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Quickstart - Would You Win at the Business Oscars?
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Quickstart
Grow a Profitable Consultancy and Still Have Time for a Life
In this issue
Note from Beverley - Speaking and Blogging
One Step Further - Would You Win at the Business Oscars?
Personal Reflections - Newsletter or Blog?
Note from Beverley
Can you help? I'm looking to expand my speaking engagements and am looking for opportunities to present on the main strategies of growing a profitable consultancy and still have time for a life. Are you a member of a forward thinking business group who invest in their business and themselves? Do you know of groups like that?
I'd welcome an introduction to the organisers or leaders of those groups with whom I can discuss how I can add value to the group's development. If you want to know more before you recommend/introduce me then please drop me an email and I'll give you more info and some testimonials.
Do you remember a few weeks ago I told you I was now accountable for group business development for Total Flow well I have just posted my first blog which you can read at My Journey From Source and see what type of people we are looking for to join us at Recruitment Blog. Your thoughts and comments would be really valuable.
Have a good week.
Beverley
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647
One Step Further
The Business OSCARs: Best Actor or Best Director?
In the glamour world of running your own business consultancy you may think that the glory prize is best actor. In fact the real success goes to best director and here's why.
Firstly, independent business consultants (IBC) have often worked for medium to large organisations in which they held functional roles for example, HR manager, marketing director or IT project manager, which contributed to the bigger picture of their organisation.
They then decide that they want to have more of a say and set up their own business, offering consultancy in their functional speciality.
Their thinking is "I'll just do what I've been doing for my company, except I'll do it for other people and have more freedom" As an "actor" in my own business I will be in control and run the show.
Secondly, consultants believe that simply telling people about their knowledge and expertise will generate profitable business, keep the business profitable and automatically give them the freedom they dreamt of whilst working for someone else.
Or "I'll just do my own PR"
So what's wrong with that?
Well newsflash!! What you do is not your consultancy. A successful movie is not just about the actors.
What you do is your service, product or offering. Your consultancy is a business: it's the systems, processes and general infrastructure that support you to deliver what you do.
On any movie the actors are only a small part of what makes the movie a winner. There are producers, carpenters, gaffers, lighting people and caterers all working together to make the movie. There are then editors, musicians, graphic designers, special effects people and researchers that play their part in order to complete a movie. Then there are the marketing and PR people and distributors that show off the movie and bring it to the movie screens.
It's the same for a consultancy. There is a complete business infrastructure that needs to be in place before during and after the "delivery" of your service, in order for your consultancy to achieve constant and consistent profitability.
And who therefore is key - the director. As an IBC you can play all of these roles or work with others. The point is the delivery of your service is only part of what will make your business a success.
No one person can make the movie a success just like you cannot and should not be the sole "star" in your business so...
* How best can you assemble a cast that will deliver for you?
* What do you need to consider as the director of your own consultancy?
* How can you produce a winning script with actors and backroom boys all aiming to produce an award winning production?
Put yourself up for best director and I'll see your name in lights soon - won't I?
Personal Reflections
"Marketing is not an event, but a process. It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it is a process. You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely." Jay Conrad Levinson
I have long been reflecting on how best to continue to communicate with those people that have indicated they wish to be part of the One Step Further community. Quickstart has been going for nearly 4 years and still seems to be of value to a loyal and dedicated core of readers and the free ecourse you can get when you arrive on the home page of the One Step Further website is proving as popular as ever. These are valuable marketing channels for me for attracting business clients, partners, and collaborators.
With the advent of new channels using the web and other technologies I have been considering how best to keep in touch with and expand the value to my current community and to expand that community further.
Over the past 6-9 months the number of people who open this newsletter seems to be diminishing and I have been reflecting why this might be. I think there could be 4 main reasons
1. Some people signed up for the ecourse because they are freebie mongers and have no interest in any ongoing relationship with One Step Further
2. Some people have time pressures and reading Quickstart is not always at the top of their want to do list
3. Some people have lost interest or find no ongoing value in Quickstart but don't bother to unsubscribe
4. Some people don't actually receive the newsletter because it goes into a sp*am filter, trash folder or gets lost in the ether
Number 1 - I can't and won't do anything about
Number 2 - I can't do anything about except suggest that some of the problems that are on the to do list may be solved though reading the newsletter
Number 3 - I hope that if the content and value received from Quickstart is not continuing to add value that enough people would tell me so I could do something about it (of course many won't they just won’t bother reading it)
Number 4 - I want to do something about
I have been told by a number of people that they are not receiving Quickstart or they are receiving it randomly. One reason is the dreaded sp*am filters. It is for this reason that I am considering stopping Quickstart as a newsletter altogether and moving to a blog instead.
This would solve a number of things
1. It would be free to me - I currently pay to send out my newsletter
2. It would give me an opportunity to write more often
3. It would mean readers decide when then want to connect/read rather than having me "give" them stuff every second Tuesday
4. More people can access the blog without any sign up process
5. With more people accessing it I can attract more people to One Step Further
Change is often scary and I have enjoyed writing Quickstart in its current format and its comfortable for me to do. I'm not averse to change I just need to be sure that the change will benefit you and me and become more of an attraction than Quickstart.
So please can you help by sending me some feedback on these 3 questions?
1. What do you currently value about Quickstart that you would like to see continue?
2. What else would be of value to you?
3. Would you read a blog if I switched from newsletter to blog and if so why, if not why not?
As I am frequently saying to my clients, keeping in touch and continuing to add value even when you are not "selling", is critical to a long term relationships with those that you want to do business with. So this is important stuff, isn't it?
Best Regards
Bev
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647 |
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