother inspiring Publishers conference.Huge thanks for a grand day out!@Unlock_Success@QuayPages @Flipping_Pages@JannieJack @BradBurton

helsbytohandBrilliant publisher's conference with fabspeakers, thanks everyone☺@QuayPages@Unlock_Success @BradBurton@JannieJack @Flipping_Pages

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

Wewill be opening up entries for the Awards on 1st May2015 and they will close on 31st August 2015! There will beno extensions this year! Keep an eye on our facebook pagefor updates. www.facebook.com/AIMPglobal

Friday, 2nd October2015

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Tip of the Month

The solution!Freshen up your marketing and use an upside down post it note instead!Yes, seriously. Get them printed upside down so that you can stick theminside to a page where a competitor might be advertising with a “youshould be here” message poking out of the top.Then send them off to all those lovely leads!Remember - Test and Measure - make sure you record which ones havethe post it notes in to see if they increase conversion rates!

Bored of sending out your voucher copies in brownenvelopes? Tired of putting the same old sales letter in and

hoping for the best?

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YOU SHOULDBE HERE

!

CONTACT US T

O BOOK YOUR SPACE

ON 01234 56789

TODAY!

YOUR LOCALMAG CO

Who’d have thought the little post it note could be so effective?!If you’ve got a top tip then get in touch– we love to share!

E: info@aoimp.com

Tip of the Month

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Having taken the plunge and started yourown business, all you have to think about isyou, your one or two staff and your missionstatement which is usually along the linesof ‘we intend to be different from ourcompetitors and be the best!’.

If only it was that simple of course. First ofall do congratulate yourself, it’s a scarything to do, breaking away from the safeposition of the employed but you havedone it. Now it’s reality check time. Even asa small business you have to think aboutbeaurocracy, health and safety and firesafety.

So what is the legal position? Well as acommercial enterprise you have toconsider fire safety, whether you operatefrom your home or from that nice newrented office. The good news is you onlyhave to apply reasonable measures, butwhat does this mean?

Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)You need to complete one but if yourorganisation does not employ more thanfour people, it does not have to berecorded. Trouble with that is, how do you

prove to that stern looking fire officer thatyou have done one if it is not recorded?Simple answer is record it but do not goover the top.

What to consider?

Here are 6 areas which you can review fairlysimply in your place of work TODAY:

1.Means of escape - if you can get out ofyour premises to fresh air within 18mwithout having to use a key to open a dooron the way, give yourself a tick. If it is notthat simple then you may need to look atwhether you need an alternative exit.

2.Fire alarm and detection - if you can seeyour exit from where you work or the routeto the exit is open to your normalworkplace, there really is no need for alarmand detection. Your eyes are the detectionand your mouth the alarm. However, if youwork above or below ground and youcannot see the exit or you have to escapethrough an adjoining occupancy, then youmay well need some detection.

3.Hazards and risks - look around yourpremises and list the risks, things that can

Fire safety at work

It’s not just the heat on your sales targets that can cause a problem!

Whether you work from home or in offices, fire safety cannot be put to thebottom of the ‘to do’ list. John Greenbank, an ex Fire Officer and nowDirector of Firesafe Solutions (UK) Ltd tells us more about what we need tolook out for.

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cause fire, spread fire or just could simplystop you getting out. List them andconsider - can you replace them, reducethem or control them. Replace and reducespeak for themselves but what do wemean by ‘control them’? An example istesting and maintenance. If you have anelectric fire or other electrical equipmentthat could break down and cause a firethen have it maintained. The typicalsolution is PAT (Portable ApplianceTesting).

4.Fire fighting equipment - so you havepaper, a PC or two, printer, scanner, fax andan electric heater but your premises arevery small. Sounds like you need just a2kg carbon dioxide and 3 litre foamextinguisher. Remember this is first aid firefighting. Your primary aim in any fire willbe for everyone to get out, no more.

5.Signage, if your premises are well knownto you and your staff numbers are small,with visitors always being accompaniedyou don’t need any signage.

6.Training - this is where everyonestruggles. What training do you give toyour one or two staff? Look online, ourwebsite gives a FOC generic fire policydocument which gives pointers. Obviouslya lot depends on what you are doing butfor small premises with a couple of staff,they just need to know what to do in theevent of a fire and how to use theextinguishers. Reiterate to them, thepriority is getting out, not playing hero withthe extinguisher.

7.Monitor and review - put a reminder toreview the FRA annually and do it after anear miss, a fire or when you carry outalterations.

So very basically, that’s it for small premises.

The most important thing is don’t put thisoff because it seems overwhelming.There’s no need to struggle as there is lotsof advice on line, on our website or ongovernment websites. See below for thelinks and overleaf for a handy checklist:

USEFUL RESOURCESFiresafe Solutions (UK) Ltdwww.firesafesolutions.co.uk

HSE guidance for PAThttp://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm

Government website for FRA’shttps://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities

Firesafe Solutions (UK) Ltd is a fire safety consultancy thatcompletes fire risk assessments in all types of commercial

businesses across the South. Please note the advice given above isgeneric advice and Firesafe Solutions (UK) Ltd cannot be held

responsible for its accuracy in relation to any particular premises.

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FIRE SAFETY ASSESSMENTCHECKLIST

NAME OF ORGANISATION: DATE COMPLETED:

MEANS OF ESCAPE

Can I exit the office to

fresh air within 18 metres?

Yes / No If no, what are the alternatives?:

FIRE ALARM AND DETECTION

Can I see the exit from my

workplace?

Yes / No If no, what forms of detection would be suitable?

Is my route to exit open? Yes / No

HAZARDS AND RISKS

List of things that could

cause or spread fire:

Electrical equipment and

date of last PAT test:

Are there any things that

could prevent escape?

FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT

Is any present in the

office?

Yes / No If no, check what is needed

SIGNAGE

Do we need signage for

visitors to the premises?

Yes / No

Have myself and the team

been trained?

Yes / No If yes confirm how and date:

If no agree actions and date:

TRAINING

Date of next review:

27

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“This is a ground breaking book that shows you how to develop unshakable levels of self-

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28

So here are a few of my own personal tipsto squeeze out a bit more time each day tofree you up to either fit more in, or do less.

Use Dashlane.This highly secure password vault doesexactly what it says on the tin. Youremember a complex password (chosen byyourself) and log in to dashlane. It will notonly hold your existing passwords butcreate new ones for you – far more

complex ones that will have a high securitylevel. It will save purchase details and flagup when your passwords appear vulnerable(generally on ones you have done yourself,or during times of internet issues such asHeartbleed etc)

Benefits:I never have to remember a password orlogin any more.

Dashlane logs mestraight in, as quick as aflash – far faster thaneven I can type.There’s a free version.

Check it out –www.dashlane.com

Make your computerwork harder for you.Set your browser toload up all the pagesyou are likely to use firstthing, automatically soyou don’t have to dothem individually. Andof course if you’ve gotdashlane installed it’lllog you straight in aswell. Not sure how todo it? Check out your

If you’re anything like me and try to pack a huge amountinto the day, there are certain chores that need to be

streamlined in order to fulfil everything that you want to do.

When you’ve gotta dash….

29

settings. Do get in touch if you want toknow how to do it on Google Chrome.

Buy a teasmade.Ok. This might sound like I’ve taken a tripback to the 1970’s but if you need a littlewakeup call in the morning these arebrilliant. It stops you sleeping through ahorrid alarm because the desire to get theteabag out before the tea has stewed isnormally enough to wake me from thedeepest of slumbers plus you’re notwasting 10 minutes of your morningwaiting for the kettle to boil. I also have atiny fridge on a usb plug to keep the milkfresh if you’re fussy like me to have a properbrew!

Learn to typeSeriously, if you can’t touch type thenspend some time learning. We have set upour kids to learn so that they don’t get intobad habits using pcs at school. It’s arepetitive, somewhat tedious process butonce you’re banging out 70 words plus aminute you’ll be a happy bunny. The bestthing is I can now look out of the windowwhilst I’m typing so I can enjoy the viewinstead of a screen and that’s worth themany hours at college I did as a teenager!Check out: http://www.typingclub.com/.

Benefits:They have a great modular series that kidslove to work through and from a grown-ups perspective it breaks the learning downinto chunks.

It marks your progress as you go so you cansee how you’re getting on in terms ofspeed and accuracy.

Systems, systems….Well of course I’m going to say this one but

it’s honestly true. The more systemised youare the quicker you’ll be.

Even if you work alone, pretend you’reexplaining your work to someone else bywriting it down – include screen shots ofhow you like things to look – and turn itinto a process. Use a tool like One Notewhich is fabulous for creating tabs andpages so you can be super organised (andyou can even put pretty little backgroundson the pages if you’re a visual person!).

If you run magazines check out www.quay-systems.com and you can sign up for a littledemo there too.

One note is a Microsoft product and thiscan be found at www.onenote.comOther similar systems include Evernote athttps://evernote.com

Benefits:By going through the process of writingdown what you do you’re likely to find abetter way of doing it.

You’ll cut out the bits that are repetitive andconcentrate on the ones that need yourattention.

Using One Note or Evernote you can usethe cool web clipping tool (imagine it a bitlike cutting something out of a magazineand sticking it into a notebook) so whenyou’re browsing the web you can save bitsthat you want to refer to later on.

Using Quay for your magazines will keepeverything in one place and speed up jobslike invoicing so that you just click a coupleof buttons and it’s all done for you.

An extract from Coralie’s blog, Publish.IT available atcoraliequay.wordpress.com

30

Mike suddenly realised just howexcitedCharliewas to be attending the

MagazinePublishers’Conference.Friday 2ndOctober 2015

Relax yourAssociationhas it covered!

31

COACH’S CORNER

Guerilla Marketing – Jay Conrad LevinsonWhen money is tight or you are struggling to find budgetsfor big marketing ideas then this is the book for youUsing time and effort based tactics to generate greatmarketing results. A great book for any small business toread.

The one minute manager meets the monkey – KenBlanchardProblems, problems and more problems. Turning problems into monkeys helpsyou to see them coming and teaches you how to prevent being dumped on byeveryone else’s problems. Small business owners often end up holding far toomany “monkeys” – this is great fun way to learn, understand, recognise andtackle this challenge.

Selling the invisible – Harry BeckwithDon’t be put off by the title. This really isn’t much about selling, it’s aboutnurturing and building relationships, building great levels of customer serviceand recognising that everyone in your business plays a part in the success orfailure of your company. It contains some great examples from large wellestablished companies.

Three book recommendations for spring 2015

Ian Dickson of Unlock Success

Do you want to be part of this Great Publishing Project?

Find out where you sit compared to your publishingcolleagues when the results come out wrapped up in the

groovy title – PUBLISH BY NUMBERS!

email Coralie@publishbynumbers.com

Take a look at www.publishbynumbers.comto see how you can join in.