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The Hidden Cost of Oversharing

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:22:40 GMT

There's A Growing Trend on Social Media...

...while often well-intentioned, can quietly undermine professional credibility: the habit of consistently posting about poor mental health, ongoing personal struggles, & general dissatisfaction with life. What you might say to someone face-to-face is not necessarily the right thing to post about on social media, especially as a small business owner trying to build a solid reputation.

Let’s be clear, authenticity matters . People connect with honesty. But authenticity is not a free pass to share everything, without filter or consideration. There’s a line, & when it’s crossed, it stops being relatable & starts becoming damaging.

If you’re using platforms like LinkedIn as a kind of weekly journal, it’s worth asking what story you are telling over time. A steady stream of posts about burnout, depression, health concerns, or personal hardship doesn’t just show honesty, it creates a narrative. That narrative may not be serving you well. You should be the best version of you all the time even when it is tough.

When anyone is feeling depressed, suffering from anxiety or finding life difficulty, the associated emotions can lead the charge in what you say & how you react. As a small business owner, it is always best to stop & think about what you are sharing. Is it driven by a need to off load? Or maybe about how awful life is or how hard it is mentally to carry on or that I have lost a client so now I will be struggling financially or that my health is undermining my ability to perform.

There is no doubt that these things are your truth, but are they the reality that you want to be projecting to existing & potential clients, colleagues or business partners? If you do not share the silver lining to each & every cloud, but in turn focus on the heavy storm approaching, what is the value of sharing to your network in the first place? Learn to a positive spin on the situation that relates to your professionalism.

Digital First Impression

Whether you realise it or not, clients & potential clients are watching. Your social media is part of your professional shop window. If that window consistently displays struggle, instability, or distress, it naturally raises doubts. People may begin to question your reliability, your resilience, & your ability to deliver when it matters most.

For many people, your social media is their first interaction with you. Before a conversation, before a meeting, they’ve already formed an opinion based on your online profile. That makes what you post even more critical, because you don’t get to explain context.

That May Feel Unfair, But It’s Human Nature.

Clients are not just investing in your service; they are investing in confidence. As a small business owner, they will be investing in you. A stream of negatives issues will undermine your reputation & plant seeds of concern with anyone looking to work with you. They want to feel assured that you are capable, steady, & able to handle pressure. If your content suggests otherwise, even unintentionally, it can make them hesitant to engage.

There’s also the issue of reputation. For a small business owner reputation is everything . Over time, repeated posts about personal difficulties can shift how you are perceived within your network & your business community. Instead of being known for your expertise, insight, or professionalism, you risk being seen as someone defined by their struggles. That’s not a position that attracts opportunity.

It can also come across, rightly or wrongly, as seeking sympathy. While support is important, social media is not always the right place to seek it. Consistent oversharing deeply personal issues, whether that’s serious illness, intimate health matters, or ongoing emotional struggles can make your audience uncomfortable. Some topics, particularly those that are highly personal or sensitive, can unintentionally turn people away rather than draw them in.

To put it bluntly, the commercial reality is that people buy low risk. Clients don’t just choose the best option, they often choose the safest one. If your content introduces perceived risk (emotional, professional, or reliability), they may simply move on, even if you’re highly capable. The worse thing is that by voting with their feet you won’t even know you have missed an opportunity because they have chosen to distant themselves from you.

This is Where Balance Becomes Critical.

Authenticity matters, but not at any cost. Professional platforms require professional judgement. Knowing what not to share is a sign of maturity, emotional intelligence, & leadership. It’s not about suppression it’s about discernment. When using LinkedIn, you should consider that it is a place to build professional relationships. When you are choosing to share regularly, especially in a journal-style format, your content should aim to uplift, inform, or add value. That doesn’t mean being fake; it means being considered.

A good rule of thumb is this: if there’s no constructive or positive takeaway, it may not be worth sharing publicly. Overcoming a challenge can be powerful. It demonstrates resilience, growth, & perspective. But not every challenge needs an audience, & not every experience enhances your professional image. Why tell the world about your personal issues as part of your shop window? Will this draw the right kind of person to you? I know there is the old adage that opposites attract, but in reality, we tend to build a tribe of like-minded people around us. So, when you spew a narrative of negativity, it is going to draw in similar people. They will in turn amplify your negative message because they too will be doing, saying & behaving in similar ways. In short you create a vicious cycle & a downward spiral.

There’s a difference between saying, “Here’s something I struggled with & what I learned,” & repeatedly broadcasting the struggle itself. The former builds trust. The latter erodes it & sows seeds of doubt about your character & professionalism.

It’s also worth remembering that social media is not therapy. Some conversations are better had in private with trusted friends, mentors, or professionals who can offer genuine support. Broadcasting everything to a wide audience doesn’t always lead to understanding; sometimes it leads to judgement & disagreement.

Ultimately, every post contributes to your personal brand. You are shaping how people see you, whether intentionally or not. The question to keep asking is simple: does this build confidence in me, or does it create doubt?

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to hide every difficulty. But you do need to be mindful. Because in business, how people perceive you can influence whether they choose to work with you or quietly decide not to.

Be aware that if one post shows you as confident and capable, & the next shows you overwhelmed & struggling, it creates uncertainty. People don’t know which version is real & this uncertainty erodes trust faster than negativity alone.

The Turnaround

If your social media presence has drifted too far into negativity or oversharing, the good news is that it’s entirely recoverable with a bit of intention and consistency. You may not have realised that you have gone down this path, & it can be hard to accept or recognise.

Don’t dismiss the algorithm affect. Negative or emotionally heavy posts often get engagement, but not the right kind. Platforms may push that content more, meaning you unintentionally reinforce your vexed identity & attract the wrong audience.

Start by resetting your focus. Move away from documenting problems in real time & towards sharing outcomes, insights, & lessons. People don’t expect everything to be perfect all the time, but they do value perspective. Position yourself as someone who reflects, learns, & moves forward. Don’t been known as that person who gets stuck in the struggle.

Next, introduce balance. For every personal post, ensure there are several that demonstrate your expertise, reliability, & professionalism. Share wins (big or small), client results, useful advice, or thoughtful observations from your sector. This helps rebuild confidence in what you offer.

It’s also important to pause before posting. Ask yourself: Does this add value? Does it reinforce the reputation I want? If the answer is no, it’s better left unsaid.

Finally, be consistent. Rebuilding perception doesn’t happen overnight, but steady, positive, & purposeful content will gradually reshape how people see you. Over time, your narrative becomes one of capability, growth, & trustworthiness, which is exactly what clients are looking for.

The Fellowship Of Business Buzz

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 12:45:28 GMT

Once upon a time…

…there was a business owner, who’d been told that networking would help boost her business. She had many years of experience, was well qualified in her respective field & ran a successful small company. This business owner was reaching a turning point, wanting to grow her business by elevating its profile & building brand awareness, so she asked for some advice on how to achieve it.

She asked some fellow business owners, & they told her to network, network, network! She asked some marketing experts, & they also told her to network, network, network! So off she went, armed with advice that she didn’t know how to action. She set some research, & came across Business Buzz networking which has an event in her local area. Then, after much soul searching ( after all going networking for the first time can be daunting ), she signed up to attend. She promptly forgot about it, blocking out of her comfort zone challenge out of her mind. Reminded of the event via email, she learned that as much as she wanted to forget networking, networking had not forgotten her.

The Day Dawned With A Palpable Sense Of Anticipation

The day of the Buzz event dawned, & the business owner awoke, engulfed in a sense of anticipation. Full of self-doubt with a side of imposter syndrome, she reluctantly made her way to the networking event. Feeling totally out of her depth, she made her first tentative steps towards the door. Once inside she was greeted by a friendly face, she signed in, desperately hoping she could scurry away to a quiet corner & disappear. This was not to be, as the Buzz host that greeted her on the door had taken the time to ask her about her business. It wasn’t long before the host came to find her, with a contact he thought might be useful connection. Despite wishing the ground would open up & swallow her, the business owner started to chat to her new connection – another small business owner from the local area.

The first few minutes felt like hours, but soon enough the business owner forgot her fears, & started finding common ground with her new connection. Before she knew it, half of the networking event had passed, & there was a break at 11 o’clock for a few words form the local Business Buzz team including their sponsors. Realising this sponsor could help with her own business, she plucked up the courage to approach this sponsor. They clicked instantly, & although is the same sector, much of what they did, did not overlap.

As the event drew to a close, the host came to find the business owner, to see how she got on & to let her know he was always at the end of the phone should she have a question.

What Next?

The business owner left the event, armed with business cards for potential 1-2-1 meetings. The self-doubt crept in again once more, & the business owner put the business cards in a drawer for another day. If she forgot them, maybe they would forget her too. This was not to be, for her two new significant connections initiated 1-2-1 meetings with her, as did the host of the event, who was also a local business owner. As each 1-2-1 dawned, the business owner woke with butterflies in the stomach. Was this really of any value? The 1-2-1s happened with ease once the conversation started, & the business owner felt a renewed sense of confidence. Not only did she find the conversations useful, but her connections found it useful too & they began meeting regularly, sharing insights & offering advice to one another. The real magic always happens after the networking event, where those relaxed conversations transform into lasting professional relationships.

Our business owner saw the power of Business Buzz & the opportunity it presented. Being a visitor was a truly uplifting & welcoming experience, but she wanted more & to get a piece of the action. Could Buzz help her overcome her own confidence demons? Could Buzz make her business thrive?

There was only one way to find out! She put her head above the parapet & took up the local event host’s offer of a phone call & stepped out onto a journey that would change her life forever. She chose to be a Business Buzz host.

& They All Loved Happily Ever After!

Our business owner is now the welcoming face of networking & of Buzz in her town. She has become a person everyone wants to connect with, so raising her profile locally. At no point on this road to prosperity & success has she been alone. The Buzz community rallied to build a fellowship of success with her at the centre.

Being a Buzz Host puts you on a road of discovery, to finding new friends, of building amazing working & collaborative relationships, of finding new skills, but mostly a road (a yellow brick road) to a better way of working, where there is less selling & more new opportunitoes. With Buzz there more support that you can imagine. A true fellowship in the complete sense of the word.

Our business owner is more confident as a result of becoming part of the Buzz Community, the challenges of running a small business far less daunting & she can sleep soundly knowing that the worries of just a few months ago are a long-distance memory. Embracing the Business Buzz opportunity, taking up the local mantle, & allowing the Buzz team to support her means that our new Buzz host, her team & her visitors can all rest easy & live happily ever after.

Want To Know More About Becoming A Buzz Host?

There are many locations across the UK where Business Buzz aspires to having a monthly networking event. if you have the drive & desire to become the face of Buzz networking in your town or city them read on.

Your Costs

There is a one-off set-up fee for operating Buzz in your local town, which is significantly less than the annual membership fee for some other networking organisations.

There is an on-going monthly subscription fee to Buzz HQ.

There is a contribution each month to the development of the Business Buzz innovative web-based app, which is a rich multi-faceted tool that add substantial value to everyone's Buzz experience.

Venue hire fees (payable on the day of our monthly Buzz event direct the your partner venue) are negotiated by your Regional Lead, they’ll be the same per head across your region.

Your Profits

Once you’ve paid the venue hire, app fee & monthly subscription fees, Business Buzz returns to you a substantial amount of the event door takings that is profit entirely for you. So, the more attendees you get through the door, the more profit you make.

Your Commitment

We require a minimum 12-month commitment to being a Business Buzz host. Within this time, Buzz hosts generally recover their initial outlay.

Building Local Business Communities

As a host, you have the opportunity to give another local business an elevated profile at your event. Introducing another local business owner to your Regional Lead is the first step towards them becoming a sponsor at your event. Their participation forms an integral part of your local business community & will when they champion Buzz they will bring diversity & a fresh vibrancy to your event. Having other local businesses supporting your Buzz adds a new level; of credibility that will help attract more visitors. It's a bit of a win-win all round.

Buzz events run monthly, so you have an ongoing opportunity to put Buzz’s 3-2-1 principle to good use. This tried & tested method should be adopted by all Buzz parties & we encourage hosts to be doing this, advocating the Buzz 3-2-1 method to realise potential & leading by example. It's a simply but powerful call to action.

Your Opportunity

We have various opportunities to become a Business Host.

Across the Birmingham & Warwickshire Buzz Region at Alcester, Atherstone, Nuneaton, Shipston-on-Stour, Sutton Coldfield & Tamworth.
Across the Worcestershire Region at Bromsgrove, Evesham, Kidderminster. Malvern & Redditch.

So if you’re interested in hosting a Buzz, & bringing no fuss business networking to your town or city, get in touch with your Regional Lead, James Brodie now by WhatsApp on 07770 876300 or emailing him on warwickshire@business-buzz.org .

Join the Business Buzz Family

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:31:27 GMT

Business Buzz: The What, The Where & The When

Business Buzz is a community, where our emphasis is on facilitating meaningful and lasting connections that will benefit your business. Our strength lies in our approach – while networking isn’t a new concept, the way we approach it at Business Buzz is unique. We have built an accessible & collaborative culture, centred around people & the value they bring to business, community & connections. We focus on growing & nurturing relationships based on trust & understanding. Fostering the belief that not only do these connections benefit your brand & business, but they benefit you personally, as you become part of the Buzz family. Joining forces with our groups of like-minded individuals boosts your confidence & wellbeing, as well as your business.

Business Buzz provides 60 plus monthly face-to face networking events & a selection of regionally focused virtual events. This combination of in-person & online events is even more attractive, as there’s no need to commit to membership, all of our events are pay as you go, so you can choose which events you attend & when. Of course, networking works best when it is regular & consistent , but we don’t hold you to any large or on-going financial commitment other than paying for the events you visit. You’ll visit Buzz because you choose to! Like everyone else at Buzz, the power to build genuine business relationships is partly down to the fact that everyone who visits does so through choice.

Each business owner throws back their bed-clothes on the morning of Buzz & makes a conscious decision to visit. There is no lethargic crawl out of bed with the thought “I have paid for that membership fee for “such-&-such” networking & now I need to attend to get my return on investment, even though I am not getting much out of it & I kind of really don’t want to go”. So, in this scenario there is an immediate obstacle to overcome that will hinder you making the most of the opportunity. With Buzz there is no such obstacle – with everyone being there by choice, the conversations are real & the room literally “Buzzes”! At Business Buzz, our relaxed & welcoming approach benefits everyone who walks through our doors or visits us online because we create a deliberate sense of belonging as a direct result of you & everyone else choosing to be there. The mix & mingle, drop-in style is both powerful, friendly & hugely enjoyable.

I suspect your next question is “where can I get a piece of Business Buzz?” Firstly, you can always reach-out to me, as the Regional Lead for Buzz across Birmingham & Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire & Rutland & Worcestershire, I am always happy to chat about Buzz, plus I have a good idea of when & where Buzz happens. If you’re a little less out-going & forward then there is our website , which has a page for each Buzz event. Here you can take a look at the local teams that help deliver Business Buzz nationally, find out when & where your favourite or closest Buzz takes place. You can contact the host directly by email or phone, or message our team of real agents on our web-chat service. Lastly, there is our ground-breaking web-based booking app. You can use the calendar or nifty map or newsfeed to find the best Buzz for you to visit, whether in person or online.

Business Buzz: The Who

If you are a business owner, Business Buzz is for you. If you support business to succeed, then Business Buzz is for you too. Our monthly business networking events will sit comfortably as part of your current marketing activities, providing a unique opportunity to build your brand & standing in the local & regional community. With over a thousand people visiting Buzz each month, you will meet people that are outside your current network, enabling you to expand your connections & benefit your business

We love our visitors, both our regulars & newcomers, & everyone is welcomed to Business Buzz with a friendly face, & a coffee (or tea if you prefer). We’re a friendly, inclusive bunch & all of us were new once, so we know how it feels to take those first tentative steps into networking. Entering a room full of people, you don’t know is daunting, but part of our ethos is making people feel comfortable & at ease, & we’ll do all we can to support you. You’ll feel at home in no time!

“ My nerves get the better of me & so, I walked up & down outside my first Business Buzz event for at least 20 minutes, probably longer, trying to convince myself to walk through the door. I found every excuse under the sun to not to open the door & go inside! Somehow, I eventually did & I was met by the friendly face of the local Buzz host, who made me feel welcome. Noticing my nerves, he chatted with me for a few moments & cleverly worked out the best person who was already there for me to talk with. Crucially, he took me by the hand & introduced me to another business owner, where he explained it was my first time at Buzz. This business owner was just as welcoming & genuinely interested in me & my business. After we’d chatted for a while I was introduced to someone else…& before I knew it, I was relaxed & in the flow of Buzz.! ” Emma Smith – ES HR Consultancy.

Our visitors are at the heart of the Business Buzz family, but there are many different ways you can get involved. Because we are a family, much of our growth is organic & is generated from within, but we’re not restricted to that approach. Let’s talk through how you can be part of The Business Buzz family:

Hosting a Buzz event: Being the host of a Buzz event is a springboard to super-connecting . It means you meet & welcome everyone who comes through the door & initiate connections between your visitors. If you are looking to raise your profile locally, build collaborative relationships & adopt a better way of working, let’s chat!

Becoming a Commercial Business Partner : Joining the Business Buzz Partner Programme is an opportunity to see your brand recognition, community engagement, connections & business profile skyrocket. There are options to join the family at a local or regional level. Not only will you form a key part of our supportive & positive community, you will have a platform from which you can support local business, gain credibility, & build unwavering trust in your product or service. Our local & regional Buzz teams will champion your brand. If you’re ready to take the next rung up on the ladder of networking, I’d love to hear from you.

Business Buzz: The Why & The How

As a Business Buzz super-fan, you might think I’m biased when I tell you that Business Buzz is unparalleled in the networking world. So, let me explain why. The Buzz family is made up of skilled business professionals with experience from a range of industries & sectors. Our combined experience is of huge value. Between us, we’ve tried & tested many, many networking & marketing opportunities. While we understand there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to running your own business, our collective experience means our Business Buzz principles are built on informed, strong & reliable foundations. We’ve found out what does & doesn’t work & we’ve honed our principles to ensure they give you the best chance of achieving success. Business interactions can be complicated, but we take a logical, accessible approach to our networking formula. Meet the 3-2-1 principle:

3 – At your favourite Buzz event, try & talk with 3 people you’ve not met before,
2 – Between this Buzz & next month’s Buzz have at least 2 1-2-1 conversations (outside of the Buzz meeting),
1 – If you love Buzz as much as we do, help spread the word & bring 1 visitor next time to help double your opportunities .

Using this principle requires a time investment, but with trust in our method, you can commit your time knowing it is going to result in meaningful connections & in-depth understanding of your fellow Buzzers. Applying this principle to your networking gives you the opportunity to make a positive impact on your brand awareness, standing in the community, & ultimately, your revenue.

The Next Steps

You’ve reached the end of my whistle-stop tour of Business Buzz, so let me leave you with my best bits:

Business Buzz is a community in every sense of the word. We offer a friendly, supportive & safe space to make connections, ask questions, & benefit from our collective experience. We believe meaningful relationships built on trust, allow for the best business relationships, & we provide an accessible & collaborative environment to start building your network.
Whether you’re new to networking or a seasoned pro, our 3-2-1 principle allows everyone to make the most of their networking.
With many different ways to join the Business Buzz family, whether it’s as a regular visitor as a host or as a commercial business partner, we have a place for you so let’s find it!

Come & join us!

Is It Enough to Be Visible to Be Viable?

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 07:03:07 GMT

Why Reliability Is the Real Currency of Small Business Success

Some time ago I wrote a blog about titled Stay Visible To Stay Viable . I genuinely believe that being visible is a vital component in any small business owners marketing strategy, but it is not simply enough on its own. So today I am publishing a supplementary blog that explains why reliability is the cornerstone of any small business owner’s offering.

In a digital age brimming with content, self-promotion, and personal branding, visibility is often celebrated as the holy grail of small business success. We're told to “show up,” “get seen,” and “stay front of mind.” But what happens after the spotlight fades? Is being visible enough to build a sustainable business?

The short answer is no!

Visibility might open the door, but it's reliability that keeps it propped open. In the competitive world of small business, being viable is about consistently earning trust, referrals, & repeat custom, & that comes down to more than marketing. It requires you to deliver, time & time again, to a standard that earns respect.

Let’s explore why visibility alone doesn’t guarantee viability and why reliability is the true foundation of success.

Visibility Without Reliability Is a Hollow Promise

You’ve seen it before: a business owner who’s everywhere. Their face floods your feed. They’re at every networking event. They’ve nailed the art of self-promotion. But when you or someone you know decides to engage their services, the experience doesn’t match the image.

They miss deadlines.
They cannot provide a quote, even after you have chased them.
They arrive late or cancel last minute.
The work they produce is rushed, incomplete, or lacks depth.

Suddenly, the glossy exterior fades, & the reality behind the scenes isn’t so impressive. Being visible created the opportunity got allow them to be considered for the job, but failing to be reliable lost them the trust & the access to the next steps. Once lost trust is hard to earn back.

Reliability: The Often-Overlooked Business Superpower

Reliability isn’t sexy. It doesn’t come with hashtags or followers. It won’t give you a viral reel. But it does build reputation, & that’s what ultimately drives referrals & repeat business. Being flashy on Instagram or standing out from the crowd when networking only goes so far. If you cannot deliver then all the work being social is wasted.

What does reliability actually look like in practice?

Meeting Deadlines: Every Time. Delivering on time is the most basic demonstration of respect for your client’s needs & schedule. It’s not just about productivity. It’s about trust. When you meet deadlines consistently, clients learn they can depend on you.
Turning Up When You Say You Will : Whether it’s a Zoom call, a face-to-face meeting, or a networking breakfast, punctuality matters. Being on time signals professionalism & attentiveness. Being late often, even with good excuses, will quietly chip away at your credibility.
Delivering High-Quality Work, Not Just 'Good Enough' : Clients don’t just want tasks ticked off, they want outcomes that work. “Good enough” often leads to rework or additional cost. True reliability means delivering above expectations, providing solutions that stand the test of time & not just a quick fix.
Create the time to listen to clients : If you are always rushing you won’t be listening to your clients meaning that you won’t be providing the solution or outcome that they want. The work you provide for clients is not about you, but about them. Taking time to listen & to get it right first time, every time will raise you up in their estimation & make it possible to secure more work when it is available.
Time Management & Prioritisation : Most small business owners juggle a lot. That’s no excuse for being overwhelmed. Good time management is a core part of reliability. It ensures every client, every job, & every detail gets the attention it deserves

Why Skipping Steps Is the Enemy of Reliability

A common trap for small business owners is to look for shortcuts in the name of efficiency. It’s tempting to jump ahead, to skip groundwork, bypass the process, aim for the result. But that’s where things fall apart.

For example, skipping the planning phase of a project to dive into delivery might feel faster. But it’s a risky move. Vital details get missed. Problems arise mid-way. Timelines slip. & suddenly, you’re no longer the reliable provider your marketing claimed you were.

Reliability is about process, not just results. It’s about working through a job from the start, investing time in understanding, scoping, planning, delivering, reviewing. When you shortcut the journey, you compromise the outcome & ultimately your reputation.

Reliability Builds Reputation. Reputation Builds Revenue

Visibility might get you noticed. But reliability is what keeps your inbox full & from where your reputation stems . When people know you follow through, word spreads. Your name gets mentioned in rooms you haven’t entered yet. Opportunities find you, not the other way around.

Why? Because in a noisy marketplace, trust is everything. People do business with those who make them feel secure. If you’re known as someone who always turns up, does what they say they will, & never lets people down, you are invaluable.

You become the person others recommend without hesitation. Here’s the thing: Reliability compounds. Every job done well, every deadline met, every promise kept adds another layer to your professional identity. Over time, that becomes your brand. A brand that stands for something solid.

What Reliability Looks Like in Daily Practice

It’s not enough to say “ I’m reliable. ” You have to prove it consistently. Here’s how:

Communicate clearly. Confirm appointments. Follow up promptly. Set expectations early.
Schedule realistically. Don’t overpromise just to please. Under promise and overdeliver instead.
Prepare thoroughly. Before every meeting, read the notes. Before every job, check the brief.
Finish strong. Don’t fizzle out toward the end of a project. Stay sharp and give your best to the final detail.
Own your mistakes. Everyone slips occasionally. What matters is how you respond. Apologise, fix it, & learn.

The truth is that reliability doesn't kill creativity. If anything, it amplifies It. Some small business owners resist structure, worrying it will stifle their freedom or creativity. In fact, the opposite is true. Reliability creates a strong framework with a rhythm of trust & organisation that frees you to be bolder and more creative.

When your clients don’t have to chase you, they give you more space to innovate. When your reputation precedes you, you're invited into more interesting work. Reliability doesn't trap anyone, what it can so is elevates you.

So, Is Visibility Useless? Not at All.

Let’s be clear: visibility matters. People need to know you exist before they can hire you. But visibility without substance is just noise. In the end, you can be the most well-known name in the room, but if your work is hit-&-miss, your schedule unreliable, your process sloppy, you will get a reputation that reflect how you perform. Sustainable success comes from balancing being seen with being dependable. It's the combination that creates long-term viability.

Be the Person Others Can Count On

There’s a certain calm confidence that follows a reliable business owner. You don’t have to shout the loudest or be the flashiest. You don’t need tricks or gimmicks. You simply do what you said you’d do. On time. With care. With integrity. In a world of uncertainty & over-promising, that is gold.

So, is it enough to be visible to be viable? No! To be truly viable, be reliable. That’s where the magic and the money really is.

Be Part Of Something Bigger Than Yourself

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 06:21:41 GMT

So, What does it mean to be part of something bigger than yourself?

I take this to mean seeking & achieving a sense of meaning, purpose & belief in something outside of your own self. What the ‘something’ is, of course, is different for each of us. Whether it’s community, faith, parenting, our work, as a career, or as part of a group or organisation, being part of something outside of our own immediateness has a significant impact on our sense of self, & our experience of the world. Research tells us that people who have meaning & purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control & get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety & depression ¹

If you’re a regular Buzzer or are part of the Buzz community, you’ll have heard us refer to the Buzz ‘Family’. Not necessarily a word you associate with business, so hear me out! Technically, family refers to a group of people related by birth, marriage or adoption. Legalities & formalities aside, the Buzz ‘Family’ refers to our networking community: a group of people brought together by like-mindedness.

As a member of the Buzz Family, you’re supported & celebrated, confided in & trusted. The Buzz Family is Buzz’s answer to being part of something bigger than yourself. For those of you who know me, you’ll know what a positive experience being part of the Buzz community is for me. But for those of you who know me less well, let me tell you that I am a Buzz super-fan & I often talk about how great my Buzz experience is .

Networking That Creates A Buzz

So, what can you expect from Business Buzz? Our ethos is centred around creating an accessible & welcoming environment, where business owners collaborate to form meaningful business relationships based on genuine trust & understanding. In turn, these relationships lead to business opportunities & growth. While this sounds simple, successful networking relies on a format that encourages consistency & connection, & this is where Buzz is unique. We have cultivated a community, focusing on the value of people, & the power of the personal connections we forge. We are committed to facilitating & fostering relationships, understanding the benefit they have to both business & wellbeing, all without the need to spend big on a pricey membership.

We know how daunting it can feel to attend a networking event, so we do everything we can to make our visitors feel comfortable. This starts with the Buzz Host, who greets each person at the door. Your Buzz Host is a friendly & welcoming face, & the person who knows everyone’s name & business. Setting the tone for the Buzz way to network , your Host is instrumental in connecting with each & every person in the Buzz room, & for initiating connections between like-minded business owners.

Buzz Benefits

As a no membership networking model, there is no financial tie to Buzz. Visitors are there because they choose to be, rather than because they are financially obliged. This is the foundation on which Buzz builds a great networking opportunity. As all visitors are there through choice, the conversations, which are at the heart of Buzz networking, are free flowing & genuine, meaning people are more engaged. We believe that a true networking experience has at its core real conversations, that are critical for the development to build honest, trusted & long-lasting connections. For those business owners looking for a genuine desire to really network, to discover links & new opportunities without the faff & pressure of referral style networking, then Buzz is the best place to make this happen. We create the environment for you to meet your next best customer, your new business partner, or your next big project.

Each month, Business Buzz provides over 60 face-to face networking events, of which 16 can be found in the Midlands across, the historic county of Warwickshire which includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry & Solihull, along with the the counties of Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Worcestershire. There is also a selection of virtual events. Understanding the need & benefit of both in-person & virtual events, Buzz networking offers a hybrid model to suit everyone’s needs & schedules. With no need to commit to membership, all of our events are pay-as-you-go, so you can choose which events you visit & when. Of course, networking works best when it is regular & consistent , but we don’t hold you to any large or on-going financial commitment other than paying for the events you visit.

Buzz Innovation: Challenging the Status Quo

I’ve talked about the things that unite us, the glue that holds the Buzz family together: our like-mindedness, our supportive, accessible approach, our keenness to collaborate & knowledge share. So now I want to talk to you about the diversity we have at Buzz, & how we celebrate what it brings. All small business owners are welcome at Buzz, regardless of your sector, industry, how long you have been established, or whether you’re new to networking or a networking expert. The joy of welcoming business owners from all walks of life, & business, is that our visitors get to meet & connect with people from a whole range of backgrounds. The plethora of knowledge & skills across Buzz has an admirable breadth, from solo entrepreneurs stepping out on the path to success, to relationship managers & business development professionals from a raft of larger SMEs, & from the key businesses that support us as we work to grow our businesses. Our inclusive approach encourages this diversity, & encapsulates everything Buzz is about. We’re really proud of our ethos, & of our visitors who promote & practice our culture of inclusion.

One of the things I really love about Buzz is our ability to innovate & bring to the table fresh ideas on how to make networking really accessible for our community. Let’s start with our format which is no fuss, no membership, no elevator pitches, no speakers, no one seat policy. No other networking brand has mastered the welcoming, conversation orientated format like Business Buzz. We are not trying to be more than what we are, which is the best place for business networking. Nor are we a deviant of someone else’s brand with a tweak here or there. No one does what we do anywhere near as well as the people at Buzz.

When it comes to virtual networking, Business Buzz didn’t follow the crowd by heading for Zoom. We forged our own path & found a solution that replicates our straightforward mix & mingle style of networking. Let me introduce you to Remo, our virtual platform, where the Buzz café can be found. As Buzz visitors, you have control of who you talk to. There are none of the Zoom algorithms that push you into breakout rooms, where you meet the same people over & over. With Buzz & Remo you choose the other business people with whom you want to talk. We have a quarterly virtual offering to compliment our face-to-face networking, so there is a Buzz for everyone. Even if you do not have a face-to-face Buzz on your doorstep you can be part of our community by joining a national virtual Buzz.

Then there is the Business Buzz App! It is the place to find where Buzz events are happening, to book your favourite Buzz & to pay for the event, but it is also a space to elevator your profile through our newsfeed, community directory & keeping you personal & company profile up to date. We also offer a contactless business card solution connected to your Business Buzz App profiles. We know that some business owners like to belong at or to a monthly Buzz event, so we have made this option available by creating our Buzz Plus subscription. The subscription included all of the above plus your ticket to your home event & access to the innovative Business Buzz Virtual Lounge where you hold meetings of various sizes, so there is no needs for a paid for Zoom or Teams account.

With such a dynamic collective skillset within the Buzz Family, you will gain a broader, encompassing view of your business, allowing you to see things from new & different perspectives. In the Buzz family, we respect & appreciate the wealth of experience we hold between us, & we love being able to see the value this brings to business conversations, connections & collaborations.

Boost Your Business By Hosting A Buzz

If you’re looking to increase brand awareness, supercharge your business connections & collaborate with other businesses, then hosting a Business Buzz event is your perfect solution! Whether a key strand on your marketing plan, or the main pillar for your marketing, hosting a Buzz gives you a platform to showcase your business, brand, & yourself to an audience of potential customers. Let’s have a look at the finer details:

Your Costs

There is a one-off set-up fee of £600 plus VAT to establish a monthly Buzz in your town or city. This also applies to taking over the reins at an existing Buzz events that are already operating, where the local Host is moving up in the Buzz Family.
There is an on-going monthly license fee of £50 plus VAT per month.
Your venue hire fees are negotiated on your behalf by your Regional Lead. They are the same across your region & the total amount due after each Buzz is calculated on the number of people who visit your Buzz.
Buzz HQ also takes £2.50 plus VAT per paying visitor to offset the development cost for the Buzz App.

Your Profits

It cost just £10.00 plus VAT to visit your local Buzz. Once you’ve paid the venue hire, the Buzz App costs & monthly subscription fees, the remaining event door takings are profit for you. The breakeven point is nine paying visitors each month, over & above this you begin to earn as you network. The more visitors you can encourage through your door, the more profit you make & you can begin to recoup your initial outlay for your license fee

However, the real power for generating profit from your Buzz is to religiously follow-up with your visitors, to schedule & complete 1-2-1 meetings. This forms part of the Buzz 3-2-1 Principle, which is the real power for our Hosts & their delivery teams. Gaining a better understanding of the people who visit Buzz has a twofold benefit. Firstly, they are invested in you, your business & by default, Buzz, so they are more likely to return to your Buzz event next month. Secondly, the 1-2-1 process allows you to establish if a particular person is your customer or a key referrer, or whether they have people in their extended network that might be from either category. Buzz Hosts who are meticulous in follow-up, are the business owners who see both their business & their Buzz event soar.

Your Commitment

We require a 12-month commitment to being a Buzz Host. Within this time, Buzz Hosts generally recover their initial outlay

To Bring It Full Circle

Business Buzz is a well formulated & established marketing strategy for any small business owner. Like all marketing, it takes time to build momentum, but once you gain traction with Buzz, the world’s your oyster. The opportunities are limitless & you can grow into Buzz in so many ways. Underpinning all of this is the Buzz Family, with its community, not only of visitors, but of Buzz Hosts, local delivery teams, Regional Leads & Buzz HQ. As I said at the start of this blog, being part of something bigger than yourself has so many positive implications. I hope hearing more about the Buzz Family, our approach to networking, & the benefits to our visitors has inspired you to book a Buzz – whether it’s your first of your fortieth! If you’ve got any questions about attending a Buzz, or how being a Host could help your business, I’d love to hear from you. Simply email me at james.brodie@buddhaconnect.co.uk .

Stegar, M.F. (2009). Meaning in Life. In S.J. Lopez & C.R. Snyder (Eds.)Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. NY: Oxford University Press.

Creating A Healthy Work-Life Balance:

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 14:10:49 GMT

Why Your Personal Life Matters As Much As Work Does,

In today’s fast-paced, small business world, the boundary between work & personal life can become blurred. Emails buzz late into the evening, deadlines creep into weekends, & before you know it, your personal life is running on autopilot. While ambition & hard work are commendable, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is not just a lifestyle choice. it’s a necessity for long-term success, productivity, & mental well-being.

The Myth of “Always On”

There’s a persistent myth in many professional environments that being “always on” is the path to achievement. Yet, the reality is that constant overworking can lead to burnout, poor mental health, & even a decline in work performance. According to a report from the World Health Organization, long working hours (55+ hours per week) are associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke & a 17% higher risk of heart disease. Hard work in itself isn’t a bad thing. In fact, together with measured productivity it can have a positive impact for your work balance by creating a sense of achievement. The benefits of a busy work environment should not be under estimated, but not at any cost.

A study by the Mental Health Foundation also found that one in three people feel unhappy or very unhappy about the time they devote to work, with this imbalance contributing to stress, anxiety, & relationship problems.

Work-Life Balance Isn’t Just About Time. It’s About Energy

Many assume that achieving work-life balance simply means clocking off at 5 PM. But balance is more nuanced than that. It’s about protecting your emotional, physical, & mental energy. If work demands all of your focus, attention, & emotional bandwidth, there’s often little left for friends, family, hobbies, or even rest.

On the other hand, when individuals feel satisfied in both their professional & personal spheres, their productivity increases by as much as 21%, according to a Gallup study. Employees who experience a healthy work-life balance are also more loyal, creative, & engaged in their roles.

Planning Is the Foundation of Balance

So, how do you create that balance? It starts with planning both for work & for life. Most people plan for deadlines, meetings, & business trips, but rarely do they plan for rest, relationships, or joy. Yet, the same intentionality that fuels professional success can dramatically improve personal satisfaction when applied thoughtfully.

Start by scheduling personal activities just like yur would business meetings. Put date nights, family time, workouts, or hobby hours on your calendar, & protect them. They should form a fixed point in your diary & become immovable. Personal events aren’t luxuries, they’re your fuel. Planning ahead for birthdays, holidays, or simply quiet time at home ensures that personal priorities are honoured rather than squeezed in when convenient. Where possible create a rhythm like making your monthly date night happen on the same day each month such as the 2 ^nd Tuesday & then added a repeat diary event in your calendar.

The Signs of an Unbalanced Life

When work consistently takes priority over everything else, warning signs begin to show. Some are obvious, others are more subtle:

Increased irritability or impatience
Strained relationships
Reduced concentration or creativity
Sleep disturbances
Persistent fatigue
Feeling emotionally numb, tearful or disconnected
Heightened anxiety or always feeling ‘on edge’

Left unchecked, these symptoms can evolve into serious mental health challenges. According to the Health & Safety Executive (UK), 914,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22, leading to 17 million lost working days. Are you part of this statistic?

Tips for a More Balanced Life

What can you do to make a change for the better? Perhaps right now you are operating on an even keel, but you never know when you’ll get blown off course & struggle to get back on the right place. So here are some practical steps for fostering better balance:

Set clear boundaries. Establish a defined end to your workday. Avoid checking work emails or taking business calls after hours unless absolutely necessary.

Protect personal time. Don’t treat personal plans as optional. Whether it’s a walk with your dog or a dinner with friends, prioritise it like you would a client meeting.

Say no when necessary . Taking on every task or attending every meeting doesn’t prove commitment. It risks burnout. Learn to say ‘no’ with professionalism & grace. By saying ‘no’ today, it means you can say ‘yes’ with confidence in the future when the time or opportunity is right . It is also perfectly OK to say ‘no’ in your personal life. Remember, that you need to find a balance. Don’t succumb when another person uses emotional blackmail to try to get the upper hand. When people say things like ‘you don’t care’ or ‘everyone else is going' or 'if you really loved me, you would…..’. These comments are liberal thrown around to guilty trip you to meet someone else expectation. You don’t have to justify your decision to anyone other than yourself .

Make time for self-care . Exercise, meditation, journaling, or simply resting aren’t indulgences. They’re essential to recharging your mental & physical batteries

Communicate with your support network. Don’t suffer in silence. Share your challenges with those you truly trust. You’ll often find both empathy & helpful perspective. Be careful to not only just talk about your difficulties .

Reassess regularly. Work-life balance isn’t a one-time achievement. Life changes, & your balance needs to be revisited. Check in with yourself monthly or quarterly to look at what’s working, what’s not?

Stop being a people pleaser. It’s very easy to get sucked into doing everything for everyone else. What is the benefit to you? Really, the only person you need to please is yourself. Help out when you can, but have limitations on how much you can realistically commit to.

A Balanced Life Is a Better Life

Ultimately, achieving work-life balance isn’t about doing less work. It’s about doing better work while living a fuller life. The benefits ripple across every area: stronger relationships, improved health, increased productivity, & a deeper sense of satisfaction.

In a world that often celebrates hustle, we must also learn to celebrate rest, self, connection, & play. Because when your personal life thrives, so does your work. A well-balanced life isn’t just more enjoyable, it’s more sustainable. In the long run, sustainability beats intensity every time hands down.

Your life should reflect not just your ambition, but your values. Plan ahead, create space, & allow both work & personal life to flourish side by side.

Five Simple Steps to a Better Work-Life Balance

If you’re feeling out of sync, here are five straightforward ways to start restoring balance today:

Schedule personal time like work meetings. Block out time for hobbies, family, & rest in your calendar. Treat these commitments with the same importance as professional ones. Use a paper or electronic diary to keep track. Don’t just try to store this information in your head, as otherwise you’ll forget about what you have planned.

Set clear boundaries with technology. Turn off email notifications after hours, & avoid taking work calls during personal time. Use the ' Do Not Disturb ' function on your phone. Try creating digital-free zones such as at the dinner table or before bed.

Prioritise what really matters. Focus on high-impact work tasks & meaningful personal activities. Let go of the “busy for the sake of busy” mentality.

Learn to say no. Overcommitting leads to imbalance. Be honest about your capacity & only take on what aligns with your goals & values. Knowing you own limitations is not a weakness, it is a real positive! You can then track & plan to be organised efficiently & know when you allocate some ‘me time’

By making small, intentional changes, you’ll build a routine that supports both your professional growth & your personal happiness. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s harmony. With the right balance, both your work & your life will feel more rewarding.

Health Risks of Long Working Hours

As I have already mentioned; according to a joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO) & the Labour Organization (ILO), working 55 or more hours per week is associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke & a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35–40 hours a week.

When Life Takes Over Work

Much of the conversation around work-life balance focuses on how work encroaches on personal time—but the opposite can also be true. Sometimes, personal obligations, distractions, or emotional burdens take over & begin to affect our focus, discipline, & performance at work.

This kind of imbalance can be harder to identify because it’s often tied to good intentions: caring for loved ones, managing a household, supporting friends, volunteering, or handling unexpected life events. These are valid & meaningful responsibilities. But when they consistently consume energy that’s needed for professional obligations, problems arise.

The Impact of Personal Overload

Just like overworking can lead to burnout, constantly putting life commitments ahead of work can result in:

Missed deadlines or reduced quality of output
Strained relationships with colleagues or clients
Lost opportunities for profit or growth
Financial stress due to lack of focus or underperformance
Eroding self-confidence or professional reputation

Personal stress doesn’t stay at home, it follows us to work. When life feels chaotic or overwhelming, the ability to stay present & productive at work often suffers. A chaotic home life will seep into your working life, which could severely affect your reputation .

Recognising the Signs

Here are a few indicators that personal life might be interfering with work too much:

Frequent lateness or absenteeism
Difficulty concentrating during working hours
Avoiding tasks or procrastinating due to emotional fatigue
Feeling constantly behind or disorganised
Neglecting professional development or long-term goals
Emotional crutches - too much alcohol, increased smoking, or comfort eating
Not being able to talk about anything else. Venting at friends & family whilst forgetting to be interested in what is going on in their lives along with pulling conversations back to your problems.

It’s important not to ignore these signs. Just as with work-heavy imbalance, acknowledging the issue is the first step toward restoring control.

Creating a Two-Way Balance

A truly healthy work-life balance works in both directions. It ensures you’re present for your family & personal priorities, but also fully engaged & reliable at work. The key is conscious time management, strong boundaries, & honest communication.

Here are a few ways to prevent personal commitments from overwhelming your work life:

Set clear boundaries with family & friends. Let loved ones know your working hours & avoid unnecessary interruptions.
Delegate where possible. You don’t need to take on every task at home. Share responsibilities.
Have you heard of the 20/80 rule? 80% of your strife will be created by just 20% of clients or friends or family. You want to work or spend time with the other people who don’t impact your personal balance.
Use planning tools. A shared calendar can help coordinate family events & work obligations more effectively.
Be honest with yourself. If you’re overwhelmed, look at what can be paused, delegated, or removed from your plate both personally & professionally.
Get some fresh perspective. A problem shared is a problem halved. Other people may be able to help you see the trees from wood, rather than animpenetrable forest.
Make a plan & take one step at a time. A little change today will make a big difference tomorrow. Everything starts to become easier one step at a time.

Striking the Right Balance

Work-life balance isn’t about giving 50% to each part of your life every day. It’s about finding a rhythm that works across days, weeks, & seasons. Sometimes, work will need more attention. At other times, life demands it. The goal is to make conscious choices that reflect your values & long-term vision, without letting one area consistently dominate the other.

True balance is dynamic, not static. It requires regular reflection & recalibration. By paying attention to both sides of the equation that is when work takes over life & when life overwhelms work you can build a foundation for sustained success & personal fulfilment.

If You Fail to Plan, Then You Are Planning to Fail

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:38:46 GMT

We’ve all heard the quote: “If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.”

Often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. This timeless adage has been echoed in boardrooms, classrooms, & strategy sessions for generations. & for good reason! There’s a deep truth nestled in those few words.

Planning is the bridge between ideas & outcomes. It transforms vague intentions into structured action. It forces you to define your goals, anticipate obstacles, allocate resources, & measure progress. Without a plan, even the most ambitious dreams remain just that, dreams.

Let’s explore why planning is critical for success, how the lack of it leads to failure, & how you can turn planning into a practical habit that propels your personal & professional growth.

While there is no single statistic pinpointing how many UK small businesses fail specifically due to not having a business plan, research consistently shows that poor planning is a leading cause of failure. With around 60% of small businesses failing within their first three years, issues like cash flow problems, lack of market understanding, & unclear strategy, many of which stem from not having a solid business plan are among the top reasons. Studies suggest that up to one in three failures could be avoided with better planning. While a business plan doesn’t guarantee success, not having one significantly increases the risk of failure.

The High Cost of Winging It

Most people don’t intend to fail. They want to succeed, grow, & thrive. But without a plan, they’re operating on hope & guesswork which are two of the most unreliable strategies out there.

Consider a business that launches a new product without a market analysis, pricing strategy, or marketing plan. It may generate initial excitement, but if it can’t answer who the target audience is or how to reach them, it’s likely to flop.

Or imagine a student who decides to ace their exams by just “studying when they feel like it.” That may work for a while, but when deadlines loom & pressure builds, the lack of structure creates chaos, stress, & often poor results.

The same principle applies in health, relationships, career moves. In fact, every aspect of life. Why should running a business & serving client be any different? Without a plan, you're not making informed decisions; you’re reacting, hoping things will fall into place. Spoiler alert: they usually don’t.

Planning Clarifies the Goal

The first major benefit of planning is clarity. When you sit down to plan, you are forced to answer questions like:

What exactly am I trying to achieve?
When do I want it to happen?
What steps are involved?
What resources do I need?
What could get in the way?
Have I a marketing strategy?
Who are my customers?
Where do my customers hang-out?
Where do my customers make their purchase?

These questions force vague intentions into sharp focus. Suddenly, “I want to grow my business” becomes “I want to increase monthly revenue by 30% over the next six months by expanding into new markets & improving customer retention.” That’s a tangible goal with a time frame, a strategy, & a measurable outcome. Build SMART goals for all aspects of our business.

Maybe you are not familiar with the acronym; SMART. IT helps you define 5 key characteristics of great planning. Each goal should be:

S is for Specific : I want to increase monthly revenue.
M is for Measurable : by 30%.
A is for Achievable : The four other points combined make this potentially achievable. Only you know you own limitations.
R is for Realistic : by expanding into new markets & improving customer retention.
T is for Timely : over the next six months.

SMART goals help to define what success looks like, how to track it, ensures it's within reach, aligns with your broader business vision, & has a clear deadline. Whether you're planning to grow your business or to make a strategic business moves, SMART goals turn fuzzy dreams into focused action.

Without clarity, it’s hard to measure progress. It’s even harder to stay motivated. Plans give you a target to aim for & the map to get there.

Plans Create Accountability

Once a plan exists, it can be tracked, adjusted, & most importantly you & your business can be held accountable.

Accountability doesn’t have to mean rigid timelines & looming deadlines (although it can). It’s about creating a sense of responsibility & commitment to the path you’ve chosen. A plan says, “This is what I said I’d do. Now let me follow through.” As a small business owner or solo entrepreneur, it can be difficult to be self-accountable. Therefore, writing our what you want to achieve is valuable. It can be a fixed point in your business that you tie your actions to. Oh! Did I forget to mention, its not enough to have your planning in your head. Put it into words on paper. It then becomes a fixed point from which you can measure your businesses directions & achievements.

Without a plan, it’s easy to let distractions, excuses, or setbacks steer you off course. You don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing at any given moment, so you default to what feels easiest or most urgent.

It is OK if you don’t quite get where you wanted to be in the time scale. The beauty here is that you can revisit your document & make small adjustments as you move along your defined path. Occasionally new opportunities may present themselves meaning a major re-evaluation is required. That is exciting, but without a plan in the first place that gave you the right direction you could have missed this altogether.

Working without a plan is how so many people end up busy but not productive. Constantly working yet making little real progress.

Plans Help Anticipate Problems

One of the most powerful aspects of planning is its ability to forecast obstacles. A good plan doesn’t just list steps; it also considers what might go wrong & how to handle it.

Contingency planning, sometimes called “what if” planning, is critical in business, especially during times of uncertainty. What if your supplier goes out of business? What if the campaign underperforms? What if sales slump?

Most certainly, you won’t be able to foresee all eventualities, but by asking questions like this at the outset, makes you, your business & your plan more resilient & as a whole better prepared to weather any storm. Planning ahead gives you the chance to build safeguards & alternatives. It’s not about being pessimistic; it’s about being prepared. Fore warned is fore armed.

This foresight is the difference between being thrown off course by the unexpected & being able to pivot on a six-pence with confidence.

Planning Saves Time & Energy

I have a new idea. I just want to charge off, get stuck in & make it happen. All too often small business owners dive into the making it happen phase without think about how, when, where, why or how much. Ironically, many small business owners skip planning because they think they don’t have time for it, they think it is boring or are too eager to run with their new concept. But the time spent planning is nothing compared to the time wasted fixing problems that could have been avoided.

There is no real value on starting a project at the finishing point & working backwards. All too often crucial elements get missed. Meaning that the delivery on this work is not rounded, or complete. When this is client work you potentially under delivery or produce a poor-quality product. To be successful requires graft & unfortunately planning is part of that graft.

When you have a plan, it makes you more efficient. You eliminate decision fatigue. You don’t waste time every day trying to figure out what to do next. The plan tells you.

You also reduce wasted effort. Planning helps you focus on what matters most, not just what’s in your business shouts the loudest or seems urgent. You invest your energy in tasks that actually move the needle forward rather than being stuck in a rut you could have avoided through some forethought.

In this way, planning isn’t restrictive; it’s liberating. It gives you a sense of control, satisfaction & direction, allowing creativity & productivity to flourish within a defined framework.

Common Excuses for Not Planning & Why They Don’t Hold Up

Even when people know the benefits of planning, they still avoid it. Why? Let’s unpack a few common excuses:

“I’m too busy to plan.” You’re too busy not to plan. Without a plan, you’ll waste time on the wrong things & end up busier with less to show for it.

“Plans always change, so what’s the point?” It’s true. No plan survives contact with reality unscathed. But having a plan gives you a baseline to adapt from. It’s easier to adjust a plan than to make decisions from scratch in the heat of the moment.

“I don’t know where to start.” Start small. Pick one goal. Break it into manageable steps. Planning doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective. It just needs to get you moving in the right direction.

How to Plan Effectively

So how do you create plans that actually work? We have already touch on setting SMART objectives, but here’s a simple framework:

Define the Outcome. What are you trying to achieve? Be specific. Vague goals lead to vague plans.
Break It Down. List the steps needed to reach your goal. Break large goals into milestones & milestones into tasks. Large projects can be broken down into smaller projects that connect to one another. Thus, allowing you make the whole more manageable, more achievable & less daunting.
Set Timeframes. When do you want to achieve each milestone? Deadlines create urgency & help you stay focused. Consider the impact of missing a deadline. What might be the knock-on effect?
Anticipate Challenges . What might get in your way? What’s your plan B? Thinking ahead helps avoid panic later.
Track Progress. Review your plan regularly. What’s working? What needs adjustment? Flexibility is key, but don’t confuse flexibility with lack of commitment.
Celebrate Wins. Acknowledge your progress. Celebrate milestones, even the small ones. This keeps morale high & momentum going.

Planning in Business Versus Life

While planning is often discussed in a business context, its power extends into every corner of life. You need not restrict it to your business alone adding some simple planning to the everyday can make life so much more.

Want to get in shape? You need a fitness plan.
Want to improve your relationships? You need an intentional communication plan.
Want to manage your finances? You need a budgeting & savings plan.

Whether it's launching a company, building a home, or simply making the most of your week, planning gives purpose & structure to your efforts.

Making a list is a simple but effect plan. There is nothing more satisfying than crossing through each task as it is completed. Where you have not been able to complete a particular task then move it forward to tomorrow’s list. You can easily look back at how much you have achieved in you keep a notebook with you lists contained within.

The Emotional Side of Planning

There’s also a psychological component to planning that’s easy to overlook. Having a plan reduces anxiety. It quiets the mental noise of uncertainty & indecision. Plus, if your plan is written out, then it needs no longer to be rattling around in your head, obscuring other ideas & workflows.

It also builds confidence. When you have a plan, you feel capable, competent, & in control. You’re less likely to procrastinate because you know what needs to be done & why it matters. You’ll be confident in knowing you have an organised plan to follow rather than a head full of what ifs .

A good plan won’t make the fear or doubt disappear, but it gives you something solid to hold on to when emotions get turbulent.

Planning Doesn’t Guarantee Success—But It Makes It More Likely

Let’s be clear: planning is not a magic bullet. Even the best-laid plans can encounter unexpected challenges. But the act of planning dramatically increases your chances of success.

You might not hit your goal exactly as planned, but you'll be a lot closer than if you had no roadmap at all. Planning gives your ideas structure. It transforms effort into direction. It turns intentions into results.

So, the next time you’re tempted to “wing it,” pause & ask: What am I actually trying to achieve? & what’s my plan to get there?

Because if you fail to plan, you’re not just gambling on success & you’re setting the stage for failure.

The Last Word

Planning is one of the most powerful workplace habits you can build. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be intentional.

My own personal example is that I have a plan for writing blogs. It so not complex but helps keep me on track. What do I do?

When I get an idea, I am normally out & about so I send myself an email with the subject or concept as the title. Not much more then that. Then, when I am working through my inbox as I reach the said email, I log onto my website builder & create a blog title page. It can take a while for the concept to coalesce in my mind. By creating the holding page for my ideas are not lost & I can maintain my momentum. On average I want to write two blogs a month. Sometimes it’s more, & sometimes it’s less, depending on my other priorities at any given time. I can always log on to the website builder, check my existing ideas & then pick-up where I left off on a particular subject.

I write my blogs in Word & then transfer them to my blogsite when the time is right. For me using Word is great because I can draft & print & then annotate this way, I can make changes until I am happy before plunging in & publishing my thoughts. Which can be scary! Also, I like the Read Aloud Function in Word, which is great to keep the flow going, identify typographical errors. For me blogs take time, so this simply set of actions help me keep on track.

Whether you’re leading a business or managing your time, make planning a non-negotiable part of your process. You’ll save time, reduce stress, define a balanced approach, & greatly increase your odds of success.

Remember: if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. But if you choose to plan, you are choosing to succeed on purpose.

The Trouble With People...

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 04:12:01 GMT

...Is That They Create Conflict.

Small business owners may create conflict in the workplace, intentionally or unintentionally, due to a variety of reasons, often tied to stress, personal investment, & leadership challenges.

Here are a few of the common causes:

Owners who feel a deep attachment to their business may struggle when they have imposter syndrome. I imagine that all of us at some point struggle with believing in ourselves & our business. When this happens, it becomes hard to delegate & to trust others, especially when as a small business owner you don’t necessarily believe in yourself. Then, where you may be working with others these insecurities can manifest as micromanagement leaving colleagues undervalued or restricted.

Many small business owners juggle multiple responsibilities, which can lead to unclear, curtailed instructions, shifting expectations, or just confusion. Incomplete or unfinished messages can leave the next person looking incompetent, because you have not shared or identified all the relevant information . This naturally creates frustration & distrust, plus it can have a negative impact on your reputation making it harder to work with that person next time.

Because for many small business owners their business is personal, owners might make impulsive or emotionally driven decisions, rather than objective ones. This can result in favouritism or inconsistent leadership. For many small business owners limited cash flow can lead to tight budgets causing stress, payment disputes, unrealistic workload expectations, or tension over resource allocation. Many business owners are resistance to feedback, whether it's good or bad & are often not open to new ideas or the fear that making a change that could lead to failure. All of which can result in a stagnated approach & can only ingrain the potential imposter syndrome I have already mentioned.

Let’s Be Honest

As a small business owner it is inevitable that you will encounter periods where you have to address an unpleasant set of circumstances. Whether this is of your own creation or not, you may find yourself stuck slap bang in the middle of a situation that is difficult to address. Many business owners, me included, tend towards people pleasing,l which in itself is not a bad thing, but when it comes to difficult situations, wearing this hat can make dealing with issues so much more difficult.

The Personal Challenge of Confrontation

Dealing with confrontation is inherently challenging, particularly for small business owners who often view their enterprise as an extension of themselves. When disputes arise, they can feel deeply personal, leading to stress, anxiety, & even depression. When unpleasant situations continue unabated for any length of time this can lead to a toxic environment for all those concerned. Something that might have been an easy fix on day one can become unresolvable, purely due to the time between it happening & the start of a resolution process.

It is worth noting that according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), 25% of UK employees ¹ experienced workplace conflict in the past year, with many reporting lower job satisfaction & poorer mental & physical health as a direct result. For small business owners, the stakes are even higher. The close-knit nature of small teams whether internal or outsourced along with extended working partnerships means that conflicts can disrupt not only professional relationships but also personal dynamics, making resolutions emotionally taxing & time consuming.

The Benefits of Addressing Confrontation Head-On

While confronting issues directly can be uncomfortable, the benefits of doing so are substantial.

Addressing conflicts promptly can prevent escalation, fostering a more collaborative & positive work environment & keep your workplace harmony balanced along with a healthy work-life balance. Resolving disputes allows people to focus on the tasks in their business without the distraction of ongoing tensions. Therefore, creating more productivity, as your energies can be directed into the jobs that generate revenue & enhance your reputation rather than being syphoned away into the bottomless pits of despair.

It is also worth noting that, what might be a huge issue for you, maybe a miniscule issue for the other person. You may be offended by a passing comment, that the other person has not registered as being upsetting. As a result of this type of scenario means you can be stuck at a point in the past when everyone else has moved on & beyond that particular moment. Linger at that point & building up resentment. The takeaway at this moment is that you give yourself permission to start your conflict & to get stuck at that specific point. I am not diminishing the impact this might have on your self-worth, but it has to be better to say something at the time to be able to move forward. The other person will probably be mortified that they have offended you & will apologise instantly. After which no more need be said.

Unresolved conflicts add costs to a business. Did you know that workplace conflict costs UK employers nearly £30 billion annually? ² How much time have you spent on dealing with the all-consuming aspect of conflicts? If you grasp the nettle from day one, although it may be unpleasant & out of your comfort zone, you can mitigate the negative effects of unresolved issues saving time & money.

Lastly, if you act speedily & professionally, where others are involved, hopefully they will see what steps you have taken & that you have acted fairly & with wisdom to reach a balanced & sustainable outcome. Of course, sometimes circumstances will not follow your desired path & that is OK. If you have been genuine, honest & behaved with decency then this may still be the best resolution for all involved.

The Consequences of Avoiding Difficult Situations

Neglecting to address conflicts can lead to several detrimental outcomes. Most notably is that unresolved disputes can intensify over time, leading to more severe problems that are harder to manage. They lead to everyone feeling undervalued or ignored. If another person's concerns are not addressed this can lead to decreased morale, motivation & engagement. In the worst-case scenario, unresolved tensions can lead to formal grievances or even legal action, further straining resources & reputation.

The lingering magnification of one slight will amplify the next & very quickly you have lost control of the situation. I am not suggesting for one moment that it is not awful to be on the receiving end of another person’s ire, but that doesn’t mean you should not work to an amicable resolution. It is worth remembering what may feel very real to you is not necessarily someone else’s reality. What you internalise no one else can imagine. So, if you don’t speak out the other person involved probably has no idea. They may only get a glimmer of your problem many months down the line, when you have created a mountain out of a mole hill.

The Dangers of Gossip & Third-Party Involvement

There are two sides to every story. In the small business settings, unresolved conflicts can often give rise to gossip & unsolicited third-party involvement, which can exacerbate the situation.

As information spreads informally, details can become misconstrued & embellished, leading to misunderstandings & further conflict. Imagine how you might feel if that other people are chattering about you behind your back, about a situation that you may not even be aware of, & you become aware from someone who is not directly involved? This is unkind & is certainly unfair & I suspect might make you feel sick to your stomach.

Your feelings are valid, but it is not a valid response to gossip or spread rumours. Treat others as you want to be traded yourself. I am sure if the shoe was on the other foot you’d want to be able to defend yourself without all the back-chatter?

In this modern world we are all so easily offended on behalf of others, that we don’t stop to understand what is going on. For the most part if we are not directly impacted, then it is probably not really any of your business. It is caring & supportive to be a shoulder to cry on. It is so easy to become a keyboard warrior or to stand on your soap box to shout about something where you only have a portion of the facts, when in fact you may have only heard one-side of a situation.

Persistent gossip & back-channel discussions can create a hostile atmosphere, affecting not only the people directly involved, but their business community overall, which will result in a loss of credibility. While some experts suggest that positive gossip ³ can help form social bonds, negative gossip involving rumours & false or misleading accusations can harm individuals' reputations & mental health. Don't be that person who pours kerosene on to an already inflamed situation by gossiping. event if your intentions are good you can make it so much worse. What is said in confidence should remain confidential.

What Are The Strategies For Effective Confrontation

To navigate confrontation effectively:

Foster Open Communication: Encourage a culture where yourself & others feel safe to express concerns without fear of retribution.
Act Promptly: Address issues as they arise to prevent escalation.
Remain Objective: Focus on the facts & avoid letting personal emotions dictate responses.
Seek Mutual Understanding: Aim for resolutions that acknowledge & address the concerns of all parties involved. Don’t forget if you are unhappy with someone, they may feel the same about you especially, if the situation has been aloud to carry on unchecked or if there has been some unnecessary tittle-tattle.
Document Interactions: Keep records of discussions, include time, date & a true account of the fact & what was said. Also, how it made you feel. Where points of action are agreed then ensure this are documented so that both sides are accountable.
Think Before You Speak: Did this happen first hand to you or was it a third-party adding to your already cloudy view of the situation? If you have told people about your woes , then they may know how to push your buttons to elicit their desired outcome & to pour fuel onto your fire of an existing conflict or to start a new one.

When conflict occurs, you need time to find a resolution. Humans are designed with the flight or fight response. It can often feel easier to take the path of least resistance & to follow your instincts to flee or try & ignore what is going on. Finding a resolution will not happen from a single conversation, particularly if the problem is entrenched. Understand, that to get the best outcome for both parties it requires time & a reasonable amount of talking. Sometimes this might need to be moderated where you are heard & understood. You need to embrace the process because no one else can really speak on your behalf.

Conclusion: Short-Term Discomfort for Long-Term Gain

While confronting difficult situations head-on may cause short-term discomfort, it is a necessary step to prevent prolonged stress & more severe complications in the future. By proactively addressing conflicts, small business owners can cultivate a healthier work environment, improve self-esteem, & safeguard their business's longevity.

Remember, a problem shared is not always a problem halved. Involving others indiscriminately can amplify issues rather than resolve them. As a leader, which all small business owners are, embracing the responsibility to manage confrontations directly & thoughtfully is key to maintaining a resilient & thriving business reputation.

Stay Visible To Be Viable

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 10:07:16 GMT

A very simple mantra, “To stay viable you have to be visible”. Simple to say, but challenging to achieve?

"Stay visible to stay viable" is a phrase that you might hear banded about for the small business owners. I have borrowed it as the basis of this blog. It is a short, snappy & memorable quote, but behind its simplicity is a really powerful message.

How visible are you?

So, how visible are you & your business? This is a question you should ask yourself on a regular basis. With so many places to be visible it can be so easy to disappear altogether. If you are marketing for clients, then it is possible, without even realising it, that your business misses out on being in the spotlight. If you become so engrossed on running your own business, that your own marketing takes a backseat, you can fall off the grid completely & your pipeline of clients vanishes. Trying to be everywhere, diminishes your impact & you fade into the white-noise of social media & marketing. So, what can you do to stay visible?

I cannot cover every aspect of being visible in this blog, so I have picked out some of the elements that are important to me & my business. Generally small business owners prefer to buy from & recommend other small business owners that they know, like & trust. Being visible is the best way to maintain trust once gained. Most sectors are crowded, so small business owners need to find ways to be head & shoulders above the rest. As the Regional Lead for the no fuss networking brand of Business Buzz across the Midlands, I believe that networking should form an integral part of any business’s marketing plan.

Build trust by being consistent

When networking, there are a couple of points to consider. Firstly, find a networking format that works for you, Some, like Business Buzz are relaxed & informal, while others are highly structured membership organisations. There is a raft of variations between these two ends of the spectrum. Whichever one you choose, become a regular at an event that is geographically close to you & your customer base. Make sure you attend events where the types of businesses & customers fit with your own business values. Don't attend once & expect an instant return. Be consistent, visit the same event regularly & become a face people know & trust. The people you meet regularly will natural advocate for you & your business once you have built a trusted reputation .

I prefer Business Buzz above all other networking, because our events are accessible. There is no membership pressure. With the Buzz face-to-face events you'll find they were friendly, relaxed, informal & without the need for an elevator pitch. Buzz also offers a unique quarterly national virtual experience. Buzz took time to find an online platform that replicated our physical meet-ups. We use Remo! It offers a café style solution, where visitors can freely move around to talk with whomever they like. Business Buzz is innovative & continues to adapt. We have a great team who talk about, advocate for & believe in the power of Buzz, which means as a networking brand we stay both visible & viable.

How well do you know your customers?

Do you know where your customers hang-out? I like online marketing, it allows me to showcase my creative skill-set. There so many options, where does one start? Trying to be on all platforms can feel overwhelming & be demanding. In truth, your customers may have a presence across all social media, but it is very unlikely they buy services this way. If you have done your market research & built your customer profiles , you should have a good understanding of where you can find your customers & the research will help you refine your messaging. Generally, for me the most appropriate online platform for business-to-business marketing is LinkedIn, but you may find that Facebook or Instagram work for you. To help you be more visible on the internet, My Google Business is a great place to start, collect your positive customer reviews here, as this will help improve your Google ranking.

Stand-out & be memorable for all the right reasons

You want to be memorable in a good way. Have a clear & current headshot photograph for any online profiles & your website. If you are networking, people you meet will want to connect. Make it easy. Be mindful that for many of us other people share our combined first & last names. You & I are one among many. Headshots help differentiate you so you can be found online. Expect to be sent connection or follow-up requests. Don’t have security settings on your business profiles that restrict connections or access to content. These barriers limit the ability to build trust & people will skip past you to connect with others. There will be someone else offering a similar solution, so if I, & other people cannot connect easily, your initial momentum & time investment is lost because it will have move to the person that made it easy to engage.

Across social media & your website, video is a more powerful tool to support your brand. You can have professionally made videos, these tend to be expensive, but for some businesses this kind of slick marketing & information sharing is paramount. For most small business owners on a limited budget there are simpler options. Use your smartphone & record a short video (a minute at most). The first time you make the effort to record your own video, it is scary, it will take time & you will probably have to do many takes until you are happy. The more you persevere the easier it becomes. Other people watching your video(s) will not see the flaws or the things you don’t like about yourself

& that's a wrap

I have only scratched the surface of how to market one’s business. There are some crucial actions to take before jumping head long into the world of social media, marketing & networking. If you are already immersed, take some time to take stock of what you are doing & the outcomes. Find your niche & your audience. Do this by building & documenting your ideal customer. Targeted messaging is more powerful than using broad brush strokes in the hope of snagging any customer that comes along. Finally, build an organic marketing plan that can change as you find the best ways to reach new customers. Every action you take, whether sitting & posting on social media, attending a networking event, the follow-up conversations or setting time aside to record a video, should all form part of your working day, week or month. Constantly review your marketing plan. Whatever route you take, there is a lag between your actions & the effect on your business. Look at what has worked to generate new or repeat business or to improved your brand awareness. Do a little at a time, become proficient at a couple of things: networking & LinkedIn & a fortnightly video. You don’t have to be all things to all people, just be the best version of yourself for your ideal customer.

Woe Is Me: A Small Business Owner’s Destructive Mentality

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:16:54 GMT

Running a small business is tough. There’s no denying that.

Competition is fierce, customers can be unpredictable, & external factors like economic downturns or changing regulations can feel overwhelming. But while challenges are inevitable, the way a business owner responds, can make all the difference.

Some entrepreneurs fall into the trap of believing that every setback is the result of an external force working against them. They see competitors as thieves, customers as ungrateful, & circumstances as unfair. This mindset; the victim mentality, not only damages their reputation but also actively pushes customers, & partners away.

In this blog, we’ll explore how adopting a “woe is me” attitude can hurt your business, how others respond each time you play the victim card, & why gossiping about your struggles can backfire. We’ll also discuss the risks of confiding in the wrong people, especially clients who may not have your best interests at heart, & how misinterpreting competition can lead to poor business decisions.

What Is a Victim Mentality in Business?

A victim mentality is the belief that negative events are always the result of external forces beyond one’s control. While it’s true that some challenges are out of your hands, constantly blaming others for every problem will prevent your business & professional relationships from growing.

A small business owner with this mindset might complain about customers not being loyal, accuse competitors of stealing clients, blame suppliers or regulators & publicly vent frustrations about struggles, hoping for sympathy. Over time, this attitude erodes trust & credibility, making it harder to attract & retain customers, build meaningful business relationships, & grow sustainably.

Playing the victim regularly will most likely hurt your reputation & ultimately your sales. Your business’s reputation is one of its most valuable assets you have as a small business owner. But a adopting such a pessimistic mindset can quietly chip away at it. Here’s how:

Customers Lose Trust in You

Customers want to support businesses that are confident, capable, & solution-focused. If they sense desperation or constant complaints, they may start to feel uneasy. For instance, if a restaurant owner frequently posts online about how difficult it is to get customers to support local businesses, patrons might feel guilty at first. But eventually, they’ll tire of the negativity & opt for an alternative that appreciates their business rather than one that guilt-trips them.

Peers & Business Partners Distance Themselves

Other entrepreneurs can be valuable allies, but nobody wants to be around someone who regularly complains & makes unwarranted allegations. While they may sympathise at first, repeated negativity makes them hesitant to associate with you. If every meeting & networking event turns into a venting session about how unfair the business world is, people will start to avoid you. Successful business owners gravitate towards like-minded individuals, so as positive people move away from you, you’ll gradually be surrounded my other naysayers, who only intensify your feelings of discontent.

Negative Reviews Pile Up

Instead of addressing negative feedback constructively & embracing the opportunity this presence, a business owner with a trapped mindset might argue with reviewers, blame others or claim the feedback & the reviewer are being unfair or part of a smear campaign. This defensive approach will mostly only worsen the situation. Potential customers will see these interactions & decide to take their business elsewhere.

Sales Decline Due to a Lack of Innovation

Businesses that focus too much on external problems don’t spend enough time improving. While competitors are adapting, expanding their offerings, & enhancing customer service, victim-minded owners stay stuck in their grievances. Over time, this results in lost market share & dwindling sales. Customers naturally gravitate toward business people who are evolving & adapting rather than those that complain about unfair circumstances.

Have You Thought How Others Respond When You Play the Victim Card?

Every time a business owner leans into a victim mentality, the response from others diminishes. Here’s how it might typically plays out:

At first there is sympathy. People initially offer support, believing the business is experiencing a rough patch. Customers may try to be more understanding, & peers might provide encouragement. However, the second time, caution sets in. As complaints continue, people begin to grow wary. They start to wonder whether the issues are as severe as they seem & recognise repeat behaviour from the person complaining. By the third instance, many customers & business contacts start pulling away. They don’t want to be associated with negativity or feel pressured to provide ongoing emotional support. Lastly the business owner gains a reputation for being unprofessional, to work with or even unreliable. This perception can be difficult to reverse & can significantly impact future sales & opportunities not to mention potential partnerships

There is a significant danger when sharing & gossiping. Venting about business struggles might feel like a natural way to cope, but you tittle-tattling about woes especially in public settings can be incredibly damaging.

Be careful who you share with. Not everyone who listens has your best interests at heart. A client who seems like a friend may have their own agenda, using the information you share to their advantage. For instance, if a business owner confides in a client about financial difficulties, that client may later negotiate harder for discounts, sensing desperation.

Other business owners aren’t always the enemy. It’s easy to assume that a competitor who landed a client you wanted “stole” them. But in some cases, the potential client may have exaggerated their value to you while negotiating a better deal elsewhere. For example, a prospect might tell you they are considering your business to build leverage with another company. Meanwhile, you start seeing the other business as an enemy when, in reality, you were just part of the client’s strategy.

Jumping to conclusions & making unsubstantiated allegations can damage professional relationships & lead to unnecessary hostility. Instead of assuming the worst, focus on strengthening your own value proposition.

Negative talk attracts the wrong kind of consideration. Other business owners & customers may question your stability & hesitate to make long-term commitments. They may also wonder if you’ll one day talk about them in the same way. Nobody wants to be the next subject of your grievances.

Overreacting Damages Professional Relationships

When a business owner operates with a victim mindset, it becomes far too easy to misinterpret standard business practices as personal attacks. A simple pricing adjustment from a competitor, a neutral client decision, or a networking interaction can suddenly feel like a betrayal. Instead of assessing the situation logically, the victim mentality kicks in, leading to an emotional, reactionary response that can burn bridges & damage professional relationships.

The problem? These reactions are often based on assumptions rather than facts. When decisions are made from a place of defensiveness rather than strategic thinking, the consequences can be long-lasting, eroding trust & making it difficult to build a strong, supportive business network.

The victim mindset skews perception filtering every challenge through a lens of unfairness. Instead of seeing setbacks as part of the natural ebb & flow of business, every obstacle feels like proof that others are deliberately working against you.

Here are a few common ways this distorted perspective leads to overreaction:

Viewing standard business practices as personal attacks, so imagine a competing business runs a promotion that happens to lower their prices below yours. Instead of seeing this as a common marketing strategy, a victim-minded business owner might assume the competitor is specifically targeting them to steal their customers. The results might be that the slighted business owners starts publicly calling out the competitor on social media, or at networking. Therefore, appearing unprofessional. Rushing into an unsustainable discount war that hurts profit margins & damages future collaborations by turning a neutral business decision into personal drama & alienating another local business owner.

In reality, the competitor likely never even considered you when planning their promotion. They were simply making a strategic move to attract more customers, that was relevant to their business.

Be careful not to misinterpret a client’s decision as a betrayal. Not every client will stick with a business forever, & not every lost opportunity is due to external sabotage. However, when someone is stuck in a victim mentality, a client choosing another service provider can feel like a deep personal slight. Instead of taking the loss in your stride it is so easy to move to a scenario of undue confrontation that creates awkwardness, ensuring that the client never returns. Remember, existing clients & potential clients have the right to explore their options. It is not your choice but theirs.

Don’t assume innocent Interactions are malicious. In business networking, collaboration & information-sharing are common. However, a business owner with victim mentality can become overly suspicious, assuming that any question about their processes or pricing is an attempt to steal ideas or undercut them.

Knee-jerk reactions can cause unnecessary tension, pushing away valuable connections who might have had good intentions. Seeing the worst in others will bring out the worst in you.

Your Emotions Are Real, But That Doesn’t Make Them Reality for Others

We all know that running a business is an emotional experience. The highs of success can feel exhilarating, while setbacks can be deeply frustrating. When things don’t go as planned, whether it’s losing a client, facing competition, or dealing with unexpected challenges, it’s natural to have an emotional response. However, while your feelings are real & valid, that doesn’t mean they are relevant to or shared by the people around you.

A victim mentality can make it easy to believe that others are intentionally working against you when, in reality, they may not even be aware of your struggles. Overreacting to situations based purely on emotion doesn’t just harm your own mental well-being. Overreacting creates tension & discord. When emotions are running high, it’s easy to assume the worst about a situation. However, reacting impulsively, without verifying facts or considering alternative perspectives, often does more harm than good.

For example, imagine hearing from a customer that a competitor is “talking about your business.” If your first reaction is anger & you confront that competitor, you may later realise the comment was taken out of context or worse, was never said at all. By reacting before verifying, you create tension where none needed to exist.

In business, perception matters. If people see you as someone who jumps to conclusions & lashes out based on hearsay, they will be less inclined to engage with you. Even when you’re genuinely upset, handling situations with professionalism & composure will always serve you better than a knee-jerk reaction

Hearsay Is not the basis for challenging another business owner. One of the most dangerous aspects of a victim mentality is the tendency to rely on hearsay rather than hard facts. When you’re already feeling defensive or undervalued, it’s easy to latch onto gossip that reinforces your fears, whether or not it’s true.

Acting on rumours rather than verified information can have serious consequences. Challenging another business owner based on hearsay can make you look irrational or overly aggressive. Accusing a competitor of unethical behaviour without real proof can backfire & make you seem untrustworthy. Publicly airing grievances based on incomplete information can hurt your credibility.

Before reacting to something you’ve heard, ask yourself, “do I have actual evidence to support this claim? Is this information coming from a reliable, unbiased source? Have I spoken to the potential perpetrator directly to clarify the situation?” If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” it’s best to pause & gather more information before responding.

It’s okay to feel frustrated, disappointed, or even angry when something unfair happens in business. However, letting emotions dictate your actions especially when you don’t have concrete facts can do more harm than good. Be aggrieved only when there are hard facts.

If you truly believe another business has wronged you, take a methodical approach before reacting.

Did That Client Go Elsewhere? No?

One of the most common traps of a victim mentality in business is assuming that competition is unethical or malicious. If a potential client has spoken to a competitor but ultimately chooses to stay with you, then no “stealing” occurred. There is no business owner on business owner crime here.

Business is a marketplace, not a closed system. Clients will naturally explore options, compare services, & negotiate for the best deal. That’s not betrayal; that’s just how business works.

Clients often speak to multiple providers to gain leverage in negotiations. They might mention a competitor’s price or service to encourage you to offer a better deal. This doesn’t mean they ever intended to go elsewhere. It’s a strategy. Instead of viewing these situations as attacks, use them as learning opportunities. Ask yourself: What made the client consider another provider? Was it pricing, service, or reputation? Rather than reacting emotionally, focus on strengthening your unique value proposition.

A business owner with a victim mentality might see competition as a threat, while a successful entrepreneur sees it as motivation to improve. If a client chooses another business, it’s not because they were “stolen”, it’s because they found a better fit. Instead of blaming others, analyse, adapt, & ensure that next time, you’re the clear choice.

A competitor will chase an open opportunity. That’s just business. If a potential client shares their plans with a competitor, you have to expect that the other business owner will pursue that opportunity. That’s not underhanded. it’s just how business works. Until the client explicitly shuts down the conversation or makes a firm commitment to you, they are fair game. The truth is that no business owner is going to ignore a potential lead simply because you spoke to them first. Just as you would follow up on an interested prospect, your competitor will do the same. It is not one rule for you & another rule for everyone else. Competitiveness isn’t personal; it’s the nature of the market & being a small business owner.

Focus on what you can control, your value, your pitch, & your relationship with the client. If they ultimately choose your competitor, don’t blame them for chasing the opportunity. Ask yourself: Did I do enough to secure the deal? Adapt, improve, & win the next one.

How Do You Pivot From Victim to Victor

Breaking free from a victim mentality takes effort, but it’s entirely possible. Here are some ways you might change your mindset:

Identify the problem. This is probably the hardest step. Stop, take stock & look at how you react to circumstances. Do you encounter circumstances, that most other business owners rarely see happen to them on a regular basis? This tells you that you are looking for the problems all the time, so therefore you see them at every turn.

Ask yourself. What can I do to make a difference in my business for the better? Acknowledge that things will not always go the way you want. The best approach is to focus on solutions, not problems. Instead of saying, “It’s unfair that my competitors are getting more clients,” ask yourself, “What can I do to make my business more appealing?”

Park your emotions. Before you stride out into making allegations allow the emotional dust to settle. Consider if you have actually seen what is claimed to have happened first hand. Anything else will become one-persons word against another. That’s not enough to accuse another business owner of acting in an unprofessional manner. If you have been sharing your unhappiness about the business world, other people will know your triggers & will push those buttons for their own advantage. That might be pure jealousy or dislike on their part or to gain an advantage.

Choose your words wisely. Be mindful of how you talk about your business. Try & develop a positive spin even in the worse scenarios. This will minimise the emotional impact when stuff goes wrong, not to your plan or a hot lead goes elsewhere. Likewise seek out business owners who focus on positive solutions rather than complaints. Their mindset will inspire you to think differently & to act.

Protect your business reputation. Your words shape how others perceive your business. Be cautious about who you confide in, avoid gossiping for the sake of gossiping, & focus on building a strong, resilient brand.

Final Thoughts

Success in business is not about avoiding challenges. It’s about how you respond to them. While it’s easy to fall into a victim mentality, doing so damages your reputation, pushes people away, & stunts growth.

Breaking the victim cycle requires intent. By shifting from blame to action, maintaining professionalism, & being mindful of who you confide in, you can turn setbacks into stepping stones toward success.

The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who never face difficulties; they’re the ones who refuse to let a victim mindset define them. A business built on logic, professionalism, & strategy will always be stronger than one driven by defensiveness, emotions & assumptions. Instead of assuming the worst, successful entrepreneurs seek understanding, focus on solutions, & choose their responses wisely.

Qualitive or Quantitative Questions When Networking

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 17:15:38 GMT

The Art of Asking Questions when Networking

Networking is more than just exchanging business cards or adding new connections on LinkedIn. It’s really about cultivating meaningful, long-term professional relationships. The quality of the questions you ask can determine whether a conversation or a relationship remains surface-level or develops into valuable opportunities.

In this blog, we’ll explore different types of questions to ask when networking, highlighting the distinction between qualitative & quantitative questions. We’ll also discuss why going beyond the obvious can uncover potential collaborations, insights, & trust, which are elements crucial for long-lasting professional connections.

The Power of Asking the Right Questions

Great networking conversations don’t happen by accident. They stem from intentional, well-thought-out questions that create engagement, provide value, & open doors to potential business opportunities.

The questions you ask will determine:

The depth of the conversation
How much you learn about the other person’s business, challenges, & aspirations
Why they might consider being your customer or your delivery partner
Whether the connection leads to a meaningful professional relationship
What drives the decision-making process in their business.

Instead of asking generic questions like; What do you do? , the best networkers craft questions that encourage storytelling , insight-sharing, & genuine connection.

Understanding Qualitative Versus Quantitative Questions

Before diving into specific questions, it’s important to understand the difference between qualitative & quantitative questions & when to use each. You may be more familiar with the term open & closed questioning. Let’s explain a little about each:

Quantitative Questions: The Facts & Figures

Quantitative questions seek objectives & measurable answers. They help gather specific data about a person’s business, industry, or role. These questions typically start with phrases like “How many,” “What percentage,” or “How often” & provide concrete details.

Examples:

How many years have you been in your sector?
What percentage of your clients come from referrals?
How often do you attend networking events like this?

These types of questions are useful for getting a high-level understanding about an individual. However, they don’t necessarily build rapport or uncover deeper insights.

Qualitative Questions: The Stories & Insights

Qualitative questions, on the other hand, explore personal experiences, opinions, & motivations. These open-ended questions help build trust & uncover deeper insights about someone’s journey, challenges, & goals.

Examples:

What inspired you to start your business?
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work to date?
Where is the biggest challenge in your business that you’re facing right now?

By asking qualitative questions, you encourage people to share more about themselves & their business, making the conversation more engaging & memorable.

Combining Both for the Best Networking Outcomes

The most impactful networkers use a combination of both types of questions. Start with quantitative questions to establish context, then shift to qualitative questions to uncover stories & potential opportunities.

Example:

How long have you been running your business? (Quantitative)
What inspired you to start it? (Qualitative)

This approach not only makes conversations more engaging but also helps you identify ways to provide value or collaborate.

Going Beyond the Surface: Probing for Potential

Many networking conversations stay at a surface level. People talk about what they do, exchange pleasantries, & move on. However, the real magic happens when you probe deeper & uncover meaningful insights. Making the most of the Buzz 3-2-1 principle & using qualitative questions when you meet for those all-important 1-2-1s will support you to find out more about another business owner & search for any opportunities.

Asking great questions is only half the equation in networking, sales, & business relationships. The other half is active listening. Too often, professionals focus so much on what they’re going to say next that they miss valuable insights shared by their conversation partners. Active listening is a powerful tool that builds trust, strengthens relationships, & enhances marketing strategies.

People want to feel heard & understood. When you actively listen, rather than just waiting for your turn to speak, you signal that you genuinely care about the other person & what they have to say. Active listening fosters stronger, more meaningful business relationships because it creates an environment of trust & mutual respect.

Some key aspects of this listening technique will include: Paraphrasing & summarizing (“ So what I’m hearing is… ”) to ensure you understand their key points. It is OK if what you say is not quite right, because the other person will intuitively correct any misunderstanding. Ask thoughtful follow-up questions to dive deeper into their challenges, or to understand reasoning. Use non-verbal cues like nodding, eye contact, & open body language to show engagement. Pausing before responding, allowing space for the speaker to elaborate & for you to appear to collect your thoughts.

In marketing, understanding customer needs is crucial for crafting messages that resonate. By actively listening to customer feedback, social media interactions, & industry conversations, businesses can gain valuable insights into pain points, preferences, & emerging trends.

Small business owners that truly listen are better positioned to create targeted content, develop more relevant products, & foster stronger brand loyalty. Whether in the 1-2-1 scenario or marketing strategies, active listening ensures that your business isn’t just speaking; it’s truly connecting.

Surface-level questions often fall short. Why is that? Well, questions like “What do you do?” or “Where are you based?” can feel robotic & transactional. They rarely spark excitement or lead to strong connections. To stand out, focus on questions that make people pause, think, & share something personal or valuable. This will also make them feel that you are genuinely interested in hearing their stories, their journey & about both themselves & their business. Making it easier to build repour & trust.

So, let’s look at some techniques for that deep dive conversation. Active listening is crucial. Perhaps you are not familiar with this technique. For many people it is a skill that has to be learnt. When you really listen, you will be able to craft the next set of questions to find out more. Don’t just accept short answers. Ask for more detail. Something like That’s interesting! What led you to that choice? or Can you share an example of how that has helped your clients? It is helpful to also find common ground, so you might like to use this phrase, I’ve faced a similar challenge in my business. How did you deal with it?

People enjoy discussing their future goals & obstacles. We already know that when someone has a bad experience then they love to share . Questions exploring these elements will open the door to meaningful opportunities. Have you considered asking: What’s the next big goal for your business? Or What’s been your biggest learning experience this year?

It is important to make 1-2-1s personal. Building professional relationships though networking isn’t just about business; it’s about people. Your experiences are valuable & you should be happy to share, not the minutiae of a particular incident, but the way it made you feel & the positive outcome that you achieved. Others will feel inspired & want to be part of your tribe which in turn opens the door to a future of working together.

By asking these types of questions, you show genuine interest & create memorable interactions.

The Benefits of Deep Conversations from Networking

When you move beyond the surface & engage in thoughtful, meaningful conversations, you unlock several advantages. IT’s easy to build trust & authenticity. People are more likely to trust & remember those who show genuine interest in their experiences & aspirations. Asking insightful questions fosters authenticity & credibility. It becomes more straightforward to identify collaboration opportunities. By uncovering deeper insights into a person’s challenges & goals, you can identify ways to offer value, or refer business. A conversation that goes beyond the basics is more likely to lead to a lasting professional relationship rather than just a fleeting interaction. In a crowded marketplace, investing time in others will help you stand-out from the mediocre. Most people ask generic questions at networking events. Being the person who asks thoughtful, engaging questions makes you more memorable. Ultimately, you gain valuable industry insights, giving you a competitive edge. Every professional has unique experiences & knowledge. By asking in-depth questions, you can gain fresh perspectives that might benefit your own business.

The Importance of In-Depth Questions in Sales: Uncovering Customer Motivations

When it comes to making sales, the questions you ask can make or break the deal. Too often, sales professionals rely on surface-level inquiries, assuming that if they understand the basic needs of a potential customer, they can craft a persuasive pitch. However, scratching the surface rarely reveals the true motives that drive a purchase decision.

The most successful salespeople know that buying decisions are rarely just about price, features, or specifications. Instead, they are driven by deeper motivations such as an immediate pain point, aspirations, fears, & desires. Without uncovering these, you risk making a pitch that doesn’t fully resonate with the customer’s true needs.

Why Surface-Level Questions Lead to Missed Opportunities

If you only ask basic questions like What are you looking for? or What’s your budget? , you’re gathering information, but you’re not truly understanding the customer. Most buyers don’t articulate their real challenges upfront which is often because they themselves don’t fully recognize them, or because they assume salespeople won’t care.

For example, imagine you’re selling marketing services. A potential client might initially say they need help with social media. If you take that at face value & jump straight into offer a package, you may completely miss their real struggle. Perhaps they’re frustrated with low engagement, struggling with brand consistency, or feeling overwhelmed by content creation. By probing deeper, you can uncover what’s truly driving their interest, which allows you to offer the most relevant solution.

The Power of Asking the Right Questions in Sales

Effective sales conversations rely on open-ended, exploratory questions that help you dig into a prospect’s motivations, challenges, & decision-making process. Some powerful examples include:

What made you start looking for this solution now? (Reveals urgency & pain points)
What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in this area? (Uncovers obstacles & frustrations)
If you could solve this problem today, what would change for your business? (Identifies emotional drivers & aspirations)
Have you tried other solutions before? What did you like or dislike about them? (Provides insight into past experiences & expectations)
What’s your biggest concern about making this investment? (Helps address objections before they derail the sale)

Each of these questions encourages the prospect to go beyond generic responses & share deeper insights about their needs. The more information you gather, the better equipped you are to tailor your approach & position your product or service as the ideal solution.

Building Trust & Long-Term Relationships Through Meaningful Questions

Asking in-depth questions isn’t just about closing the sale, it’s about building trust. When potential customers feel that you genuinely care about their needs rather than just pushing a product, they’re more likely to open up & view you as a valuable partner rather than just another salesperson looking for commission.

By taking the time to understand the deeper motivations behind a purchase decision, you’re not just making a sale, you’re creating a long-lasting professional relationship based on trust, credibility, & value.

& Finally A Conclusion

Networking is not just about who you know. It’s about how well you know people. By asking a mix of qualitative & quantitative questions & probing beyond the surface, you can transform casual conversations into powerful professional relationships.

The next time you find yourself at a networking event or having a 1-2-1 meeting, challenge yourself to ask questions that spark genuine discussions. You never know what opportunities, insights, or lasting relationships you might uncover.

Key Takeaways:

Use both quantitative (factual) & qualitative (insightful) questions for balanced networking conversations.
Avoid a lot of surface-level questions. Probe deeper with follow-ups, shared experiences, & open-ended inquiries.
Meaningful conversations build trust, uncover opportunities, & create credibility.

Start practicing these techniques, & watch your networking efforts become more engaging, impactful, rewarding & generate a return from your efforts!

How To Overcome Your Networking Nerves

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 15:37:05 GMT

Even for the most experienced of us attending a new networking event can be a daunting proposition.

As the Regional Lead for the no fuss networking brand of Business Buzz, I too find venturing somewhere new a challenge.

In an ideal world, networking should be friendly & enjoyable. It’s so great to meet new people, right? Well, that is true, unless you are battling with your own demons.

Don't Let Your Demons Get The Upper Hand

I know from first hand experience that having depression & anxiety can suck. People who suffer from anxiety may experience high levels of stress & getting out there to meet new people can seem an impossible task. The simple thought of it can make one feel sick. My own personal experience is of having been there & on occasion, can be there again. Being a successful Business Buzz Host lends to the perception that I don’t have my own battle with event anxiety, when in fact that is not true. Is not always easy, but perseverance & finding the right networking format have been crucial in helping me to feel less anxious about building my business.

It is so easy for anxiety & depression to get the upper hand, especially if you’re feeling down & sad. The thought of going out & being sociable seems anything but exciting & a huge mountain to climb.

So, how do you become more adept at dealing with one’s own anxiety in such circumstances? What can you do to make the journey to networking success less traumatic? How do you meet the need to network & to advance your burgeoning business?

Find The Right Type Of Networking

Firstly, Let’s be honest - not all networking is created equal. Some events are highly pressured, where as others are more relaxed. It is important to find the right style that meets your business needs & helps you gain in confidence. The reason I am involved with Business Buzz is because it has a relaxed & informal format, that really works with my skill set & personality. The no fuss approach means there are no elevator pitches, which is the element of networking that so many people hate & worry about, me included.

With Buzz, I have none of the worry that comes from pitching for 40 or 60 seconds or stumbling over my words, feeling like a fool & having everyone looking at me. Buzz allows me to focus on actually walking through the door (an achievement in itself sometimes) & having genuine conversations with like-minded people. Also, Business Buzz is super friendly, there is always a warm welcome & someone in the team to help navigate the room, the platform & the people.

Buzz hosts are well connected in their local business communities & are always happy to help make introductions & get your conversations started. So, by the very nature of Buzz I feel less anxious because it is a safe space in which to network.

You Wont Be The Only Newbie

It’s easy to imagine when visiting a new networking event that all the people already know one another. This perception can make it scary to throw yourself in to the fray & join existing conversation. In reality, some people will know one another, others will have met briefly in the past, but there will always be other people like you that are new to this particular event meaning you are not alone!

It is all too easy to put barriers up & create obstacles to get you networking. Don’t let this false concepts stop you from grabbing the opportunity. One way to overcome these types of nerves is to ask the host of the event or their helpers, " who else is new that they could introduce you too ". A good event host should be able to take you by the hand & get you talking to someone quickly, even if it is a regular networking who they know will look after you. The team running the event are there to facilitate conversational opportunities & it is in their best interest to ensure you have a great time.

Together, It's Easier

Secondly, it is good to have a networking buddy. Someone you trust, with whom you can explore the opportunity that networking offers. Together you act as each other’s comfort zone. Meet-up before hand & attend events together. By doing so, it takes away some of the pressure of walking through the door or arriving online alone. You’ll very quickly find that your own conversations will start without one another, but if things become too intense then you can retreat to the security of talking to each other for a while, before facing the melee again.

Taking this one-step further; have you thought about bringing a guest? At Business Buzz, we encourage our visitors to recommend our events & bring a guest who might benefit from the opportunity of relaxed networking. Acting as their guide, introducing them to people you met last time & helping them find their feet, will shift your focus & you’ll be empowered on their behalf. Doing something positive for someone else can help alleviate your own nerves!

Dress To Impress

Next, try to look your best! I know it is a cliché, but simple things like wearing a smart shirt or blouse, a bit of lippy & talking with a smile in your voice, will add 100% to your confidence. Even when online make the effort. If you dress to impress; you will. PJs are comfortable, but they are not workwear.

Any networking you attend should form part of your working day & if you treat it as such, you will get more from it. Rather than having to find people to talk with, use a prop that draws them to you or have an ice-breaker. Using a small snippet of information that is easy to action, that costs you nothing, but will add value to your listener, is a great way to engage & to get you remembered.

Practise Asking Questions & Active Listening

Finally, have some open questions tucked up your sleeve that you can rely on when the conversation is a bit slow. “Tell me, what is it that you do?” or “How might what you do, be a benefit to my business?” or “Who are your ideal customers?”. Honing the skills of asking questions & active listening are important when networking.

A brilliant tactic, is to paraphrase what someone else has said & you will be better positioned to introduce that person to someone new. When someone hovers nearby, take the lead to draw that person into your existing conversation by explaining what the other business owner does. It doesn’t have to be exact, because any gaps will be filled in by that person. Though active listen can draw the attention to other people, remember you are there to talk about what you do & who you are, this tact gives you breathing space & time to collect your thoughts.

Build Your Own Community Of Like-Minds

Networking magic doesn’t just happen. Practice makes perfect. The more you do, the more confident you will become & the less your anxiety will dominate proceedings. Being consistent & doing a little, but often will help you build in confidence. Find an event that fits with your needs, attracts the kind of business people you want to connect with & become a regular attendee. Surround yourself with a community of like-minded people who bring positivity & will support you.

It is important to be strategic, know your own limitations so that you don’t become network fatigued & build your networking stamina slowly & steadily. If you attend a Buzz regularly, the Host will probably ask you to help-out. Before you know it you are a proficient networker & in complete control.

Reputation Is Everything...

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 04:54:44 GMT

…especially if you are a small business owner.

It takes a lot of time, dedication & effort to build your brand & your business reputation. It is one of the most valuable assets you can have when doing business. It influences customer decisions, attracts talent, secures partnerships, & can differentiate you & your business in a crowded marketplace.

For many small business owners their brand is not primarily their logo, their font or their website, but they themselves. Although it is important to be visible to be viable in running a small business, that lone is not enough. Your face is your brand & by default you are your reputation. To be successful building a reputation is an investment not only in time, but often in money too.

Building & maintaining a strong business reputation isn’t just about delivering a great product or service; it’s about creating trust, demonstrating reliability, & consistently meeting the expectations of your customers & partners. A reputation built on a steady footing can advance your business to new heights. The thing is, that once your reputation is established you have to maintain it. It can be very easy for your trust factor to slip & without realising it, your reputation too; squandering your hard-work. Once your reputation starts on a downward spiral it is nearly impossible to recover it.

In this blog we are going to take a look at how you can build an enviable reputation & also consider some of the things that can diminish your credibility.

Let’s Look At Some Statistics

When someone has a poor experience with a small business or the owner, then that person is more likely to share how they feel with other people. Research suggests that, on average, people will tell 9 to 15 others about a negative experience. Some studies suggest that it can be as high as 20 people that could hear about a particularly bad incident.

In contrast, positive experiences are shared less frequently, with customers typically telling fewer people. This highlights the importance of creating positive experiences, as negative word-of-mouth can spread quickly & impact your personal & your business's reputation significantly

Statistics reveal there is a significant impact of poor customer experiences on businesses. Surprisingly, only 4% of dissatisfied customers express their complaints directly to businesses, meaning many negative encounters go unreported, leaving businesses unaware of potential issues. This lack of feedback can be detrimental, as 90% of consumers indicate they would switch to a competitor if they believed they would receive better service, meaning they will vote with their feet & go elsewhere.

In addition, businesses that excel in customer experience often see higher returns. Studies show that 75% of consumers are willing to spend more with companies that offer positive customer experiences.

On the flip side, poor service can lead to significant financial losses, with research indicating that just a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by over 25%.

These statistics highlight the importance of addressing customer complaints & improving experiences to retain loyalty and drive growth, but also how important it is to manage partnership relationships with the same effectiveness.

If networking is a core part of your marketing strategy remember that the fundamental principle here is to talk to other people. Ideally you want people you meet regularly to advocate for you & therefore enhancing your reputation. If you have let someone down or been shoddy in delivering then, in their conversations with others they may not be able to contain their frustration meaning they will not give you a positive recommendation.

Stop Ghosting

According to recent research more than nine in ten people (92%) who sell either products or services say they sometimes get ghosted for no apparent reason, & on average get ghosted by around one in five prospects (18%).

When starting out as a small business owner there is so much pressure to be everywhere, that it can become overwhelming. You have to choose where to be found. If you have a business plan & a marketing strategy this should help you know where your customers hang-out. You still have to consider building a website. Do you want to be on page one of Google? Do you need to employ an SEO expert to achieve this? What about my Google Business Profile? Which social media channels to focus on; Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Eventbrite, Vimeo, WhatsApp, TikTok or X ? You will need an email & a mobile phone which lets texts & phone calls into the equation. If you have a Facebook profile for business, then you’ll, possibly have Messenger too. The places to be contacted by clients & other people seems endless. You need to make some tough decisions on where to be found. If you are not aware of where your customers hang-out, then all of these options may need to be trialled at some point.

Potentially being in so many places all at once can present its own problems, in the volume of communication that can arrive in a very short space of time. Much of which is probably not relevant. Make sure you use your spam filters on your email account, but check the spam or junk folder regularly to make sure that real contacts have not dropped in there by mistake. With so many messages coming at you from all angles it is easy to stop responding to people & connection requests.

You should always reply to legitimate messages & emails promptly. However, not doing so will have a negative impact on your reputation. In general people remember when they are ignored because it is super frustrating to not know where one stands & to be left in limbo.

You cannot simply focus on messages that lead directly to work, because if you are networking then 1-2-1 meetings & the events themselves will create opportunities, but only if you are proactive. We all know there is nothing worse than calling someone, leaving a voicemail, & then never hearing from that person again. This leaves the caller with a negative impression; I f you cannot call back why would I make an introduction to you or choose to work with you? I f you are likely to ignore me, then you will ignore others too . Making a recommendation to another business owner is a very trusting action, so much so that if as a small business owner, you don’t treat the new contact with respect It can have a negative impact not only on your reputation, but also on the person who made the introduction.

So, limit the number of ways people can interact with you to places that will give you genuine value. Don’t ghost anyone. By having fewer channels it allows you to manage your interactions more professionally. It is also OK to say “no” to sales conversations where you are not interested. In fact, by saying “no” you can prevent time wasting for everyone involved. It is more efficient to be honest & say “no” especially when it is not the right time for you to buy or it is just not a product or service you want.

Effective Delivery

The foundation of any strong reputation is delivering consistent value to customers & business partners, which will probably look different for different business owners. This means ensuring that your product or service is high-quality & meets or exceeds customer expectations. It's not enough to deliver excellence once. You need to do it repeatedly over time. Reliability & quality are the cornerstone of a strong reputation.

Deliver what you promise. Set reasonable expectations & build in contingency. Under-promise & over-deliver is a business strategy that involves setting reasonable expectations for customers or clients & then exceeding those expectations through performance or delivery. The idea is to pleasantly surprise customers by delivering more than what was initially promised, which could simply be doing so ahead of schedule, thereby creating a positive impression & enhancing your reputation. Never leave anything to the last minute as by cutting it fine on a deadline creates anxiety all round, for yourself & for your customers. If something does go wrong then you have no wriggle room to recover. The anxiety that you pass on to your customers through poor time management will have a negative impact. Do you want to be known as the last-minute dot com gal or guy?

Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Great customer service is one of the most effective ways to build a strong business reputation. How you handle inquiries, complaints, & feedback can significantly impact how people perceive you, your business & your product or service. Prompt, respectful, & solution-oriented responses show customers & partners that their satisfaction is your priority. Going above & beyond for your clients demonstrates your commitment to their experience, turning one-time customers into loyal advocates for your brand.

It is important to understand that your communications whether verbal or written should be clear, concise & making the people you work with & your customers feel special. Being curt, incomplete, unclear or not finishing what you promised or allowing the conversations to drift into a void of uncompletedness alienates customers & partners. If you cannot be bothered then you cannot expect them to bother with you. You drop down their list of priorities.

At the heart of your reputation is your ability to deliver. Remember that in business your customer’s needs come before those of yourself. It’s really easy to be so engrossed in what you do & have an opinion about how great you are, that you forget you’re only as good as your last customer’s experience. So, it’s important to understand what your customer wants & needs. Don’t deliver the outcome you want! If a customer asks you to do some work that is outside your wheelhouse, you need to be certain that you can deliver to a standard that doesn’t compromise your reputation, Don’t come up short!

Always prepare a detailed quotation based on the brief from the customer. Include all their points & if you feel there is some crucial elements missing, have a conversation & document the changes from the original brief. Make your finalised quote part of your contract. Be super clear about exactly what work you will be undertaking, what deviations from the original request are included, how you plan to deliver & on what timescale. Be thorough from the outset, so that everyone is on the same hymn sheet.

If a customer asks for a quote for work, even if it appears to you as a passing comment. Always follow-up to establish if they have a genuine need. What may seem an off the cuff remark to you may have been a genuine enquiry. You might miss an opportunity, that someone else who is a bit more savvy will pick up. From a reputational perspective do you want to be known as the person who isn’t interested in quoting for work. Once again why would that person make a referral to you when you could not even do the simplest thing in providing a quote?

As a small business owner there will always be times when we are asked undertake work that is outside of our core offering. If you are not an expert in this particular scope of work, it is wise to be honest & admit this. Doing something half-cocked will leave a bad taste in the mouth of your customer, which in turn could leave your reputation in tatters. Yes, by being honest your client maybe disappointed but be prepared to support them by having someone else in your core community who is able to provide the product or service your customer requires. There is no loss of face or reputation in this scenario. By referring work to a trusted colleague or partner, It’s a bit of a win win for everyone concerned.

Never Say You Are Too Busy

It is all too easy to make the comment “ I am just too busy ”. As small business owners we are all busy in our own ways & for our own reasons.

The implication in this statement is that because I have found the time to create or make something happen you are suggesting that I am not busy, when in fact I am probably busier than you. Have you heard the adage that " if you want a job done then you give it to someone who is already busy, because busy people make things happen ". Never assume you are busier than the next person!

In reality it is easy to use the term " being busy " as an excuse for being ineffectual. This happens because there is a lack of organisational skills or for being overwhelmed. Dragging your feet & procrastinating forms part of the downward spiral I mention earlier. If you tell a customer that you are too busy to deliver a quote or to deliver on agreed work. Then, that customer will most likely look elsewhere.

It is OK to let a potential customer know that you are not taking on additional work at this time because you are running at full capacity. It’s a positive spin on being genuinely busy & will leave a potential customer feeling satisfied. They may be prepared to wait until you are able to take on more work or comeback to you in the future for something else. This approach limits the impact of being busy, so your potential customers do not feel dissatisfied & they are less vocal about their experience because it has not been negative.

Lastly, Enhancing Your Reputation

Be the best version of yourself that you can. What you are ideally looking for is for other people, whether customers, colleagues or partners to have positive things to say about you. How do you make this happen?

With reputation perception is the whole enchilada. How you see yourself is not your reputation. Your reputation manifests based on the views, & experiences of other people. So, you need to impress other to create an enviable reputation & that should happen at every opportunity.

Listen to feedback & take action. Not everyone is self-aware & does not see when things do not go to plan or have got themselves into a cycle of being a bit rubbish at delivering. So, when someone is brave enough to tell you that “ this did not go so well ” Irrespective of whether you agree or not, you should STOP & take stock, because if they believe that is what happened then it did happen. This is chance to recover the situation & prevent it from happening again.

None of us like to receive negative comments about our business or our performance, but it is better to know where you fallen short than not. From this point you can choose to rectify the issue. However, if you continue to simply plough the same furrow then other people’s opinion of you will dip & continue to do so until your reputation falters & repeat business dries up. In business, the concept of "insanity" is often associated with a popular saying attributed to Albert Einstein: " Insanity is doing the same thing over & over again & expecting different results ." So, by not changing your approach to your delivery, when something has gone wrong you will work to erode your reputation. Are you that mad-person who is too proud to listen & change?

In conclusion, building a great reputation is a long-term investment that requires consistency, integrity, & a genuine commitment to excellence. Whether for an individual or a business, the foundation of a strong reputation lies in the quality of relationships, the value provided, & how challenges are navigated with transparency. By consistently aligning actions with values, delivering on promises, & being open to feedback, you can create a lasting & positive reputation that not only elevates your personal brand but also fosters trust, loyalty, & growth in all your endeavours.

https://www.businessleader.co.uk/92-sellers-ghosted-no-reason-research-reveals/

Making The Most Of Your Networking: Three Top Tips

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 09:36:48 GMT

How Often Do You Hear People Say "Networking Doesn't Work"?

As a Regional Lead for the no fuss networking brand of Business Buzz, I am constantly being asked for tips & tricks to being a better business networker. So here are the three things I talk about most when asked:

Networking Is Not Selling:

We all hate being sold at! How often do you go & make a cup of tea during advert breaks on TV or skip through them completely on demand?

Going networking is not going selling! What it should be about is having genuine conversations & building trusted relationship that then lead to opportunity. I am often asked by potential visitors to Business Buzz if someone else from their sector will be attending, & where the answer is “yes”, more often than not that person does not show.

In reality the networking that I organise is drop-in so by definition I never know who will be in attendance in advance

Sadly, so many people fear their competitors because their approach is focused on snagging the next sale. It is true to say that “to stay viable you have to stay visible”, but my ideal expert may not be your ideal solution or the next person’s. It is more memorable to have the right expert in your wider network to whom you can refer potential business.

I believe that If you are confident in your service, your brand, your pricing & your product, then you don’t need to sell because your passion & enthusiasm & the genuine desire to help will shine through. You will be remembered, people will make introductions & want to collaborate.

Know Why You Are Networking

Not everyone visits networking events for the same reasons. So, it is really important to know why you are attending. Develop a networking strategy.

Firstly, attending any networking should form part of your working day. If you choose to network then it should be an integral part of your marketing plan.

Be selective in what you do. Find a format that works best for you. Business Buzz is informal & relaxed in style with a commitment you create for yourself & it’s pay-as-you-go. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but for many people it offers a tonic to the strict regimes operated by many membership networking organisations.

Secondly, don’t focus on a quick return on investment. Networking is a long-term strategy. Yes! There may be some instant wins, but to build your business, your reputation & your credibility you need to be remembered for all the right reasons. This takes time & it is a while before others business owners will think about what you do intuitively & make those all-important introductions. Networking deliver best result when you think of it as a marathon rather than a sprint.

Getting away from my home office, the day-to-day tasks & talking to similar people to myself helps create re-assurance in what I am doing, builds my confidence, helps me find solutions & makes me more robust for future challenges.

Networking has allowed me to develop a brilliant & reliable support network. When I started my business my primarily driver for networking was not to sell my services. It was to support my mental health & to my build both my personal & business brand awareness.

The Real Magic Happens Later

It is great to meet lots of people when out & about networking, but what happens on the day is very superficial. The real magic happens afterwards.

As a Business Buzz Regional Lead I encourage visitors to schedule an hour long 1-2-1 with at least two of the people that met on the day. 1-2-1s are more engaging if they take place over coffee & cake, although using virtual tools like the Business Buzz Lounge ¹ are a great alternative & can be a better use of your time.

Each 1-2-1 meeting should be no longer than an hour & with the conversation split evenly. This is the opportunity to find-out in more details about someone else’s business or circumstances & for them to get the measure of you. These conversations should be free flowing & natural. Always look to ask question, listen & then wait to be asked about what you do for work or business.

There is no harm in having a straightforward agenda. Both sides may have specific things they want to discuss or mention & that is perfectly OK. If you agree to an action, such as making an introduction to another business owner, set an expectation as to when you will be able to achieve this. Personally, I like to do introductions & referrals by email & then let both parties’ pick-up conversation with one another separately.

The real power behind the 1-2-1 is that both sides have invested time (& possibly cake) to find out about one another. You will have created a better understanding of each other, as well what you do & who potentially the ideal customers might be. The more times you do 1-2-1s the stronger your network becomes, the more trusted you are, & the more recommendations you will receive.

To Conclude

There are so many networking opportunities available. It does not matter the format or style of a particular event, you will only you reap what you sow. Keep other people engaged, by avoiding the sell, know the reason for being at an event & follow-up with people who can add value to your network or business.

The Buzz Lounge is offer by Business Buzz as part of a Buzz Plus subscription . The Buzz Lounge is an exclusive virtual meeting & co-working space currently hosted on the Remo platform. The layout, design & functionality can really bring the WOW factor to any virtual meeting. A more engaging way to hold virtual 1-2-1’s, the Buzz Lounge includes interactive whiteboards to enable you to brainstorm ideas & showcase information.

This blog was originally published on 6th October 2020 & has been updated on 7th April 2024

Making The Most Of Your Networking: Updated for 2024

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 14:11:01 GMT

Networking Doesn’t Work; Right?

Wrong! However, it is an investment in one’s business & a marketing strategy like no other. It creates personal, meaningful & compelling relationships, where building your trust factor is crucial to your success.

As the Regional Lead for the no fuss networking brand of Business Buzz , across the Midlands I am constantly being asked for tips & hacks to being a better business networker. So, here are a of few the things I mention when asked:

Networking Is Not Selling

We all hate being sold at! How often do you go & make a cup of tea during advert breaks on TV or skip through them completely on demand?

Going networking is not going selling! What it should be about is having genuine conversations & building trusted relationships that then lead to opportunity. I am often asked by potential visitors to Business Buzz if someone else from their sector will be attending, & where the answer is “yes”, more often than not that person does not show.

The networking that I organise, as part of Business Buzz is drop-in by nature, so I never know who will be in attendance in advance.

So many people fear their competitors because their approach is focused on snagging the next sale. It is true to say that in order to get results & see a return you have to be consistent in your approach. No marketing campaign delivers on day one, so it is unrealistic to expect a lot of sales from visiting a single Business Buzz or any other networking event. I recommend that visitors forget the scattergun approach of being in as many places as they can & adopt a simpler option of making one Buzz event a fixed point in their calendar, where they show their face every month. Remember, my ideal expert may not be your ideal solution or the next person’s. it is very unlikely that you will secure all the potential work on offer. That is just not how the world works.

Know Why You Are Networking

Not everyone visits networking events for the same reasons. So, it is really important to know why you are attending. Develop a networking strategy.

Firstly, attending any networking should form part of your working day. If you choose to network then it should be an integral part of your marketing plan.

Secondly, don’t focus on a quick return on investment. Networking is a long-term strategy. Yes! There may be some instant wins, but to build your business, your reputation & your credibility you need to be remembered for all the right reasons. This takes time & it is a while before other business owners will think about what you do intuitively & make those all-important introductions.

And thirdly, not everyone is looking for customers or looking to buy. From personal experience I know that being a solo entrepreneur can be lonely & isolating. My reason for networking is to meet other small business owners, to have conversations with like-minded people & to have a sounding board for ideas & concerns. My partner, although supportive, has never really understood the complexities of why & how I do what I do or the challenges being a self-employed small business owner presents. Getting away from my home office, the day-to-day tasks & talking to similar people to myself helps create re-assurance in what I am doing, builds my confidence, helps me find solutions & makes me more robust for future challenges.

Networking has given me the chance to build a brilliant & reliable support network. When I started my business my primary driver for networking was not to sell my services. It was to support my mental health & to build both my personal & business brand awareness. My business has evolved since I started it back in 2017, so this means that my networking drivers have also evolved. Of course, I need sales, but the way I have those conversations has altered to meet the differences in my business. What networking has delivered is the ability to create a reputation that is second to none in my sector, with my core audience & in the communities where I choose to work.

The Real Magic Happens Later

It is great to meet lots of people when out & about networking, but what happens on the day is very superficial. The real magic happens afterwards.

As the Business Buzz Regional Lead for the Midlands I encourage my teams to support their visitors to schedule an hour long 1-2-1 meeting with at least two of the people who they met on the day. 1-2-1 meetings are more engaging if they take place over coffee & cake. Now that we are all so much more familiar with using virtual solutions, virtual meetings can be a cost effective & time saving solution for follow-up after a networking event. Do you know that Business Buzz offers a dedicated virtual meeting space as one of the benefits of becoming a Buzz Plus subscriber? So, there is no need for a Zoom or Teams account.

Be proactive in arranging your 1-2-1 meetings, connect on LinkedIn & send a message or simply pick-up the phone to get a date in the diary. You want to make the other person feel that you really want to talk with them, so avoid the impersonal touches like making your first point of contact a Calendly link.

Each 1-2-1 meeting should be no longer than an hour & with the conversation split evenly. This is the opportunity to find-out in more detail about someone else’s business or circumstances & for them to get the measure of you. These conversations should be free flowing & natural. Always look to ask questions, listen & then wait to be asked about what you do for work or business.

The real power behind the 1-2-1 meeting is that both sides have invested time (& possibly cake) to find out about one another. You will have created a better understanding of each other, as well as what you do & who potentially your ideal customers might be. The more times you do 1-211 meetings the stronger your network becomes, the more trusted you are, & the more recommendations you will receive.

Find Your Tribe

So, to round off there are many networking opportunities available. It does not matter the format or style of a particular event, you will only you reap what you sow. Ideally you want to surround yourself with people who are like-minded, have similar values to yourself & who will advocate for you because they trust you. They support your marketing, where a personal recommendation gives you an edge. How do you build your tribe? Avoid the sell, know why you are attending a particular event, appreciate that networking is marketing & lastly follow-up with people who can add value to your business proposition.

Safety First – A Quick Guide For Networking

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:18:13 GMT

Everyone should be mindful of their safety...

...even when out & about networking this should be no different.

It is very rare for any networking brands to carry out background checks on their people & visitors. Some may seek references, but in reality, there is no fundamental requirement to do this & visitors can be transient so having to undertake this work will create a potential barrier or significant delay to entry. Therefore, the onus lies with us as individuals to be aware of what kinds of behaviour make us uncomfortable & for us to act accordingly.

Check-out the people you meet via their website, LinkedIn profile, social media accounts & perhaps a simple Google search. This can help you form an overview as to whether a particular person is someone who you might like to get to know professionally. However, this should not be a panacea for all your networking safety concerns, as there is fake news everywhere, but it should allow you to manage your degrees of awareness.

It is important to remember that there are some people who are socially awkward. This happens for various reasons including networking nerves. Maybe they struggle with boundaries or can be more intense in their conversations & body language than the next person. However, this is not the focus of this blog.

Safe Networking

Today, I want to talk about practical things you can do to keep yourself safe when networking or carrying out those all-important 1-2-1s meetings. At 1-2-1s is a place where we are more vulnerable, because of their very nature. It is you & another person getting to know each other.

Networking nerves can make walking into a room of people you may or may not know quite daunting. Even if you are an experienced networker. One of the easiest ways to mitigate these feelings, to make the opportunity less anxious & for networking to be a safe & enjoyable experience is to have a networking buddy. Someone who you know & trust who is on a similar place in their business journey as you. Together you can look after one another in making those first ventures into networking. Helping someone else to find their feet will alleviate your nerves & you’ll be networking with confidence in absolutely no time at all.

You should consider the way you approach & talk to other people both when in a busy room or in the 1-2-1 setting. Keep all your networking interactions professional. Try not to be overly familiar, don’t talk about those things one should avoid at dinner parties - sex, religion & politics. Also, be careful what information you disclose about your family, friends & other business people, especially if you don’t really know someone. Networking is a two-way street, so you do need to consider the language that you use. If you use expletives you should be prepared for the other person to respond in kind. Your body language should also reflect that your 1-2-1 meetings & general networking form part of your business marketing & part of your brand.

The Mirror Effect

The reason I am mentioning all of this is that it is human nature to mirror other people. So, if you talk in a salacious or titivating manner the signals you send to other people, is that it is OK to have conversations that might encourage unwanted advances, comments or behaviours.

I know from personal experience that there will always be that sales guy who will offer anything to win business. When I was working in an employed role, the owner of one of our third-party supplies attended a meeting where he touched my knee. I don’t remember ever having had more than a professional conversation with him. As we wound up the meeting he offered be an encounter, when I politely declined by waving my wedding ring at him & saying “ I am married. " He replied, “ it’s just a ring!” Who could I report this too? Not to his business as he was the owner & internally in 2010 our company didn’t have a policy that related to me.

Afterwards he presented a really competitive quotation. This business owner had made me feel uncomfortable about having to work with him & his business for the next three years. What was I going to do? After all, as a man, it is difficult to tell other people about such advances. I am expected to simply man-up & brush it to one-side, to do the right thing for our business.

What I did was collate all the information from the various quotes I received & passed it to my manager with no mention of what had happened, with no recommendations. This was out of character. In my mind I thought that if she made the decision based purely on the information contained in the quotations then I could live with the outcome. She knew something was awry & as I explained to her the circumstances, she understood. I was vindicated in having taken this action as together we decided to use a different supplier. If, I as the main contact for this contract was uncomfortable& on edge dealing with them, the whole company would also be on unnerved too. I was surprised at how well I was supported once my manager knew about the encounter. Speaking up should never be a bad thing.

Some Practical Steps

I have deviated a little but I hope you get the point. It is challenging to share these types of experiences, but one should with the right people. So, back to the business in hand. Before you go networking let someone know what you are doing & where you are going. Maybe even what time you are likely to be back. If you are having a 1-2-1 meeting you may even want to tell that other person who you are meeting.

Keep a diary either hard-copy or digital & make sure you have ALL your meeting details recorded including where you are meeting. Book your meetings at times of the day when you are comfortable, perhaps not returning to your car at dusk or late into the evening.

With Business Buzz we recommend you have your 1-2-1 meetings at our partner venue, when appropriate & convenient. This is a trusted space where Buzz events already take place & venue managers are expecting our visitors to return for meetings. Don’t squirrel yourself away in a corner. Make sure you can be seen by others in the venue. At these meetings it is important to know why you are meeting someone for a 1-2-1. Have your own business focused agenda. Write it out if necessary. This should help make your meeting business orientated & keep it on track. If the conversation goes off on a tangent that begins to make you feel uncomfortable having prepared for the meeting will make it easier to pull it back & to talk about what YOU want to.

If someone else makes you feel awkward, you can & should tell them. I appreciate that it is not always that easy. However, being direct will stop most of this kind of behaviour, as most people do not meaningfully set out to have a negative impact. If the behaviour continues you are perfectly within your rights to cut the meeting short & leave. 1-2-1 meetings should mostly be about an hour long & If you feel the need to get away then you can always use an excuse like “my parking is due to expire.” Even when there isn’t a reason to want to leave early it is good practice to make sure your parking is finishing in a timely manner so you can make your leave professionally. Park somewhere public, well lit & don’t let the other person escort you to your car.

If something untoward does happen use your diary to make detailed notes about what happened, what was said & how it made you feel. You may decide to take no further action, Trust the brand you are networking with as they will be able to support you. They need to know what has happened because If it happened to you then it may be happening to others. Don’t suffer in silence. It may not be possible to rectify what has happened to you, but if we at Business Buzz don’t know about the circumstances surrounding a particular incident then we cannot protect others.

You should not feel obliged to carry on any conversations beyond an unpleasant encounter via email, on the phone or across social media. If the other person does reach out it should be about business or as the result of offering a referral or introduction. There should be nothing that feels inappropriate about any further communication. Keep this continued engagement to the point, professional & business focused. There’s no need to answer any questions of a personal nature. Sometimes, you may feel the best course of action is to simply ignore this person. Although, inaction might be like a red-rag to a bull & could escalate the situation. so, a polite but firm NO is a better way to end the contact

Business Buzz Code of Conduct

At Business Buzz we focus on making our networking inclusive with no barriers to entry. However, we do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour or offensive language. So, we take any breach of our Code of Conduct seriously. Sometimes it takes time to get to the bottom of what has happened & why. Should you experience any unpleasantness ideally your first port of call should be to let the host of your event know. However, if you feel uncomfortable about speaking to them, at Business Buzz we have a Code of Conduct which clarifies acceptable behaviour. From the relevant page on our website you can report any issues direct to the team at Buzz HQ & the process is kept anonymous.

It’s not my intention to worry you unduly by writing this blog, but forewarned is forearmed. Most networking interactions pass off without incident & are both fruitful & productive. Very occasionally something unexpected happens that catches one off guard, but if you have taken relevant measures as prevention & know what to do should something happen, it will empower you to deal with it & move forward. Consider the points in this blog; with a little forethought you will be as safe as practically possible.

Keep Your Business Fresh

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 14:36:41 GMT

By Taking The Route To Innovate.

Do you suffer from the cycle of feast & famine in your business? If you’re not familiar with this phrase, then let me explain: it refers to lots of work or sales all at once followed by leaner periods, where it can be hard to balance the books, both financially or metaphorically. So, how can you escape this pattern or prevent it from happening at all?

The first thing to know about the so-called feast or famine problem, is that it isn’t even a problem. It’s a symptom. A symptom of a marketing problem. The only way to break this cycle is to innovate, to review your marketing approach & do something different.

It’s really tempting to get into a routine that works & to stay there. For small business owners, we are expected to wear so many different hats & therefore it is easy to find a process that works for a particular part of your business & then stick to it, even when it is not delivering the best outcomes. You find a way to manage your time, resources & pennies to get the most out of social media, to keep your bookkeeping up to date, to elevate your brand awareness, to get your quotes out to prospective customers, to deliver your product or service, to invoice customers & manage the credit control that comes with late payments & finally to get yourself out from behind your desk to go networking. Formularising what you do & making it prescriptive might seem like the best option. After all, you’ve got your business routine, it’s working OK & everything seems to be streamlined. So, why innovate when this will only rock the boat?

When you decided to become a business owner you probably walked away from the corporate world & a monthly pay cheque. You rocked your boat then! When you made your first batch of products or someone bought your services for the first time, you had already taken the leap from regular citizen to entrepreneur. You had definitely stepped out of your working comfort zone, & that action itself rocked the boat. So, you’re already a boat rocker!

In this blog, we’re going to explore a few ways you can freshen up your business with minimal boat rocking. But why should I do things differently? In today’s competitive business landscape, where sectors are crowded, we heavily rely on innovation to stay ahead of our competitors ¹ . But to innovate you also need to be creative. While creativity is crucial to generate ideas that are both unique & original, they’re not always inherently useful. Innovative solutions can’t exist, however, without a component of creativity ² . As a small business owner, you can balance your creativity & your innovative approach against your time-honoured routines to ensure your innovations are deliverable & of value.

Some of these suggestions can be implemented right now, from whatever device you’re reading this on! Innovating within your business might sound daunting, but you likely already have all the tools you need to shake things up.

Look How Far You Have Already Come

As we move into the summer of 2022, just look at how the landscape of the small business owner has changed. How many of you would have been comfortable having meetings virtually? I know I certainly wasn’t. This change was forced upon us by circumstances beyond our control & It is true that not everyone moved to a virtual format to become comfortable using the likes of Teams, Zoom or Remo. Those business owners who embraced the change (& innovated in their businesses to seize the opportunity) thrived & have started 2022 in a stronger position than they were in March 2020, when the pandemic started.

Loosen Up

Marketing has evolved a lot; things use to be so serious. The advent of social media means each of us can find our own marketing voice. Small business owners generally buy from other small business owners they like, know & trust. How do you build trust? At the heart of trust is authenticity .

Very few of us like to be sold at, we all tend to skip through the adverts on demand or go our & make a cup of tea on terrestrial TV. Admittedly, TV advertising is an avenue that’s not accessible for most small business owners, but the power of video & authenticity can be seen here. Let’s look at John Lewis, who run a Christmas TV advertising campaign that is always much anticipated. In their 2013 campaign; The Bear & The Hare , they are working to elicit an emotional response to demonstrate that the John Lewis brand understands the values of their customers at Christmas time. The same can be said of their 2019 campaign: Edgar The Dragon – Show Them How Much You Care . In neither advert is there any reference made to products for sale, although in the in the Edgar advert, John Lewis & Waitrose have cleverly place product that you could buy from them. The powerful emotional response both adverts create only goes to heighten & strengthen the John Lewis brands’ values & the underlying messages that resonate with their core audiences’ values

How can you, as a small business owner create something similar to John Lewis? It is not about budget or lots of fancy videography kit. It is all about authenticity. Video is a creative way to innovate your marketing.

Making your own video can be as complicated as you want to make it. But the more complex you try to make the end product the less likely you are to actually create a video in the first place. So, let’s keep it simple. Use your smartphone to record a video. Tell people something they need to know. I often hear business owners say “my sector is boring”. The sad truth behind this is that if you say this then you will believe it, so steer well clear of this kind of thinking. All sectors can be “sexy”, you just have to find the components of your business that you find exciting & share that with your audience. Don’t try to be something that you are not. If you aren’t naturally quick witted & instantly funny, don’t try to be humorous, if this isn’t your natural style, by trying to be comical you are not being authentic. Smile when you speak, ask a question of your audience & then answer the question concisely & in context. Always end with your branding & contact details.

Vidyard: Simply Powerful Video!

If all of this seems a bit daunting why not take a leaf out of my book. I have innovated this year & started to use video for simple messaging. I use Vidyard to send personalised messages on LinkedIn & via email to my new contacts.

Vidyard is a Chrome extension & is a straightforward way to communicate using video. For me it is proving to be a really powerful way to engage with potential customers. With Business Buzz networking at the heart of my business the way I build relationships & the value I place in the people with whom I do business is fundamental to my marketing. Therefore, Vidyard helps me to be authentic. It allows me to build relationships quickly, to showcase my personality (that is so much a key element in my personal brand) & is a terrific way to introduce both myself & Business Buzz to both new & existing contacts.

Add a Newsletter to Your Routine

If you have a website or the capability to collect email addresses, you can stay in touch with your customers by sending out a monthly newsletter. Services like Mailchimp provide ready-made templates or customizable ones that you can use to get your messages out easily, without having to send hundreds of emails one address at a time. By making a move to an application like Mailchimp you’re innovating!

What should you write about in this newsletter? Anything! You can use this newsletter to announce new locations, new team members, have a product or service spotlight, updates about what you’re are working on or new product launches; you can basically use it as a quick platform to say “Hey, I’m here, my stuff is here, and I want to connect with you”. Sprinkle in a few links to your social media to encourage readers to keep up with you outside of the newsletter, and now you’ve created a way to reach people you might not have reached before. By pulling all of your marketing closer, to make it more coherent & more interconnected you have innovated!

Become Canvafabulous

To support you in being more coherent invest in a Canva subscription, the accessible graphic design platform. For a little over £99.99 ³ you can have access to a vast array of potential collateral that can be used to enhance your brand & express your personal & brand values. My top tip for using Canva is to think about less words & to make eye catching images the focus of your efforts. Use available text in LinkedIn or Facebook or your mailshot to explain your message. You want people to stop as they scroll, so it’s all about the image or the video associated with your message.

As a small business owner, it can be expensive to keep asking your Graphic Designer to get your on-going marketing artwork & other materials prepared. Get your designer to give you PNG & JPEG versions of your logo & other branding elements as well as the HEX, CMYK & RGB numbers for your brand colourways, so that you can use them in Canva to create your own artwork.

Where to start? Canva has thousands of templates which are an ideal starting place. Pick one & adapt it & use the same format over & over. Change the underlying pictures to create new pieces of artwork. What is important is to ensure that you are brand consistent. Make sure your logo is always shown, where appropriate your headshot & always use your brands colourways. What you create in Canva can be used & then repurposed for all of your marketing needs. You can find something for every occasion, for every sector & for every business in Canva.

Do a Realistic Inventory of What’s Working

Not every solution is going to be a hit. It doesn’t mean you’re making bad decisions. It probably means you are not targeting your audience in the places that they hangout. Knowing who your true customers are & where they can be found is a key component for any business owner to understand, but often this is over looked, as we dive into the many aspects of setting up a business.

You probably already have a method of keeping track of which of your products or services is selling & what’s not (if you don’t, you really should). But do you keep track of the impact your marketing is having on your business? One of the first habits you should establish is to ask your new customers ‘how they heard about you & how they heard about what you do’. If you use business networking to raise awareness of who you are & what you do, then you should be looking for introductions & referrals. If you use more traditional print methods to get your brand out there, then you need to know from which publication you are found. Lastly, if social media is an important part of your campaigns then you should be checking Google, Twitter & Facebook analytics to know your reach & engagement.

Constantly review your outcomes. If you are not getting the introductions from networking you are expecting, then may be the events you are visiting are not right for you or for your product or service. More likely, is that your messaging & the way you’re presenting yourself needs to be adapted to peek interest. If you are using pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns then you should be monitoring the spend, the click throughs & the conversion rate.

It is important to know what your campaigns & marketing are designed to achieve. This isn’t the same for every business. If you are focused purely on sales, you will probably fall flat on your face. Good marketing leads to confidence & trust in your brand, where as a bad sales technique can have the opposite effect & will drive potential customers to your competition (who are more likely to be less about the sales & more about building long lasting relationships). Remember small business owners generally buy from other small business owners they like, know & trust. Being overly sales orientated diminishes your trust factor.

Don’t blindly go from one type of marketing to another. There are so many businesses out there that will try to sell you marketing solutions, where you are told one solution is a panacea for all your needs. You need to develop a strategy & realise that for most businesses a multi-channel approach is the way to go. You should innovate your marketing, if something does not work, accept this fact & move to the next relevant solution. That might be an alternative platform or vehicle, but it could be a change of your messaging or who your real target audience is. Don’t see changing direction (& by default brining some innovation to the table) as a weakness or a failure. If you stubbornly follow a path that is not working then this is a recipe for disaster. Your greatest opportunity to learn about your business, your marketing & where your product or service sits in the marketplace is through the things that don’t work as well as you might have hoped. You can, then make informed decisions that keep you & your business in your customer’s line of sight. Once again you will have innovated to keep you relevant.

Final Thoughts

Change can be scary, but all the changes I have suggested are relatively easy to implement for your business. It’s a bit of gentle boat rocking. The good thing is that all of the options can be accessed via a laptop, a desktop or a smartphone, so whichever is your go-to device you can make the transformation from your technology comfort zone & in so doing take away some of the fear.

It is unlikely that you will master any of these options the first time you turn your hand to them, so practice makes perfect. The more you do the more adept you will become in new applications, the more proficient you will be in finding ways to innovate in your business & the better placed in general to grasp the nettle of new opportunities as they arise.

The Small Business Owner’s Survival Guide:

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 11:03:17 GMT

9 Top Tips For A Healthy Business & For Your Work-Life Balance

Are you burning the candle at both ends? Do early starts & late nights leave you feeling exhausted & overwhelmed? A familiar metaphor for many small business owners who are run ragged looking for opportunities & sales, where the potential to being burnt out has a huge, detrimental impact on our physical & mental health.

Our increasingly demanding work culture is one of the biggest challenges to our wellbeing, so how can we create & maintain a good work-life balance? As a small business owner, myself, I’m very conscious of the impact working all the hours God sends can have on the road to success. In this blog, I’m going to share some of my top tips on how to keep your work-life balance aligned with your core business values. Many of us stepped out of the employed world to be time rich & to have the flexibility around the way we work. Yet, working dawn to dusk & beyond doesn’t fulfil this desire. How does one create a balance? A lot of the answers are hiding in plain sight!

A healthy work-life balance doesn’t necessarily mean splitting your time between your work & your personal life evenly. Depending on what your personal & business drivers are, will influence whether you are looking to be time rich, financially secure or, like most of us, want a bit of both. What is it that gets you out of bed in the morning & keeps you motivated to succeed? Where you feel overwhelmed, adapting your approach & attitude to work will definitely contribute to establishing a better balance. For the small business owner, there is always pressure to meet deadlines & keep work commitments, but you should also find the time for yourself, for friends, for family, to relax, to de-stress, for healthy eating & for sleeping well.

So, let’s get started: All of the pointers in this blog are intertwined with one another, but even if you only take one or two to implement in your business then you should see, after the initial implementation period a balancing between work & the other aspects of your life. As you create more time & build your confidence a natural balance will come to the fore

1. Be Laser Focused In Knowing Who Your Customers Are (& Aren’t).

As I mentioned in a previous blog, not everyone is going to be your customer , introducer or key referrer. Realising this is a watershed moment in building your business. It allows you to focus your energies in the right places & towards the right people. Having a clear vision of who your real audience is means you can spend less time explaining who you are, what you do & the value you bring. Your real customers will appreciate your knowledge & expertise. Your values will be aligned more easily for this fact, so business will be more straightforward to come by. Whether you are new to running your own business or have been at it a while, it never hurts to find the time to build (or review) profiles of your ideal customer. By doing this task it will create space in your business to have the right conversations with the right people & to maintain your laser focus. It is OK to leave your ‘non-customers’ behind in this process. However, make sure that all interactions leave positive impressions. Someone who is not your customer today, might be tomorrow…you never know!

2. Have a Marketing Plan & Implement It.

This is easy to say, but can be difficult to implement. If you have defined your customers, introducers & key referrers, then you know where they hang out, so it should be easy to create & implement your marketing & brand awareness strategies. There are so many marketing channels that it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees.

The question is, where should I choose to start; perhaps with the pay-per-click advertising option, or on social media via LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, should I go networking & then which is the best format, there’s national & local newspapers & their digital alternatives or how about one of those handy community focused magazines that regularly drops through my letterbox, I could talk with Mums at the school gates or Dad’s picking their kids up from ballet, how about an email campaign or splash-out on some radio advertising or on a billboard, I could sponsor a local sports team or invest in a great website & the associated SEO or write regular articles & blogs…this list is endless.

All the options come with different price points, some have a hefty ticket price, while others require an investment in time rather than loads of money. I recommend keeping your plan simple & to the point, & stick to it religiously. You will need to commit. A random post here & then another one there will just not cut the mustard. It is best to pick a marketing solution & commit for a minimum of three months It takes time to build traction, brand awareness & to see a return on your investment. Make sure you allocate time across your day, your week & your month to actually implement your plan.

Set a realistic & affordable marketing budget. You may not be able to find the pennies for a full three month pay-per-click campaign or a full-page advert for three months in a community magazine right now. So, invest what you can & make maximum use of it. Building a community on Twitter or Facebook is more about finding the time rather than a spending big exercise. Use LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool for some brilliant & straightforward lead generation. A top tip here is to build your customer profile using the filter categories on this application, meaning there is as close a perfect match as possible. There is often a free month trial with Sales Navigator, so use it wisely & to its full potential.

Whatever you choose to do for your marketing, measure your outcomes, review your marketing plan regularly & make strategic changes based on the successes or the failures. Stick with the elements that work & do something different if they don’t. If your plan consistently fails to deliver the desired results or connections, it’s a safe bet that you are not targeting the right people. Document your marketing plan & as I said before “implement it fully”, if you are organised, execute the plan well & measure your outcomes, it will keep you on track, & makes sure everything you do is focused towards your business goals & at your perfect customers.

3. Love Your Numbers.

As I have already mentioned having a realistic marketing budget is important, but understanding your business’ numbers is equally as crucial. Let’s look at three areas:

Forecasting: Make sure that you have a forecasting spreadsheet that shows all of your predicted outgoings & your desired income. Know where your breakeven point is: how many of your products or services do you have to sell so that all of your outgoing costs are covered? Be realistic about your projected sales numbers & about where to position your product or service price point. It is great to be ambitious, but initially I recommend a conservative approach in this exercise. If you over-egg your sales numbers, you can easily over spend on non-essential expenses because you are expecting more income than actually happens. A cautious approach means you don’t get into debt unexpectedly. Remember, you can always upgrade your forecast if things go better than you anticipated. This means you need to be as comprehensive as you can when creating your spreadsheet & include all your possible outgoings

Try an include all essential bills & you will probably also have somethings for your business that are nice to have – but can you really afford those? Add the non-essential items only once you know you can cover these costs in addition to the essentials. Bills to consider when building your forecasting model should include your salary, national insurance & pension contributions, marketing costs, printing & postage, insurance, mileage, utilities, taxes & accounting services, IT, broadband & mobile phone costs, health & safety, subscriptions, training, memberships & upfront costs for stock, but you may have other specific items to include. Knowledge of how many pieces of a particular product or service you need to sell to start making a profit should be a barometer for your business. Combined with your customer avatars & knowing your value, you can be very pointed in your marketing, ensuring you are talking to the right people all the time.

Bookkeeping: Keeping tabs on your money is an important factor in running your business, therefore make sure that you record all of your expenses & outgoings. The most efficient way to do this is to use some bookkeeping software such as Xero, which makes the whole process easy & straightforward. Up to date bookkeeping gives you a realistic picture of your business financials, & an awareness of your sales, cash flow & outgoings. Being up to date with your numbers brings you clarity, focus & direction.

Cash flow: Very few of us set-up our businesses to be credit controllers, but this is a crucial aspect of running a small business. Not keeping on top of money that is due to you will have a detrimental impact on your cash flow & your ability to do more business. It can be scary to have to chase someone to pay the money they owe you, & even more daunting when you have done an amazing job for them. Getting your invoices paid on time is an inevitable obstacle we all face. Many of us find it easier to bury our heads in the sand when we don’t get paid on time. This is such an important issue that The Federation of Small Business has recently run the Fair Pay, Fair Play Campaign to help people like you & me get paid in a timely manner. If you hate picking the phone up & asking people to pay then there are a couple of options. Firstly, you can outsource your credit control. There are small business owners like you who actually specialise in collecting money for other businesses. Secondly, you could explore invoice factoring ¹ , where a finance provider will lend you up to 90% of the value of your invoices. The lender can also manage your sales ledger & collect payment for your invoices direct from your customers. It will then deduct the costs of the factoring service, before paying you the remaining balance. Both of these solutions should get your money into your bank account more speedily, which means you have more time & less anxiety to focus on the elements of your business that generate more sales & support your business growth.

The thought of dealing with money & loving your business numbers might seem intimidating, but it is at the heart of being in business. You won’t succeed if you don’t keep an eye on your forecasting, expenses, & invoicing. I love the adage, “Make the time to keep on top of your pennies & then the pounds will look after themselves”, because it is a truth & the benefit of good ‘accounting’ is real insight, flexibility, direction & long-term success.

4. Know Your Value.

Jenny Millar from Untapped Pricing is a pricing strategist & I really love her analogy about knowing the value of something:

How much is a pint of beer worth? The only correct answer to this question is ‘to whom?’. To wine lovers, the answer might be ‘nothing’. To beer lovers, the answer depends on the context. You might be very happy to pay a hefty premium for a cool beer on a hot day at the only beer stand at a festival, but you’d expect to pay much less for that same beer from a rundown grocery store. What something is worth isn’t an inherent property of a product or service; it is highly subjective & highly contextual. Value is in the eye of the beholder; it is a perception of the human mind. So, understanding your worth can be difficult to quantify.

While you might have fixed assets in your business that have a clear value, there are many different facets to consider when defining a business’ worth. Can you quantify the value of your personal & professional reputation? What About your customers? Do you work for them on a retainer or do you employ a subscription model? What is your business’ book value? How easy is it to place a monetary value on your unique skillset, your knowledge & level of expertise or is your approach irreplaceable? Where do you sit in the market & your sector? Of course, there is no other business quite like yours.

Knowing what sets you apart from your competition is the first step in realising your worth. Once you have established this & quantified it, it will feed nicely in to setting your prices for your product or service, which in turn contributes to you falling in love with your financials. I also love this short video from Jenny: Zinc For Sale . Once again Jenny explains that a product or service will have a different value to different people. Know that from taking time to build your customer profiles, not everyone in a universe is your customer, so you have to set your value, worth & pricing for your actual customers.

5. Know How Your Solution Impacts.

Sophisticated sales & marketing isn’t about the hard sell. Instead, it is about finding ways to talk to your customers that are engaging & demonstrate the value you add to their business or lives. If you offer a business-to-business solution, then your marketing will need to show how you help & support other business people to overcome a particular challenge. Where consumers are your primary audience, your marketing will need to illicit an emotional response. The greater the positive response to your product or service, the more likely they are to buy. Talk about the benefits someone else will gain from doing business with you. Will it create more time? Will their customers be more satisfied? Position your business, product or service as one that helps your customers solve a problem. Confidence in your brand can only be enhanced by gathering genuine testimonials. Use these reviews to help demonstrate your skillset, your level of expertise, your competence, and the great value you bring to the table.

6. Do Your Research.

Undertake some primary or secondary research to identify if there is an appetite for your product or service. You shouldn’t assume there is. If you want to apply for funding, you may need to have this kind of information at your fingertips. Research can also provide insight into your customers, where to find them & the best way for you to access them.

Let me tell you about my own experience; when I ran Buddha Travel, secondary research enabled me to identify that within 20 miles of my own front door sat some 9,000 people who fitted my ideal customer profile. The upshot meant rather than running around left, right & centre all over central England to access my customers, I was able to be more focused on targeting those within that 20-mile radius. This revelation in my business released time & it helped to reduce my overheads because everything became much more local. Less mileage & time spent behind the wheel of my car. Knowing my customers were more local & easily accessible shaped my marketing to be punchier & more direct. The consequence was that it suddenly became so much easier to get my face in front of the right people, those who were actually going to make the decision to buy. The number of quotes increased as did my conversion rate as a direct result.

Use your research data to influence your business decisions, marketing plans & financial forecasting. Review your marketplace regularly, know who your competitors are (if you have any), & be aware of how they are marketing to their customers & their prices. Keeping your finger on the pulse is essential for keeping on trend.

7. Know What Makes You Different

My good friend Angus Grady, The LinkedIn Unlocker says “everyone should be in a category of ONE on LinkedIn”. I totally agree with this sentiment. This is the only way to be yourself in a worldwide community of 810 million users ² . Most of us will be using LinkedIn for marketing & to try to connect with our tribe.

So, can you explain your value proposition or your differential? Are you able to tell someone else what you do in two sentences? A concise & lucid description of why your product or service can help your potential customers is an invaluable marketing tool. Initially you want to ignite interest, so short & snappy is the answer here.

You probably won’t get it right first time, so practice makes perfect! Read other people’s body language & adapt what you say to make their responses positive. If you are constantly asked the same question over & over, you probably need to address this by building it in to your pitch. Or maybe you embrace the question as the door opener to a more in-depth conversation.

One of the most powerful ways to keep engaged is to use stories to demonstrate your product or service, your competence & personality. I have covered story telling in another blog . A long, unsolicited ramble about your business, product or service can deter someone else from asking more, even when they are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. Your core message(s) can get lost in all the waffle. Being succinct will gain you more traction.

Often when we are not confident we can get all too wrapped up in the minutiae of what we do. After all it is our own personal business comfort zone. But for our customers the intimate technical details of how we run our business or source a product or deliver a service can be boring. What your potential customer is really wanting to know is how you can help them overcome a particular pinch point in their business or in their personal lives.

I am not diminishing the importance you should place on understanding your own internal processes & workings, but explaining this outside your own business generally adds little value to your proposition. Instead, use examples of times when you have delivered a great outcome. Being able to make what you do relatable is a more powerful & engaging sales tool than discussing the detail of how you do what you do.

8. Be Kind To Yourself.

Let’s start here with some generalisations. Don’t judge yourself to harshly. We all make mistakes, so grasp the nettle & forgive yourself for the genuine mistakes you might make. After all, to ‘err is human’. Learn from your mistakes, as often we gain more insight when something hasn’t gone the way we’d like. Don’t hold yourself to impossibly high standards or as I have already mention be unreasonably ambitious, that you get yourself into a bit of a pickle. Don’t compare yourself to others or beat yourself up when you don’t do something the way someone else does. You should think about yourself as a category of one, where you are the expert about & in your business.

Now for some practical suggestions. Take time out of your office that is not work. This can be simply setting time aside every day to go for a walk, put your headphones in & listen to a podcast, such as the brilliant one by Business Buzz . It is both humorous & inspirational. The combination of being outside & the feel-good factor will re-energise you. Allowing yourself time away from your desk to have a change of scenery & move around for a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes allows you to clear the cobwebs away. Focus on working smarter rather than longer.

Start your day with a healthy & nutritious breakfast & set aside time for a lunch break. Being hydrated & eating properly are fundamentals. Don’t compromise on them.

It is really easy to get dehydrated. If you work from home & have the central heating on, or work in a space with air-conditioning the air around you will tend to be dry, so simple act of talking on the phone or when using Zoom, means as you exhale moisture, you can more easily become dehydrated. If you are anxious or nervous you can develop dry mouth too, which happens to be a symptom of our fight or flight survival mode & can be a contributing factor to dehydration. Always have water to hand & drink small amounts regularly. If you are feeling thirsty then you are probably already dehydrated. This in turn affects both your physical & mental agility, meaning you are less productive & less able to deal with the tasks at hand. It can take 45 minutes or more to re-hydrate.

Lastly here, when we were in an employed role, our working week was generally between 35 & 40 hours. While being self-employed brings you more flexibility, it doesn’t mean you should work excessively long hours. Build time for yourself into your working plans. Extend deadlines to allow for ‘me time’ & to be healthy. You’ll be no use to anyone if you are burnt out & cannot deliver.

9. Accountability.

Running your own business is not always plain sailing. You’ve built your customer avatars, come up with a stonking marketing strategy, fallen in love with your numbers, put time aside for yourself & then you’re off on the road to success. YAY! But not long down the path you hit a stumbling block that throws you completely off track & you end up stuck in a muddy field. All of your initial enthusiasm is lost in just trying to dig yourself out of an unforeseen hole. How do you maintain your direction & momentum? There is one word to use here: accountability. But to whom should you be accountable?

For most small business owners, the answer to this question is “me, I & myself”. This can be tough. However, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved & a SMART goals shared is one that is more likely to be achieved’. So, what is the best way to share your goals & challenges?

Let me introduce you to Katrina Sargent; Goal Mapping Practitioner Extraordinaire! Goal Mapping is about pulling together the words & images that represent your desires & goals to make them less ephemeral & more tangible. With goal mapping you can create big vision goal maps where you have laid out your final destination for yourself & your business, but also you can have many ‘smaller’ maps that represent all of the milestones along the way to your final destination. This process can be for both your business goals & your personal objectives. Part of the beauty of goal maps is that your whole brain takes part in their creation. Very simplistically, language is managed by the left side of the brain, whereas the right side tends to be more creative. Goal mapping helps make concepts visual & therefore more accessible, meaning they are more achievable.

Working with Katrina you could take most of the areas discussed in this blog & create goal maps that reflect & express your desires & your outcomes. Goal Mapping is both a brilliant & an enjoyable way to stay accountable in your business.

Stand Out From The Crowd.

In this blog we have covered a lot of ways to be more business-nimble. What we haven’t talked about is how you start to stand out from the crowd.

So how & where do you speak your brand? What are your tag lines? How do you talk about your business & who do you talk to about it? If you are unsure of where to start then an absolutely amazing place is at a networking event, such as Business Buzz .

I am a Business Buzz super-fan. Buzz can give you the platform to boost your brand awareness, your confidence & put you in front of your next best customer. As a no-fuss networking solution, Business Buzz is a market leader & an amazing place to connect with like-minded business people from your local business community.

At Business Buzz there is:

no pressure to join because Buzz is not a membership organisation, meaning our networking events are pay-as-you-go & drop-in,

no 30, 40 or 60 second elevator pitch needed,

no training or speaking session,

no professional lock-out or one-seat policy, because everyone in business should have access to great networking & Business Buzz facilitates this completely.

What Business Buzz offers:

a multi-location-based networking option,

a superb place to come & meet like-minded business people in a relaxed environment,

a friendly, inclusive & welcoming event,

a place to have genuine & honest conversations in a mix & mingle format,

a space to build lasting business relationships,

a belief that collaboration is key,

a business networking event that really works.

If you are ready to give Buzz a try? Visit our website to find out more or get in touch with James, who is your local Business Buzz Regional Lead. Drop him an email on james.brodie@buddhaconnect.co.uk for friendly advice on the best networking event for you.

That concludes my small business owner survival guide. We have covered a lot of ground here, but not every possibility. I hope reading this blog has given you some practical tips to implement & allowed you some time to pause. Striking a work-life balance can be tough, but feel reassured that it is possible to achieve your goals & be time rich. For me, the phrase “work smarter rather than longer” really echoes my sentiment here. I sincerely hope this food for thought helps you to re-establish your priorities & to stick to them. As a business owner & mentor, I have learnt many things but first & foremost, it is to be kind to yourself. After all, an engine can’t run with an empty tank, & you can’t pour into someone else’s cup when your own is empty.

1. https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/finance-hub/invoice-finance/#moduleWhatisinvoicefinance - 24h April 2022

2. https://about.linkedin.com/#:~:text=Welcome%20to%20LinkedIn%2C%20the%20world's,member%20of%20the%20global%20workforce. - 24th April 2022

The Ins & Outs Of Collaborating

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:52:35 GMT

As a small business owner, you will be told left, right & centre that collaboration is the key to building a successful business.

Did you know that roughly 75% ¹ of employees’ regard collaboration as important & it is in the top four skills for employees’ future success? Should your expectations as a small business owner be any less when it comes to working with others?

Sometimes it can be hard to work out who you should put your faith in. Who can you trust & which other business owners have values that are aligned to yours? Allowing yourself to believe in other people is a risk. Sometimes it pays off & sometimes it back-fires, so what can you do to mitigate the risk?

Why Is Collaboration So Important For The Small Business Owner?

This is a really good question. “collaboration” has become a bit of a corporate buzzword, but that doesn’t mean that it’s an empty cliché. Brilliant partnerships create extraordinary workplaces.

Most of us have been employed & where there is a monthly pay cheque we don’t necessarily question the value that collaboration brings to an organisation. Mostly, because the culture of larger organisations has collaboration at their core. There is generally a team environment & an intuitive exchange of ideas. The Sales Team talk to clients, the Marketing Team create the sales materials & advertising campaigns, Project Teams deliver to the customer, Accounts Receivable invoice the customer & collect payment, whilst HR, Facilities & IT Teams work tirelessly in the back-ground to keep everyone else operating smoothly & healthily. Every department is connected to the next & they all play a crucial part in making the business efficient & profitable.

In larger organisations people’s skill sets get increasingly specialised & people are siloed into a specific role or niche, where the art of collaboration becomes more important than ever. But what does that mean exactly? What is collaboration? One word sums it up; “teamwork”. It’s really that simple.

It is so easy to make the assumption that being a small business owner often means we are a team of one. I would disagree completely with this.

Sharing Gets Better Results

It is true when running your own business, the buck stops with you, but no man or woman is an island. It can be lonely being at the top of your game, but it doesn’t have to be. Even for the most basic of business formats there is an element of collaboration, because you don’t do absolutely everything for yourself.

Do you have a website for your business? I bet if you do then it is a hosted solution either with the likes of Ionos, Wix or Go Daddy or with a specialist hosting agency like Hipposerve . Do you have an email for your business? Is this connected with your hosting package or maybe it is a Gmail or Hotmail account? Either way they provide a web-based portal to access your email correspondence or perhaps you have an Outlook account which directly sends your emails to your desktop, laptop or smartphone? In these examples you have outsourced a portion of your IT function to a partner that you trust to keep you connected to the world & your customers. By default, you have created a team & for the most part in this scenario, you probably haven’t given the collaborative aspect a lot of consideration. Your drivers for a website & an email are because you need them, price & you have probably chosen an established brand such as Microsoft. Why is this? It’s because you may have used their applications before or in the case of a website as the result of a particular supplier who has advertised on TV, making them trustworthy for the fact they have already been in your own front room

Collaboration is when a group of businesses or people come together to contribute their expertise for the benefit of a shared objective, project, or mission. So, in this scenario it’s about having a reliable website & email for your business.

Rarely, do we as small business owners have all the skills needed to be truly successful. We regularly outsource parts of our business because there are technical aspects that are not our skill set. I for example have an accountant: AJF Taxation . I am not an accountant. My skills lie elsewhere. Creating my annual accounts, filing a tax return, processing a payroll & getting the tax advise I need is not something where I am an expert, but they are. Together we use a third-party solution for my bookkeeping in the form of Xero. I am not too bad a bookkeeper, because I keep on top of it, have a fair knowledge of what is required in record keeping & I can run management information reports from Xero, so I can make sure my numbers are where I want them to be. If I have a question I can pick the phone up to the team at AJF Taxation or drop them an email. It is a partnership that works. Collaborating here takes away the worry about something where I am never going to be proficient. I did not set-up my business to be an accountant. So, by collaborating, it means I can focus on the things I am good at. AJF Taxation can deliver what I need in their field of expertise, & do it in a much timelier manner than I can alone. They save me time, stress & money in the long run.

Buddha Connect is a limited company, which means filing a tax return & preparing company accounts is more involved than a simple self-assessment for HMRC. I have a relationship with AJF Taxation partly because there is a necessity to comply with the law, but also because I trust them. They are the best people to make myself & Buddha Connect compliant. AJF Taxation like nearly all accountants are qualified professionals, so this, by definition, means that they should know what they are doing on my behalf. Choosing to collaborate with AJF Taxation over another accountant is based on more than competence. What are these things?

Know, Like & Trust

Let’s take a broader outlook. How do you choose a partner or person to work with?

There are some key factors & drivers. As small business owners, we know that every sector is crowded with other business owners, both big & small, all vying for a portion of the business that is available. It can be hard to identify the best person for you to work with.

Know:

So, number one on the list of requirements is that you have to ‘know’ who you might want to partner with. There are so many options in front of you, do you play ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ & hope for the best? No! There is a better way. Which is through the power of networking & the power of introductions. Go & meet people, have conversations & discover more about the products & services available to you. I met AJF Taxation whilst networking, so this is how I got to know them.

Use your networking time to talk about who you are & to fine tune your narrative around what you do, why you do it & how you have helped people . Not all the people you meet will be relevant immediately, but you never know where you will be in a few months or a couple of years. Plus, as you expand your network of connections, someone you met today, that’s not quite right for you might be a great introduction for someone you meet tomorrow.

Like:

Next, comes ‘like’. If you don’t like another business owner, then you will not want to work with them or for that matter make introductions. What factors determine if you are likeable? It is true to say that you cannot please all of the people all of the time. So, firstly you need to be true to yourself, so that you attract similar people with common values. I have another blog which explores this subject in more detail . I also believe that as part of the ‘like factor’ you need to be consistent, have a clear set of values that other business owners can align with, have transparent pricing that is easy to understand & be realistic in your expectations. Again, with AJF Taxation, we built our relationship over time. I saw them as I was networking, we chatted regularly, we had a productive 121 & our spheres of influence gradually became entwinned.

Be careful in your approach. It is so easy to ask other business owners for freebies or to barter products or services, but unless it is exactly like for like then there is a mismatch & one party will be out of pocket. If, you ask, you are potentially undermining your credibility, which in turn impacts negatively on your ‘like’ score. Most business owners want be paid a fair price for their work. If you know your value & that of your product or service then the whole concept of giveaways & bartering becomes mute. Generally, where I am being offered a product or service in lieu I will say something along the lines of “when my mortgage company accepts payment of my mortgage in the goods you are offering, then we have a deal”.

Trust:

To round off here, comes ‘trust’. Knowing another small business owner & liking them are mere stepping stones on the path the trust. So, how does one take that leap of faith? Trust in another business or business owner doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. My relationship with AJF taxation blossomed overtime & when it was right for me to change my accounting team, they were the first & on this occasion, the only people I spoke with. I had done my own due diligence by getting to know them, to realise our values are similar & that we can communicate openly. I had mitigated as much risk as I could, but there is still that question about can they deliver on everything I need.

How can you measure whether you trust someone else & also whether other people trust you? Top of the list should be consistency & continuity in the way you present yourself & your business. If you are networking become known as the face of your sector at a particular networking event, a little networking done really well will deliver better results than trying to be everywhere. Spend time to find out about other business owners with the power of 121 meetings, use your active listening skills to re-iterate other people’s key messages & help them to meet other people in your network who you trust. If you promise to do something like an introduction make sure you do this when you say you are going to, & follow-up to find out what happened. A bad introduction can reflect badly on you & your trust value. If you find out what is going on you can recover the situation, by making an alternative introduction. Likewise, if you are introduced by a work colleague, it is important that you pick-up the conversation & follow it through, you don’t want to be seen to let someone else down

A Bit At A Time:

Should you want to try someone’s product or service you don’t have to put all your eggs in one basket at the beginning. Give them a piece of the work you want completed. See how they do, then you will have first-hand experience. If they do a good job then they will go up in your estimation. The trust factor will be enhanced & you can give them more to do on your behalf. If they don’t deliver so well, you can stop using them. You haven’t lost a great deal & you can move on to find the right person to work with. There is no harm in asking for genuine testimonials for a job well done. Use these in your marketing, website & on social media. If others can see how well you have worked or delivered elsewhere it gives them confidence in your abilities.

Not all collaborations are about exchanging products & services for payment. Sometimes we work together in partnerships, where both sides bring a separate but inter-connected skill set to the table or offer a complimentary product or service. This kind of relationship requires a different level of trust, where your values, mission & vision are aligned with one another. Often you will have the same potential clients & combining forces allows you to provide a more rounded & robust solution for your clients.

Take That Leap Of Faith

In this blog I have covered a lot of ground, but central to the concepts raised is being part of a team. As I have already alluded to, for many small business owners, whether at the beginning of their journey or with a more established reputation, running your own business can be isolating. Therefore, assembling a ‘dream team’ of people just like you is an invaluable way to keep you on the road to success. For me Business Buzz has proven to be that invaluable tool. My business & personal life are richer for the connections I have made & it is a place where I know my colleagues have my back & are on my side. Business Buzz has created a brilliant community & I am so thankful to be a part of it. Why not take that leap of faith & find-out if Business Buzz is the place for you?

Start the conversation to day & reach out by emailing me via warwickshire@business-buzz.org. I will pick the phone up, find out more about who you are & explain more about the benefits of becoming part of the Buzz Family.

1. https://goremotely.net/blog/workplace-collaboration/

Harder Than It Sounds: Being ‘You’ Is Central To Being Authentic

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 18:02:48 GMT

…I never imagined that talking about being authentic was going to be such an expansive subject for a blog.

So, let’s jump straight into the second part. But, should it have happened for some reason you skipped the first-half of this blog on being authentic, then you can find it here . A high level of customer service, good quality products & an excellent service delivery are all important attributes in a great business, but what gets you from ‘great’ to ‘exceptional’? Authenticity. Building integrity for you & your business ignites human connections & builds unity. Let’s look at why & how.

There is only one of you on this planet & by using your skills & talents, you can benefit from your inherent authenticity. It is likely that you built your business around your skills, interests & hopes, so by its very nature it is authentic. Operating in ways that are true to you lays the foundation for building an authentic brand. When you are ‘the real you’, you are more positive, resilient, creative, focused, & of course, more vulnerable. While there is freedom associated with being yourself, it also means acknowledging your improvement areas. However, this doesn’t have to be a negative thing, especially when you approach it as an opportunity to seek new ways of finding what works best for you.

Have you ever tried to make a short video to show case yourself, your business, product or service? Daunting, right? Making a video & feeling nervous about it is not a bad thing. When checking out videos on YouTube, Vimeo or via social media, there are lots of slick professional ones to view. There is a price tag associated with using a videographer to create this kind of video. It depends on both the audience & the type of business owner as to whether this is the real person. The message might be authentic, but is the delivery?

We nearly all have smartphones, so it is straightforward to make our own video. However, we face an inevitable conundrum as most of us hate having our photo taken or hearing a play back of our voice. We so easily find fault in ourselves that others don’t see. You just have to get stuck in & make a start. A short one-minute video about something close to your heart, done off the hoof is really engaging. It will be authentic & genuine. This will draw your tribe towards you.

Let me suggest a few pointers to help take away some of the stress of making your own video:

You can plunge straight in & do it live, stream to your favourite social media platform. Good luck! This would not be my preferred option. I stumble over my words & get tongue-tied. But, I know May King Tsang from FOMO Creator who has turned this in to a highly successful business. May King, has been honing her skills for a number of years & if you talk to her the video-streaming that she did on day one is very different to what she creates now.

Whether you are live streaming or sitting down to record a video, it is all about practice, & practice makes perfect. Find somewhere comfortable to make your recording. I tend to use the garden & I set my phone up so I don’t have to hold it, but maybe for you it is more natural to be walking & recording. Whatever you do, make sure the camera is level with your eyes, so that your viewers are not looking up your nose. Also, I like the natural light from being outside, but whatever your light source is, make sure you are facing into it. I don’t script my videos, but I will practice what I am planning to say. I admit that I tend to have a whiteboard behind the camera with a key bullet point list. This helps me stay on track & prevents me from waffling.

Keep to one subject at a time. A short video about an area of your business or a specific subject will be easy to manage, easy to deliver & will bring your audience along with you. If there are multiple things to say about a particular subject break it down into manageable bitesize chunks.

It doesn’t matter whether you have to record yo ur message once or forty times until you are happy. I suspect if you are like me then you will never be happy with the outcome, but as long as you have got your message across that is what is important.

These slightly rough & ready self-made videos show the real you & if you are talking about a subject close to your heart, they will do nothing but enhance your presence in both the real & virtual world. They will give you credibility & you can share then when networking. It is an achievement to record a video & you should be proud of them.

However, expect to be knocked. Someone I knew really well offered to record a video business card for me. We did a couple of sessions at home & whilst I was running a networking event, & actually, when I look past the things I hate about seeing myself on film, it wasn’t half bad: However before releasing it to the world, I shared it with a few trusted business contacts as my nerves got the better of me

One of my contacts, who happened to be a marketing professional came back with a list of faults. Not about the message, but about the way the video had been constructed. I have to admit I was disappointed & slightly hurt. I have no doubt that this person was being authentic & there is some merit in the comments except everything in the video was in context. The video was done & dusted & ready for publishing. Her input was unable to influence the final product.

Sadly, she hadn’t seen the video for the joy that it was, but had fixated on the things she would have done differently. She missed that some of the recording was done ‘on the go’, & that what really mattered was the story that the video shared. She had a particular issue with the networking element, which was recorded in a pub & this was because she felt it would alienate my Muslim viewers. That particular networking event is held in a pub & the videographer was himself a Muslim. The lesson here is that I cannot please all the people all the time. If you watch my video business card you’ll notice that I am being true to myself, both in terms of my networking, & why I network with Business Buzz .

Occasionally I revisit & re-post my video business card on social media. The people close to me, always have something amazing to say, that humbles me. I was candid & showed my vulnerability in the video. It was definitely me being authentic.

As I share this snippet of my experience, I hope it encourages you to tackle a task you’ve been putting off by seeking a way to approach it that works for you. I also hope my honest, open account helps you to learn about me, & for you to realise that it is important to surround yourself with business people who you feel comfortable with, where you can share your challenges, find ways of achieving them & will be lifted-up in making them happen by your tribe.

Mission Possible

Regulars to my blog will know that I’m an advocate for goals, so naturally, having a business mission is a no brainer for me. When I started my business back in 2017, my mission was to keep busy & mentally well. My ‘whys’ were so fundamentally true to me, which allowed me to operate as the ‘real’ me that I mentioned earlier. I chose to get out from behind my desk & to go networking. There were some great experiences, but also some bad ones. I knew that I needed to surround myself with like-minded people, who were more of the ‘giving’ nature than the ‘taking’ one. So, my love for Business Buzz was born out of finding the right tribes for my networking.

In this space I worked within comfortable & honest parameters & came to realise my networking, my desire to support other business owners & super connecting skills were outstanding. Over time, I acknowledged how much I loved putting these skills into practice, & after two & a half years of being in business I rebranded to put these skills at the front & centre of my work. Buddha Connect was born & the Business Buzz Warwickshire region launched. As my business evolved & changed, so did my mission & my plan. It is healthy to reposition your vision, revisit & update your business plan, so that your evolution can continue.

Running a business requires an enormous input, emotionally, physically & financially, & having a clear idea of what we’d like to get in return allows us to justify & understand the need for our input. It also helps us to keep the balance & to not put in more than we can afford, both mentally & practically. When we are clear on our mission, we can plan what resources we need to invest, & what we hope to achieve in return. As we balance our input & output, we reach an equilibrium. Seeking this harmony is what guides us down the right path of personal & professional balance, & what keeps us going when we take a wrong turn, or end up going the long way around. Developing a balanced approach means you can stay true in your actions, your directions & to yourself.

When you are true to yourself (& believe in your business) you will attract people on the same wavelength as you, who will share in your journey. You will leave some people behind as you explore new option. Although it is sad, it is perfectly OK to move past & beyond a particular business friendship. Your honesty & authenticity will mean that you are respected, where you leave a positive indelible mark on that other person’s life. This is something to be celebrated!

Let’s Get Real: Dare To Be Honest

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 09:34:38 GMT

Humans are social creatures. To survive & thrive, we seek interactions with other people. More crucially, we seek genuine connections.

Social interactions are crucial to development & wellbeing; without them, we experience distress, suffer developmental consequences, & even suffer ill health. Isolation can also have a detrimental impact on our mental health. But if you get the balance right, life does not have to be that hard, especially when one is connected to honest, real & genuine people.

How do you identify these kinds of people? The easiest way is to hold a mirror up towards oneself. Our social nature lends us towards attracting like-minded people who have similar values & aspirations. You need to find your tribe. As a business owner, it can be difficult to see the wood from the trees, with a myriad of people vying for your time, your attention & trying to sell at you. So how do you shake the wheat from the chaff?

While the immediacy & ease of virtual communication can be useful, how does our means of communication effect our connections & the way we are perceived? Do you feel you can get to know people & trust them when you’ve only interacted with them virtually? Are the non-verbal cues we get from face-to-face communication crucial to how we understand & collaborate?

In this blog, I’m going to talk about authenticity: the quality of being ‘real’ or ‘true’, & how staying true to who you are, what you do & who you serve can benefit your business. With 90% of consumers saying authenticity is important when deciding which brands, they like & support ¹ , authenticity is what can give you the competitive edge. Words & connections are at the core of authenticity; our vehicle for capturing who we are & what we do, our means of communicating our story & what makes us unique & sincere.

Opportunities For Authenticity

With virtual communications bombarding us & smartphones lodged in most people’s hands & pockets, instant messaging, emails & video calls really are at our fingertips. We are inundated with communications that lead to overflowing mailboxes, excessive notifications & requests to connect. It’s true that not all the communications we receive are balanced or actually authentic.

Authenticity can be hard to qualify. What makes a person or opportunity authentic to me might not elicit the same response from you. However, there are basic principles to consider. Put simply, authenticity means being true to your own personality, values, & spirit, regardless of the pressure that you're under to act otherwise. You're honest with yourself, with others, & you take responsibility for your mistakes. Your values, ideals, & actions align. As I have said many times before, small business owners collaborate & buy from other small business owners they know like & trust .

Let’s look at LinkedIn. As we know, it is a powerful business marketing tool. You can connect with your tribe & beyond, share information about your business & opportunities, but you have to still be authentic & genuine. The best way to be authentic is to establish the right approach by creating & having thoughtful, genuine conversations, whether, by text, video or via posts. In fact, part of the LinkedIn ethos is to start a conversation when you connect with someone for the first time. Messaging your new connections on LinkedIn has become so easy, the platform even prompts you to take this action.

What a great opportunity to be authentic. Do you take the initiative to start talking to your latest new connection or are you just a collector of people, because lots of connections make you look well connected? With the latter, if you haven’t at least tried to start a conversation then the persona you are presenting is not a genuine one, because you aren’t really trying to connected. What value to these unengaged connections add to your business & your network & in turn what value are you add to theirs? It’s like hoovering up a whole load of business cards whilst you are out networking & then just bunging them in a drawer when you get back to the office.

I always ask why my cold connections (that being someone I have never met or heard of before) have been “inspired to connect”. So often I get either an answer like “we have friends in common” or “we are in the same group” or no response at all. In my opinion, neither of these replies is a good reason to connect, it simply tells me that they have not considered why they are connecting with me, except which is so often the case so sell. The next message is a sales message!

Connecting on LinkedIn, the subsequent conversations & posting is akin to networking. These types of connectors I have described are probably being authentic to themselves because they are a Business Development Exec, a Sales Person with a focus on return on investment, or a Lead Generation specialist with a client to whom they have to justify their value or as I have already mentioned connect because 500 plus LinkedIn connections presents an image of be a super-connector, when in fact it is not the case & this lead to questions about their authenticity.

As a result, using LinkedIn becomes a quantity over quality exercise. it is very hard to quantify a quality connection prior to connecting & starting your conversation. However, there is a gap in understanding about how to make the most of LinkedIn & about how to position an opportunity.

An astute person would look at my profile, work out what I do for a living, & realise that as a professional networker, I am likely to already have a person in their sector that I trust. In order for me to be keen to connect with them, depends on how they approach the connection request. As there is lots of really interesting content on my LinkedIn profile, it gives people an opportunity to create an ice-breaker. Being asked about something personal to me inevitably piques my interest, shows me someone is making an effort to know more about me, makes me more likely to accept a request to connect & to start a genuine conversation.

Creating Genuine Understanding Through Respect

I hate nothing more than being sold at. I am being true to myself & my values, but I am not uncommon amongst small business owners in this respect. For some business people it is all too easy to sell on the negative, where they find fault with a piece of your business without having the knowledge or interest about your decision-making process. They can also sow the seeds of fear because the person they are talking too does not really understand the product or service being offered & whether there is a genuine context to their business. Finally, to bamboozle someone with a technical aspect, so it goes over their head. For whatever reason there is no authenticity in these approaches. Many business owners don’t want to lose face, so when presented with something you don’t understand it is easier to nod & go along with what is being said.

The real issue here is that there is a lack of the personal element, as the person selling is not trying to find out more about you & your challenges. They are not trying to establish how they can support you to move past this point or whether their offering is of actually value to you & your business. They are adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach where in reality, one size does not fit all, their tactic simply makes us feel like another number, rather than a respected individual.

When you are being sold at, be true to yourself. If something is not of interest or maybe you do not have the cash flow to buy now, then it is OK to say “no”. I have covered this in another blog , but saying “no” today means you can say “yes” tomorrow when the time is right for you. It can be hard to say no, but remember we are talking about being authentic, so saying “yes” because it the path of least resistance isn’t genuine & most likely the relationship that you build with that supplier or advertiser hasn’t been established on a sound foundation. It will be rocky from the start

To Be Continued…

Today, I have talked about being genuine to create an authentic persona on social media & in respect of your marketing, pipeline & sales. The more you consider your customer’s stand-point the better you will be able to have the conversations that create your desired outcomes. There is more that I am keen to tell you about the power of authenticity & so with this in mind I shall be publishing a second instalment to this blog. As all the best TV programmes state “To Be Continued…”

1. https://stackla.com/resources/reports/bridging-the-gap-consumer-marketing-perspectives-on-content-in-the-digital-age/

Marketing: Brand, Emotion & Credibility

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 17:21:33 GMT

Are you an Apple person, or are you Android?

That won’t be the first time someone has asked you that question. And why is that? It’s because of good marketing, & a strong brand awareness. In fact, according to a GraphicSprings Study , Apple's brand awareness tops all other global tech companies.

Marketing is the ‘the action of promoting & selling products or services, including market research & advertising.’ It’s the process of ‘creating, communicating, delivering, & exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, & society at large’. It allows you, as a business owner, to develop your brand values & to align these with your core customer universe.

Someone recently said to me that irrespective of a product or service, all businesses are technically marketing machines, & I couldn’t agree more. Good marketing drives customers, brand awareness, pipeline, sales & reputation. Marketing & marketing management is at the core of all business, however big or small.

If you run your own business & manage your own marketing, it is often hard to define ‘marketing’. Firstly, because these activities might feel like second nature & you do them without necessarily thinking of them as ‘marketing’. Then secondly, marketing is present in all areas of business, from sales pipeline to service delivery. In this blog, I’m going to talk about some of the different aspects of marketing that are crucial for a small business owner to understand, & how you can use them to benefit your business.

A Simple, Effective Approach

As a business owner, you have to wear many hats. Not only are you a customer service manager, salesperson & a bookkeeper, but you’re also a marketer. Marketing is a large & complex topic, & it can be overwhelming. In my 35 plus years of business, I have experience of many areas of marketing: what has worked, what hasn’t, & why. It can be useful to strip things back, & begin to look at your marketing from the ground up, which is where the 4Ps of Marketing can help you.

Marketing is all about putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time. The 4Ps of marketing refer to product, place, price & promotion. These four things make up the components of your ‘marketing mix’ & they help you to position your offering to meet a specific customer need or demand.

Generally, if your model is business-to-business, you need to understand what causes your customers the most difficulty in their operation & give them a solution that alleviates this pinch-point. Your marketing should be about how you solve a challenge in their business. If your business operates more in the business-to-consumer market, your solution is less about relieving a bottleneck & more about creating an emotional response, which is often a primary driver in the customer’s decision process in choosing to buy. If you know how to trigger the right response then “hey presto!” your orders come flooding in. The 4Ps model can bring some structure to your marketing, & give you a framework from which to build.

Using the 4Ps format, you work to create a product that a particular group of people want, make it available at a location those people visit regularly, and price it at a level which matches the value they feel they get out of it, all at a time when they want to buy. Not such a simple task, but with a strategic approach, you’ll be able to capture all of your knowledge and experience, and use it in the most effective way. My blog on ‘ The Four Pillars of Start Up ’ helps guide you through business start-up, & how marketing fits in.

Brand Awareness

The first step in the marketing funnel is brand awareness. This should encompass your company name, logo, product or service & any content you create, as these are all part of your brand. Each time a customer experiences one of these things, they are being exposed to your brand. The more familiar a customer is with something, the more likely they are to trust it & then gravitate towards it. So how can you influence how familiar potential customers are with your offering?

There are some basic things that you should consider. Building your brand goes hand-in-hand with developing your credibility. The two things are inseparable. Here are some really good pointers to get you started:

Invest in a domain & associated email: for a matter of a few pounds you can buy & maintain a domain name & email. As an example, with IONOS ¹ , it costs just £10 per year for a .co.uk domain with an email. Additional emails can be bought for as little as £2 a month, for up to 25 addresses. Of course, there are free email addresses provided by the likes of Google & Microsoft, but every time you email someone with a Gmail or Hotmail domain, you are re-enforcing Google or Microsoft’s brand, not your own. Any serious business should invest in a domain & associated email, and by doing so, you make your brand credible.

Have a website: for the sum of £1 per month in the first year & then £7 per month thereafter, IONOS ² can host your website & provide basic templates to allow you to have a credible presence in the online world, and a smart looking website also enhances your reputation & credibility in the real world too. Investing some time on building a website is more important than you might imagine. When you meet people networking or using paid for advertising, they will check you out & the easiest way to do this is by visiting your website. Don’t make your website overly complicated, for many business owners a single page is really powerful. For some solo professional service entrepreneurs, maximising your LinkedIn profile can act as your website.

Don’t get fixated with search engine optimisation (SEO): it is only really only relevant if your primary way to drive sales is for pay-per-click (PPC) style advertising, where being found on page one of Google is really important. SEO can be both time consuming & expensive, whether done in-house or outsourced. That's not to say that you shouldn't be mindful of keywords on your site & related to images, however the demands of SEO never stop. Once you have reached page one you need to work all the harder to stay there.

Publish your contact information: make it easy for your customers to get in touch. If you have a business email address, don’t hide it or squirrel it away deep in your website. Make your contact business telephone or mobile number visible. Customers are fickle, so making it difficult to get in touch simply drives many people elsewhere, where they don’t have to work so hard to have the conversation they want. It’s more straightforward to have a conversation with a business that wants me (their customer) to call or email.

Be timely in dealing with enquiries: answer emails & social media messages quickly, & return voicemail messages as soon as you practically can. If you really have to use a virtual reception, then make sure it is manned by real people rather than it being automated. Bots seem like a cost-effective solution. However, if your customers cannot ask the questions they want & the get the answers they need, they won’t feel valued & will shop elsewhere, where they feel they are valued more. Trying to predetermine what your customers will want to discuss is foolhardy. Once you put people in the equation, what you think you know goes out of the window. Equally, where enquiries are not resolved by your ‘real’ virtual reception, deal with them in a timely manner. Every point of contact forms & creates your customer experience, your brand presence & your credibility, so it is important to get it right first time, every time.

Understand your business mission & your vision: make sure your logo, tag lines, website, social media & other marketing collateral reflect your vision by being a coherent whole. Each tool or channel should explain collectively who you are, what you do & the way you do it. Align your brand values with those of your customers, so you are talking the same language.

Brand Building & Content Creation

For a customer to be able to remember your product or service, their interaction with it must illicit feelings and emotion. The market is saturated with products, & we are being marketed to from every angle, from social media, to podcasts, to TV. This means your brand, & your marketing, needs to stand out from the crowd. Two words come to mind here: “consistency” & “continuity”. Both are so important in building a brand presence. Ensuring your differential & how customers can get in touch should always be front and centre of your brand’s marketing, allowing you to set yourself above your competition. How you communicate is critical, as it needs to be memorable - my recent blog on storytelling discusses this in more detail. You can talk about difficult situations as long as you can build in a positive spin. What you want to achieve is a ‘warm & fuzzy’ feeling that draws your customers to you, rather than driving them away, which is what happens with negative connotations.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a blog or some Instagram posts to hand. Look at what you already have & re-purpose it. Keep artwork simple so that it can be used in multiple scenarios. A Twitter post can become LinkedIn content, just add some more words to expand on the concept. A Racket audio, of 99 seconds, can be transformed into an article to post on your website & this, in turn, can become a selection of tweets. Blogs can be broken down & recorded into audio articles or podcasts. Build your library of content one piece at a time. Re-use what you create, especially on fast moving social media, as not everyone will see what you post the first time or second time or third time around, so use it again.

Start small. A weekly LinkedIn Post can be just as effective as posting every day, plus it is more manageable. Keep it organic & make it count. Put time aside each week to craft your content, both text & artwork. Use you LinkedIn community to help spread the word, by tagging a few people who will help share your post, but don't always tag the same people each time. Mix it up a bit to keep it fresh.

The Business Buzz Opportunity

As a small business owner your face & personality form a key part of your brand. So, you will need to be front & centre. If you look at my Buddha Connect brand, my avatar face is everywhere. Being bright yellow & pop art in style puts a smile on most people’s faces (it elicits that positive emotion we are all after) & this coupled with my cheery disposition, means that I & Buddha Connect are easily remembered, liked & trusted. I have built a credible brand full of bags of personality.

If you’re reading this blog and thinking “I’d like a strategy similar to James’ & Buddha Connect”, or that a marketing strategy & plan are going to be added to your to-do list, or that you’re going to dig out your last attempt at one and refresh it, then I might have a solution for you.

I am the Regional Lead for another highly respected & easily recognised brand: Business Buzz, the no fuss business networking brand. Becoming part of our local or regional team can be your marketing strategy, allowing you enhanced exposure to the Buzz Community. At Buzz we can support you in the promotion of your business through our networking events & with the introduction of Buzz Plus via our innovative booking app. It’s a chance to boost your local profile, all whilst supporting your local business community. Your local Buzz team talk about your business on our website, on the Buzz App, as a Buzz Plus business & you have the option to bring your banner, which will be displayed prominently at each monthly event. The Buzz sponsorship package is designed to put your business front and centre.

Alternatively, if being front & centre is what gets your juices flowing, then have you considered becoming a Business Buzz Host? You will be the centre of the local Buzz business community, a super-connector & someone other local business owners will want to connect with. Business Buzz offers you a marketing strategy in a box. You are supported in making your Buzz successful, but there is the option to dovetail your own marketing in to the plan. Buzz provides a range of resources and experiences to help you become a better marketing professional & to make your business grow. You just have to grab the opportunity with both hands.

Setting Up For Success

In my view, successful businesses have marketing strategy at their core, driving every decision & informing your ‘why’, ‘how’ & ‘what’. Forming the foundation for future business activity, a marketing plan is the basis on which strategic decisions around how you create your culture & vision, & how you operate your business can be made. With your marketing & business strategy working in tandem, your communications can focus on allowing your customers to see how your business serves their needs, how great you & your product or service really is, & the value it will add to their lives. Being a market leader requires time commitment, research, analysis & experience, but with opportunities like becoming a Buzz sponsor or a Buzz host, you can benefit from a tried & tested approach, that helps take away some of the pain around your own marketing. We have countless testimonials to give you confidence in taking the plunge & to trust in both Buzz & with James from Buddha Connect, as your Buzz mentor. At Business Buzz & at Buddha Connect, we believe marketing should not only have a seat at the strategic table, but also as a core driver to your success. Does this sound like it could work for you and your business? Email me on james.brodie@buddhaconnect.co.uk and let’s talk marketing.

At time of writing March 2022
There are plenty of web-hosting agencies in the market place, Go Daddy, Wix, 123 Reg & UK2, to name a few also offer similar solutions to IONOS

The Shortest Distance Between Two People Is A Story

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 10:01:53 GMT

If you’ve ever got so involved in a book you just couldn’t put it down, or so absorbed into a TV series or film you couldn’t look away, you’ll understand the power of storytelling.

An enduring art, storytelling has been around for centuries. Cave drawings from over 30,000 years ago appear to represent visual stories, giving us evidence to believe that Ancient civilizations shared stories. Shakespeare’s plays still enchant & engage us some 500 years later. So why is storytelling so powerful?

Stories express how & why life changes. They share the unfolding of events that tip the balance of our lives, & they tell the tale of how we seek to restore that balance. The best stories make us feel like we are right there with our protagonist, making the decisions & anticipating the risks. Stories empower us to see the brilliance of life, to feel uplifted when our hero or heroine wins through against all odds. We share the character’s emotions, the highs & lows of their adventure as we turn from page to page. Ultimately, we share in their success as if we have lived their life

The best storytellers describe what it’s like to deal with the agony of decision making, the gravity of difficult decisions & the turmoil of risk taking. Stories help us to consider how we fit into the world around us, & to confront the inevitable ebb & flow of our expectations versus our reality. So, why are stories important in a business context

Once Upon A Time…

…I had a “proper job”, from which I got made redundant. I spent a year or more looking for a new role, but for nearly everything I applied for, I was told that I was too seasoned. I think this is a euphemism for being over a certain age! At interview, because of my broad operational background, I could see the fear in the eyes of the people interviewing me. Often, where the fit was right, I knew more than they did & I was considered a threat. Being good at what you do isn’t always enough. One has to navigate the minefield of other people’s agendas & insecurities. I have a huge skill-set & needed to work for my own wellbeing, so I took the brave step of setting up my own business: Buddha Travel

Running a business is a demanding feat. It is challenging & it is exciting, it can be all-consuming. When you’re wrapped up in negotiations, writing documents & presentations, sales, marketing, admin, planning, invoicing & credit control…the list is endless, it can be hard to remember why & how you started your business. Our own story can get lost in the hustle & bustle of the day to day. Remembering our story, & reminding ourselves of it can bring clarity, purpose & direction to our business activity.

When we think back to why we started, we focus on what was important to us. While our business mission might have evolved as our business has grown, our core ‘why’ is likely unchanged.

When I set up Buddha Travel in 2017, my ‘why’ was to keep myself busy & mentally well. Travel was my personal passion & until that time, I had never considered making it my occupation. As my business evolved, & sprung off into a new direction, I rebranded to Buddha Connect , but what I had learned was that I had an innate desire to help other business owners through networking & my super-connector skills. Buddha Connect is the vehicle that enables me to put my skills to their best use, & my reason to not look back, except to share my incredible story of how I got to where I am now. This will always feel important for me, & forms the foundation of my business story.

Storytelling In Business

So how does storytelling fit into a business environment & how can you leverage it as a sales tool? When we meet potential clients, we typically have a limited time to convey our message, & to let them know about ourselves, our business, our products & our services. How we communicate what we can do for our customers, & why our offering is unique & valuable is a critical factor in how likely it is that they will become a customer.

When we talk about business, we may be inclined to adopt a formal tone, communicating within more corporate parameters. Most people we talk to will already have their own set of authorities, statistics, & experiences. Communicating using rhetoric alone isn’t enough to inspire someone to act. Instead, there is huge power in taking an experience, & talking about it. In doing so, we engage our listener’s emotions, & the key to their hearts is story. Using stories to explain what I do as a small business owner & to my highlight values helps to emphasise my differential & makes my service all the more appealing.

By uniting an idea with an emotion, you can weave a lot of information into the story, piquing your listener’s emotions & energy, & presenting an idea that packs enough emotional power to be memorable. Telling a story will engage people & they will remember it more than a list of processes. While it may feel daunting, the power of authenticity & vulnerability in telling your story will allow you to make far more meaningful, & fruitful, business connections.

Using stories to demonstrate your skills & experience is truly powerful. It is important to know that stories always have a beginning, a middle & an end. Start with explaining who the story is about & why a customer needed your help, product or service, have a brief section that highlights the challenge ahead & how you worked to overcome it. Finally finish off with the benefits of what you delivered or the desirable outcomes for the customer. Stories for business need not dwell on the minutia of the challenge, as often this can be technical & of little interest to your listener, who may well tune out. Use broad strokes in your story-telling to keep it short, with an upbeat rhythm to make it impactful.

The Best Things In Life Are Free

As a Regional Lead for Business Buzz, I have experienced many business conversations, witnessed many different styles & approaches & seen how they are received. An astute way to set yourself apart from your competition is to include some free advice. Weaved into a story, complimentary advice doesn’t feel contrived, it feels authentic, & leaves your potential customer feeling positive about you & your business.

I have experienced this first hand… When I was setting up my business as a limited company, I knew I needed an accountant to help with my financials. I went & visited quite a few in my local area. I was disappointed, most were middle aged, grey-haired men, who had left bigger practices to set up on their own; they had converted their garages & had large mahogany desks with inlaid leather tops. To me it felt that it was all about their ego & not about me, their customer. In truth, I felt intimidated by some of them, & the way I was spoken to at times felt belittling

Eventually, the accountant that I chose stood out head & shoulders above the rest. She did a very simple thing. She gave away a titbit of information that cost her nothing, but was of huge value to me. She told me I could transfer 10% of my personal tax allowance to my partner & I could do this myself direct with HMRC. I walked away from my meeting with my new accountant, confident that she had my best interests at heart.

Speak The Universal Language

I referred earlier to the art of storytelling, & how it has held a place in culture & society for eons. Storytelling is an art form & stories are a universal language that everyone – regardless of age, gender, heritage or hometown can understand. Stories stimulate imagination & passion, & create a sense of community among listeners & tellers alike.

When we use them in business, they elevate our conversations & build trust, allowing us to connect with people in a meaningful, emotional & memorable way. Like art, storytelling requires creativity, vision, skill, & practice. When telling your story, watch to see how other people react & then adapt accordingly. It’s OK to have a negative story as long as there is a positive spin & a feel good factor at the end. A crucial component in your marketing, storytelling can turn simple businesses into successful ones; one-time customers into loyal ones.

To start working on your storytelling, there’s no better place to practice than at Business Buzz. As a friendly, accessible networking group, we’re the perfect place for you to meet like-minded business people & to share your story. With our focus on relaxed, informal conversations, having stories to hand that showcase your business, your services & your products is by far the best way to establish strategic alliances & synergies with customers & business partners. Don’t be afraid to share your own experience about running your business, as well how you have delivered simple but effective solutions for your customers.

What's your ‘Once upon a time’? I can’t wait to hear it.

Who Are Your Superheroes?

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 17:32:23 GMT

I know, it is a bit of a strange question, but hear me out.

There are people we meet along the path of running our own business that have a significant impact on us. Where someone is offering a different perspective, some fresh insight or sharing their experience they can have a profound effect on the business decisions we make, the way we think & the way we feel about our businesses, & in turn, the reach & impact our business has. I like to think of these influential people as our “personal superheroes”.

On this occasion, I am not talking about super-successful high-profile figures who have already made it & appear in Hello Magazine, GQ, have editorial in the FT or are Dragons. It’s true & without a question of doubt these types of people are inspirational. However, they come with a caveat that they are not really part of your immediate business world, they are often untouchable &, in truth, have little interest in you as a small business owner. Only a tiny percentage of us will ever figure in any of their plans.

So, in this blog I am looking at the people much closer to home, people who inspire me, have placed their faith in me, have seen something in me that I did not see in myself, have demonstrated steely determination that I wish I could emulate, have created & grasped new opportunities, have been adaptable, have challenged me, or have simply lifted me when the road has been long. My personal superheroes have been an integral part of my journey to establishing my business, & so I would like to thank them for being inspirational leaders in their own right.

Who’s Who?

Since I set my business up in January 2017, I have met lots of brilliant & amazing people. Their words of wisdom & acts of kindness & generosity are never forgotten or not appreciated. Sometimes there is a single phrase that I hear that really resonates with me, such as “every conversation should be a sales conversation”. I pick up these nuggets, use them & they stay with me forever – thank you to Steve Potiphar from The Sales Gym for this particular gem. It stays with me as an active chord in my business, because it is true & sums up part of my beliefs & philosophy around business.

I like to think about the connections I have made as sitting in a series of concentric circles, like ripples created in a pond by dropping a small pebble into the water. As I’ve made new connections, these people sit in different parts of the ripples on the surface of the pond. Where I have grown & adapted my business, some of my contacts move closer to the centre, while others have moved further away. Whether coming closer or moving away, this happens at different speeds. It is almost imperceptible & only clear when you stop to take stock. It is really helpful to reflect on where you have come from, consider who has helped you along the way & to know where you aim to go in the future. Near where the pebble dropped, I have a handful of people who I trust & can be honest with about all aspects of my business. My “inner circle” consists of the people who influence me, inspire me & give me strength.

Where To Begin?

There is no way that I can mention every single person I have met since starting my business. There are people who I met at the very beginning who I am really fond of, but because my business changed direction in 2019, I no longer see them. This does not mean they have been forgotten!

Let’s start with a quick shout-out to Julia Virdee who created my first roller banner, which was a tiny part of my marketing. Julia, however, really understood the funkiness of my brand (& probably of me) & created a banner I was proud to display. I still love the work Julia did for me & although the banner isn’t used since my business rebranded, I can’t bring myself to throw it away! Also, a shout-out to Daljit Virdee , who believed in me & my business before I did myself. I cannot thank Daljit enough for being the first person to champion me & my brand at networking. Daljit & Julia gave me the confidence to succeed. Their small gestures of kindness went such a long way to helping me believe in myself.

Now, I am going to focus on a few people from my business life who have been significant to me:

Evelyn Kaluza – Wellness for Success:

So, I am going to kick things off with the amazing Evelyn Kaluza . By chance, Evelyn & I met at networking when we were both at the same point, early on in our businesses. From shortly after meeting Evelyn, she became the person with whom to share my challenges & she is someone I trust implicitly . Evelyn is an executive coach, mindfulness teacher, hypnotherapist &, of course, the founder of Wellness for Success . Evelyn helps individuals & businesses to limit burn-out, identify mental health concerns & has many techniques to help address both the immediate effects & root causes of issues.

I have admired Evelyn for her clear & unwavering vision, which is to support Executives on the edge of burn-out, enabling them to realise their predicament & to guide them as they turn the situation around.

As a small business owner, it’s so important to surround oneself with other like-minded, intuitive people. I’m sure many fellow business owners will agree that we feel the need to wear a brave face in almost everything we do.

I trust Evelyn, & on the occasions where I have struggled with my own mental health, she knows me well enough to recognise when my resilience is low & I am running on empty, but continuing to keep going. Evelyn never pries. I am so grateful to Evelyn for being the first person to reach out & check in on me. This simple gesture gives me strength to pick up the phone, arrange a coffee & then open up & talk. As we have shared our journey, which is really quite similar, I can talk about the challenges in my business especially where they increase my anxiety. With Evelyn, I am in a space where there is no judgement, but instead, the chance to share, receive some sound advice & find clarity.

Evelyn is a calming influence & a great counsel. Having Evelyn in my life is a blessing. Our shared business journey & experiences means Evelyn & I share a bond of mutual trust & respect . With networking at the heart of what I do, building the all-important trusted relationships is crucial. I have this with Evelyn.

Katrina Sargent – Goal Mapping Practitioner & Co-Owner Of Business Buzz:

Katrina Sargent is someone who saw the potential in me long before I saw it in myself & has raised me up through out the time I have know her. We met in February 2018, when Katrina launched Business Buzz in Bicester. Who would have thought that from such a chance encounter my whole work-life would change?

When I met Katrina she was running a telesales marketing business & was Co-Founder of the no fuss networking brand of Business Buzz. The convergence of our business lives has meant we have followed a similar path since 2019. Although our individual strands are separate entities, there is a lot of overlap. I joined the team for Bicester Buzz as Katrina’s Ambassador. That’s where it all began.

Katrina let me own the role of Buzz Ambassador & within a few months, I made the decision to set up my own Buzz from scratch. I have covered this in a previous blog . Was this a daunting prospect? I don’t think it was! Katrina was in my corner, I had her full support & guidance. Although I had made the decision to run a Buzz, Katrina had seen the potential in me from day one & she had taken the time to nurture many aspects of my character, so that I was ready & able to start this new chapter in my business.

Little did Katrina know that she was creating a “monster”. Now, I am a three times Regional Lead for Buzz & have big ambitions to grow my business with Buzz at the heart of it. Katrina’s supportive & inclusive approach make my business aspirations possible. She removed much of the trepidation of transitioning my business & brand to Buddha Connect in 2019. It was much less scary knowing Katrina had my back. Katrina’s confidence in me, gives me the strength to grasp new opportunities. Katrina definitely lifts me up.

Since I rebranded my business, Katrina has taken a similar path. She is still the Co-Owner of Business Buzz, but has a new string to her bow in the shape of a Goal Mapping Practitioner. Making such a significant change is nerve-racking. Although, I loved my new brand with its funky pop-art style artwork, the proposition of presenting it to the world made me anxious. The first person with whom I shared it was Katrina. I was confident she would be honest with me…& fortunately she loved it as much as I did. Not only was my rebranding a complete departure from my previous iteration, but Buddha Connect felt much more like an extension of me, and therefore a far bigger personal investment & risk. It mattered what Katrina thought, not just as a mentor, but also as a friend.

Emma Smith – ES HR Consultancy:

Little did I know that from Emma Smith ’s tentative steps as a first-time attendee to Business Buzz that Emma would have become an integral part of my “inner circle”. I admire Emma’s fortitude & tenacity .

I know, walking through the door at Warwick Buzz in August 2019 was one of the toughest things Emma has ever done. She was new to running her own HR business, ESHR Consultancy , but did have a good idea of her niche, which is in supporting rural & equine businesses to look after their employees & workers better. Many of us can remember launching oneself head long in to the realms of self-employment & that it is not without its pitfalls. It can be particularly difficult to navigate the myriad of networking events. They are not always the friendliest of places, where egos can be on show & sales that are difficult to say no to. So, for Emma to come & try Buzz was a big step.

The beauty of Buzz is that it is super friendly, with no membership, it is drop-in & pay-as-you-go. I know Emma loved Buzz from day one, so much so that the words of Victor Kiam come to mind (although slightly adapted) “I liked Buzz so much, I bought the company”. Not literally, but Emma decided almost immediately to join my Warwickshire Buzz team as the Host of Coventry Buzz. I have seen Emma’s confidence and her business grow exponentially. Mentoring her is a real honour. Emma impresses me everyday that we work together. She has a thirst for business & her portfolio of products is growing all the time, as is her Business Buzz reach.

As my mentee, I always aim for Emma to feel supported, encouraged and empowered. Mentoring is by no means a one-way street, and I have found many benefits to my role as mentor: realising how far I have come, how much I know, and how helpful it is for someone to have a confidant and supporter. Sharing my knowledge reinforces what I know, & mentoring has boosted my confidence and motivation. Working with Emma is always productive, and celebrating her growth and success always makes me feel positive and inspired. I am humbled by the trust that Emma has place in me by letting me help her along her road to success.

Watching the growth in Emma’s own business, & within the Buzz community, where she is now a Regional Lead has been amazing. Emma, is now mentoring new Buzz Hosts which is a true inspiration. Her determination and energy are infectious, and mentoring her has given me a renewed sense of enthusiasm for my own work. Seeing Emma go from strength to strength is a reminder of just what we can do when we put our minds to it.

May King Tsang - FOMO Creator:

Every now & then someone completely unexpected walks into your life & there is an instant connection. I have this with May King Tsang .

We met at an event in St Albans in 2018, where May King was giving a talk on making the most of Google digital marketing tools. The advice she gave was relevant & easy to implement. I went home, applied what I learnt & then posted about my success on Twitter. Although tweeting was new to me & slightly scary, I knew enough to tag May King into my tweet . May King shared my success to her Twitter community & our friendship was born!

May King had returned to the UK from Australia, & was re-building her tea business in the UK. Having, myself, spent a few years in Hong Kong, where I developed a taste for Chinese tea, I found that after my return home in 1999, there wasn’t anyone to share this enthusiasm with. May King & I hit it off immediately because of our tea connection. We talked tea, we talked digital & had lots of fun with May King’s TEA-puns

“All I was doing, was being myself, educating & helping others with no expectation of anything in return”, is what May King will tell you she was doing when we met. However, what was actually happening, was that May King was inspiring people like me to embrace digital marketing & she continues to do that to this day.

May King taught me that putting oneself out on social media need not be feared. At the same time May King was using Twitters live streaming platform, Periscope, & so made me realise that relaxed, on-the-spot video was accessible to all of us & something not to be shied away from. Through her amusing tea-pun biased approach May King took the fear away. When I came to start making my own videos for my business, the process was less daunting. May King gave me the confidence to step outside of my comfort zone & to try something new , where my personality could shine through. If the content was interesting with a smattering of May King’s magic then what I produced is a win-win for everyone. More importantly, in the digital world it was OK to be me, with my charms & quirks.

When I reached out to May King to ask for some input into this blog, I love the that she mentioned her own superheroes. Andrew & Pete ; the business duo who help small business owners scale their business so they can stop swapping time for money. They gave May King the first opportuniTEA to live tweet, go on Facebook Live, create Instagram stories & Instagram posts on their accounts. This has evolved into FOMOCreator, a growing business as a professional live tweeter, social media correspondent & live content creator. Now, May King interviews business owners that give them more publicity, works to build excitement around conferences, digital challenges, social enterprises & charitable causes by creating live social media content direct to their social media platforms.

“What happened to May King’s tea business?” I hear you ask. It is still around & May King is collaborating to launch tea infused beer. So, watch this space through 2022!

Gemma Tomalin - Waymaker Consulting:

You probably already know that I’m particular about getting things right – if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly! I care about what I do, & my blogs are no exception. I love being able to share my knowledge, ideas & experience with all of you. This year, I’ve really gotten into the flow of blog writing, & I regularly find myself noting down topics for new blog ideas as they pop into my mind.

With a demanding work schedule, sometimes I need someone to help gather my thoughts, & weave them into paragraphs. Gemma Tomalin & I have a truly collaborative relationship. Although my working relationship with Gemma is in its infancy, we have already learn to communicate in a collaborative manner that ensures we function efficiently and effectively. Our strengths lie in different areas, & working together as we do, we get the benefit of both of our spheres of experience. We’ve built a trusted bond, which is not quite like any other I have .

For Gemma to be able to write as me, means Gemma has metaphorically set-up a “basecamp” inside my head (not in a horror-nightmare kind of a way, but in a good & joyous way). I have had to open up about my business life & my life experiences, so that Gemma can sound like me when she is gathering words and phrases to constructing sentences, paragraphs & blogs on my behalf.

There is a level of closeness & respect as Gemma strives to express my ideas, using my language & my terminology.

Gemma is helping me to draw out my knowledge. Some concepts we have explored, I didn’t even realise I knew a great deal about, but Gemma has teased it out & has created the vehicle, my blogs, by which to share my thoughts, ideas & a little bit of myself. Gemma helps me put on paper, what is rattling around in my head. The only way that this can happen effectively is to let Gemma into my “head-space”.

I know what I want to achieve with my blogs, & have a clear idea of how the final article should be. In true Waymaker style, Gemma finds a way to get from the ideas stage to the finished article. Most importantly, Gemma & I have learnt how each other work, so our process allows for me to make edits, tweaks & sprinkle my signature ‘James-isms’ through the blogs. They say communication is key, & Gemma’s & my working relationship is a perfect example of how well good communication will serve you if you invest in understanding one another from the off.

I Am My Own Superhero; James Brodie:

Who’d have thought it? I know my strengths, I am slightly nerdy, I like a process & I like structure to my day. It’s my nature to put myself under undue pressure in all aspects of my business. I hate leaving a task unfinished. I can take on too much & run myself ragged. Having said all of that, I am likeable, caring, attentive, creative, adaptable & dynamic. So, all in all it is a balance mix.

Every day I surprise myself & that is why I am my own superhero! I seem to be able to turn my hand to all kinds of tasks in business, that had you told me a few years ago I would excel at, then, I would have laughed at you.

I know how to communicate effectively, I am an active listener & together these skills make me a champion networker. I can talk about an opportunity without being all about the “sale”. I have developed into a consummate marketing professional, where I can use all kinds of applications to get my message across. I seem to make positives things happen all the time & fore the most part, I am never quite sure how or why I manage to do this. It just does!

I am not afraid to ask for help. No man or woman is an island after all - & there is another great skill, being collaborative. I love sharing my knowledge, whether via my blogs, general conversations, in 1-2-1 meetings or as a business mentor.

The biggest hurdle for me has been learning to believe in myself & it has not been easy. Others have believed in me before I have believed in myself. But these days I do believe, although there are times when self-doubt niggles at the edges of my confidence. Having a group of like-minded people around me with whom I can share & celebrate my successes is crucial in maintaining a positive mindset. Having my superhero colleagues in my corner me encourages me to be kind to myself, to be more resilient & to be better able to get through the tough times.

What Are My Personal Philosophies?

Everyone of my superheroes is someone I trust . They are more than colleagues they are friends. I have at times felt lost & lonely in my business. I can often feel vulnerable & anxious, so seeking clarity & reassurance helps me to maintain good mental health, to feel positive & balanced. When I felt lost in my business in 2018, I worked with Jane Dell from Bucks Business First . Jane, challenged me to find clarity. After six months of being mentored by Jane, what was really unexpected was how my business swerved off into a new direction & the rest, as they say “is history”.

I have not found being a small business owner the easiest of experiences, but I have made some amazing friends along the way, who understand me & can relate to the pressures I put myself under, as well as the demands created by challenges of running a small business. These are also the people who share in the jubilation of a good day at work when all my building blocks slot together & something miraculous happens. When I set my business up initially, I had never contemplated how important other like-minded people were going to be to my success. I am blown away by the friendships I have built, the support I have received & the strength I have gleaned from others.

As a small business owner, whether starting out or more established never underestimate how significant some of the people you meet will be to your success. Accept that not everyone will stay in your “inner circle” all the time. Your life changes, their life changes, your business evolves, their business evolves & so there is a parting of the waves & your businesses move in different directions. This is perfectly OK. Some people will stay with you for the duration. These people are your personal superheroes & they should be appreciated, celebrated & cherished .

Lastly, I will ask you to think about identifying who your business superheroes are? Have you told them how important they are to you? What do you do to celebrate how amazing they are?

Celebrating Success

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 23:04:01 GMT

Research indicates that 66% of employees say they would be likely to leave their job if they didn't feel appreciated! *

So, it is fair to say that appreciation matters. It can take many forms, from financial recognition to a simple "Thank You" for a job well done, to being promoted, to perks & benefits. This is an important consideration for those who are employers, but also for those of us who work alone as independent business owners. While we might not have a manager or a direct team with whom we can celebrate, recognising our achievements, however big or small, plays a vital part in a healthy, growing business. For something so important to business, I’m not convinced we do it enough so let’s have a look at how we go about celebrating success.

It’s The Small Things

We’re probably all familiar with celebrating ‘big achievements’ such as winning an award or securing a huge project or commission. Of course, it is important that we mark such achievements. However, it is also just as important to celebrate the simple things. You might have mastered Canva or created a CRM, sent your first mailshot, grown enough that you are considering your first hire, outsourced one of those tasks that is important but does not get you out of bed in the morning, got your bookkeeping up to date, built a website, decided on your brand or logo…the list is endless. Some of these tasks are things we do regularly, or at least more frequently, & some are small things that may appear to someone else as insignificant so we let them go unnoticed, when in fact they can be a major achievement to you personally. Individually, their impact may be less than bigger tasks. However, collectively, their impact leads to the big successes.

While these things can pass us by, how would celebrating them make our businesses stronger? Let’s start with the basics: we all have a reason for setting up & for running our business. It might be the flexibility of being your own boss, financial or time freedom, or being able to choose who you work with & when. Of course, it might be a combination of things, but whatever it is, these reasons are part of how we stay focused & on track. By celebrating our wins, even the small ones, we give ourselves an incentive to keep going, & to keep achieving. By marking the simple things, we make achievable targets for ourselves which brings focus & meaning to our tasks. With an emphasis on celebrating all of our wins, mundane tasks can soon feel like important stepping stones to meeting our bigger goals.

While keeping an up to date ‘To-Do’ list is a task in itself, it is time well spent when it comes to staying organised & focused. With the inevitable myriad of changing demands on your time, having a ‘To-Do’ list helps to ensure you concentrate your time on the tasks you intended to, rather than getting preoccupied by other things. A “to-do” list is a straightforward way to acknowledge those little things that are stepping stones to success. Striking of each task as it is completed is a really satisfying method of keeping on track & acknowledging visually, what you have achieved

Shout & Share

Now we’ve looked at why we should celebrate our successes, it’s time to work out how & where. I have a very dear contact, Claire Boyles, who, when I was starting out had a very simple mantra: “Celebrate ALL Successes”. Claire was a business consultant & ran a hugely successful weekly Twitter Hour, where championing one’s success was really important. She even had her own hashtag: ‘#celebrateALLsuccesses’. Having someone like Claire in my camp who was a respected influencer & mentor, telling me to shout & share, made thinking about being proud of what I had achieved more agreeable. For us Brits, we tend to be reserved, even in the 21 ^st Century, & we prefer to hide our light under a bushel. As business owners we should not be so myopic in our approach. Instead, we should embrace the opportunity to shout & share. Claire definitely made me realise that even the small wins in my business were worth shouting about & she gave me a platform to do so.

It is true that sharing your small successes can lead to other people making negative comments, especially with the anonymity of social media. Although, in my experience, this really doesn’t happen often in the business world, I say “Let them!” Anyone who is important & is in your inner circle , will want to share your success. The Neigh-Sayers of this world will always find something to feel aggrieved about. It is probably driven by being jealous or feeling threatened at your success. As a business owner, we can’t resolve this for them, so don’t let it create a barrier to your success & ability to feel comfortable telling the world how amazing you are.

For those of us who often work alone, opening a bottle of fizz, or treating yourself to a slice of cake is a little less appealing. That’s where Business Buzz comes in as a platform & space to talk about your successes. As Buzz is not a membership organisation & our monthly networking events are drop-in & pay-as-you-go, it means attendees are there by choice. In turn the conversations are genuine & the business relationships that come from Buzz are robust, collaborative & truly supportive. Through networking with like-minded people at Business Buzz, you become part of a supportive & inclusive business community. Sometimes support means offering some business advice to a fellow Buzzer, or talking through a tricky situation. Sometimes it means patting someone on the back when they’ve reached a key milestone, or achieved a simple task that’s been on their to-do list for months.

At Buzz we like to get down to business - making connections, learning about each other’s businesses & services, we also love to have fun! We’re the first to share in someone’s success & shout about it to our wider connections. As a business group who support & encourage each other, an individual’s success is also a success for the Buzz community, & we love to mark the occasion! If you’re not used to praising yourself, you can rely on your fellow Buzzers to do it for you!

The Buzz Approach to Recognition

Buzz is a place to share your experiences, talk about the ways you have worked with other people, who you have worked with & how. We place value on sharing our experiences, but there is no pressure to measure your performance. Success is not always measured in pennies & pounds, so we’ll share your good news because it is just that – good news! At Buzz you can voice your thoughts, ideas, questions & know you will be heard, understood & hopefully get some great advice. In turn, this allows us to form trusted bonds & connections, & to lay the foundations for successful business relationships. We find shared experiences, & our discussions help us to become more aware of our working styles & approaches, & to think about what methods we can use to adapt & grow. Business Buzz is a truly collaborative environment, where we love to learn from each other, bounce ideas around & adopt improved ways of working.

Sharing our experiences becomes second nature, & this means sharing successes does too. At Buzz there is a culture of recognition, & we use it to keep us motivated & encourage progress. We believe that regularly celebrating wins, big & small, helps us to stay aligned to our mission & values, ensuring we focus our time & energy on things that lead to long term success.

Recognition isn’t just about lavish gifts or celebrations; it is about bringing out the best in people. Even when we’re working on our own, & perhaps even more so, engaging in an enjoyable business environment will make us more productive. When you visit Business Buzz, you become part of a business community of like-minded people, who are just as enthusiastic & committed to their businesses as you are. Sharing in Buzz’s positive, lively vibe will help you build momentum, boost your morale, & make the challenging times feel all the more worth it.

The Process of Success

In our personal lives, we often focus on the journey to a certain goal, rather than just the goal itself. I have touched on the importance of goals previously & how important it is to have a plan, to regularly review it & update it so that it is in line with the changes in your business. One of the best ways to achieve your goals is to create accountability (that sits with others, who are like-minded but not directly involved in your business). Sharing what you want to achieve with someone else, makes it a “real” goal or target. At Buzz we aren’t asking you to stand up in front of the whole world to set your goals, but there is a natural inclination to share whilst talking to others because of the relaxed format. The friendly & genuine business environment that Buzz affords, means that where you share there is real interest in you & your task, so people will have invested in what you have told them & will be keen to ask you about how it’s progressing. They will naturally be excited to help you celebrate once you have reached your goal. In return, you can help them celebrate their achievements too.

If we move into a new home, we enjoy the process of decorating & renovating it, rather than just focusing on it being complete. We take photos so we can see the progress we’ve made, to remind ourselves how far we’ve come. This approach doesn’t always come so naturally in our work lives, where we are often goal oriented, focusing on the final destination of achieving a certain target rather than the value of the process & journey getting us there. If we think of business success as a journey, & place value on creating processes & environments that harness our creativity, fulfilment & progress, we are on a continual cycle of achievement, rather than seeing success solely as meeting a specific target.

I hope reading this has helped you to identify how important recognising & celebrating the small & simple things we achieve is. With a strong culture of collaboration at Business Buzz, we see individuals & their businesses flourish, which is truly exciting! You will always be supported & celebrated at Business Buzz & the result is increased engagement, productivity, & resilience to challenges. You don’t just have to take my word for it - you’ll notice that anyone who visits Business Buzz comes away with a positive mindset & will actively spread the word about how great Buzz is with pride. So, come & get involved, & let us help you celebrate the wins, however big or small.

Want to know why I believe in the power of Business Buzz, as an amazing networking brand, but also as a rich, diverse & supportive community? Then message me for an informal chat & start the conversation today about how you can celebrate your business - james.brodie@buddhaconnect.co.uk .

*finding of a study from Office Team examining the impact of appreciation, or lack thereof, in the workplace. Published as part of an article by Victor Lipman on Forbes.com

Make Your Networking Sustainable:

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:14:40 GMT

A Way of Life & A Way of Business

It has been said that ‘the key to understanding the future is one word: sustainability’. But what does a sustainable lifestyle involve & how, as a small business owner, can you make a difference?

Sustainability spans both political & social realms, impacting every single one of us on the planet. Including many aspects, from climate change, to global warming & to fossil fuels. We hear daily of the human impact on the environment. As much as we might like to be able to contribute to making our planet sustainable, environmental issues can feel remote, too big or at national or international levels that make our contributions feel insignificant. So, as a small business owner, what can we do?

In its simplest terms, sustainability refers to ‘meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising future generations’. Considering how humans co-exist with the Earth’s biosphere is a large & complex topic. Rather than trying to address deforestation of the Amazon Basin or the Congo, or how to get China, India, Russia & the US to become less reliant on fossil fuels, let’s look at how you & your networking can make a small change, that if everyone adopted, could have a significant & lasting impact.

Most business owners attend networking events, so for many of us this is an area of business that is close to our hearts, & an activity that as individual entrepreneurs & leaders, we can use for good. As the Regional Lead for Business Buzz across the Central Midlands, I believe there lots of small adaptations in how we meet & connect with other business owners, that if we choose to implement, we will see making a difference. Let’s break it down, to consider how each of us can take a more sustainable approach to networking.

Steps To Networking The Sustainable Way

When everyday life ground to a halt in 2020, so did in-person networking. Virtual “conference” style platforms, like Zoom & Remo allowed us to keep in touch with our friends, families & colleagues, & to continue to network to build our businesses.

For many of us, the sheer thought of using a webcam, seeing oneself on screen, listening to oneself speak & worrying about networking, under a new & unfamiliar spotlight, was a truly daunting prospect. Of course, the flaws you see in yourself are not seen by others - we are our own worst critics. Once we got into the swing of virtual networking, we all became much more forgiving & wonder why we had not done it before. Online networking is now a staple means by which to connect & is truly complementary to in-person, face-to-face-events. It is only in a small number of cases that business owners aren’t returning to face-to-face networking. In these instances, businesses have evolved & maybe have a more global appeal, rendering local business networking less relevant. For the vast majority of us, a combination of both face-to-face & virtual networking works wonderfully.

You probably know what the practical benefits of virtual networking are, but what are the environmental ones? Let me explain a little about both. First & foremost, you can join the meeting from your home or office, reducing the need to drive. Therefore, this means using less fuel, which reduces your carbon footprint, & of course, your petrol or diesel costs. Plus, the time previously used for travelling can be invested in other tasks in your business or towards your own well-being. There are many environmental advantages to virtual networking, including that we don’t need as many paper or plastic versions of things, such as stickers, name badges, marketing materials like flyers, or business cards. We can use digital tools to connect. Using fewer disposable items helps us to cut down on both the materials & resources required to create them. Even where items are recyclable, the process of doing so has an environmental cost to be mindful of. Using digital tools like LinkedIn to connect allows us to be more sustainable. In addition, being more efficient creates more sustainability in one’s business!

However, being a solo entrepreneur, lone or home worker can be isolating, so as much as virtual networking has been brilliant for some of us, it has been truly challenging for others. The option to meet once more in person is really appealing & there is a dynamism & atmosphere that the virtual world can’t quite match.

Maintain To Sustain

Sustainability, from a less environmentally focused perspective, refers to being able to continue a certain activity over a period of time. In business, we often call this equilibrium, ‘business as usual’. From this standpoint, how do we ensure our networking activity is sustainable?

I have discussed before how successful networking is measured by quality rather than quantity . Attending fewer events, but committing fully to the events you do go to, is the most efficient way to network. Doing less can definitely create more opportunity, when you have a plan .

Business Buzz is centred around creating meaningful, lasting business relationships & local interconnected communities. To be active in your local business community requires both time & commitment. Rather than simply meeting people, & handing out as many business cards as you can, successful networking involves directed conversations & follow-ups. There are no quick fixes, building business relationships relies on a solid foundation of trust & understanding, which can only be gleaned if you have devoted time, energy & thought in to your networking interactions. By spreading yourself too thinly, & attending many networking events without enough time to dedicate to follow-up conversations, you will get much less return on your time & investment, meaning where you use fuel & other resources their impact on & in your business in far less, while your environmental footprint increases.

Start Sustainably Networking In 3…2…1

Visiting one Business Buzz networking event per month & making the most of the opportunity should take around 8 hours of your time if you follow the Buzz 3-2-1 principle . This allows for driving time, time at the event (that’s up to 2 hours with Buzz at least once a month), finding your new connections on LinkedIn & other social media, picking up the phone to invite a visitor, arranging your 1-2-1s, meeting for your 1-2-1s that should be about an hour long & ideally include coffee & cake (virtual cake is never as exciting as the real thing!) & getting there & back when not virtual. So, sustainable networking means networking that we can fully commit to, while maintaining work & life commitments. If we over-commit, we are likely to start cutting corners & missing out elements of the 3-2-1 principle. Trying to attend multiple networking events every week will most likely mean you do not follow-up with the people you meet & building those trusted relationships will become less likely. I often hear people say “networking doesn’t work” & that is more often than not because they try & be in all places, all the time.

Networking becomes overwhelming for them, & they are not known fully by their fellow networkers, so they eventually run out of steam & stop attending. Someone else with a networking plan will take their place as the face of their sector.

How To Make Those Little Adjustments

Be clever with your networking. Make a day of it! Let’s suggest you are a regular visitor to Business Buzz for Birmingham, which is every month on the second Wednesday between 10 am & noon:

Are you aware that Birmingham City Centre is a “ Clean Air Zone ”, so dependent on your car, you might need to pay a fee to drive into the city centre. Why not take the train, tram or bus to visit Birmingham Buzz? Birmingham is so well connected by public transport both locally, but also across the entire West Midlands region & beyond.

Keep your networking local where you can & place Business Buzz for Birmingham (or your local Buzz) at the centre of your networking strategy,

When you are at the event, think about the waste that can be avoided. You can bring your own reusable cup with you. Where the venue provides cups, you should reuse your existing cup rather than taking a new one, when you want a refill,

Do you really need to hand out flyers or business cards to everyone you meet? What do you do with the cards you collect? Most of us carry a smartphone, so make sure you have LinkedIn & Twitter easily accessible & connect there. My smartphone has a notes facility, so I jot down the names of people I meet, & with whom you want to follow-up,

Make a day of it. Pull some of your 3-2-1 principle activities together. Why not arrange a meeting with an existing contact before Birmingham Buzz at a nearby coffee shop & do the same immediately after the event in the venue? You can always arrange some more 1-2-1s for the remainder of the day. Get people to come to you & encourage them to travel by public transport for short journeys,

Work for the rest of the day at our lovely Business Buzz partner venue, The Florence Pub in Edmund Street they have power sockets for laptops, Wi-Fi available & you can order food to keep your energy levels up. Take some time to work on your business,

Attend the virtual Business Buzz West Midlands monthly event, which runs on each fourth Friday & is powered by Remo. It complements a visit to the face-to-face Buzz for Birmingham perfectly,

Where we meet in person, it is part of the Business Buzz ethos to be town centre based. We strive to create some additional footfall to the high street, so while you are in Birmingham for Buzz why not visit the shops in the Bullring & the surrounding area? A little retail therapy might be just the ticket to look after you own well-being & mental health.

Irrespective of where your local Buzz is, you don’t have to jump in the car to visit. Many towns & cities are considering introducing congestion charging & clean air zones, so now is a great time to think about what change you can make before it is forced upon you.

I choose as the Buzz Lead, to use wherever possible PDF version of my teams’ Buzz event flyers when promoting our events across the Central Midlands. I also use my Buzz Mug, which is made from recycled plastic for my personal teas & coffees to reduce the amount of paper & plastic waste from single use cups often provided by venues. When it is practical & straightforward, I used public transport to get me from home to Buzz & back again.

A Little Goes A Long Way

Nothing happens in business without consideration. To make your networking sustainable from an environmental standpoint as well as from a practical one deserves the same consideration you apply to other business decisions. I recommend no more than one or possibly two local Buzz events a month, supplemented with a virtual regional Buzz. By applying the Buzz 3-2-1 principle, this should be manageable & not overwhelming. At this level, your networking will have a positive impact professionally, have a greater return on your investment, be a sustainable work practice allowing you to grow your business & reduce your carbon footprint. It is a win-win for everyone.

Hopefully, applying this approach will reduce pressure on your time, your resources & take away that feeling of being overwhelmed & stressed which may eventually lead to being burnt out. In turn, you’ll flourish through quality connections, established via a multi-faceted, sustainable networking approach.

Sustainable networking is a true balance of human, social, economic & environmental factors. By committing to sustainable networking practice, we can all contribute to creating & maintaining a safer, positive & supportive community with longevity, & seeds well sown for success. A little networking can go a long way & thoughtful networking can have a sustainable outcome for you, your business, your well-being & our planet.

Spoiler Alert: Do You Know That It Is Okay To Say ‘No’?

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sat, 30 Oct 2021 15:05:02 GMT

If, in business you’ve ever felt uncomfortable, unsure or uneasy about saying ‘no’, then read on.

In this blog, I’m going to discuss some of the reasons it is perfectly reasonable to say ‘ no ’. Giving yourself permission to do this is actually a healthy business practice, so let’s have a look at some of the reasons why we might find it difficult to do, & how we can find ways to manage it.

I shall use the word ‘ no ’ a lot, but actually what I am doing is creating real opportunities to say ‘ yes ’. The word ‘ no ’ can be a positive force for good in your business, so that where & when you do say ‘ yes ’, it is full steam ahead.

Oh, No! FOMO!

By its very nature, saying ‘ no ’ might be perceived as negative. For those of us who pride ourselves on being helpful & supportive, saying ‘ no ’ can make us feel guilty at letting someone down, or embarrassed or incapable for feeling like we cannot take on another task, project or client

But why is saying ‘ no ’ seen as a negative? As social creatures, with an instinctive need for connections & relationships, we are conditioned to feel responsible for the feelings of those around us. Saying ‘ no ’ creates an uncertainty as to another person’s reaction. Will they be angry or upset or will they think I’m rude or selfish? Maybe at the heart of it is FOMO & there is an opportunity going that I am missing out on? Saying ‘ yes ’, helps us avoid our immediate discomfort that might come from saying ‘ no ’ & allows us to keep a conversation alive for the fear of missing out, but what is the impact longer term, to ourselves & our businesses?

The Art Of Saying 'No'

With our people-pleasing tendencies deep-rooted, we are a nation of ‘ yes’ people. So how can we shift our perspective?

First & foremost, saying ‘ no ’ isn’t personal, & it can benefit your business. For example, saying ‘ no ’ can have a positive impact on your sales pipeline. If a customer isn’t genuinely interested or engaged, then saying ‘ no ’ allows you to understand where you stand & that you can begin to spread your net elsewhere & allow you to create a more genuine & rewarding pipeline. A potential client saying ‘ no ’ doesn’t have to be the end of the conversation. It is just not happening right now & that is OK. Set a future expectation. Agree to pick-up the discussion in six months or so, when your circumstances & theirs’ may have changed & it has now become the right time to say ‘ yes ’.

If a potential client kicks the can down the road, they are most likely stalling, which in turn requires additional work on your part to find out their true intentions. Meaning extra emails or calls, or conversations that are heading nowhere. Saying ‘ no ’ clears the air & allows everyone to move on. In turn, you can find a client who is more genuinely interested & for whom the fit of your business, product or service is right & who will say ‘ YES !’. Thus, saving everyone time & effort.

With the client who says ‘ no ’, you don’t need to spend any more time discussing options they know they will not pursue, & you don’t spend time working on trying to fit a stalling customer into your business model, when it’s just not going to happen. If they are interested, but now is not the right time, it is better to wait & be there when they need or can afford you.

There are positives to saying ‘ no ’ & we should focus on those. Saying ‘ no ’ shows respect & honesty. These are key components in any trusted relationship, so exercising these allows you to strengthen connections, & show sincerity & understanding.

I’ve written about the impacts of working with a customer who doesn’t fit your customer profile before. Creating sound customer avatars is the second pillar in setting up one’s own business. Saying ‘ no ’ is a way to ensure that you use your valuable time & resources on the best leads that help your business thrive & prosper. This brings me to my next point: creating headspace.

The Cost Of Saying ‘Yes’

When you ask someone how they are, how often do they respond with ‘busy’? While ‘good but busy’ can be a positive thing, I’m hearing more & more that people are ‘hectic & that there are not enough hours in the day’. While this might seem like a good thing, in truth is this because of their inability to say ‘ no’ ?

Having too many commitments that are not necessarily right for your business, coupled with trying to fit square peg customers in to round holes out of the desire to try & meet everyone’s needs can become over-bearing, overwhelming & not terribly productive. It is much more rewarding to focus on your core audience.

Take your time to say ‘ yes ’ when being asked to join an organisation, or when your potential customer is demanding something that sits on the periphery of what you do, or is baulking at your price-point or does not respect your knowledge & expertise. High maintenance requires more time & effort & you’ll probably never create a satisfactory outcome.

As we all try & keep our work-life balance in equilibrium, saying ‘ no ’ is a useful tool. Drowning in work, & risking overwhelm & burnout may be exacerbated by not saying ‘ no ’ enough.

This is two-fold, because saying ‘ no ’ also allows us space to say ‘ yes ’ to the right things. Maybe the ‘ yes ’ list can include more time spent with family & friends, improved mental wellbeing, more time spent doing hobbies, & more time to focus on relevant, strategic business tasks & clients. As the balance tips, & you find yourself considering saying ‘ yes ’ & ‘ no ’ more mindfully. Allow yourself some time to reflect & get used to saying ‘ no ’ from an empowered standpoint rather than a negative one. It takes time to hone this ability, but practice makes perfect. Take control in your business through the power of a simple ‘ no ’.

Top Tips For Saying No...

...so, if you are used to saying ‘ yes ’ to avoid saying ‘ no ’, being more confident at saying ‘ no ’ is not always so easy, but try it & you’ll feel a weight lifted from your shoulders. Not being all things to all people is OK in business. So, here are top tips to making the use of ‘ no ’ as a valuable business tool more straightforward:

Don't worry about offending. If someone is offended by an honest & simple ‘ no ’, it is a reflection on them, not on you. Often this indicates they are too focused on the sale & not the value of your relationship,

Be mindful that when you, yourself kick the can down the road & eventually say ‘ no ’, you have wasted another business owner’s time & resources, which can then impact on your reputation & credibility. You don’t want to be known as someone who wastes other people’s time,

It is better to say ‘ no ’ in person, especially when you are building a relationship, but if you cannot initially, then start practicing saying ‘ no ’ via email. You have the option to edit & redraft your ‘ no ’ until you are comfortable with it. When this becomes more natural, you will be ready to start saying ‘ no ’ comfortably in person too,

Be honest as to why your answer is ‘ no ’. It might be an incompatible price point for your budget, not the right time, or that the product or solution isn't right for you. Honest feedback helps the other person develop & hone their product & marketing,

You should not be berated or be made to feel guilty for saying ‘ no ’. if this happens then it should be a warning flag. If someone is upset with you for saying ‘ no ’ or starts to pressure you to change your mind, is this someone you really want to collaborate with? Respond to a situation like this by asking ‘What do you not understand by me saying no ?’ As a business owner, the only person to whom you are answerable is yourself. You do not need to justify your decisions to anyone else. Turn it around, but you don't have to have a discussion. ‘ No ’ should be enough,

As a provider of a service, it is OK to say ' no ' to a potential client, particularly where they don't meet your ideal client avatar. They will probably not value what you do & will most likely be high maintenance. Are you familiar with the 80:20 rule? This is where 80% of your time is spent looking after just 20% of your customers, so it is important to make every customer count & being able to turn away a customer with a simple but effective ‘ no ’ can be crucial to your success.

& Remember:

Saying ‘ no ’ is not personal, it’s professional,

Saying ‘ no ’ saves everyone time, effort & money,

Saying ‘ no ’ is empowering,

Saying ‘ no ’ is OK because: it’s your business, it’s your time, it’s your money & it’s your choice. So, don't feel bad about saying ‘ no ’,

Saying ‘ no ’ allows you time to think. Being too hasty for one thing, means you can miss an opportunity elsewhere,

Saying ‘ no ’ today, means you can say ‘ yes ’ tomorrow. If a service or product is good - it'll still be available when the time is right for you to buy. Don't get wrapped up in buying to someone else's agenda.

Saying 'No' Is Easy... ...Oh Yes It is!

Saying ‘ yes ’ to something that isn’t a good fit for you personally or professionally will likely result in discomfort, stress, resentment & an increased workload. If you take time to consider the options, rather than feeling obliged to say ‘ yes ’ to every opportunity that comes your way, you can make decisions based on logic & sound judgement which steer your business in the right direction, keeping you focused on your ultimate goal. Saying ‘ no ’ is a skill, & practising it allows you to reclaim your headspace & your time, & keep control of your business expenses, & in turn your wellbeing.

If you are someone that feels compelled to say ‘ yes ’, try shifting your mindset to saying ‘ no ’. It won’t necessarily come easy...but I promise the more you say ‘ no ’ for the right reasons, the more you will reap the rewards.

Sales and Marketing: Swapping Fear For Confidence

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 14:20:30 GMT

Sales & Marketing: The Basics

As a business owner, sales & marketing are probably very familiar words to you, but what do they bring to business, & how & why are they connected?

As business functions, both sales & marketing impact lead generation & revenue. Put very simply, sales refers to turning prospects into customers. Marketing, therefore, is focused on finding those prospects, or leads: those who have a need for a company’s product or service.

Of course, effective sales & marketing is a complex task, & combined with the bad reputation that sales unfortunately has, we can be forgiven for wanting to avoid it. Most small business owners do not set up their business with the view to becoming a sales person. However, the need to wear the sales hat is an inevitable part of running your own business. “Sales” is often considered a “dirty” word, when the truth is that it shouldn’t be.

In this blog, I’m going to take away a little of the nervousness you might have around sales & marketing in your business, by breaking down these functions to understand exactly what they are & how they work in harmony for any business. By doing this, we can equip ourselves with the tools to approach them from a place of confidence.

As a Business Buzz Local Event Host, I work with business owners every day, & I am one myself. I understand the pressures & pitfalls, but sales fear doesn’t need to be one of them! If you’ve ever felt uneasy around sales, you’re not alone. This blog will help you shift your mindset, & see sales as an exciting opportunity.

Sales: Approach is Key

Every conversation should be a sales conversation . Sales is central to business. Whether we love it or loathe it, businesses simply wouldn’t exist without sales. For something so vital to businesses, sales often gets a bad reputation.

So why is this? People can be too “salesy” for a raft of reasons: sometimes it is down to nerves, or down to the pressure we place on ourselves for a “return on investment”, or not having a marketing & sales plan & not really understanding our audience & our customers , so we end up selling because that is all we can do out of desperation. But sales done well, doesn’t feel like ‘sales’. Instead, it feels like someone is listening to your needs & letting you know how their product or service meets it. However, most of us have been the victim of a ‘sales pitch’ where someone who hasn’t taken the time to get to know us or our needs, talks at us about a generic offering that doesn’t resonate with us. While sales can have a bad name, by approaching sales as a way of creating an opportunity, we can remove the fear of ‘selling’, & instead feel like we are connecting & informing rather than hassling people to buy. My top tips are:

Use genuine stories to demonstrate your success, what you do & how you do it. People remember positive stories more than figures, facts or pitches.

Believe fully in yourself, your brand, your product & your pricing. This confidence allows you to focus on creating an opportunity, rather than ‘selling’.

Allow other people to understand you , the person behind your business & your values rather than how much you cost or how you do what you do. This is the best way to get your customers hooked.

Keep your product or service accessible. Avoid industry jargon & keep your pricing simple with a tiered approach, say “bronze, silver & gold”. Pricing, although important, may not always be the ultimate driving factor in the purchasing process. Perceived value is important & as a small business owner it is easy to add value by being engaging, knowledgeable, approachable & having someone’s trust.

Focus on your customer’s pinch-point in their business & how your product or service meets their needs in releasing any bottleneck. Align your business values & the potential outcomes to those of your customers.
Have an adaptable solution for your prospective customers & ensure your offering is tailored to their needs. What value can you provide?

Active Listening . Telling is most definitely not selling! Use leading questions with your prospective customers that allow you to gain an understanding of their challenges & then when you talk about your business, adapt what you say to resonate to their particular challenge. As we have two ears & one mouth, a general rule of thumb should be to listen twice as much as you talk, so it is important to focus on encouraging your prospective customer to do most of the talking.

Follow up. Be credible! Did you promise your customer you’d get back to them with some specific details? Send them through as soon as you can, & even if you’re not sending extra information, a friendly follow up acknowledges the importance you place on your interactions with people.

Networking: Your Secret Weapon to Successful Sales & Marketing

As I have said before, people buy from people they know, like & trust. In which case, sales is not about selling, but more about building trusted relationships & sharing opportunities. This is where Business Buzz comes in. It provides the perfect networking platform for business owners to make connections, & build meaningful relationships that become the foundation to your success.

Networking speaks to both your sales & marketing strategy. It gives you the opportunity to tell people about yourself & your brand. By regularly attending networking, you become the trusted face of your sector for your locality , & the person people think of when they, or a connection, need your product or service. Raising your brand profile in this way, & speaking to the right people – is marketing gold .

When people are aware of your product or service, you have created an opportunity to have that sales conversation, which can add them to your pipeline. It converts them from a warm prospect to a hot prospect . The next time you see them networking helps to reinforce your relationship & allow you to continue to talk about how you can support them. Not everyone will buy on day one, so you have to nurture your relationships until such time as your ideal customer is ready to work with you. With this approach, marketing & sales work in harmony, a joint pairing to create opportunities.

Sales & Marketing: The Ultimate Power Couple

By aligning sales & marketing, you are directing your efforts at the same prospects, & creating the best opportunities for success. Together, sales & marketing allow you to target your ideal customer to create interest, generate revenue &…you guessed it: build relationships.

Marketing strategies & sales processes of course have their differences. They’re unique functions, but by focusing on their collaborative relationship, you can approach sales with confidence, rather than associating it with an aggressive deal closing experience.

So, let’s round up the key takeaways:

Focus on creating an opportunity, & see sales as communicating & connecting.

Have a marketing & sales plan. Know who your ideal customers are, so you can focus your efforts at them rather than through a scatter-gun approach. Be targeted!

Show your potential customers how your product or service meets their unique needs – find a product for your customer rather than a customer for your product.

Use networking as part of your sales & marketing strate gy. Business Buzz is the perfect platform for you to make connections, & share your opportunity.

There are so many channels by which to connect with your prospects & customers. There is no single approach that works for everyone. However, for business owners, networking should be at the heart of your sales & marketing strategy. Networking offers a multi-faceted approach: raising brand awareness, encouraging face-to-face interactions, building trusted relationships & providing a platform to develop your own confidence. I believe in the power of networking, so much so that at the core of my business is being the Regional Lead for Business Buzz across the Midlands. The Buzz networking format is without a question of doubt, in my opinion, the best place for business people to mix, mingle, connect & succeed. Wherever you can, you should add a local Buzz event to your monthly marketing calendar & build it into your sales plan.

Let’s talk about how you can get involved with Business Buzz or become a visitor. There are more then 40 Business Buzz events happening each month, both face-to-face & virtually – get in touch with me today on james.brodie@buddhaconnect.co.uk & I can help you find the perfect Buzz for you.

Cultivate & Invest: My No-Nonsense Guide...

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 13:47:28 GMT

...To Referrals & Introductions

It’s time to renew your car insurance, & a few providers are offering a cheaper option than your current policy. Do you switch provider, & if so, which one do you switch to? After scouring Google, what do you do? You ask around! Have any of your friends or family had experience of any of these insurance companies? When we look to invest in a product, a service, or anything that requires our time, our commitment or our hard earn money, having a reliable recommendation makes us feel more at ease about entering into a new transaction. With someone we trust making a recommendation , we gain a certain level of confidence that what we’re about to invest in is going to be worthwhile. With the theme of recommendations at hand, today, I want to talk to you about referrals & introductions in the networking world: what they are, how they differ & what influences them.

Introductions

So, let’s start with the basics: an introduction is ‘a formal presentation of one person to another, in which each is told the other's name’. When it comes to networking, an introduction is when two people are brought together by a third person, who knows both of them, but has not necessarily made use of either’s business, products or services. The person making the introduction will have a good idea of why he or she is helping to make this connection, have a fair understanding of the businesses on both sides & a good idea about the potential benefits. The person introducing them is a ‘ business connector ’ who will have mastered their active listening skills, grown their knowledge & understanding about various sectors by applying the Business Buzz 3-2-1 principle .

Referrals

In contrast to an introduction, a referral is much more personal. The person making the referral will have used the business, their service or products & will have genuine, positive, first-hand experience. Referrals are most commonly made from the connector’s inner circle of business relationships.

Although the concepts of referral & introduction are similar, there are clear nuances between the two. It is significant when making a referral that the “t” word comes into play. The personal experience, a common understanding about customer service & nurturing relationships means a certain level of trust has been established with the person, their business, their product & their service. Where I make a referral, I am confident that my contact will have the same values as me.

The Trust Factor

With this in mind, we can safely say that a greater transfer of trust is required to make a referral compared to making an introduction. Of course, in networking, introductions & referrals aren’t made blindly. The person offering to make either will have established a good understanding of your business, your needs & some of your challenges. They will have applied thought & logic to exactly who they suggest you should talk to further. Introductions & referrals should be genuine & made for the right reasons. As a super-connector myself, I do not take any referrer fees, kick-backs or gifts. This is because I can assure my contacts that when I make a referral that it is for the right reason, & that I do not have an ulterior motive. Making a good referral to the right person for the right reason will have a positive impact on your credibility, help affirm your status as a key connector & have lasting impact on your reputation, so you don’t really want to muddy the waters?

Which To Make: A Referral or An Introduction?

So what influences whether we make an introduction or a referral? We’ve established that referrals require a greater transfer of trust than introductions. Few of you would disagree that it is absolutely necessary to know & trust someone before you send a peer to work or do business with them. Having first-hand experience of the proficiency of the product or service you’re referring might come from being a customer personally, or from seeing this person’s product or service in action or sometimes through reputation, where the whole world speaks of nothing but the kindness, the generosity, the value adds or the positive knowledge that another person brings to the table. Why is this so fundamental? Well, as a business owner, I don’t need to tell you about the importance of your reputation. It takes a very long time to build, & a very short time to destroy, so we, understandably, want to nurture it at all times. When you make a referral, the person you refer needs to trust your judgement . If the referral proves to them that they can trust you, this strengthens your profile as a connector, & reinforces their faith in you. If the referral has a negative outcome for them, your judgement, validity, & critically, your reputation, are in jeopardy. So, it is important to explain to both parties why you are making the introduction or referral & what the potential benefits are. If you make a referral to your trusted “inner circle”, they should, without question, pick-up the conversation.

Regardless of how long you’ve been networking, there should be no pressure to make either a referral or an introduction. A referral that isn’t relevant could have a detrimental impact on your reputation. It is best to be sure & selective – fewer, well positioned referrals will have a far more positive impact on you, & the people you are connecting than lots of unsuitable ones.

Now we’ve talked about what introductions & referrals are, & what influences how you make them, let’s turn our thoughts to how you get them. A referral is a powerful business tool – someone referring your product or service provides an opportunity to potentially do business with a new client who wants, needs or desires the products or services you offer.

I Want Referrals – How Do I Make That Happen?

So, how do you get a referral? There’s no quick solution. Instead, you must invest effort & commitment to consistently provide a reliable product or service. You also need to demonstrate your knowledge, enthusiasm & adaptability in a way that is engaging & approachable – avoid acronyms, being too technical or implying any lack of understanding lies with the listener. Keeping what you do accessible to all, whether they are your customer or not is fundamental in trust. If I don’t understand what you do, how can I tell the next person? This is where getting out from behind your desk to go networking really pays dividends. Through being consistent in doing a little networking really well & by becoming the face of your sector, product or service in your favourite networking event, you will gain credibility & trust. Even though you may not talk to the same person every time, if you have applied the 3-2-1 principle & they see you & you acknowledge one another, this all adds to your trust factor. It takes time to build trust & this is best achieved by doing what you say you will & in a timely manner, especially when it comes to making introductions.

Let’s not forget, if referrals require the connector trusting in your product or service, then they need to be confident you can provide it. This is where you can play your part in getting a referral. If you use your networking time & 1-2-1 follow up meetings to their potential, you can communicate exactly what you’re looking for in a client & what your capacity is to take on new business. When your trusted network understands who your ideal client is, & how you can accommodate them, they are well placed to refer potential customers to you, but not all referrals need to be client orientated. Building trust can also be established by being seen as a super connector. Expect to have 1-2-1s with people who are not your ideal customer base. What you want to achieve is other business owners knowing who you are & what you do so that they advocate on your behalf, then half your sales job is done! As I often say, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ & nor will your network be. It takes time for referrals to happen, & as with the rest of networking, the focus is always on quality over quantity . Be patient & hold out for a referral that’s based on genuine belief in your business , your product or your service, & in the suitability of the client to you. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.

My Experience Won’t Necessarily Be Your Experience

What about when you have had a poor referral? In the networking world, I cannot guarantee that my experience will be the same as the next person’s. However, rather than berating someone or over dramatizing an outcome where you were not happy, my approach is to neither make an introduction nor a referral to that particular person in future.

Try to not get obsessed or get stuck at that moment where you received a poor outcome. It’s all too easy to tell people how bad something is. But, if you are negative about another business owner, their product or service, that will be the takeaway that others remember not only about them but also about you. Always try to have a positive spin. Of course, if I am asked directly about my experience of working with another business owner, where it has not been what I expected, then I will be honest. I would choose to explain my perspective, but quantify what I am saying, in stating that it is “my personal experience”. It is OK for one person to have a different outcome from the next. We cannot please all of the people all of the time, but as a super-connector I need to navigate the field of Introductions & referrals with a balanced approach.

A Quick Round-Up

We have covered quite a lot in this blog, so, let’s round up the key takeaways from today’s discussion:

Both introductions & referrals benefit your business.
They work in different ways, requiring different levels of trust – whereas introductions involve a connector putting two people in touch, referrals are vouching for & recommending your business.
Referrals are powerful tools for your business but there is no quick fix to getting them.
With time & a consistent approach, you will build those all-important trusted relationships within your network.
Referrals will happen organically.
It takes time & practice to be a competent active listener, & in turn to build an understanding about other business owners at the core of your trusted network.
To increase your chances of getting a referral, focus on engaging with your network fully – both during networking sessions & in your 1-2-1 follow-ups.
The more your network know about you, your product or your service & your availability, the more likely they are to refer you.
Needless to say, we are far more likely to refer business to people we know, like & trust .

If you’d like to know more about the power behind referrals & introductions or simply have a question, then please do not hesitate to reach-out to me by dropping me an email at james.brodie@buddhaconnect. co.uk . I believe that nothing ventured is nothing gained so start a conversation today because you never know where it might lead.

Super Connectors: The Next Step in Networking

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 18:07:42 GMT

You’ll have heard the saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”, many times before...

...and while I’m not one for clichés, it perfectly illustrates what I’d like to talk to you about today: Super Connectors. If you haven’t heard this term before, I’m referring to a person who makes & maintains contact with lots of different people, in lots of different sectors. These aren’t just social media contacts, they are lasting, meaningful relationships. Being a super connector isn’t just about knowing the right person, however it is about having a genuine desire to help your network, regardless of whether you can see a direct benefit to yourself.

Strength in Numbers

While connecting two people might not result in a benefit to you immediately, becoming known as someone who can make the right kind of professional relationships is of huge value. In turn, people will reach out to you for your trusted & respected input. This in turn leads to opportunities for you & your business. So, how do you become a super connector?

Each Buzz serves the town it is in & the immediate surrounding area. As business owners from the same location, you automatically have common ground & the perfect foundation from which you can build meaningful connections.

Buzz events can form clusters with other local Buzz’s. This means your community grows from being your immediate area, to the surrounding areas. You can benefit from the local community feel as well as the opportunity to cast your net slightly wider.

Each local Buzz community is then connected regionally & inter-regionally so you will get to meet lots of fresh faces, & start building connections locally & regionally.

A benefit of making connections in your local community is the ability to meet face-to-face. Regular readers will have heard me mention this before . While I think in-person meetings always allow for greater connection & understanding, there is no denying that virtual networking allows people who might normally be restricted by time or distance to start their networking journey, & to maintain a consistent approach .

Business Buzz is here to support both of those options. Our Face-to-face events in the Warwickshire, Leicestershire & Northamptonshire Buzz regions provide a pronounced ‘local’ element. To complement our town centre-based events (which, as part of the Buzz ethos help drive additional footfall to our high streets & allow us to work with & promote a local hospitality or leisure venue) each region will be introducing a virtual monthly event - meaning that the local communities are better connected through our mix & mingle format in both the online & the real world. Thus, providing improved regional, inter-regional & national opportunities to network & grow business connections.

Super Connecting Skills

Hosting a Business Buzz event puts you on the road to super connector status. As the host of a local Buzz event, you’re the friendly face that welcomes everyone as they walk through the door, & the person that everyone would like to connect with. With the application of the Buzz 3-2-1 Principle, super connecting becomes second nature.

My Networking Challenge To You…

… is to visit the same local Business Buzz for SIX months consistently? This commitment of time will put you on the road to becoming the face of your sector at your local Buzz. Below, I’m going to outline the specifics of the challenge:

Place one Business Buzz event at the heart of your networking & make the most of the opportunity it offers,

Add the events for the next six months to your diary. Remember each Buzz takes place on the same day each month, at the same time & in the same location,

Don't shift Buzz for something else. Make it an anchor in your business,

Be clever & build your networking activity around your favourite Buzz event each month,

Schedule a 1-2-1 before your favourite Buzz with your guest of the month, whom you are bringing along,

At the event focus on your guest to show them the ropes. It’s a great way to help you overcome your own networking nerves,

Buzz operates a "Bring A Guest" policy; invite someone who is new to Buzz (not just the event) & then either you or your guest can visit for free (in-person events only),

Arrange a 1-2-1 in the Buzz partner venue with a contact from the previous month immediately after the event, then you'll both be there for your favourite Buzz,

Follow the 3-2-1 principle completely to maximise the prospects presented by this challenge.

Don’t Be A Passive Networker

What do I mean by this? Let me explain. You go networking, & meet some brilliant & interesting people. You collect their business cards or LinkedIn contact details. But what next? It is sometimes easy to get back to the office where you have a pile of ever-increasing business cards tucked away in a drawer or you have simply collected a series of new connections on LinkedIn! Out of sight is out of mind! What value did you really get from your networking excursion if you don’t follow through?

Being a passive networker means you leave the next move to someone else & if everyone else is also a passive networker then no further conversations are had, no trust is built & no relationships are developed.

As part of the Buzz 3-2-1 principle we encourage you to arrange at least two 1-2-1 conversations in person with coffee & cake, or virtually with the people you met at your favourite Buzz. Be proactive, pick-up the phone & make that call or send a LinkedIn message but be specific in asking to have a 1-2-1. Because most people don’t take this action, by reaching out you will stand head & shoulders above the rest & you will very quickly become a super-connector. Your grasp & knowledge about who your fellow Buzzers are & what they do will have more clarity.

The up-side is that you can confidently make those all-important introductions & referrals. But equally your fellow Buzzers will have a good understanding about you too, & this process becomes a two-way street, where they make introductions & referrals to you.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a 1-2-1 chat.

Words Of Wisdom

Before I leave you to get started on your super-connecting, here are a few words of wisdom:

If you commit to your favourite Buzz each month & the follow-up, using the Buzz 3-2-1 Principle then, this is equivalent to roughly 1 working day a month,
It takes time to build trust & brand awareness in your business & for you to trust & understand other people & their businesses,
Networking is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. Quick wins are few & far between,
Small business owners buy from other small business owners they know, like & trust. As I have said before “It takes time to build trust”,
A little networking done really well can deliver higher returns. Don’t attempt to be everywhere or just show your face once. You are not the face of your sector, product or service in this scenario. Someone else offering a very similar solution will visit next month & then no-one will remember who you are. Be under no illusion, most sectors are crowded & if you aren't committed to your favourite Buzz, another more committed small business owner will steal your sector’s crown

Practice Makes Perfect

It takes time to become a super-connector. There are very few business owners for whom this is intuitive. It is a skill & must be honed. If you drive, the first time you sat behind the wheel with your driving instructor, you probably knew very little about what is really involved & even if you did I bet you had a series of sessions to get you ready for your driving test. Only after which, the real lessons in driving start when you are let loose on your own. Crafting your networking & connector skills is no different.

Four Pillars Of Start-Up

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 09:02:55 GMT

Anchoring Your Business Strategy

Being a business owner has many benefits: you’re your own boss & can decide when, where & how you work, you have creative freedom, financial rewards…the list goes on. But with the ups come the downs. You also have the burden of decision making, creating & applying your business strategy & implementing that pesky marketing plan to contend with. It can be lonely at the top & deciding which direction to take, what to do & what not to do can be overwhelming.

On your journey as a business owner, you’ll hear all sorts of advice about what will boost your business & give you the best chance of success. While these different perspectives can be helpful, sometimes they just add more options to the already over-flowing decision pot. In this blog, I’m going to bring some calm to the chaos as I guide you through a 4-step process that can be applied to any business start-up, service or sector. As the Regional Lead for Business Buzz & as a business owner myself , I have been there & learnt some of the lessons the hard way, I hope to share some wise words with you.

Marketing & Innovation

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have been told many times that marketing & innovation belong in two separate camps when it comes to business. Should you try to invent something entirely new, or should you use marketing to promote the aspect that sets you aside from other businesses who do a similar thing? There’s no denying that innovation is a big influence in businesses, the life-blood of being relevant. New services, methods & products flood the market & without a fresh idea, your business lacks the strength & vitality to be a success. Businesses that don’t innovate don’t survive. This is why it is so critical to have a plan – more on that later. For now, let’s look at marketing. Why does it sometimes get a name for being unnecessary or futile?

Firstly, marketing is everywhere. We cannot avoid being marketed to – our inboxes are full of promotional emails; our social media is awash with adverts. We walk down the street & see sale signs, posters promoting events, companies telling us why their products or services will make our lives easier…we simply cannot avoid it. & with that, we can be forgiven for wondering if marketing is made up of scams & illusion. But marketing is so much more than that, when it is done well of course.

If we see marketing & innovation as two parts of the puzzle that fit & work together, we can understand how innovation informs your ideas, workflows, services or products, while marketing serves to tell your potential customers about these products & services. These two parts of the puzzle contribute to the jigsaw of entrepreneurial success. So what other parts of the puzzle are there? This is where my ‘Four Pillars of Start Up’ can help:

Pillar 1: Business Plan

Writing a business plan is a crucial element in your journey to success. As the saying goes, ‘the devil is in the detail’, but your business plan does not need to be the size of a telephone directory. Mine is only three sides of A4. It is, however a living document. It is organic & it is the first pillar of my business! Although this all sounds simple, being specific & defining exactly what your business looks like or has to offer takes time & thought. Here are some things to consider:

Define your product or service & summarise it in two sentences.

Identify your customer’s pain points, how your product or service alleviates them & what customers are gaining. Business Buzz & their 3-2-1 principle is a prime example of a standout solution .

Is your offering business-to-business or are your customers consumers?

What is your value proposition or unique selling point; with most sectors crowded, articulating your value proposition is key?

What skills do you bring to your business? Although championing ourselves can feel uncomfortable, remember you’re a big part of your brand & what makes your business unique.

What is the perceived worth of your product or service?

When you have defined your offering, you can start to establish who your customers are & where they hangout. If you know who you are selling to, you can define your USP. What sets you aside from your competitors?

Pillar 2: Customer Profiles

Do you know who your customer might be? There is no business where everyone is their customer. Even giants like Amazon don’t appeal to everyone - if you don’t have the internet or a credit or debit card, you won’t be a customer. Although Amazon aspires to reach everyone, they have to do this by having different products & services that target different people within each universe. Do you buy books from Amazon? Do you watch TV shows using your Amazon Prime subscription or perhaps you are a Netflix or Disney+ streamer?

Personally, I like a spreadsheet to build my customer avatar as it’s visual & easy to amend. Customer profiles form the second pillar in your business & should be as in-depth as you can make it. Think about detailing the following items:

Demographics.

Where can you find & how can you reach your customers?

What are your customer’s shopping habits?

What are your customer’s hopes & values? How does your proposition support them?

What could stop your customers buying from you?

Now you can look at why you think individuals would be interested in your product or service. Are you solving a problem for them? Are you making their life easier? & why would they choose you over someone else? If you conduct business with customers outside of your customer profile, they are likely to be more challenging because they will not necessarily understand your proposition or the value you bring. Be prepared for this.

These questions should allow you to really understand how your product or service fits into your customer’s lives & it enables you to make your product or service attractive to them.

Pillar 3: Love Your Numbers

So many small business owners don’t seriously look at their financials. Looking at the numbers behind your business can feel scary! They are the cold hard truth about whether you are successful or not. Paying attention to & loving your numbers is the third pillar to success. Knowing which customers generate your largest margin is really important in identifying who your true customers are.

Here are my top tips when it comes to figures:

An outsourced accountant can support you with account preparation, filing & offer tax advice, even filling the role of Financial Director.

Bookkeeping software like QuickBooks or Xero are efficient, user friendly & help you focus on the numbers.

Allocate regular time in your working week to actually complete your bookkeeping. It is all to easy to let this slide & then it becomes a mountain too big to climb.

Create a profit & loss spreadsheet – keep it simple to plot your incomings & outgoings & allocate budget for marketing.

Don’t discount prices – people will buy at full price if they recognise your worth & if they don’t them they are probably not your core audience.

Keep your pricing simple. Don’t have too many pricing choices – 3 is optimal, Consider describing them as “bronze, silver & gold”.

Last but by no means least: be proactive in looking after your pennies, because the pounds will look after themselves!

Pillar 4: Marketing Plan

I love a plan, so when it comes to marketing this is no exception. One of the signs of a successful business is that it is evolving, growing & changing. As your business moves, your marketing plan moves with it. While the plan moves, the fact you have a plan, means you have a pivot point in your business (the fourth pillar). A defined marketing plan creates structure to which you can pin activity & benchmark your progress. A great business idea is all good & well, but if no one knows what you do, you will never be able to succeed.

Having researched your customers & the places they spend their time, you are well informed to choose which channels you’ll use to market to them. Most businesses employ a mixture of channels to speak to their customers. There can be anywhere from 7 to 12 touch points before your audience will even begin to consider you, so patience & persistence are key. Expect knocks, this road isn’t always smooth! So, what are some potential options?

Face-to-face engagement: networking like Business Buzz [https://www.buddhaconnect.co.uk/stay-visible-to-be-viable] creates huge opportunities.

Website, SEO & organic social media helps create brand awareness & your pipeline.

Consider post & print media like local community orientated magazines.

Paid for advertising like AdWords or pay-per-click can only enhance your option.

Follow-up on all enquiries, however they come to you. You’re only as good as your last testimonial, so you don’t want to be known for the communication void when someone calls or emails you.

With knowledge of who your customers are & clarity on what makes your business or service unique, you can think about which marketing tools might help you to deliver your offering to your potential customers. This might be a social media presence, email marketing campaigns, networking…or a mix of all 3. Remember ALL marketing incurs a cost to your business, so having a plan & the financial information to support your decision is fundamental in driving success & stabilises your fourth pillar.

Take Stock

Now you have built & documented the Four Pillars Of Start-Up, it is important to review all of them on a regular basis to keep them fresh & relevant. A quality accountant will actively be part of this process, as they can help you identify where you are hitting your financial targets & margins. If you add a new customer audience then this needs to be reflected across all four pillars, likewise if you innovate & add a new product your audience will evolved as will your marketing & your numbers need to be looked at to see where your new break-even point will be or where you make a profit. Set time aside at least 3 times a year to read & adapt your pillars. I review my pillars at least once every four months to make sure I am on track & to add any innovation or changes in direction.

& Finally

Whatever you choose to do, fully committing your time & energy to it will pay off. This is particularly important with networking. A little networking done really well will pay huge dividends . Just like defining your offering, when you are specific about the steps you’ll need to take, accessing your customers is so much more straightforward, as is winning their confidence. Applying the four pillars to your business enables you to know your worth, customers, value proposition & profit margin. Equipped with this knowledge, you’re all set for success.

Why Less Is Always More...

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 15:48:47 GMT

...When It Comes To Networking.

Love it or loathe it, our world is driven by consumerism. We’re bombarded with the message that we need more: a faster car, a bigger house, a higher wage. While freedom of choice has its benefits, let’s not forget that less of something can actually give us more.

When it comes to networking, this is most definitely the case. Less networking, done really well, is so much more beneficial than lots of networking, where you have not allowed enough time & commitment to make it successful. In the virtual world it is so easy to become a networking butterfly & we all know how short their lives are. By having a focused approach; the life span & rewards from little networking done with design has so much more return.

Networking: What It Is & What It Isn’t

By definition: ‘Networking is about building reciprocal relationships with people you like, admire & trust'. If you think about your most valuable business relationships, are they based on those attributes? It’s no secret that people buy from people, & liking, admiring & trusting those we work with makes our working life far more pleasant, productive & profitable. Efficient networking allows you & your clients to conduct business based on a relationship that ticks all of those boxes.

So, what is networking not? Networking does not mean attending numerous events to simply get your face randomly in front of people. If you’re not taking the time to get to know the people you meet, they won’t know you either. Making a sales pitch without knowing who you’re trying to sell to is not networking in any sense of the word. Nor is believing that networking is all about the pitch. Collecting business cards, connections on LinkedIn, followers on Twitter or friends on Facebook are not metrics that point towards useful, successful networking. Great networking is so much more than just collecting people’s contacts.

It’s so easy to say what make a good or a bad networker. The truth is that we all bring different skills to the table or room, but there will be nay-sayers who tell you that networking does not work (or rather it doesn’t work for them). This is most likely because they have not found the right style that represent themselves. Here you can read my top tips on Making The Most Of Your Networking .

So now we know what good networking is, & what it definitely isn’t, let’s look at how to put good networking in to practice.

Make it Count

Connection is at the core of networking, & with the best will in the world it can’t be rushed. It takes time & patience to make valuable connections & that’s why it pays off to commit to making the networking you take part in meaningful, rather than spreading yourself too thinly & failing to make the connections that will benefit your business. Despite what LinkedIn may lead us to believe, with constant reminders that several people are waiting to connect, having hundreds or thousands of LinkedIn connections is not the measure of good networking. Understanding how to navigate networking is complex, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, & nor should your professional network be.

Be Strategic In 3 Steps

Sharpening your networking strategy will mean you have time to dedicate to making worthwhile connections. So how much time does it take, & what networking strategy should I use? Business Buzz can help with this, starting with our tried & tested 3-2-1 principle that encompasses the following:

3 – talk to 3 people you’ve not met before ,

2 – have 2 1-2-1s outside of the meeting,

1 – bring 1 visitor next time .

So how much time does this take? Each 1-2-1 should be about an hour long. In addition to that, factoring in driving time, time at the networking event (that’s up to 2 hours with Buzz at least once a month), finding your new connections on LinkedIn & other social media, picking up the phone to invite a visitor & to arrange your 121s, you’re looking at around 8 hours of time per networking event. This is a significant time commitment, but it’s a commitment that pays off, because networking using this approach is proven to result in meaningful connections & to create opportunity. In turn, these meaningful connections all work to raise your brand awareness, standing in the community, & ultimately, your revenue.

One of the benefits of the virtual world is the ease in attending networking events. Without needing to factor in travel time & cost, joining a networking event can be done from home, with the click of a button. With many different networking events out there, in many different locations, it’s easy to attend various networking events, but are you applying the 3-2-1 method to each & every event?

Shopping Local in a Global Marketplace

Today it is easier than ever to connect with people on a global scale. With so many video-based conferencing tools at our disposal, often free to use, the boundaries of distance & time are transcended. As geographical borders no longer define our market, businesses can target & access customer bases regardless of their proximity. But let’s not forget, there are huge benefits to working with a local client. First & foremost, it is so much easier to meet face-to-face. If you’ve already met virtually, meeting in person allows you to reaffirm the connection you have already established. After all, if over 70% of communication is non-verbal, meeting face-to-face enables you to fully engage with & understand one another in a way you simply cannot replicate virtually. I think of networking connections like building an empire – if meeting virtually forms the centre of your business, meeting face-to-face is the start of the expansion of your personal & professional brand. Together, these connections & conversations really are the pathways that underpin networking.

As a Business Buzz event host & Regional Lead, I meet everyone who walks through my door at the networking events I operate, whether face-to-face or virtually. The power behind this is that I am putting faces to names & to businesses. These connections mean I remember my visitors, making my 1-2-1s more relevant & effective. Networking in your local community allows you to become known as the face of your sector. A genuine & consistent approach, rather than flitting & desperately looking for that next sale, that may never come, results in you being trusted & respected. Your commitment to your business & community gives you credibility. While there may be other people in your industry, your USP inevitably sets you apart. Being a regular, thoughtful Buzzer will get people talking about who you are & what you do for all the right reasons. As I always say, “it is better to be a big fish in a small pond, rather than a minnow in the Atlantic!”

Return on Investment

As I said before, there is no quick fix when it comes to networking. It’s a marathon not a sprint, & if you dedicate time & make the commitment, you will reap the benefits. It is important to remain Visible To Be Viable & this is where being a regular face at a few events pays dividends. So, what are the benefits, & how do I see the return on the time I’ve invested?

Networking enables you to establish a greater understanding of customers & potential customers of your product, service or business. This may sound simple, but fully understanding your fit in the market requires research, strategy & skill. With good networking, you become equipped with the connections & opportunities to give you the best possible chance of putting yourself in front of your core customer. Of course, knowing someone is an ideal client means you automatically know how you can best serve them. In time, people - the right people - will start to approach you at networking events asking for your solution. Your fellow Buzzers will trust you, & will feel confident they can make those all-important introductions to people in their wider network. It is fair to say that there is an element of networking which is not just knowing your ideal clients, but knowing other people’s too. Developing this 360-degree view will lead you to become a core connector, where you put other people in touch with one another. This action helps in building bridges between you & other business people. The right introduction serves to raise your business, & its profile.

We’re Going To Experience Some Turbulence

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Wed, 19 May 2021 07:26:17 GMT

Why fastening your seatbelt & hunkering down isn’t the answer when it comes to business .

As the UK gradually starts to emerge from the pandemic, you may find yourself at a crossroads deciding which direction to take on your journey to success. In the last year, your working situation may have changed, & your perspective almost certainly has too. At a time where simply surviving became success, you will have seen your business strategy pivot, & you probably put your bells & whistles marketing strategy on pause to focus on grappling to keep your businesses afloat.

While this inevitable, coronavirus-forced shift in business strategy is demanding & unknown, it’s also an opportunity to reset, evaluate, & to reconsider where you focus your energy. With horizons looking wider & brighter, redefining your strategy & working out how to approach the next 12 months is a chance to consider some different options by choosing to take a fresh & dynamic look at what you are doing & to put your best foot forward towards thriving not surviving.

Marketing Matters

Whatever your line of business, whether you’re an SME, a micro business or a larger organisation, your marketing strategy & plan may well have been what kept your head above the turbulent waters of 2020. Now more than ever, we realise just how critical marketing is, & why it is so much more than sporadic social media posts & drawers of unused business cards. Your marketing strategy is the foundation of everything you do – it’s a springboard for success, allowing you to build brand awareness, make a mark in your community, & spread the word about your business & everything it has to offer. If you’re looking for a refreshing, agile approach to marketing, becoming a Commercial Business Partner at Business Buzz may be the answer to your marketing strategy prayers.

Connections Catalyst

Business connections are crucial: your company cannot grow without them. At Business Buzz, we foster the belief that successful networking isn't about establishing a transactional network of people to sell to. Instead, it is about building & nurturing meaningful, lasting connections. There is no quick fix, making connections takes time & skill. If you’re experienced at networking, you’ll be able to slot nicely into Business Buzz’s fresh, vibrant events. If you’re new to networking, Business Buzz can give you a step up, a helping hand as you make you first foray into networking. You’ve probably already guessed that I’m a Business Buzz super-fan, & it’s for good reason - I’ve seen & experienced the power of engaging & I have complete confidence it will benefit every business. We’re not sales-y, pressured or cliquey, we’re a family of honest, hardworking, positive & approachable business owners who want to see their fellow Buzz businesses bloom. You don’t just gain connections & an opportunity that raises your business’ profile, boosts your Corporate Social Responsibility & establishes you as a trusted, credible company, you get knowledgeable, expert business owners who will walk with you on the road to success.

Forming trusted, loyal connections gives you the best chance of attracting & keeping business. Connections who have had a positive experience with you are not just connections, they’re advocates for your business. And that’s exactly what Business Buzz can do for you – the Buzz family are on your side, letting their connections know about you, & being extra eyes & ears for your business . As a Commercial Business Partner, you have a hand at the helm, you’re the connections catalyst. Not only are you mak ing meaningful connections, but you’re involved in helping your connections make more connections, building bridges & allowing networks to grow. After all, Business Buzz is just as much about helping out the people you connect with as it is finding solutions for your own business.

What’s all the Buzz About?

So, what is Business Buzz, & how can becoming a Commercial Business Partner support my business? Business Buzz is a unique networking community. Currently, networking events are an online offering but when permitted, Buzz will resume its original face-to-face open networking format, running once a month at established town-centre locations. It’s likely that a hybrid model, incorporating both online & in-person events to suit the best of both worlds will be the model for the future. For SMEs & micro businesses, becoming a Commercial Business Partner can form the cornerstone of your marketing plan, the nuts & bolts of your strategy & the framework to which you pin all other activity. But what about bigger organisations who have a marketing strategy in place? The answer is the same, joining the Business Buzz partner programme can align with your marketing plans & integrate with your social responsibility endeavours. Placing you right in the centre of your local community, the programme facilitates the implementation of your strategic & ethical initiatives to contribute to your brand's reputation.

Becoming a Commercial Business Partner at Business Buzz is a stepping stone to raising your brand’s profile. You will become part of a supportive, inclusive, vibrant & positive community. Whether you’re an SME or a larger organisation, being part of a compassionate community, who value you & your business is always going to be a good thing, & a good thing that delivers leads, business partnerships & sales.

As a Commercial Business Partner at Buzz, you have a platform from which you can support local business & gain credibility & trust. At Buzz, we will help you spread the word about your products & services to the Business Buzz community & this means your message gets sent far & wide. We pride ourselves on our accessibility, as we offer pay-as-you-go networking without a big price tag so you can rely on new networkers at each event, & a fresh & varied community. So what does it have to offer?

Entry for two people from your organisation to the Business Buzz events that you support each month,

Your brand included on the relevant page of the Business Buzz website, on the new booking app & event flyers,

A video & link to your website on the Buzz virtual café,

Slot to talk about your business during announcements break (both online & in person),

Space for you to put a branded roller banner at face to face events,

Shout outs about your brand & message from the local Business Buzz teams across our social media channels, & sharing of this content to our wider Business Buzz communities online.

But enough of me telling you, let me share a story that perfectly captures what Business Buzz is all about:

Off the back of tweet showcasing one of our Commercial Business Partners, another Warwickshire business saw the tweet & commented they were looking for a local delivery partner. As the Regional Lead for Business Buzz across Birmingham & Warwickshire, I spotted this comment & immediately picked up the phone to call my business partner with whom the tweet was associated. My contact then followed through, picking up the phone & calling the business that commented. This quick action initiated by Buzz led to our partner securing a delivery contract of £50K. The cost of two years’ Commercial Business Partner opportunity with Buzz had been recouped 25 times over with this single deal. In all honesty, we know there is a lot of business that happens in the background at Buzz. There is no pressure from us to measure these outcomes, but we always like to share a good news story when we hear one.

Partners for Success

The clue is in the name - becoming a Commercial Business Partner is a partnership in every sense of the word. As the Regional Lead, I’m committing to championing our partners, sharing my knowledge, & equipping you with the strategy & skills to get the most out of the Buzz opportunity. My formula for Business Buzz success centres around our 3-2-1 principle:

3 – talk to 3 people you’ve not met before,

2 – have at least 2 121s conversations with your new contacts outside of the Buzz meeting,

1 – bring 1 visitor, who is new to Buzz the next time you visit.

And there we have it, a no-nonsense approach to networking. An opportunity to create better brand recognition, for community engagement, to build business connections & to see your business profile sky-rocket locally, regionally & nationally. Business Buzz are looking forward to partnering with your trusted, credible & growing business.

To learn more about this opportunity, click here to start a conversation today. Get in touch with James by calling 07770 876300 or emailing him via warwickshire@business-buzz.org.

Is Networking Good for Your Mental Health?

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 11:56:15 GMT

As a small business owner, it's often lonely at the top.

One of the biggest side effects of the pandemic is the impact it’s had on people’s mental health, but even before the arrival of Coronavirus & lockdown after lockdown, so many small business owners were challenged by managing their mental health. Being a business owner & the boss can be an isolating experience. It is not always easy to share what is happening in your business with family & friends or with employees, so this is where peer-to-peer connections matter.

My personal experience as someone who suffers with less than perfect mental health means that on my good days I am good, but on my bad days, working for myself can be like wading through treacle with the feeling of isolation amplified.

It's Tough to get out from behind your desk

However, I find girding my loins to head out networking can help lift the malaise associated with my mental health. It requires the use of a lot of mental & physical energy to get myself mixing & mingling, but the outcomes of being with like-minded people out way the downsides. I have made Business Buzz with it’s no fuss & no pressure format the heart of my networking. Time after time it has delivered for me. It has allowed me to build a community of trusted like-minded business owners; my peers. I come away from Buzz literally Buzzing & always energised. So, I would say networking can play a positive role in balancing one’s mental health.

2020 has been tough for many business owners, especially without their usual social networks & this has made life & business a bit of a struggle. For others, being in constant close contact with family members has made life very difficult indeed! How have you made the adjustment to working remotely or without your usual colleagues or connections around you?

Adapting to the new normal

For me, the shift from face-to-face to virtual networking has not been the easiest of adjustments. I have relied heavily on networking to not only build my business but to develop & build those important peer relationships. Without a question of a doubt, this social aspect is hugely beneficial to me on both a professional & personal level as well as for my mental health. Even though there are days where I wake up & my anxiety is “off the scale”, I am still able to push past it to get networking, feel less lonely & to feel better.

What if you are someone who is fantastic at their job or runs an innovative business, but the thought of going out & meeting new people you’ve never seen before fills you with horror?! I know there are people out there who feel they can’t network because anxiety creates insurmountable odds. Even for the most experience networker overcoming this can be a challenge, so there is no need to feel that you are alone in this respect.

You're not alone

When networking it so easy to assume that everyone else knows each other, that they all find it so easy to strike up a conversation, to be the life & soul of the party or to present their elevator pitch. In reality, this is not the case. Yes! There will be people who know one another & are confident in talking to just about anyone. Skills & confidence like this don’t appear overnight. It takes time & practice to be a consummate networker. So be assured, there will be other people who feel just like you. It may not be easy to spot them at a well-run event, because the host should put you at ease, get you engaged & introduce you to some new people. All of a sudden, your anxiety has disappeared because your focus is elsewhere.

The virtual world means you probably don’t need to worry about transport, finding a parking place, or the venue itself. You don’t need to worry about walking into a big room filled with people you don’t know. But online networking presents a whole series of new challenges. Will I know how the networking platform works? What is the format of the event? Will it be all about the elevator pitch? Do I have a snazzy background that represents by business? Do I have the techie skills to add a background? What if there is a problem with my broadband, my camera or my microphone? Where do I get the help to resolve these issues? The list can go on & on. These new aspects to networking can heighten anxiety. Then, of course If it’s all getting a bit much, you can just hit the ‘leave’ button without anyone noticing & miss the amazing opportunity on offer. The thing to remember is that people are very forgiving in the virtual world. You don’t have to be perfect.

Online networking is definitely not the same as meeting face-to-face. It is different, but equal in stature. For some people who would find the melee of people hard to cope with, the virtual world provides an ice-breaker. A way to encourage them to dip their toes into the networking scene. You can after all sit on the side lines & observe more easily & join in when it is right for you.

This is what is so great about Business Buzz as a networking solution. There is little pressure. Our pay-as-you-go format means we are not going to ask you to sign up for membership that might not be right for you. There are no elevator pitches. PHEW! They can be super scary & add to heighten anxiety. So, the lack of the pitch is a tonic. Our hosts, the event teams & our Buzz regulars are really friendly. They will ask questions, get you talking about who you are & what you do, they will help you navigate our café inspired solution & make those all-important introductions. Buzz is relaxed & a great place to cut your networking teeth.

Networking can be a definite tonic towards better mental health

If you’re having a bad day, or week or even month, the last thing you might want to do is to go out & make conversation with people you don’t really know. Or even with people you do! It is so human to catastrophize about all the things that might go wrong or might be bad, to make mountains out of mole-hills or to approach networking with imposter syndrome, in that you might not belong or are not professional enough. Other business people seem to always look the part or have the right patter. The truth is the Business Buzz approach removes the need for this worry. We will be interested in you & your business irrespective of how confident you are, or how far you are into your journey to success.

Find yourself a networking group that makes you feel confident, included & supported. You can only benefit from spending time with these people when you’re not having the best of days. I truly believe that the right networking event can have a really positive impact on one’s mental health. So, if you are struggling to network right now & want some support to make it happen, then reach-out to me in my capacity as the Regional Lead for Business Buzz across Birmingham & Warwickshire. My Business Buzz teams can introduce you to our informal events, which we believe you will love. We will help guide you through the whole experience to waylay some of your fears.

Journey To Success

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 08:37:51 GMT

Have You Heard The Buzz? I Certainly Have!

There is always a lot of talk of how Business Buzz is shaking up the networking world. We offer accessible networking for all in business, we are innovative in our thinking & the people who walk through our doors or join us online really matter. Business Buzz is a growing networking event, that now has a national reach. It provides one of the best networking experiences around & online. I am proud to be part of the Business Buzz Family & so, I am going to share my story to success.

Networking For Marketing

When I started my business in January 2017, I made a very conscious decision that my primary marketing tool was to get out from behind my desk & to go networking. Early into my journey I discovered Business Buzz. Although, I have tried many other networking formats I returned time & time again to Buzz. It has been an anchor in my business & my path to success.

You may ask why? Well, that’s easy to answer! There is no membership pressure. The format is relaxed, pay-as-you-go, & our events run on the same day, same time each month. There is no time wasted on elevator pitches, seminars or speeches that most people never listen too or enjoy. Conversation is king, to which most of the time at Buzz is dedicated. Each Buzz event is run by an independent small business owner who actually cares about your visit to their event. Buzz events are always welcoming & friendly. The People running the events know all of their visitors, they are on hand to make introductions & there are no egos. Finally, Buzz is not in competition with anyone else. We are complimentary to nearly all other business-to-business networking formats. Business Buzz is the best at what we do. Really, what is not to like?

Starting My Buzz Journey

I started my Business Buzz journey as an attendee, where I made some amazing connections & saw my business grow. As I mentioned before, I liked the social conversation-based format, which is the Business Buzz trademark. I like Buzz so much that I wanted to get more involved. So, when Buzz opened a monthly event in my local town, it seemed a no-brainer to grasp the opportunity. I came onboard as the Ambassador, supporting the Host to run their event. Being in this role allowed me to meet everyone that walked through the door, to become a well-known face & to allow the Host to manage the room, without the worry about the meet & greet process. It also gave me an insight into how to maximize my time networking. It showed me the potential & positive impact becoming a Buzz Host could have on my business. After a few months I reached out to one of the Buzz Co-Founders: Katrina Sargent & we discussed the option of me becoming a Buzz Host!

Who would have known that I was going to be so great at this? In October 2018 I made an investment in my business & in Buzz as I launched Business Buzz's 16th monthly event in Thame, South Oxfordshire.

For me, shifting up a gear to become a Buzz Host saw a dramatic change in the awareness of my business & personal profiles. I went from simply being an attendee in the melee of the networking room to becoming a well-connected person for the local business community. I became the person other business owners wanted to connect with & to spend time with. I saw a significant uplift in quotes, conversions & the prosperity of my own business. Being part of a trusted networking brand certainly made the difference. The support I received from the team across Buzz gave me the confidence to make my Buzz event a success.

Being a Buzz host has allowed me to hone some on my natural skill-set. I have an intuitive 360-degree approach. This enables me to build a loyal group of like-minded key business people to whom I can make genuine & valued referrals. This in turn enhances the visitor experienced of coming to Buzz. My social media skills have come to the fore in marketing my Buzz events & my own business. I am a confident user of social media & marketing. These are not places I would ever have considered as a space I felt comfortable in before. Just look at what I can do now!

Welcoming & Inclusive

Ultimately, I make my Business Buzz events welcoming. They are a vibrant place where people want to come to meet other like-minded business people & to connect. Without a question of a doubt, part of my success is finding time to have 1-2-1 conversations with my visitors, outside of the Buzz event itself. An hour spent finding out about another business owners' products, services, or their journey means they are invested in me, my brand & Business Buzz. Having a genuine & honest 1-2-1 conversation should always be a mutually beneficial exercise & this is where the real power of networking lies.

From a standing start I built an event that was one of the best attended in the Business Buzz monthly calendar. A not to be missed networking meet-up. In running this event I set my own goals high & through hard work I exceeded my own expectations.

Next Steps

However, my Business Buzz journey did not stop there. The next phase is kind of straightforward & a logical step. To become a Business Buzz Regional Lead!

Now, I support other business owners to become successful Buzz Hosts in their own right, to become part of the Business Buzz family & to support them in their personal & professional growth. I currently manage a Buzz region that includes Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull & the ceremonial county of Warwickshire as well as the Northamptonshire & Worcestershire regions & I Co-Lead the new Leicestershire & Rutland region.

I am not saying that I did not have concerns in taking this next step. New pressures & seeing Buzz from a different angle took me out of my comfort zone (but that is healthy & innovation is the key to success).

I re-branded & re-focused my business to become a full-time professional super-connector, networker & event manager. My new brand contains vestiges of the old, but with the encouragement of my network, Buddha Connect was born.

The really powerful thing is that at a regional level Business Buzz offers a model that can deliver a healthy income year on year. It is exciting to be part of a brand that is growing, is forward thinking & where I can be a crucial part of that growth moving forward.

Since making the decision to become a Regional Lead, I have over seen the establishment of 17 new Midland monthly Buzz events. I have also brought new life to our Northampton event by supporting my local host. I am having on-going conversations with a number of potential hosts for other towns across my regions. We range from Brackley to Birmingham & from Worcester to Leicester. Establishing new Buzz regions from scratch has been hard work, but to get to where we are right now & to have built a brilliant team has been hugely rewarding.

My team of Hosts, Ambassadors, Venue Partners & Event Sponsors are an amazing group of people & local businesses. Business Buzz offers monthly face-to-face networking, standalone events such as BIG Buzz & speed networking, plus quarterly national virtual events. Our virtual solution is powered by the Remo platform has been a game changer for Buzz. Remo along with more than 60 monthly events makes Buzz one of the market leaders in the networking world.

Being Part of Something Greater Than Myself

I’m going to be honest & say that my journey of self-employment hasn’t been the straightest or the easiest of routes. I suffer from poor mental health! This has not limited my growth. In fact, Business Buzz has supported me to flourish, & to discover new skills that I did not know I had in a supportive environment. Their inclusive approach helps mitigate much of my own fears, worries & anxiety. Thanks to Business Buzz I am more confident in my own abilities & know I am on the road to long term success & prosperity.

Are you interested in becoming part of the Business Buzz Family? There are opportunities to become a Buzz licensee Host for locations across my region including Atherstone, Bromsgrove, Evesham, Nuneaton, Sutton Coldfield & Tamworth, as well as an option to take over the reins at the Business Buzz event for Brackley. To find-out more simply email me on warwickshire@business-buzz.org or the team at Buzz HQ on admin@business-buzz.org to start the conversation & your journey to success. You have so much to gain!

Is Social Media Really Networking?

183:871893785 (James Brodie) — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:25:44 GMT

The truth; the answer is different for each business!

For the small business owner, the power of social media & networking is dependent on a number of elements including your type of business, your own personality, your brand awareness & where your audience or customers hang-out. Whether you like it or not social media plays an integral part of any small business’ marketing strategy & for that matter so should social networking. In these days of a global pandemic, where our social interaction is limited by national governments, the businesses that don’t embrace a move to an online solution will most likely be left out in the cold!

What's Amazing...

... is that the internet, social media & conferencing software allow so many small business owners to thrive & prosper. It’s all about knowing what to do & when. There are differences between social media & social networking. Knowing what they are, can help you gain a better understanding on how to leverage them for your brand & business.

Simply put, social media is a way to transmit or share information with a broad audience. Everyone has the opportunity to create & distribute content. All you need is an internet connection, an account & the desire to post. Whereas, social networking is an act of engagement with groups of people who share common interests or values, are like-minded & choose to associate on social networking sites or in person to build relationships & community.

Social media is more akin to a communication channel for your business. It's a format that delivers your messages. Social media platforms, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram are the systems by which your information is disseminated. On the other hand, social networking communication is a two-way experience. Depending on your subject matter, you will attract other people with similar aspirations, experiences & backgrounds. Conversations are at the heart of social networking & through them relationships are developed.

Making the most of Twitter & LinkedIn

There are lots of potential networking opportunities. Some include the use of social media platforms. Most common is the ubiquitous Twitter hour! So often, these are no more than a communication channel, where you post to inform. Rarely are questions asked or valuable feedback gained. However, there are some really proficient Twitter hour moderators, who give their participants great structure where everyone can be truly engaged. How much is up to you. These managed Twitter events create an environment that is focused on building awareness of more than your service, product or business, they provide the chance to understand about the man or woman behind the brand & by taking part fully, you help deliver a true social networking experience.

Did you realise that when you connect on LinkedIn you are prompted to start a conversation? It is great to post about what is happening in your business, but you’ll gain more by actually having conversations (although more like texting or emailing on the platform) with your new connections. So often people think that being well connected means having lots of “followers”. This is really not true!

When I receive unsolicited LinkedIn connection request I tend to accept most. I always send a message with at least one open question; “What is it about my profile that made you want to connect? or What was the last networking event you attended?”. A lot of people forget that the whole point of social media is to be social – that means talking to one another. On LinkedIn, your message string is held almost indefinitely, so by being the person to open the dialogue I can see which people have either ignored me or are collecting followers. These connections are not adding any significant value to my online community. They are losing out on the social networking aspect of being online.

Social media takes time & effort

Social media is hard work & it takes time. It seems like an easy win to automate the process of talking to others. This is not a good approach, others will notice, it is impersonal & your levels of engagement will reduce. Generally, people want to have genuine & real conversations, so using bots or automated content can turn them off & devalue your brand. Building a following doesn't happen overnight. Social media is definitely a marathon & not a sprint.

Social networking is direct communication between you & other people that you choose to connect with. This will deliver conversations that are richer, more purposeful & so much more personal. Your network exponentially grows as you meet & get introduced to others. Small business owners will recommend other small business owners they know, like & trust. So, the return on investment through social networking can be significantly greater than from social media. With social networking, you can tell your peers about your new business or blog & discuss how to be successful. The conversations that you create can convert many people into loyal fans, so it's worth investing the time.

The Internet makes the world smaller. Are you missing out on that? As I have already said the small business world evolves around trust & relationships. Without that, you cannot do effective marketing, generate sales or develop your business. Before the social-web was invented, the only people you could build trust with, was with people you have met in real life. Even today that is the most powerful way to market your product, service or business. That is why a space such as Business Buzz, with its relaxed monthly networking events across the UK are proving so popular, even after transitioning to an online solution. The beauty of online networking is that they help you broaden your audience & increase your circles of trust. By only interacting with people who you know, you are basically preaching to the choir; they already trust & hopefully advocate for you. Use social media & online networking to connect with people you do not know, people with whom you have never worked & people who seem to share interests. So, in essence you are leveraging the worldwide web to scale the potential of your business.

Intertwined

Virtual networking offered by organisations like Business Buzz allows you to make new connections in the virtual world that is akin to being in the real world. The people you meet will have similar ambitions & that opens the door to more opportunity & collaboration.

To conclude, & to be very clear, I am only talking about a business context here, not someone who uses social networks for personal reasons only. If you are an entrepreneur looking to build a successful business, stop thinking of these platforms as sales tools or a get-together of close friends. Start thinking about platforms as a global summit of the world's top professionals who are waiting & eager to work with you. Social media & social networking do have some overlap, but they really aren't the same thing. Knowing that they're two separate marketing concepts can make a difference in how you position your business going forward.

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The Hidden Cost of Oversharing

There's A Growing Trend on Social Media...

Digital First Impression

That May Feel Unfair, But It’s Human Nature.

This is Where Balance Becomes Critical.

The Turnaround ﻿

The Fellowship Of Business Buzz

Once upon a time…

The Day Dawned With A Palpable Sense Of Anticipation

What Next?

& They All Loved Happily Ever After!

Want To Know More About Becoming A Buzz Host?

Join the Business Buzz Family

Business Buzz: The What, The Where & The When

Business Buzz: The Who

Business Buzz: The Why & The How

The Next Steps

Is It Enough to Be Visible to Be Viable?

Why Reliability Is the Real Currency of Small Business Success

Visibility Without Reliability Is a Hollow Promise

Reliability: The Often-Overlooked Business Superpower

Why Skipping Steps Is the Enemy of Reliability

Reliability Builds Reputation. Reputation Builds Revenue

What Reliability Looks Like in Daily Practice

So, Is Visibility Useless? Not at All.

Be the Person Others Can Count On

Be Part Of Something Bigger Than Yourself

So, What does it mean to be part of something bigger than yourself?

Networking That Creates A Buzz

Buzz Benefits

Buzz Innovation: Challenging the Status Quo

Boost Your Business By Hosting A Buzz

To Bring It Full Circle

Creating A Healthy Work-Life Balance:

Why Your Personal Life Matters As Much As Work Does,

The Myth of “Always On”

Work-Life Balance Isn’t Just About Time. It’s About Energy

Planning Is the Foundation of Balance

The Signs of an Unbalanced Life

Tips for a More Balanced Life

A Balanced Life Is a Better Life

Five Simple Steps to a Better Work-Life Balance

Health Risks of Long Working Hours

When Life Takes Over Work

The Impact of Personal Overload

Recognising the Signs

Creating a Two-Way Balance

Striking the Right Balance

If You Fail to Plan, Then You Are Planning to Fail

We’ve all heard the quote: “If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.”

The High Cost of Winging It

Planning Clarifies the Goal

Plans Create Accountability

Plans Help Anticipate Problems

Planning Saves Time & Energy

Common Excuses for Not Planning & Why They Don’t Hold Up

How to Plan Effectively

Planning in Business Versus Life

The Emotional Side of Planning

Planning Doesn’t Guarantee Success—But It Makes It More Likely

The Last Word

The Trouble With People...

...Is That They Create Conflict.

Here are a few of the common causes:

Let’s Be Honest

The Personal Challenge of Confrontation

The Benefits of Addressing Confrontation Head-On ﻿

The Consequences of Avoiding Difficult Situations

The Dangers of Gossip & Third-Party Involvement

What Are The Strategies For Effective Confrontation

Conclusion: Short-Term Discomfort for Long-Term Gain

Stay Visible To Be Viable

A very simple mantra, “To stay viable you have to be visible”. Simple to say, but challenging to achieve?

How visible are you?

Build trust by being consistent

How well do you know your customers?

Stand-out & be memorable for all the right reasons

& that's a wrap

Woe Is Me: A Small Business Owner’s Destructive Mentality

The Turnaround

The Benefits of Addressing Confrontation Head-On

Stop Ghosting

Never Say You Are Too Busy

Know Why You Are Networking

The Mirror Effect