Online networking
I’m trying out a new networking organisation that a friend has recommended to me: 4Networking. It looks like they have groups in quite a few locations around the country and offer levels of membership depending on what you want to do. Unfortunately they don’t have a group in Cornwall yet, which makes going to meetings completely out of the question for us – we’re as west as you can get, so Plymouth is a bit too far for regular events. So I’m starting out by trying the free online membership, which means that I get to put my profile on the site, contribute articles and participate in the forums. I’ve got as far as putting in my profile so must now spend a bit of time exploring the site and seeing what is going on in the forums.
One for the resources page I think.
Bureaucracy gone bonkers
I went to a seminar last night. It was on intellectual property and ecommerce law. Very useful stuff, if a bit dry and powerpointy. The most memorable thing about the evening though (apart from the crunchy chocolatey thing in the buffet) was the form filling.
It was a 2 hour seminar but preceded by 30 minutes of form filling. What’s that all about? Not the fault of the organisation that was running the seminar. It’s because they had got funding for the training so had all sorts of things to comply with. There were four forms and had to be explained step by step because you needed to know the right code to put in each box! It was painful to say the least.
Now who on earth dreamt that up? Is it somebody’s job to devise this kind of thing? I guess it must be. Do you think they’re amusing themselves by seeing how many different forms they can force innocent people to fill in?
Get Clients Now!
The book acts as a kind of cook book for putting together your own tailored program. You choose what you want area you need to work on (filling the pipeline, following up, getting presentations or closing sales) and the ingredients you’re going to use and then form a plan to follow daily for 28 days. Brilliant! There’s nothing like having a solid written plan to follow.
I’ve read the book twice and put it into practice once and would highly recommend it. In fact I’m gearing myself up to have another go. Marketing is one of those activities that keeps getting pushed to one side while I tackle the day-to-day running of the business, but I find having a defined number of tasks to complete each day really helps me find the time for it.
Rating: 
Buy “Get Clients Now!” from Amazon >
FSB added to resources
We’re not actually members of the Federation of Small Businesses ourselves, were put off by a rather pushy salesman. However, some people swear by it because membership comes with some great deals on insurance and tax-related stuff. So, in the interests of impartiality I’ve added a link to them on the resources page.
The power of lists
I’m a bit of a list obsessive, so will probably be mentioning them fairly regularly. I love my lists. It’s a time management thing and a way to keep things out of my head so I can concentrate on one thing at a time (well as much as is possible with my overactive brain). The humble list came into its own today. I’ve been finding this week quite difficult so far – been feeling quite washed out and on the verge of things getting on top of me. When I get like this the slightest thing can send me into a panic, which definitely isn’t good for productivity.
I generally like to keep my inbox as clear as possible but over the last couple of days I’d let things build up a bit and it was really beginning to bother me. So, what did I do? I made a list! I wrote down everything that needed attention … actually I typed it up in a nice neat table, with a column to tick when I’d completed it and printed it out (on scrap paper I hasten to add). With this to hand I could move the screaming emails into folders ready to be dealt with, confident that they wouldn’t get forgotten because they were on ‘the list’. With that done I could already feel my brain clearing and could start working through them. Got a few small (and not so small) tasks crossed off and everything else is patiently waiting for me to start working through the list again tomorrow.
Why is nothing ever simple?
Do you ever wonder why things aren’t ever just simple? You need to do something and if you do x, y and z then it’s done, ticked off your list, on to the next thing. OK, sometimes they are. But sometimes (and I’ve just had one of those days) things just seem to keep getting more and more complicated. I found myself juggling with lots of different strands, each relying on a different person or company and nothing quite going as it should. I’m sure it will work out in the end but I suspect I will have a sleepless night tonight worrying about it. Let’s hope things start coming together tomorrow.
New small business advice link
The newest addition to the resources page is a link to Bytestart.co.uk, which is a site offering articles about many different aspects of running a business. Could spend a lot of time there reading up on stuff.
New article: Choosing your business bank account
After putting in all the links to banks last night I was inspired to write my second article: Choosing your business bank account. I hope you find it useful.
Frustrated by Business Link
Just got the update of events through from Business Link (this is an email that I get about once a month). As usual I’ve had a scan through for events happening near us and as usual there’s nothing. We’re based in the far west of Cornwall but the nearest actual event looks like it’s in Exeter – bit of a trek and probably not worth it from what I’ve experienced of Business Link! Their only acknowledgement that Cornwall exists is to have ‘telephone clinics’ for Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. Not exactly my idea of business support I’m afraid.
Another email straight to the ‘deleted’ folder.
