Insight Business Lifestyle will share what people have learnt from their successes and their challenges to provide an interesting, tangible read. You can subscribe to the regular newsletter here.

The first edition has the great story of Josh Murray who, aged only nine, started his own organic egg business. He went from selling eggs to people near his dad’s office, moved on to Farmer’s Markets and is now selling into both Coles and Woolworths – and he is still only 15!

Peter Mills from Compliance Master talks about developing the World’s most advanced risk-based auditing and inspection software, Bill Elmer from Choice Home Loans tells us why he stopped being self-employed and Peter Nolle from Treadstone talks about what he learnt from growing his Government Grant and Business Development Consultancy.

We also have tips on useful technology tools, healthy eating and improving your marketing effectiveness.

SUBSCRIBE NOW - and tell us what you think. Got an interesting story to tell? Send me a message and let me know.

1. Knowing you’ve earned every cent (or Penny in the UK) gives a great sense of achievement – it is harder to demonstrate this in the corporate world, but if you can show/tell people how their contribution directly influences business success, the more committed employees will be.

2. Corporate life is good, no really! – People have a habit of dissing corporate life. It actually has lots going for it, including more resources to do stuff, a support infrastructure, IT assistance, job security, ability to focus on your specific role and a pleasant office environment – and don’t forget the regular pay packet.

3. There are great people out there - I’ve met so many fascinating people who are great at what they do. It pays to get out there and meet new people. You may even find the person to solve your business problems. So, if you need anything from a fabulous IP Lawyer and pest control expert to state-of-the-art risk based auditing software and the country’s best workplace injury treatment just let me know!

4. Some people don’t deserve a job – I’ve become increasing intolerant of people disinterested in providing a good service, leaving you left with a negative impression of their organisation. These people seem particularly prevalent in the health industry, larger corporate and government organisations. With so many people desperate for a job, these ‘quitters that stay’ really shouldn’t!

5. Plans are great but action is greater – I’ve seen, and written, some great marketing plans for businesses but a plan is nothing without execution. Yes, get your plan right but make sure you get it out there and test it so you reap the benefits and make ongoing improvements.

So, what will the next five years hold? It is hard to say, but working with leading American consultancy firm Brookeside has led to the formation of Hillster Consulting. Using the Sales Equity tool, Hillster Consulting has been established to help businesses get a real picture of how loyal their clients are, and crucially, what specific actions to take to increase revenue. If you are like one of the numerous people I’ve spoken to who want to put great content online but don’t have the time or the resources to do it, we have developed a 90 day plan to develop videos, blogs, e-newsletters to get your message out there CLICK FOR MORE

Lastly, here are some amusing festive number plates I’ve seen recently:

Like Zach, I have read many blogs and ‘how to’ guides for dealing with journalists but this is the first one I have seen that talks about how journalists should deal with PR professionals – and save on those annoying follow up calls.

Essentially, the post is requesting journalists to let people know when an article is going to run (admittedly a tough one) and ‘not leave them hanging’ regarding whether a pitch is successful.

Last week, I was pleasantly surprised by a journalist from the Australian Financial Review who responded to my pitch by simply saying, “Thanks for the interview opportunity. I could not do that.”

He has saved himself a couple of extra emails and phone calls but also increased my respect for him – and if I found a great newsworthy story that was in his field, I would now be keener to offer it to him as an exclusive to help him out.

I do know, as some of the comments on the blog attest to, that journalists are spread very thinly and have a ridiculous amount to do within crazy deadlines. However, I do think that some basic responses would help both parties.

Read the Zach’s blog

The premise is simple. There are an increasing number of ‘experts’ out there – granted me included. As a business owner or decision maker you need to be aware that experts don’t always get it right.

My advice is to make sure you fully engage your decision making powers when choosing a consultant and challenge them to deliver practical ideas that can genuinely be implemented in your business and with your clients.

My other piece of advice is never to pit your stock broking skills against a ginger cat called Orlando……..

Read the original blog post

I have just read a great post about QR codes and various people’s comments on them. The basic premise is that while marketers like them, very few people even know what they are, let alone scan them.

The fact you have to download an app rather than it being obviously built into your smart phone doesn’t help – did you know there is a QR reader in Apple’s passport app? – me neither!

So have you ever scanned a QR code or put one in your marketing material?

My thoughts are that there is a great case for using them, but they need to be in the right place and link to something useful. For example, I was recently given a business card and by scanning the code the person’s details were automatically put in my phone contacts. Simple and effective The blog post cites a code that was put on a billboard by a busy road – not the safest or easiest concept!

The other area I would have thought was perfect for them was in any kind of catalogue or magazine advertising where the QR code links directly to the ‘buy now’ section of the website so all someone has to do is choose their quantity/size/colour and pay.

Here is the full post – http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/qr-codes-dead?utm_campaign=blog-rss-emails&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=13794702

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

There are 6 dimensions of a business relationship and for the account manager to been seen as a trusted advisor they need to understand all 6 of them – and what they need to improve.

The 6 dimensions are:

1) Integrity. The prospect perceives you to be reliable, dependable and trustworthy.

2) Competency. The prospect believes that you and your product/service can deliver. Your company is perceived to have the tools, processes and people in place to make good on promises. 

3) Recognition. The prospect feels that you treat them as an individual instead of a number.  

4) Proactivity. The prospect believes you are actively looking out for their best interest and that they aren’t going to encounter any unexpected surprises with your product/service.

5) Savvy. The prospect feels that you understand the issues they care about.

6) Chemistry. The prospect enjoys working with you and thinks your communication “clicks.”

Tom Cates the founder of Hillster Consulting’s strategic Partner, The Brookeside Group and the inventor of SalesEquity.com™ outlines in his blog what this means to you.

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