As brilliant as this Blogger page has been for us, we've moved over to our brand new, independent site! So, unfortunately, there won't be any more posts put up here - please head over to GoodAdvice to get the latest there...
Thanks for all your support, and see you on the new site!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
How to build a following...
When I started my Finance Coach group on Facebook a year ago, I set myself a goal of having 1,000 members within a year. I remember a number of people saying to me that that was a very high bar to set, and I shouldn’t be surprised if I fall well short of that. Well, last Friday was one year exactly, and I had 902 members. So, I didn’t quite make it to 1,000 in time, but I ‘scored’ 90.2% on my own ‘test’, and I’m pretty damn happy with that! So, I don’t confess to being the world’s best blogger (far from it), but here’s some of what I learnt in the process. While the lessons were learnt from blogging, they can easily be translated into a business context…
Give people something they want/need. Find a niche that’s not being served, or that’s not being served well enough, and fill it. If people want and need what you’re offering, half the battle is won. What spurred me to start my Finance Coach group was coming across more and more people that were in a real financial pickle, or whose businesses were struggling. I knew then and there that people would take to a group where they were given free, practical financial and business advice…
Keep your promises. Following on from the first point, do what you said you were going to do. If you suddenly start going off on a tangent, people will quickly become disillusioned, and drop you like a rock. There’s nothing wrong with diversifying, but don’t stop doing what it was that attracted people to you in the first place…
Get the word out. When you’re first starting out, take ANY opportunity you have to tell others about what it is you’re doing. Put up flyers, email everyone on your contact list, mention it in the conversation at dinner parties, hand your business cards out to everyone you meet, etc. The hardest part is getting out there, so be prepared for the hard yards, and to do whatever it takes…
Engage your audience. Invite feedback, and respond to it. Join the conversation about your product. Don’t be afraid of criticism, or try and cover it up – people will pick up on this straight away, and you’ll lose the trust that you’ve built up with them…
Give regular updates. I was told that, for blogging in particular, the single-most important thing you can do is to do it to write regularly. This principle can extend out to the business world as well – keep in touch with your customers, send them news, forward them articles that might interest them. This jogs their memory about you, and keeps you close to top-of-mind…
Measure, measure, measure. There’s no point in trying to grow a group of readers or customers, if you’re not tracking how you’re doing. This could be any metric that applies (reader numbers, rate of growth, increases in sales, etc), but monitor it closely to help you keep track of what’s working and what’s not…
Be sincere. Come across in all of your communications as professional, but still human. Remember that your audience/customers are, ultimately, still people – so talk to them in their language every so often, if not all the time. Being sincere will also pay off big time when you make a mistake (and you probably will sometime) – your followers haven’t forgotten that you too are human, and will be much quicker to forgive you your trangressions…
Ask for referrals. Once you’ve built up a relationship with your followers or customers, leverage off of their networks. Ask them who else they know who would like your product; and ask them to invite their friends to give you a try…
Set goals, and then break them down into manageable parts. Don’t just have a vague idea of where you want to be – be specific about targets, what they look like, when they must be achieved by, who’s responsible for what. Then, once you have a goal in sight, break it down into smaller goals (or milestones) that need to be reached along the way. This way, you won’t be overwhelmed by the sheer size of your big goal, as you’ll be focused on the smaller, more realistic mini-goal…
Speak to people who’ve been there. Seek out those who have been successful in the area you want to get into, and ask what they did, and what lessons they learnt. You’d be surprised how happy most successful people are to give you advice. I was very fortunate to have the support of very experienced bloggers like Chris at Imod and the guys at Cherryflava – their encouragement and advice was priceless…
Remember your motivation. There will be times when you hit a stumbling block, come across a massive obstacle, or start to lose heart. When this happens, go back in your mind to what your motivation was for doing what you do, and bring that forward. There have been times when I just haven’t felt like writing anything, but I always remember that the point of the group was to help and inspire others to manage their finances and businesses better. That idea – that I was helping others in some small way – is what kept me going, even when I wasn’t feeling so hot about doing the work…
Give people something they want/need. Find a niche that’s not being served, or that’s not being served well enough, and fill it. If people want and need what you’re offering, half the battle is won. What spurred me to start my Finance Coach group was coming across more and more people that were in a real financial pickle, or whose businesses were struggling. I knew then and there that people would take to a group where they were given free, practical financial and business advice…
Keep your promises. Following on from the first point, do what you said you were going to do. If you suddenly start going off on a tangent, people will quickly become disillusioned, and drop you like a rock. There’s nothing wrong with diversifying, but don’t stop doing what it was that attracted people to you in the first place…
Get the word out. When you’re first starting out, take ANY opportunity you have to tell others about what it is you’re doing. Put up flyers, email everyone on your contact list, mention it in the conversation at dinner parties, hand your business cards out to everyone you meet, etc. The hardest part is getting out there, so be prepared for the hard yards, and to do whatever it takes…
Engage your audience. Invite feedback, and respond to it. Join the conversation about your product. Don’t be afraid of criticism, or try and cover it up – people will pick up on this straight away, and you’ll lose the trust that you’ve built up with them…
Give regular updates. I was told that, for blogging in particular, the single-most important thing you can do is to do it to write regularly. This principle can extend out to the business world as well – keep in touch with your customers, send them news, forward them articles that might interest them. This jogs their memory about you, and keeps you close to top-of-mind…
Measure, measure, measure. There’s no point in trying to grow a group of readers or customers, if you’re not tracking how you’re doing. This could be any metric that applies (reader numbers, rate of growth, increases in sales, etc), but monitor it closely to help you keep track of what’s working and what’s not…
Be sincere. Come across in all of your communications as professional, but still human. Remember that your audience/customers are, ultimately, still people – so talk to them in their language every so often, if not all the time. Being sincere will also pay off big time when you make a mistake (and you probably will sometime) – your followers haven’t forgotten that you too are human, and will be much quicker to forgive you your trangressions…
Ask for referrals. Once you’ve built up a relationship with your followers or customers, leverage off of their networks. Ask them who else they know who would like your product; and ask them to invite their friends to give you a try…
Set goals, and then break them down into manageable parts. Don’t just have a vague idea of where you want to be – be specific about targets, what they look like, when they must be achieved by, who’s responsible for what. Then, once you have a goal in sight, break it down into smaller goals (or milestones) that need to be reached along the way. This way, you won’t be overwhelmed by the sheer size of your big goal, as you’ll be focused on the smaller, more realistic mini-goal…
Speak to people who’ve been there. Seek out those who have been successful in the area you want to get into, and ask what they did, and what lessons they learnt. You’d be surprised how happy most successful people are to give you advice. I was very fortunate to have the support of very experienced bloggers like Chris at Imod and the guys at Cherryflava – their encouragement and advice was priceless…
Remember your motivation. There will be times when you hit a stumbling block, come across a massive obstacle, or start to lose heart. When this happens, go back in your mind to what your motivation was for doing what you do, and bring that forward. There have been times when I just haven’t felt like writing anything, but I always remember that the point of the group was to help and inspire others to manage their finances and businesses better. That idea – that I was helping others in some small way – is what kept me going, even when I wasn’t feeling so hot about doing the work…
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Finance Coach - Vol. 35
Finance tip: Transport
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Finance Coach - Vol. 34
Finance tip: Leisure
Consider fractional ownership. For those of you looking at spending some of your hard-earned money on a ‘leisure investment’ (think holiday house, boat, plane, jetski, etc.), consider going the fractional ownership route. This is where, instead of buying the object or property yourself, you pool up with a number of other interested buyers, and each pay a proportionate amount of the total. The idea is then to share the usage of what you have bought, based on calendar days or some other equitable formula. The reason that this form of ownership has gained in popularity in recent times, is that people are realising that they actually get better value for their money – they were never going to use the property or object all year in any case, so they may as well only pay for a smaller proportion of it, and let others use it when they’re not. This then ties up less of their precious capital (which they can then invest in other things), and they still get to enjoy the benefits of using what they have paid for. For even more convenience, the next level is to pay a small levy, and get a third party to administer and maintain the property or object for all the owners, freeing them up from the potentially time-consuming aspects of ongoing maintenance and trouble-shooting...
Business tip: Marketing/PR
Write for publications to increase your profile. If you’re looking for an avenue to increase your exposure to the public, or to a particular industry, consider writing articles/submissions for publications that your target market would read. Most editors are constantly on the lookout for content to fill their pages (if it’s relevant and of a high enough standard), and gratefully accept submissions from those interested in writing them. Writing like this has a number of benefits to your business: Generally, if you do submit an article, the editor will allow you to put in a short footnote, where you can mention your company and perhaps some contact details. Even if they are a bit restrictive on this aspect, they would at least attribute the submission to you and put your name on it – if people want to find out more, they could simply Google you. If you do this regularly over a period of time, you’ll start to build up a reputation of being an expert in your field, which will put you at top-of-mind when people are looking for more information on your particular product or service – leading to more contacts and sales leads...
Consider fractional ownership. For those of you looking at spending some of your hard-earned money on a ‘leisure investment’ (think holiday house, boat, plane, jetski, etc.), consider going the fractional ownership route. This is where, instead of buying the object or property yourself, you pool up with a number of other interested buyers, and each pay a proportionate amount of the total. The idea is then to share the usage of what you have bought, based on calendar days or some other equitable formula. The reason that this form of ownership has gained in popularity in recent times, is that people are realising that they actually get better value for their money – they were never going to use the property or object all year in any case, so they may as well only pay for a smaller proportion of it, and let others use it when they’re not. This then ties up less of their precious capital (which they can then invest in other things), and they still get to enjoy the benefits of using what they have paid for. For even more convenience, the next level is to pay a small levy, and get a third party to administer and maintain the property or object for all the owners, freeing them up from the potentially time-consuming aspects of ongoing maintenance and trouble-shooting...
Business tip: Marketing/PR
Write for publications to increase your profile. If you’re looking for an avenue to increase your exposure to the public, or to a particular industry, consider writing articles/submissions for publications that your target market would read. Most editors are constantly on the lookout for content to fill their pages (if it’s relevant and of a high enough standard), and gratefully accept submissions from those interested in writing them. Writing like this has a number of benefits to your business: Generally, if you do submit an article, the editor will allow you to put in a short footnote, where you can mention your company and perhaps some contact details. Even if they are a bit restrictive on this aspect, they would at least attribute the submission to you and put your name on it – if people want to find out more, they could simply Google you. If you do this regularly over a period of time, you’ll start to build up a reputation of being an expert in your field, which will put you at top-of-mind when people are looking for more information on your particular product or service – leading to more contacts and sales leads...
Monday, October 5, 2009
Finance Coach - Vol. 33
Finance tip: Utilities
Insulate your roof. One of the simplest ways to save on your electricity and energy costs is to have your roof/ceiling insulated. Going into summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, it will help in keeping your house/office cool, and reduce your reliance on energy-chowing air conditioners. For our Northern Hemisphere readers, going into a cold winter, it will help to keep the warmth in your building and stop it from escaping out through the roof. This then has the benefit of reducing the need for heaters and thermostats to be left on non-stop. While you can obviously contact the experts to come in and do it for you, there are also cost-effective ways to do it yourself. Speak to your local handyman or hardware store about the best materials and layout for the job…
Business tip: Finances
Create a ‘slush fund’. This is one of the most prudent financial habits that a business can get into, yet so few actually follow the principle. Essentially, what it revolves around is taking a little bit off the top each and every month (this might be based on revenue, profit, or whatever), and putting it into a separate savings account. This slush fund then serves two purposes: The first of these is to provide an extra source of income, from the interest generated off of the capital in the account. This may only be a few extra bucks a month, but it may be enough to cover something small like your phone line rental or coffee/tea expenses (remember, every bit helps). The second purpose is to build up a buffer against bad times or unexpected expenses. From personal experience, I have done this with my limousine company. Every month, once I have run the income statement and calculated profit, I only pay out 90% of the profit. The extra 10% then forms part of the company’s slush fund. Over the years, following this principle strictly has produced the following result: If I were to turn off my phones today, and stop running the business in its entirety, I would still be able to pay salaries and overheads for a full six months. That’s right, six whole months! How long would you last?
Insulate your roof. One of the simplest ways to save on your electricity and energy costs is to have your roof/ceiling insulated. Going into summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, it will help in keeping your house/office cool, and reduce your reliance on energy-chowing air conditioners. For our Northern Hemisphere readers, going into a cold winter, it will help to keep the warmth in your building and stop it from escaping out through the roof. This then has the benefit of reducing the need for heaters and thermostats to be left on non-stop. While you can obviously contact the experts to come in and do it for you, there are also cost-effective ways to do it yourself. Speak to your local handyman or hardware store about the best materials and layout for the job…
Business tip: Finances
Create a ‘slush fund’. This is one of the most prudent financial habits that a business can get into, yet so few actually follow the principle. Essentially, what it revolves around is taking a little bit off the top each and every month (this might be based on revenue, profit, or whatever), and putting it into a separate savings account. This slush fund then serves two purposes: The first of these is to provide an extra source of income, from the interest generated off of the capital in the account. This may only be a few extra bucks a month, but it may be enough to cover something small like your phone line rental or coffee/tea expenses (remember, every bit helps). The second purpose is to build up a buffer against bad times or unexpected expenses. From personal experience, I have done this with my limousine company. Every month, once I have run the income statement and calculated profit, I only pay out 90% of the profit. The extra 10% then forms part of the company’s slush fund. Over the years, following this principle strictly has produced the following result: If I were to turn off my phones today, and stop running the business in its entirety, I would still be able to pay salaries and overheads for a full six months. That’s right, six whole months! How long would you last?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Finance Coach - Vol. 32
Finance tip: Income
House-sitting. With a nice break coming up shortly, I was reminded of how necessary a service that of house-sitting is – and how simple a source of extra income it can be as well! Almost everyone knows how it operates: When people go away on a trip, they generally want somebody to either stay in their property in their absence, or pop in on a regular basis just to keep an eye on the place. As almost all home-owners do go away at some point or another, there’s a huge market for the service. The traits you would need most are those of trustworthiness and responsibility – you are, after all, looking after what is often someone’s most prized possession. The income side of it can vary, but as a rule you can make a nice chunk of extra cash for doing very little – especially if you get asked to do long-term stays. Looking after bigger properties with gardens would generally allow you to demand a higher fee, as would having to look after pets as part of the job. Finding work would generally come from word-of-mouth (good house-sitters come very highly recommended), but you could also look at doing mail-drops in your area, or putting an ad in your local newspaper – especially as you get closer to common holiday times…
Business tip: Pricing
Offer a ‘hail-mary’ choice. If you’ve been battling to sell one of your products or services, which falls at the top end of your quoted price range, consider putting in an even more expensive one to boost your sales. While this may seem ludicrous at first, just follow the logic for a second: Say, for example, that you run a restaurant, but have been struggling to sell your most expensive dish, which goes for a hundred bucks. This dish is a high-margin offering, and increasing the number of ‘units’ sold would do wonders for your business. The problem comes in where customers want to buy it (as it’s a wonderful dish) but they’re uncomfortable doing so as it’s the most expensive item on the menu, and they feel that it comes across as excessive and unjustifiable. Adding another, even more extravagant dish at, say, two hundred bucks, could be just the solution to increasing the number of people opting for the first dish, being the one you actually want to sell. This is because, you see, the first dish is not perceived as extreme and excessive, as that mantle now falls on the new dish. The result is that more people will feel comfortable opting for the first dish, and you then have your desired increase in sales. The beauty of doing this is that, if someone does actually go for the new, extravagant option (a.k.a. the ‘hail-mary’ choice) then you’re smiling anyway, as you get a big sale from an expensive offering!
Trend: The return of pyjamas...
I came across an interesting article the other day, mentioning a trend which has been picked up across the globe over the last 18 months. The article started by saying how many clothing retailers have had a torrid time of late, thanks to the economic crisis, but there seems to be one department which is bucking the trend: sleepwear.
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