Today I’m four days away from the ‘fight of my life’.  For the first time ever, I’m entering a boxing ring as a real boxer….. Over three x 2 minute rounds, I’m boxing against another woman for charity, and in doing so, I’m also achieving a personal goal.  I’ve always wanted to be boxing fit and to box in the ring.  Call it a bucket list item that I’m about to tick off!

To say I’m excited (and a little terrified) is an understatement.  But, bring it on! 🙂 Friday can’t come quick enough for me now!

I know boxing isn’t everyone’s game, but I have to say, it’s been a magical 11 weeks, as I’ve trained for this very special and personally important event.

I love business and I also love achieving my personal goals as I’m all about being alive, passionate and extraordinary in business and life, as I define it.

As I’ve trained for this event, I’ve thought about the similarities between achieving goals in business and boxing.  Here are five thoughts I’ve had recently…

1.  Clarity of purpose and goal

Before embarking on this boxing journey, I needed to have complete clarity around why I was doing it.  After all, the chances are high that I’d get injured (which I did), bruised (see photo above) and bloody nosed (I spared you that photo), at the very least.  I could also get broken body parts (that’s not happened yet) or neuro damage – thankfully, I’ve steered clear of that too (so far).

I also needed to know what my goal was for this boxing journey….. I’m clear on that!!  I WANT TO WIN MY FIGHT NIGHT BOUT!

That goal has driven my training over the last 11 weeks…. It’s kept me focused when I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep at 4.15am five days a week after my alarm rang to get me out of bed for the next training session at 5am.  It kept me focused when it hurt too, when my injuries made me waiver a bit.

It’s no different in business.  I have complete clarity for my businesses too…. if our business goals and vision aren’t important enough to us, we will waiver when times are tough (and all businesses go through tough times).

What do you want to achieve and why in your business?

2.  Get your strategy nailed

Yes, I want to win my bout…. How was I going to get there?  Well, doing it alone was not going to work as I don’t know a thing about boxing, and I was pretty unfit…..

I got a team around me to help.  Boxing coaches, personal trainers, and a group of other boxers who are on the same journey ─ we’ve supported each other.

I also set a fairly punishing six day a week training schedule with my team.  I’m doing a lot more training than some of my boxing buddy colleagues.  Each to their own; I want to be in top form on fight night.

It’s no different in business.  When you know what you want to achieve in business and why, next is developing the strategies to get there.  Typically that includes marketing, sales, branding, operations, finance and people…. what are your strategies in each of those areas?

3.  Action and measurement

Five days of gym (strength, fitness, conditioning) workouts each week with some boxing work thrown in, plus weekly Saturday boxing group classes.

I’ve done this week in week out for 11 weeks.  Some days it was hard, other days easy.

I can honestly say that with all the training and work I’ve put in, I’ve not been this fit in a long time.

At the start, after 10 mins of boxing training, I’d feel like I was going to die (I was sooo unfit for boxing).  I can now shadow box and spar for +40 mins and still have energy for more…. and I’m loving it.

I’m strong.  I can punch hard and my south paw (I’m a left handed boxer) is the ‘money shot’ (I’m told).  Eeekkk, I hope I don’t hurt my opponent too much on the night.  🙂

Oh, and I’ve modifed my diet too (loads of protein and limited wheat carbohydrates/sugar etc), so the scales are looking good – I gained a bit more muscle and carry a lot less fat.  YIPPEE!!

In business, planning, action and measurement is critical.  What do you need to do to achieve your business strategy?  What actions are you taking?  By when?  What are your key performance indicators (KPIs)?

4.  Be a learner – get a mentor/coach

Elite athletes have coaches…. and I have had boxing coaches and personal trainers too.  What a difference it has made.

I’ve learnt so much.  I would never have developed my skill, strength and stamina to this level if I’d done it alone.  My coaches are at the top of the game in their fields.  They have been in the ring and fought the fights, they are master personal trainers, and they practise what they preach – they have great bodies, strength and fitness too ….  I’ve learnt from the best.

In business, all coaches/mentors are not equal.  Make sure you find a coach who has run businesses.  A great coach/mentor will guide you through the ‘noise’ of business, and they will make a serious difference to your success in business.

Be a listener and learner.  You will learn a lot from a business coach/mentor, if you’re willing.

5.  Believe in yourself

I believe I can and will WIN MY BOUT!  I dream about it.  I visualise it too.  It’s that important to me.  If I don’t win, I have to be honest and say I will be gutted!

My mindset all the way through has been the most important component….and it will play its biggest role on the night – Friday 9 December – fight night.  I’m told I have the fitness and skill…. I just need to believe I can do it…  I’ll let you know next week how it went.

Believe that you can and will achieve all the success you want in business (and life).

So that’s it 

They are the similarities between business and boxing.

I’m very excited about fight night… I hope I bring home the trophy as a winner…. I hope my opponent has trained hard too so that we have a great bout, and I hope she’s enjoyed the journey at her boxing gym like I have at mine.

I know I end the year with renewed energy for business and life in light of this personal challenge I’ve put myself through I’m excited about that.

I’ve got more personal goals to achieve next year (more on those later) and they will sit neatly next to all the business goals I want to achieve too.

Bring on 2017. 🙂

Need some coaching/mentoring guidance?

What about you?  Are you excited about where you’re at in business and life?

As we head towards year end, has 2016 been a good year?  How can 2017 be better and more successful and fulfilled for you?

It’s tough being a business owner/entrepreneur.  I know that from running my own businesses and I see it day in day out with the business people I work with, guiding them to achieve the success they seek in their businesses.

Do you need a coach or mentor to guide you in your journey?  If so, please arrange a free no obligation 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

I have space for 6 new clients in my 2017 schedule.  If you’d like to talk about how I might support you in 2017 to achieve your business (and life) goals, then let’s have an initial conversation this month and see where it takes us. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

Until next week when I will share how fight night went, have a fabulous rest of week.

With love

Adèle xx

PS:  As mentioned, I am fighting for charity.  If you’d like to donate a few ££/$$ to Joni’s Army, the charity I am supporting, I would be so grateful.  Please click here to donate to my JustGiving page.  Thank you so much.

There’s a month to go until year end.  Super duper yikes!!  Where has the year gone?

I’m guessing that like me, you have one eye on what you’ve got to achieve before 31 December, but you’re starting to focus on 2017 too….and what your business will look like and what you hope to achieve over that year.  Am I right?

Time to grow your business?

Perhaps you’ll want to grow your business in 2017.  What does growth mean for you?

Increasing your turnover?

Increasing your profitability (that’s much more important than turnover growth)?

Growing your team?

Getting your business ready for exit?

10 top tips for business growth

There are 10 key areas of business that you must be looking at to support the growth and financial success of your business.  They are:

1.  Clarity of direction – what do you want to achieve and how are you going to get there?  If you’re not clear on that, then all paths will lead somewhere but not necessarily where you actually want to be longer term.

As boring as it may sound, you must create a simple, measureable plan which states what you want to achieve, and the actions you’ll take each quarter and month to get there.  The plan should also have measurable goals.  Hold yourself to account to achieving it.  Better still, get a business coach or accountability partner to hold you to account as well.

2.  Cash Flow Management – Here’s my motto: Turnover is vanity, Profit is sanity, Cash flow is reality.  Unless your cashflow is strong, your business growth will be inhibited.

Many small businesses don’t have decent systems in place to manage their cash flow.  What systems have you implemented to ensure you get paid by your customers in a timely way?  Do you actively manage cash across your business by controlling your accounts payable and negotiating payment terms with your suppliers?  How about inventory turns?  Do you actively control the amount of inventory you hold at any one time?

3.  Monthly Financial Management – Many small businesses don’t have monthly management accounts to help them manage their business. Year end accounts are only useful to determine the profitability of your business and how much tax is to be paid.

They won’t help you to manage your business during the year.  So, how about getting your accountant/business adviser to work with you throughout the year, producing monthly management accounts that you can analyse together?

4.  More Customers and Your Sales Pipeline ─ Most small businesses want to grow their customer base, yet many do not have strategies in place to attract new customers. What’s your new customer pipeline looking like? How are you marketing your business?  Most markets are crowded, so how are you standing apart from your competitors?  What about closing sales?  How are you doing that?  Do you need to learn more about closing sales to sell more?

Marketing, business development and sales are changing in this fast paced evolving world we’re living in.  Are you keeping up with the new strategies and tools that are being used to attract customers to you?  Get all this right and you’ll have a constant funnel of customers coming your way.

5.  Differentiating your Products/Services – Do you sell all your products and services as one offering or do you differentiate them according to what your customers need and can afford? Do you make offers to your customers to cross-sell, up/down-sell your products and services?  Those businesses that have a strategy in place to differentiate their product and service offerings are making BIG profits.

6.  Product and Service Profitability – Do you understand the profitability of all the products and services you offer to your customers? The most expensive product or service you sell to your customers may not be the most profitable. Work out which are your most profitable, and sell more of those.  That strategy alone will have a measureable impact on your business’s profitability.

7.  Customer Profitability – Who are your most profitable customers? Many businesses aim to service any customers that come their way without thinking about whether they are going to be profitable.  So, learning how to work out customer profitability is critical to making more profit in your business.

8.  Pricing – How about increasing your prices? This is a touchy subject as you may be thinking that you will not survive in business if you do.

Studies have shown that only 9 percent of customers move away from a supplier due to price increases, yet 82 percent will move away to a new supplier due to perceived indifference and unresolved conflict with the original supplier.

It comes down to value.  How much value do you think you are offering your customers for the prices you charge, and do they feel that they are really important to your business?

9.  Systemising Your Business – Regardless of whether your business is just you, or you plus your employees, is your business systemised and automated in a way that your customers receive streamlined service? If not, then you are offering what I refer to as ‘random service’, which is unpredictable and not able to be replicated by your staff.

McDonald’s doesn’t make the best hamburgers in the world, but they developed arguably the best systems in the world to deliver their products to their customers.  How does your business measure up?  If your customers return more than once to buy from you, will they get a consistent experience with your business?  If not, then your business isn’t systemised.

10.  Treasure your team – No man or woman is an island. Recruit and train the best people to your team – whether they’re full-time, part-time or outsourced members. Your team is critical to your success…. They’re your number one support in effectively growing your business and delivering excellence to your customers.

So, that’s it.  My 10 top tips for business growth.  How many have you got sorted in your business?  Where can you improve?  I’d love to know.  How about leaving a comment below?

Need help?

There is nothing more exciting than to see a business grow into a sustainable, profitable asset.

If you’d like support in taking your business to the next level of growth, then please send me a return email now, and let’s talk (via a short Skype call) about how I might be able to assist you with some exclusive coaching or mentoring to achieve that goal.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

Imagine looking back in a few years from now at where you are today versus where you want to be and can be.  How exciting does it feel?

I’d love to help you achieve greater success in your business too.  So, if you’d like to talk about how I might be able to support you with coaching or mentoring to grow your business, please email me by return now, and let’s arrange a Skype call.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

Why did you start your own business?

• To be your own boss?
• To live your dream?
• To bring certain products or services to market?
• To help others?
• To earn the money you know you’re worth rather than receive a salary working for someone else?
• To control your life?
• To create a successful business?
• To contribute to the lives of others?

And perhaps right now you’re currently working by yourself – being self employed or a ‘solopreneur’.

How’s that working out?

Are you achieving your business dream or are you a slave to the work?  Are you working vast hours to generate a decent income, serving your clients, dealing with all aspects of your business (accounting, debt collecting, social media – the list is endless)?

Is being self employed or a solopreneur all that it’s cracked up to be?  You’re just a glorified employee, aren’t you? But with more risk, pressure and less time to do what you’d like to in your life.

What’s stopping you?

What’s stopping you from going from self employed to business owner, where you’re managing a business and have a few (or many) staff working for you?

As a business owner, hopefully you get more time working ‘on’ it than being working ‘in’ it.  The business engine still fires without you – your staff are working for you, driving the business forward alongside you.

When you grow a business, you’re creating a business asset, something that can possibly be sold one day (so long as you create, manage, grow and lead it correctly).

Sadly, being self employed doesn’t generally give you that option.  When you stop working, that’s it!  The business stops.

Which sounds better to you?

Growing your business

How about deciding to grow your business in 2017?  If that sounds exciting, what needs to change?

How do you go from self employed to business owner?

Firstly, your mindset needs to change.  Are you ready for the next stage?

Then you need to plan for the growth in your business.

Do you have clarity of purpose and vision over your business?

How are you going to grow your business?  What will your marketing and sales strategies involve?

What systems and processes need to be put in place to integrate new staff members?

Customer delivery should always be a focus.  How will you ensure your customers receive excellence from you and your team at all times?

Finance – do you need working capital to fund the growth?  If so, where is that going to come from?

How will you recruit your team?  Outsourced workers to start with or will you have a team fully employed by you?  How will you go about recruiting them?  Remember, hiring great team members is one of the most important jobs you’ll undertake in your business.

There’s so much to think about, plan and execute as we grow our businesses.

Need help?

There is nothing more exciting than to see a self employed person grow their business into a sustainable, profitable asset, that as it continues to grow creates more value for everyone involved.

If you’d like support in taking your business to the next level of growth, then let’s talk (via a short Skype call) about how I might be able to assist you with some exclusive coaching or mentoring to achieve that goal.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

Imagine looking back in a few years from now at where you are today versus where you want to be and can be in a few years.  How exciting does it feel?

I’ve just done this exercise with one of my businesses – Small Business Huge Success™ – we’re getting ready to take it to the next level with a HUGE purpose and vision to achieve in support of small business owners around the world.

Yes, it’s scary, but it’s also very exciting too.  Bring on 2017.  I can’t wait for it to unfold as I grow the team that will support me.

I’d love to help you achieve greater success in your business too.  So, if you’d like to talk about how I might be able to support you with coaching or mentoring to grow your business, let’s arrange a Skype call.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

The price a business owner sells their products and services for is arguably one of the most important business decisions they will make.  And yet, pricing is one of the most feared aspects of running a business.

Are your prices too low?

One of the many conversations I have with business owners is on pricing, and those discussions often start with me saying, “Your prices are too low.”

They look at me in shock and often respond with all the reasons why they cannot raise their prices:

• I’ve lost jobs because I was too expensive.
• I’m more expensive than some of my competitors.
• I’m barely making enough profit as it is, and I can’t afford to lose customers by raising prices.
• You have got to be joking— put my prices up in this depressed market?

Responses like that generally indicate those business owners don’t understand the impact pricing has on a customer’s perception of their business and its branding in the market.

What happens if your prices are too low?

If your prices are too low, your market will label you a low-end player and you’ll attract bargain hunters who will invariably try to get you to discount your products even further.

Lower prices also make it unlikely your business will build long-term relationships with customers, who by their very nature will shop around to get the best prices on a product or service, not staying loyal to any one business.

How about higher pricing?

Higher pricing raises customers’ expectations of a business, which can be a challenge.

But if you constantly deliver on those expectations your business will usually enjoy customer loyalty, and you will attract a better quality customer who is willing to pay more for quality customer service.

Branding is important

It comes down to branding.  What does your business, your brand stand for?

What is the promise you make to your customers?

Branding is about building a relationship with your customers, and over time they expect certain things from your brand, as that is what you have promised them.

A brand can turn something that is pedestrian or homogenous into something that is unique and that stands out from the crowd, regardless of the market.

If a business is branded, it can set you apart from the rest.  A strong brand builds respect, loyalty and retention, and allows a business to set its pricing strategy accordingly.

Why customers leave a business

Dr Michael LeBoeuf, international business consultant, focuses a lot of his work on how to win customers and keep them.  He created a matrix based on extensive research on why customers leave a business.

Based on that research, of those customers who leave a business, only 9 percent leave due to pricing, whereas 82 percent of customers leave because they are not treated as special or there is an unresolved conflict.

In essence, they leave due to a lack of customer service.

What’s your CVP?

Therefore, key to the success of your business is not worrying about the price you charge your customers, but concentrating on the customer value proposition you deliver to your customers to keep them happy and returning for more.

It’s about going beyond the call of duty to provide value and service to your customers.

It’s about creating customer cheerleaders, customers who will be loyal to your business for a long time and at the same time, will refer their family and friends to your business too.

Pricing isn’t arbitrary

All businesses should have a pricing strategy.  When creating your business’s pricing strategy, the key is to identify your value proposition for your customers, rather than pitching your business against your competition and attempting to undercut them to win more customers.

Get that right and your brand will create an impression in your market, and you can price your products and services according to that positioning.

A brand is a differentiator

A brand is an image.  A brand is a promise.  A brand is an experience.  A brand is a perception.  A brand can move a business or a person from the ocean of obscurity to the river of relevance and riches.

Focus on building your business brand, and competing on price will be a thing of the past.

Need some coaching guidance?

It’s tough being a business owner/entrepreneur.  I know that from running my own businesses and I see it day in day out with the business people I work with, guiding them to achieve the success they seek in their businesses.

Do you need a coach or mentor to guide you in your journey?  If so, please arrange a free no obligation 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

I am thrilled to be freeing up coaching time to work with business owners.  If you think I am possibly the ‘right’ person to assist you in your business journey, let’s talk.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

QUESTION:  What are your thoughts on pricing your products and services in your business?  What’s your biggest challenge with it?   I’d love to read your thoughts.  Please leave a comment.

Today, we’re bombarded with so much ‘noise’ in business, right?

Everywhere we turn – LinkedIn, Facebook (especially sponsored adverts), Twitter, online blogs, emails from people we subscribe to, websites – an ‘expert’ has something to teach us to make us more successful in business.

How to become an overnight success!

How to make millions online!

Grow your list to 20,000 in a week or two!….. and so it goes on.

Now I promise I’m not a cynic….

But, there’s one thing I know.  No-one in business is an overnight success.  That’s called winning the lottery!

Business is a journey.  Success takes time. 

Rather than being confused or seduced by all the ‘noise’ that hits us in the face each day, here are 9 top tips for business success that I swear by and that my coaching clients refer to at all times.  Follow these and you’ll achieve the success that you desire….. in time.

1   Clarity of purpose and vision

What do you want to achieve and why?  Don’t buy into someone else’s dream of what success looks like.  Define what you want in business (and life).

Think about how you are going to achieve that in your business.

Why are you in business?

What are you passionate about in business?

How will you demonstrate that to your clients, constantly?

If you’re passionate about what you do, your clients will feel your passion and they will want to buy from you.

Get enough people buying from you and you’ll achieve your vision.

2  Get your strategy nailed

Once you know what you want to achieve in business and why, next is developing the strategies to get there.

A strategy is your road map to get to your destination, and in my book it covers the areas of branding (personal and business), marketing, sales, finance, operations (customer delivery/systems/innovation), and people/team.

Be clear about your strategy in each area.  Strategising for 1-2 years max is more than enough as the pace of change in business is too great for us to see beyond that.

3  Planning and measuring

Now the fun starts.  You’ve got your key strategies in place.  Planning is critical.  Keep it simple.  What do you need to do to achieve your business strategy?  How will you know when you’ve achieved the plan?  What are your key performance indicators (KPIs)?

Break your plans into (say) quarters of the year, so you know what you need to be doing in your business each quarter….in each area of strategy.

4  What are your key actions?

Now it’s time to get on with the work.

What are your key actions this month, this week, today?

What can you delegate?

What KPIs can be put in place to measure how effective you’re being?

5  Understand your numbers

The financials and KPIs can be the nemesis of business owners.

Often they’re afraid of them.

Manage your business through your numbers – monthly and not just for tax purposes.

Get your monthly accounts prepared. Ask your accountant (or at the very least a book keeper) to explain what the numbers mean.  Think about the numbers and use them to make better decisions in your business.

6  Get a mentor/coach – be a learner

Elite athletes have coaches.  The highest performing people in life often have coaches.

Coaches/mentors are not equal.  Do your due diligence.  Make sure you find a coach who has run businesses.  Find someone who is keeping up with how business is being done in this fast paced world in which we live.….  A great coach/mentor will guide you through the ‘noise’ of business and whether something’s relevant for your business to consider or whether your current plans/actions are equally as good.

Be a listener and learner.  You will learn a lot from a business coach, if you’re willing.

7  Trust in others

Don’t go it alone.  Be collaborative.  Be a giver.  Help others on their journey and they will help you.

Build a team around you – other people who are in business  – people who want to achieve great things in their businesses too.

Perhaps form a mastermind group together and support each other.

Trust in others and delegate as much as possible so you can mostly focus on what you’re good at.

When you’re very small, you’ll have to be a ‘jack of many trades’ but as soon as you can, get help.

Outsource.  Hire a part-time assistant.  Do what you can to delegate.

8  Believe in yourself

Believe that you can and will achieve all the success you want in business (and life).

Yes, the road will be challenging.  It’s never a straight line to success.  The twists and turns, the challenges, the ups and downs will be many, and at times, very hard.

Yes, you will have to make changes in the way in which you do things.  Business lessons will teach you that.  That’s another given… you will make mistakes and plenty of them.  Your coach/mentor will guide you through them.

9  Focus and work

Work smart.  At times, work really, really hard – your business will require that of you – going beyond what is reasonable.

Be prepared to make some sacrifices.

Remember, everything comes at a cost.

Don’t give in.  Don’t give up.  Regret is a very sad place.

Need some coaching guidance?

It’s tough being a business owner/entrepreneur.  I know that from running my own businesses and I see it day in day out with the business people I work with, guiding them to achieve the success they seek in their businesses.

Do you need a coach or mentor to guide you in your journey?  If so, please arrange a free no obligation 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

I am thrilled to be freeing up coaching time to work with business owners.  If you think I am possibly the ‘right’ person to assist you in your business journey, let’s talk.  Here’s my calendar to make an appointment.

QUESTION:  Which of the 9 top tips for business success most resonate with you?  Are there any that you’re going to work on now?  I’d love to read your thoughts.  Please leave a comment.

‘A pinch and a punch for the first of the month…..’

And there are only two months left in 2016.  So Carpe Diem – seize the day – or actually…. Seize the next two months with gusto!

Are you having a successful year in business?

As the year draws to an end, are you excited because you’re on track with your business plan?  HUGE congratulations if you are, and keep up the great work.  Finish 2016 on a real high!

Or perhaps you’re worried because you aren’t on track in business?

If you’re in the latter camp – feeling worried or frustrated that you’re behind where you want and need to be in business right now, please don’t give up.  There are still eight weeks to go, and with your full attention, focus and energy, you can get a lot done and achieved.

You can still end the year on a high, and with a ‘yahoo, I did it’ feeling!

Back to the business plan

When working with clients, we focus on the following six key areas in the business plan:

• Marketing
• Sales
• Branding
• Finance
• Operations/Systems
• Team

When things aren’t going to plan, we review each goal and action item in the above areas, and we ask the BIG question….

What’s the ONE thing that will make the biggest difference NOW?

For instance, if your revenue is under budget, what’s the one thing that you must do now to drive more revenue to your business over the next two months?

Is it having a November or early Christmas sale or special promotion?  Is it following up with potential clients in your marketing pipeline?

If revenue is good but profit is lower than budgeted, what is the one thing that you must do now to address that?

Perhaps it’s you or your accountant reviewing your line items and undertaking a ‘common sizing’ exercise with your financials.  Perhaps it’s looking at more efficient ways to manage and run your business to reduce overhead.  For instance, systemising, automating and perhaps outsourcing some elements of your business.

If cash flow is a major issue for your business (and it is for many businesses), what’s the one thing you must do now to address that?  Perhaps it’s reviewing your accounts receivable register and creating a new system for ensuring timely payment.  Perhaps it’s changing your terms of business.  Perhaps it’s factoring your receivables.

What’s the one thing that will make the biggest difference in your business right now?  Work it out and do that!

Get your business back on track and fast!!  Don’t let your business control you.

Don’t put your head in the sand and hope that things will get better in 2017.

They won’t unless you’re in charge of your business.

Review and evolve your business plan to ensure you achieve many of the key performance indicators you’ve set for yourself and your business in 2016 – it’s possible even at this late stage.

Move projects around to other quarters in the new year if they aren’t ‘business critical’ now.

Re-double your efforts on the critical elements of your business – focus on the one or two key things that MUST happen, and you should see a marked improvement by year end.

Do all that and you will reap the rewards in business and it will be a happier end of year for you.

Question:  What is the one thing you MUST focus on in your business right now?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Please leave a comment.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Yep, can you believe it, 2017 is around the corner – only two months away.  Where has the year gone!?

Are you on track to have a strong finish to the year?

Don’t drop the ball

At this time of year, it’s really easy to get distracted, and to drop the ball and say, ‘Oh, there’s only two months to go.  I’ve missed achieving my goal – better luck next year’.  I know as I’ve done that in the past, and then regretted that decision and lack of action.

Only two months to go or still two months to go? 

I study the world’s big achievers, people who do the most amazing things with their lives, people who live at full throttle.  Many are names we all know, yet there are others who live under the radar and just get on with their lives, achieving greatly and living their dream.

Do they give up before the finish line? 

Heck, no!  They’re blasting it right up to the end.  Oh, and don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be ‘all work and no play’ either.  Balance is key to our vitality in life.

Here are the five keys to what high achievers do.

Key 1:  100 percent accountability

Life is full of tough bits, and big achievers find ways to get around them or over them.  They’re 100 percent accountable and responsible for everything in their lives.  So even when they’re up against it, they remain accountable for their actions and for the achievement of their goals!

Key 2:  Steadfast focus

One of the fundamental traits of big achievers is their ability to deploy laser like focus on achieving their goals, no matter the distractions or challenges. For as long as the goals remain relevant to them, successful people remain focused.

Key 3: Planning and prioritisation

The key is prioritising, planning, scheduling and persistent action.  In order to achieve a goal, it needs to be prioritised as important.  Other things that are not so important can be put to one side for a bit – until next year, perhaps.  Act on the ‘must do’ activities now.  The rest can wait.

Key 4:  Focus on your strengths

We shouldn’t try and do everything ourselves.  We must play to our strengths and let others play to theirs.  Big achievers know and do this.  What are your strengths?  If you focus on the work that uses those strengths, delegating all else, you’ll be a lot more energised in the work you do.

Key 5:  People are paramount

Big achievers are inclusive of others.  They draw people to them and involve them.  They also empower others to work with them, to help in getting the job done.  They delegate work to others – particularly the parts that don’t play to the strengths of the big achiever.

But if things don’t quite go to plan and those goals are missed, here are two other keys that big achievers live by.

Key 6:  No such thing as failure

In all that we do, we risk failure, which is very often painful.  But failure is a fact of life for anyone who is dynamic, and failures are fast tracks to growth.  Big achievers see them as opportunities for learning.

Key 7:  Find meaning in what’s happened

As much as this is hard to take, we are where we are in life right now for a reason.  There are lessons and learnings to take from our current experience and situation.  When we learn the lessons we move forward, often in new and unexpected ways.  Big achievers understand that, and look for the lessons so they can move forward, fast.

Go for it

I hope you’ll take up the challenge to nail those final goals in the two months before year end.  You’ll be so proud of yourself if you do.

ACTION:  I’d love to know what you’re doing to hit those outstanding goals by the end of the year.  How about sharing them and inspiring others in the comments below?

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Would you agree that people connect with us when we are real and not some ‘plastic fantastic’ image we create of ourselves? How many times have you observed another person and wondered if they are really being themselves or if they are ‘putting it on’ for the audience or you?

Once upon a time….

…often that’s the way it was. Famous people had their public persona, and often the real person only came out with their nearest and dearest. I think we know when someone is not being real. If we listen, our intuition tells us what we need to know. Intuitively, we don’t trust them… yet we don’t always know why (at first).

The key is personalisation

Personalisation is about being proud of who you are, the stories and scars you have, the way you look, the way you speak. Personalisation is showing everyone you in all your uniqueness. It’s about accepting yourself as you are with all your strengths and imperfections.

You might be thinking that we must hide our imperfections from everyone. Until recently, I’d have agreed with you as that’s what I did. I didn’t think anyone would really be interested in some of the challenges of my business and life’s journey.

How wrong I was! In fact, I’ve learnt that by sharing all that, by allowing myself to be vulnerable with others, rather than being a weakness vulnerability is an incredible strength.

People warm to us more if we are prepared to be open, honest and raw. They don’t want perfection as they believe they can’t measure up to that. With our imperfections, we are just like them. Human.

Think about these things

In building our personal brand, there are three or four areas we must think about in relation to personalisation. They are:

• Your Story
• Your Voice
• Your Style
• Your Title (sometimes)

What’s your story?

The simplest and perhaps the most powerful way to articulate your personal brand is through the art of storytelling.

Stories have the ability to paint a picture with words, tapping into the imagination of the listener or reader and allowing you to connect with them. The stories you tell will show whether or not you are a team player, have initiative, purpose; they enable you to stand out and be memorable, and to show your human side.

How do you sound?

Voice has a critical role to play in personal branding. It can amplify or detract from your personal brand. As motivational speaker, Les Brown rightly says: ‘When you open your mouth, you tell the world who you are.’  Voice reveals personality. It also reflects emotions. We can hear it when someone feels happy, sad, or angry. People pick up what’s happening for you through your voice.  We cannot hide. Voice is the vehicle to the soul. Therefore, you can use your voice to your advantage. It can support you towards standing out and becoming influential and branded.

Personal style

Your personal style is your personal brand image and will help you to stand out and be memorable, from your appearance to your website and the tone of your communication. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg wears the hoodies and grey tee-shirts, and for Steve Jobs it was the glasses and black sweaters.

What’s your style? It doesn’t have to be crazy, but first impressions are often created by appearances and so if you have a recognisable style then it helps people remember you and who you are. Whatever your business or industry, it’s possible to use style as a way to strengthen your brand.

Have some fun

Some people are able to augment their personal brand with a catchy business title or phrase. Are you able to turn what you do into a fun and memorable title that becomes part of your personal brand? If you can, you’ll be remembered for it.

Here are some examples that might make you smile. These people say the following when asked ‘what they do’. Their responses certainly beg another question, perhaps something like, ‘what does that mean?’ – and then the conversation starts.

• ‘I take the SH out of IT’ (he’s an IT support consultant)
• ‘I legally expose you’ (he sells promotional merchandise)
• ‘I keep your head above water’ (he’s a plumber)
• ‘I record history’ (she’s a photographer)

…and my favourite because it’s really clever… ‘I’m a skeleton creator’ (he’s a structural engineer).

Want to know more about personal branding?

If you’d like to learn more about the importance of personal branding in business today, then please click this link to download for free the first two chapters of my new book, Branded You – How To Stand Out In Business and Achieve Greater Profitability and Success. 

What freaks you out?

Many of us freak out about the idea of standing out in business.  Is that you?  It was me once…. I’ve gotten over it… and written the book about how we do it – how we become branded in our niche.

I’d love to know what freaks you out about standing how.  Please leave a comment below.

If you are standing out in your niche, please leave a comment and tell me what you’re doing…and the benefits you’re experiencing.  I’m certain other people would love to know too.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

This week is Baby Loss Awareness Week. A week in the calendar that means a great deal to many, and causes confusion, mystery, sympathy and fear for many others.

For me, it is a reminder of what I have been through and what I have overcome. My story is hard to hear, and certainly hard to talk about, but it has recently become something I need to share.

My baby story

I remember the day I lost my first baby as if it were yesterday. The fleeting look in David’s eyes said it all – devastation, disbelief, helplessness. There was nothing he could do or say to make it better or different for either of us. He wanted to soothe my pain. He didn’t know how. He couldn’t. I couldn’t ease his pain either. We just cried and cried. A dream was lost.

Baby two, a little girl, sadly left us while on our honeymoon. It was a devastating end to what had been a magical travel adventure as a family – David, Alex (my stepson) and me.

Baby three, another little girl, was conceived soon after. By then, fear had crept into our lives. Each day she stayed in situ was an achievement. Eventually I dared to believe we’d be cuddling this baby in our arms. Please God, let it be third time lucky.

And it was. The relief was overwhelming. On 13 February Gemma entered our world and changed it forever. Our hearts overflowed with love for our precious baby girl as we met and held her for the very first time. Gemma, our gem, is and will always be our treasure.

There was a short reprieve from the rollercoaster. What joy we experienced each day – our family of four. She was worth the wait.

At 40 years old I closed my company making all my staff redundant so I could spend time at home being a mum and making more babies. For me, a woman firmly committed to her career, that was a monumental decision.

Over the next three years, we conceived a further nine babies. Our last pregnancy was triplets. I’ve never ever felt so sad, so angry, so lost, so hopeless as I did when our triplets left us.

I still remember each moment we discovered I was pregnant. I’m a ‘cup overfloweth’ kind of gal…. so I was always joyful, excited and hopeful. And then totally devastated.

Our baby journey continued for another 10 years, sadly without success.  Twelve babies created in love. Eleven babies never held in our arms. Gemma wouldn’t realise her dream of being a ‘big sister’, and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t deliver our own dream – a family of six – David, me and four kids. Please, why us?

We’ll never know the answer to that question.

Moving on

Over time, I learnt how to move on – to be grateful for all that I and we have. It took time to get there. The loss of a baby is heartbreaking. It’s something we never forget – some of us never get over it.

It leaves others feeling inadequate too. They don’t know what to say or do to help or support us. Often we close down – we don’t talk about it. But we need to.

We need to find our voice to help us grieve and move on in the beauty of what life has to offer.

Baby Loss Awareness Week

That’s why I’m supporting Baby Loss Awareness Week this week (9-15 October). I hope my vulnerability and perhaps bravery in sharing my very private and painful story will help another woman, man or family to heal, to move forward, to find joy in their lives.

On Saturday, 15 October I’ll be taking part in the international wave of light. I’ll be lighting 11 candles in memory of each of our babies who died too soon, and in memory of all the other babies who left their families too soon.

Help someone else

You may know someone who has lost a baby too.  If so, please feel free to share this blog with them.  I hope in some small way sharing my story may help them by knowing they can connect with someone who’s been on the same journey.

Leave a comment

If you’d like to leave a comment below, please do.  I respond to all comments.

Thank you so much for reading my story.

Love

Adèle xx

Have you ever wondered why in business some people stand taller and stronger, and have more impact, influence and success than others?

I guarantee you’ve noticed those people. They capture their market, time after time. They get media exposure. They have a successful business. They have a big community following them. And they have people wanting to associate and do business with them too.

Their profile and success sometimes makes you feel green with envy. And intuitively, you know their technical or business skills aren’t any better than yours. Some people seem to have the X factor and you can’t put your finger on why.

The good news is….

The good news is that you can have that success, those wins, that profile and impact in your business too. It’s available to all of us if we know what to do. Once upon a time (that’s code for before the digital and social media age), it was much harder to have the public profile that many enjoy today. You had to pound the pavement, grease the right palms, have a convincing story and more… to get into the media, to get noticed.

That’s all changed. It’s now a level playing field and anyone can stand tall and stand out. These are the seven key things that all ‘those’ people are doing:

1. They’re clear about what they want to achieve.
2. They use their personality to endear themselves to others.
3. They have their ‘patter’ ─ their UVP or sales pitch ─ nailed.
4. They make a point of getting noticed where they want to be seen.
5. They offer products and services that people want.
6. They find people who want to do business with them, partnering with others.
7. They’re profitable.

Oh, and there’s one more thing. They work hard.

Simple!  Or is it?  I can hear you say, ‘well I do all that too!’ We all do some of that. But do you have a full-on strategy or a system around all that? Is there a key element missing that could be the tipping point for your personal brand and success? The real winners – those who really get noticed and achieve the success that many of us aspire to – have total clarity and commitment to what they’re doing and why they are doing it.

They embrace being branded

The real winners embrace what I call the 7+1 Pillars of Personal Branding that support them to stand tall, stand out, and get noticed:

Passion – they live and breathe what they do in business and life.

Personalisation – gone are the days where we show everyone just the bits of us we want people to see. Now it’s about seeing the real person.

Positioning – they know what their market is; they are niched and proud of that niche. They aren’t trying to be everything to everybody.

Platforms – this is the really exciting part. Regular people are achieving extraordinary success and getting noticed by putting their message out to their market by choosing the platforms that work for them.

Products – they serve the market they’re focused on with products and services – free and paid for – that are relevant.

Partnerships – people want to partner and be associated with branded people as the relationship is mutually beneficial.

Profitability – to be truly successful, we must ensure our business model is profitable, so that our business interests reflect positively on our personal brand.

And what’s the +1?

Performance ─ personal branding success comes with commitment, discipline, resilience, time and hard work.

The 7+1 pillars to standing tall in business are there for the taking, for you and everyone you compete with in your market. Are you going to take the plunge and become your very own brand?

Want to learn more?

Is all this sounding exciting or a little scary or challenging?  How about downloading for FREE Part One of my book, Branded You?  It will give you more insights on what it means to develop your personal brand.  I promise, personal branding is for everyone, not just celebrities and sports stars.

Please click here to receive Part 1 of my book, Branded You for FREE.

Want to get started?

If you’re saying YES!  I want to build my personal brand so I can achieve more success in business, then I may be able to help you fast track your success.

I am offering a small group of business owners four one hour coaching sessions (via Skype) with me to guide you towards strategising and starting to implement your personal brand.  Plus, I’ll give you a copy of my new book, Branded You.

If this sounds like you, then please click here to schedule a 15 mins Skype consultation with me to see if it’s right for us to work together.

Please don’t delay as I can only work individually with eight business owners on their personal branding strategy and execution.  Please click here now to arrange a 15 mins exploratory Skype consultation this month.

I wish you a fantastic rest of week.  And please, think really seriously about how you will achieve more success in business by being noticed as the expert in your field.