Business Success Tips : Meet Francis Preedy

Francis Preedy
Trade Mark Attorney, Nucleus IP Limited

Are trademarks relevant to small businesses? Are personal trademarks necessary? You might think they are not, but let me tell you just how important they are.

About 10 years ago, a business in New Zealand had a trading name and logo that was very similar to that of Harrods in London. It was a teeny weeny business at the bottom or the world (don’t get me wrong, I love NZ, but it is a very long way away from London). Harrods wouldn’t care, you would think. Oh yes they did! They came down on that little business like a tonne of bricks. Via their lawyers, they were intimidating and very aggressive. They threatened to prosecute that little company if it did not desist in using that trading name and logo.

What happens if another business starts calling itself by the same or similar name to yours? You can’t do a thing about it… unless you have trademarked the name and protected the category you are operating in. If you are an international business, you can protect your name, logo and category around the world too. And it is not as difficult to do as it might sound or feel.

Meet my friend, Francis Preedy, a leading London based Trade Mark Attorney, working with Nucleus IP Limited. Listen to the fascinating interview I did with him this week on the importance of trade marking your business name and logo, and possibly your own name.

Regardless of where in the world you are, or how big or small your business is, think about your business name and logo. How would you feel if someone else started trading with the same name in your local area? How might that impact your business?

Enjoy the interview and all the information that Francis passes on to help keep your business and its intellectual property safe.

You can listen to the original interview with Francis Preedy here:

To connect with Nucleus IP:
W: www.nucleus-ip.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be art of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Subject Matter Experts and be inspired in the Business Success Tips: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship vs The Meaning of Life
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
Leadership Qualities
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
Entrepreneurial Success without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
Millionaire Mindset
NZ Entrepreneurship Success

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Steve Pollard

Steve Pollard
Scotsman; Salesman; Serial Entrepreneur

Meet my friend Steve Pollard, self confessed serial entrepreneur, sales and marketing genius… and immodest Scotsman (according to his LinkedIn profile). 🙂

Imagine being in the highly competitive UK mortgage broking game during the global financial crisis. Scary stuff!! With his partners, Steve owned a large UK wide mortgage mortgage broking business employing 170 staff – a very successful business – and then the GFC hit…. and yet another rollercoaster in his business journey began. Notwithstanding, Steve was able to sell his business and make money from the sale, when many other brokerages just closed their doors.

Steve’s now moved to a new industry where he is aiming to create yet another large and distributed business, this time based on an online and freelance staff business model. He’s in the process of scaling the business up, so it is exciting times for Steve and his team.

I hope you enjoy Steve’s fascinating, and at times, nail biting entrepreneurial story.

You can listen to the original Interview with Steve Pollard here:

To connect with Steve Pollard:
W: www.businessuplift.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Business Success Tips : Meet Lucy Czakan

Lucy Czakan
Branding and communications expert

Is your business branded? Are you as a business owner/entrepreneur/key person of influence/employee branded?

In all instances, you must be. Branding is not just for big business, tea, beer and celebrities.

Branding is for all. Branding is what takes tea and turns it into PG Tips, or Lipton Tea Bags. Branding is what takes beer and turns it into Stella Artois or Budweisser.

Branding is what turns Jamie Oliver from a chef to a worldwide icon… or David Beckham into another sporting icon… or Oprah into a media icon, even though there are loads of other TV show hosts who do what she did/does.

Branding is what separates you as an authority in your market from other people who are working in your industry regardless of whether you are an employee or business entrepreneur.

Branding is what separates your business from all the others you compete with.

Branded products and services get noticed! My 13 year old daughter ‘gets’ branding. She is very clear about what brands she MUST have (otherwise life wouldn’t be worth living), – Converse, Superdry, Zoella, New Look, Baby Lips, Top Shop to name a few….

Let me introduce you to my dear friend and business colleague, Lucy Czakan. Lucy is a branding and communications expert based in the UK. During her career, she has worked on many major and internationally recognisable brands (including Flora Margarine, Magnum Ice Cream, PJ Tips, Lipton Tea, and Oxo). These days, Lucy works with small and medium sized businesses, helping them to get branded so they stand out in their market.

I am delighted that Lucy agreed to talk to me about branding and communications, and its importance to small businesses around the world.

Enjoy the interview. I hope you learn a lot about how you can brand your business.

Equally importantly, you will learn how you can brand yourself as an authority in your field, regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur or employee. Stand out from the crowd. Get noticed!

You can listen to the original Interview with Lucy Czakan here:

To connect with Lucy Czakan:
W: www.neovitae.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Subject Matter Experts and be inspired in the Business Success Tips: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Business Success Tips : Meet Dr Jane Cox

Dr Jane Cox
Internationally renowned wealth psychologist and business growth expert

Do you have money on your mind in a good or bad way? What are your thoughts on money? Do you fear it? Many people do.

Why is it that some entrepreneurs make a pile of money in their careers, and others just get by? If you are an entrepreneur, what is your mindset with money? The psychology of money and why some entrepreneurs don’t make much of it is a fascinating topic.

Are you in employment? Are you earning the money you know you are worth? Are you afraid to ask for more money? Is so, why? If it is related to a discomfort you have around talking about money in a proactive way with your boss, then maybe you have money fears too.

Let me introduce you to my dear friend and business colleague, Dr Jane Cox. I am delighted that Jane is the first interviewee in my Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews… series. I will be undertaking fortnightly interviews with other business experts, who will offer their experience and wisdom and business success tips to support you and your success.

Dr Jane Cox is an internationally-renowned wealth psychology and business growth expert in constant demand as a speaker & presenter around the world on this fascinating subject for both private and corporate clients. Her workshops are always fully booked and have received universal “rave reviews” from thousands of delegates.

Jane is the author of the books: “The Fast Forward Framework” and “Eleven Letters to Change Your Life”, and is a regular contributor to MoneyMaker Magazine, UK newspapers: Financial Times and Metro, as well as several publications in Africa and the Middle East.

Jane is passionate about business growth and success, and the fears people have with money – whether they be self employed or in employment.

It was delightful to recently interview Jane on this challenging topic of money, and I invite you to listen to the interview. I hope you learn a lot and are inspired to think about any issues you may have with money, especially if you do not have as much of it as you would like.

You can listen to the original Interview with Dr Jane Cox here:

To connect with Dr Jane Cox:
W: www.drjanecox.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

Listen to more Subject Matter Experts and be inspired in the Business Success Tips: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Dale Murray, CBE

Dale Murray, CBE
Co-Founder, Omega Logic; Angel Investor; Non-Executive Director; Government Business Adviser

Imagine starting up a business to launch technology based pre-pay mobile top- ups in the United Kingdom (previously a scratch card system was used), working incredibly hard with your fellow co-founders and staff to substantially grow the business in an exceptionally competitive industry, selling out and becoming CEO of the company that bought the business and driving mobile top-ups revenue to £450M, all in the space of approximately six years. Then being awarded British Angel Investor of the Year in 2011.

Well, in a nutshell, that is Dale Murray’s entrepreneurial story! But it doesn’t end there. Dale is now a coach to start-up and early stage businesses. She is also a Non Executive Director (NED) of the British Government’s Department for Business, Innovations and Skills, and UK Trade and Investment, along with being a NED of other businesses. Born in New Zealand and living in London, in 2013 Dale was awarded a CBE by HM the Queen for services to business.

There were many early challenges in establishing Omega Logic as a serious business in the mobile technology sector. Credibility was an initial hurdle as the company was very small and was competing with much larger and established technology software entities, all vying to win contracts with Vodafone, Orange and other multi-billion pound telecommunications network businesses. Professionalism, and a total customer service and delivery focus were key in being accepted and to winning major contracts.

The mobile top-up software developed by Omega Logic and other competitors was displacement technology. This required a change in consumer buying behaviour, which was not easy to achieve. Supported by the marketing efforts of the telecommunications networks and incentivising the re-sellers to sell top- ups rather than scratch cards, finally the new technology broke through consumer buying resistance, and Omega Logic grew. Dale and her co-founders had to ‘dig deep’ and totally believe that their technology would be accepted by consumers. “Resilience was often required”, commented Dale, “as it was very difficult to push through the resistance in consumer buying patterns”.

Another key element in Omega Logic’s success was the quality of its technology. The company had a vision of being the best software provider for top-ups on the high street, leveraging the till technology that retailers already had.

Strong financial management was also key to the success of Omega Logic. Dale has a chartered accounting background, and ensured robust financial control systems were in place to manage the volume of money that flowed between the retailers, networks and Omega Logic.

Dale’s advice to budding entrepreneurs is:

1) Clearly understand and articulate what it is you are doing – what is the business? What problem are you solving and how are you going to make money? If over time there is a lack of clarity around the business strategy, quickly sort it out to enable the business to move on.

2) Carefully manage team dynamics. When things go wrong with people (founders and staff), face them head on, and deal with them immediately.

3) Network widely from time to time, but get on with the work. Dale notes that too many budding entrepreneurs are focused on networking rather than building their business.

Over the next few years Dale wants to continue acting as an advocate for entrepreneurs in all the various capacities she currently enjoys. Dale has a particular interest in female entrepreneurs as she believes they see things differently. As well, Dale will continue investing in ventures that are of interest to her.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dale Murray for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Dale features.

Dale has a wonderful entrepreneurial success story, founded on being in the right place at the right time; being in a sector she knew and liked; with her co-founders, working exceptionally hard to break into and succeed in an established market; being totally focused on customer service and software excellence; and having a total passion for and belief in what Omega Logic stood for, especially when times were tough. As well, the co-founders had an exit strategy that they executed at the right time. Since then, Dale has continued her entrepreneurial endeavours, while supporting others towards their success. Dale now has three young children, and while she gets huge pleasure out of business, she is very family focused, and able to balance the demands and joys of both. It was an absolute pleasure to interview Dale, and to hear her story which will be an inspiration to many entrepreneurs across the world.

You can listen to the original Interview with Dale Murray here:

To connect with Dale Murray:
W: www.dalemurray.net

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Shannon Lea Reynolds

Shannon Lea Reynolds
Consultant, Coach, Speaker (aka The Well Heeled Coach)

Shannon grew up within an entrepreneurial family, so began working from the age of five years in her grandmother’s restaurant, and at 12 years old, she was doing the accounting and book keeping for various family businesses. After leaving school, Shannon moved into banking, and quickly moved up the levels to become the youngest officer they had in the bank. Shannon studied full-time at night while working full-time, and with this thirst for knowledge found herself quickly getting bored in the bank jobs she undertook. She would take on new roles, write the ‘how to’ manuals, and then move to the next role. During her maternity leave from the bank, Shannon worked part-time as an on-call officer, covering for management staff across the bank’s state network. Through that exposure, Shannon’s confidence and experience continued to develop such that after 20 years in banking she left to establish her own business. Shannon’s business quickly moved from book keeping to working with businesses that were in transition or financial difficulty, where she reconstructed their financial statements. By doing that type of work, Shannon ‘fell’ into management consulting.

One of the biggest challenges Shannon faced was the decision to leave banking after 20 years; it was a comfortable career and the staff were like her extended family. After much deliberation, she left to set up a business where she found that the telephone did not ring and she did not have a pay cheque coming in each month. As an analytical, introverted personality type, Shannon found the idea of selling herself and her skill set to potential clients very intimidating. To manage and bypass this fear of sales, she relied heavily on her extensive network, developed during her long banking career. Shannon focused on re-establishing her credentials with the CPAs and banking lenders, and in return they referred business to her. As well, Shannon learnt the benefits of networking and using networks to build business relationships. Shannon now laughs at how she initially went six weeks without receiving a telephone call for business, then after a lot of networking, she received nine business opportunity telephone calls in one day! “Whew”, she said!!

Since those early entrepreneurial days, Shannon’s business has significantly grown and evolved. She is an advocate of lifelong learning, and continuously has coaches and mentors supporting her business success. When seeking a mentor, Shannon looks for someone who is in a field that she is in, with the same philosophy, but with more experience so she can learn from them. When seeking a business coach, Shannon looks for someone who is going to push her in areas she is not comfortable in, so that she is stretched to move beyond her own mental barriers, therefore achieving at a new level.

To be successful in business, Shannon believes:

1) You should not be afraid of failure. Very often people are so afraid that they over-analyse and paralyse themselves into inaction, such that nothing is accomplished. Shannon believes that failure is a valuable tool.

2) Make sure you have focus. Set goals and go for them but be clear on what the big picture for your business is, as it is easy to get distracted by new ideas. When a new idea arises, create and implement action steps in your business plan, even if they are small ones, so that you have forward momentum.

3) Talk about your goals so that others know what you want to achieve and can support you – whether those people be employees, family, coaches and mentors, or your network of business contacts and friends – put it out there. They will support you and hold you to account when you are checking in with them.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Shannon Lea Reynolds for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Shannon features.

I really enjoyed interviewing Shannon. As it turns out we have similar backgrounds; trained accountants and former bankers turned consultants/business coaches. Given her personality type, perhaps one might think that Shannon is not a ‘natural’ entrepreneur, as they are often represented as highly outgoing/extroverted types. Shannon’s success has put paid to that stereotype! By using her networks, Shannon has built a tremendously successful consulting practice, and has substantial business goals in place going forward. In particular, Shannon wants to support more women in becoming successful entrepreneurs, and with that success to create a Foundation where her successful women clients mentor and support young women in high schools and colleges to feel confident, understand their worth, and consider entrepreneurialism as a fantastic career option. A wonderful community based add-on to her business; a real example of ‘giving back’.

You can listen to the original Interview with Shannon Lea Reynolds here:

To connect with Shannon Lea Reynolds:
W: www.shannonleareynolds.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Rick Tobin

Rick Tobin
Owner/Broker, Premier Hotel Realty in Florida

Imagine establishing your own international hotel sales brokerage during the global financial crisis – that’s potentially scary stuff. Who knows if you’d sink or swim in what was the world’s worst financial crisis to date.

Meet Rick Tobin. He did just that. He established Premier Hotel Realty because he wanted to follow his dream, and his business has flourished.

Rick’s biggest fear when starting out was whether there would be enough business in his niche market to survive. He had to be flexible in his approach to the new business, so rather than relying on banks to fund the deals for investors, he focused on seeking out investors who did not need to borrow to invest.

In our interview, Rick shares his marketing, sales and business differentiation strategies, tools that have helped him build a significant international hotel sales brokerage.

Rick offers budding entrepreneurs the following thoughts:

1) Listen to what your clients want; understand what their real objectives are in working with you.

2) Work with and for people you like and concentrate on your ‘A’ clients, not your ‘B’ and ‘C’ clients.

3) Think big! Go for it in your business!

Enjoy this week’s insightful and inspiring interview with Rick.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Tobin for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Rick features.

I have not met Rick. He was recommended to me as a highly successful entrepreneur who is passionate about how he supports and serves his clients. In interviewing him, I could feel his passion for what he does and the difference he has made in the lives of this clients. Rick’s joy and enthusiasm are infectious, and I have no doubt that his attitude to life and business has substantially contributed to his success. Rick was a delight and inspiration to interview, and I can’t wait to meet him one day.

You can listen to the original Interview with Rick Tobin here:

To connect with Rick Tobin:
W: www.PremierHotelRealty.com

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Veronica Pullen

Veronica Pullen
Social Marketing Queen

Imagine having Asperger’s Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, hearing difficulties, an eyesight issue which means you are blind at night, and mobility issues. What might life hold for you? Meet Veronica Pullen. She has all those health issues, but that hasn’t stopped her being a hugely successful entrepreneur based in the United Kingdom. Because of her ailments, Veronica began networking online 18 years ago; through internet chat rooms and forums, she made friends. A book keeper by day, online networker by night, Veronica realised that business people were starting to wonder how to use the online world to network – something she had been doing for years. So, a new social media business was born.

Veronica admits she did undertake some social media training, but soon realised she knew as much as the trainers. What she needed to learn was how to build and run a business to support her social media skill set. Veronica is passionate about learning, so even today, while running a hugely successful business, she is continuing to explore new ways to develop and run her business.

At first Veronica tried to ignore her health challenges, thinking that if she just focused on her expertise in social media, no one would pay any attention to her health issues. She was wrong. By not acknowledging her issues, Veronica found she alienated her audience. Once she began to ‘weave in’ her health challenges, people started to accept her as they respected the personal challenges she had overcome, and continues to overcome to this day.

As you might expect, being a social marketing queen, Veronica has built her customer base via social media. The friends she had developed became her first customers when she established her new business, and in turn they continue to refer her to their friends. Now Veronica has social media customers all over the world, and some very well known names have their social media activity managed by Veronica and her team.

Veronica has been shortlisted for and won various business awards. She credits a lot of her business success to having mentors and coaches supporting her. They teach her and she always implements their teachings. She also continues to participate in Mastermind type coaching groups with others in business. These environments ensure Veronica continues down the right path in her business. Veronica’s greatest joy in business is that she owns and runs a business that is an extension of herself. As she says, she “shows up as Veronica”! She gets paid to talk about and teach the things she lives for. For Veronica, there is no distinction between work and play. It is all play!

To be successful in business, Veronica believes:

1) Do something in business that you love. If you are not passionate about it, you will not achieve the success you aspire to achieve.

2) Always make sure you are networking with people who are more successful than you. If you want to grow your business, look at the people who are around you, and make sure they are helping you to go forward and not holding you back.

3) That all businesses need to embrace the power of social media to support the growth of their business.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Veronica Pullen for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Veronica features.

Veronica is amazing. She decided early on that she would not let her health issues affect the quality of her life, and she hasn’t. Veronica has embraced her ailments, and has used them to her advantage. She has a hugely successful international business, and aspires to achieve even more. She has set herself some significant goals for the next five years, and is on track to achieve them. Veronica has found that she enjoys the life of a celebrity and being recognised, so has set her sights on presenting her material on the stage to larger groups of people. Go Veronica. You are an inspiration.

You can listen to the original Interview with Veronica Pullen here:

To connect with Veronica Pullen:

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Rachelle Harte

Rachelle Harte
Managing Director, Lollipop Events

Rachelle unexpectedly found herself leaving a corporate job she loved, having been with the same company for 18 years. This change in circumstance due to the need to support a family member with severe ill health meant Rachelle needed to consider her part-time employment options. After researching the market, she decided to establish an events business that focused on planning and project managing children’s parties, building up a reputation in that niche before moving into other event management areas. That strategy worked, as Rachelle has been an entrepreneur for over 11 years and owns a highly successful events management business, Lollipop Events.

When establishing her business, Rachelle’s initial concerns were how she differentiated herself from the local competition, and her ability to manage her business while only being able to work part-time. As a highly focused service oriented person, she wanted her business to quickly stand out in the market by growing its reputation in its niche so she could then move into a broader range of events management, so balancing her personal and work commitments was a challenge.

In the past Rachelle relied on advertising for growing her business, but in the end found advertising was not offering an effective return on investment. In recent years Rachelle has enjoyed business growth through referral marketing and collaboration. She joined a local business networking group, BNI, and that involvement has enabled her to widen her network base, support other businesses to be successful, and substantially grow her own business.
Strongly branding her business has also been a key decision for Rachelle, so that Lollipop Events is now recognised as a major events management business in South East London and beyond.

A key lesson Rachelle has learnt along her entrepreneurial pathway is that she cannot do everything herself (as much as she wants to). As a young entrepreneur, she found she was good at most things, but she continues to force herself to enlist the help and support of other professionals who complement her business, often in a mentoring way, and as a result they have helped her to grow and sustain her business for the future.

Rachelle’s advice to budding entrepreneurs is:

1) Make sure everyone knows about your new venture and plans and ask them to spread the word.

2) Have a plan for what you want to achieve and keep focused on the plan. What are you here for? Where are you going? How are you going to get there?

3) Get up a little earlier each day. Even 15 minutes can make a real difference to how much you can get done when the phone is not ringing.

4) Ask for help! You will be surprised how much others want to support your success.

Rachelle’s business plan includes substantially growing her corporate customer base over the next three to five years. A key area of business growth for Lollipop Events will continue to be working with local government on the regeneration of town centres in the United Kingdom, something Rachelle and her team are passionate about supporting.

Rachelle truly believes she is living her dream as an entrepreneur. She is working in an industry she loves, supporting customers to achieve their business and personal goals when hosting their event; and her company continues to substantially grow and is highly profitable.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachelle Harte for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Rachelle features.

Rachelle is a focused, determined and very successful business woman who goes out of her way to support other businesses to achieve the success they are seeking, and in return she has built a substantial events management business herself. I have known Rachelle for several years, and have thoroughly enjoyed hearing of her ongoing business successes, and how she supports others towards their own success. Having had the privilege of using the services of Lollipop Events to manage an event of my own, I know firsthand how committed Rachelle and her team are to ensuring their clients achieve the outcomes they are seeking for their events; they definitely go beyond the call of duty in their work, and I am sure this attention to service delivery has played a major role in the success of Rachelle’s business.

You can listen to the original Interview with Rachelle Harte here:

To connect with Rachelle Harte:
W: www.lollipopevents.co.uk

Adèle hosts an interview series entitled:

• Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Adèle McLay Interviews…..
• Business Success Tips : Adèle McLay Interviews …..

…where she interviews successful entrepreneurs from around the world, asking them to share their entrepreneurial stories, and other business ‘subject matter experts’ who share business success tips. If you would like to be part of Adèle’s success community and receive the interviews and much more directly to your inbox, please click here.

Listen to more Successful Entrepreneurs and be inspired in the Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories: Adèle McLay Interviews….. YouTube and Podcast series:

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneurs’ Stories : Meet Phil Turner

Phil Turner
Electrician and former owner of a Fujitsu Heat Pump Franchise

I have known Phil Turner as the electrician for my property investment business in New Zealand for over 10 years. He and his team have always been excellent providers of service as electricians, totally focused on giving great customer service at fair prices. On the back of that, Phil built up a successful electrical contracting business.

While on holiday in 2007, Phil learnt about the international heat pump industry; at the time, The Netherlands was predicted to be the next big market for the industry. Phil returned to New Zealand, did his research, and decided to purchase a heat pump franchise through Fujitsu. Because most New Zealand homes are not centrally heated, the heat pumps are used in New Zealand to warm houses in winter and cool them in summer; the technology was moderately new to the country at the time. Phil had always wanted to own a product focused rather than service business, and felt that the heat pump industry was a natural progression from being an electrician, so took on the new business and industry with a business partner, Gareth.

Fujitsu New Zealand was impressed with Phil’s business plan, so embraced the new business supporting them with advertising investment. When they started, Phil and Gareth had budgeted to install four heat pumps per week; in fact, at times they were installing six per day and had a four week waiting list. Phil notes that they could have installed 10 units a day if they had had the staff to support them.

Initially Phil and Gareth used a home delivered magazine to advertise in, but eventually focused their marketing and advertising budget on Google AdWords, as it was the means by which they received most of their customer leads. Phil’s wife is an accountant, so supported the business with day to day accounting and administration.

Phil notes the business’s greatest achievement was being Fujitsu’s number one dealer in the country; something they achieved after two years, to the delight of Fujitsu, Phil and Gareth.

The industry got very competitive as more heat pump companies entered the market. And, as often happens when a new market matures, Phil’s business ended up competing with one-man-bands who operated out of home without the business overheads.

After five incredibly successful years, in 2013 Phil and Gareth decided to sell the business after being made an offer they couldn’t refuse. At the time of the interview, Phil was still coming to terms with not being in the business, noting he had just booked his first decent holiday in five years.

After taking a good holiday, and in light of enjoying the experience of selling a product, Phil is considering other product ideas that draw on his electrical contracting experiences. He is too young to retire, and besides, he loves the cut and thrust of being in business.

Adèle’s Note:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Phil Turner for my book: BIG Profits – 12 Strategies To Substantially Grow YOUR Business Profits, in which Phil features.

Phil and Gareth were really pleased with the way in which they ran their very successful business. If they had continued in it, in view of competition, they would have to have reviewed their business overheads in order to increase profits, but at the time they achieved the financial success they were seeking. Phil and Gareth should be an inspiration to anyone seeking to break out of a business they know into something new. If you apply your business knowledge to the new industry and are passionate about achieving success, you will do it. Then the rewards are there for reaping – great profits; selling out for an excellent price; lifestyle.

You can listen to the original Interview with Phil Turner here:

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