Tag: entrepreneurs - Page 4

Many businesses were in rebuild mode last year and are slowly creaping back from the economic turmoil of the last few years. It's been trying times and like most entrepreneurs, I am cautious about what lays ahead.

A reluctance to too much risk in the business is something that has held me back time and time again - and with good reason. I want to scream from the rooftops that I am ready and prepared to take risks to achieve my ultimate goals, but I know that it is fortuitous that I hold back and think through things a bit more deeply.

The world is your oyster... yet so many of us still spend far too much time behind our desks.

It's hard to leave the comfort of your cushy office chair, surrounded by what has become our most familiar items; our desk, our computer, our coffee cup and an endless ream of notepads.

I challenged myself as the new year came around to be more effective in the office. While I will never have a 4 hour work week (who really does?), I certainly plan to utilise my time in the office on productive "on the business" not "in the business" tactical items.

In the past few days I have felt humbled by the number of long emails people have written me in relation to a post that was published on Monday. It clearly struck a cord with many people; in fact tens of thousands.

There are wonderful organisations out there like the Entrepreneur Organisation that help support entrepreneurs building businesses. They provide a network and program of support that ensures that entrepreneurs are not alone. I was in this organisation for many years and saw great benefit in it. But unfortunately, at some point I out-grew it and the partner organisation for those in that boat was very family orientated, and as a single woman, YPO didn't seem to fit. Some people may differ from this opinion, but through my own experiences, I thought that it would only make me realise how unique my situation is.

On top of that, I found for around 10 years, I spent so much time with these wonderfully inspiring entrepreneurs, that somewhere down the track I missed spending time with family and friends. 

Then of course, I made some strategic business decisions to catapult my company's growth into new markets, diversifying our offering and creating something that was so unique, that it would be hard to replicate.

It's a Saturday and I am sitting in my friends living room talking business while at the same time reading emails and catching up on the latest in business news.

As we talk I realize that entrepreneurs are no different from celebrities, movie stars, singers, musicians or any other career that is centre stage.

The reality is we all have a bit of neurotic behaviour in us - whether we like it or not.  Some entrepreneurs are more neurotic than others - micro-managing, controlling, double A-Type personalities that find it hard to accept another person's way of doing things, and then others just tip the iceberg.

Many entrepreneurs have a goal, or an idea of where they want to be. They are achievement orientated and often lack discipline, needing to hire the latter in to complement their existing skill base.
 

It's a Saturday and rather than head to my nearest Starbucks to buy a NY Times, I decided to get all of my news online. Looking for some inspiration from other bloggers as I am about to embark on phase 3 of Marketing Eye's expansion and to be honest, I am nervous and excited at the same time. Any wisdom from my fellow bloggers is welcome. 

Another thing that struck me while looking for blogs is how out of date they are. If you type in a search in Google, you will get blogs as far back as 2005 that have never been written on again. Hope with the new change of algorithms that Google fixes this problems.

However, there are 20 very worthwhile blogs that are great weekend reads if you are looking for something easy to absorb, interesting, educational and business savvy.

TOP 20 ENTREPRENEURS BLOGS : 2013

I can't sleep. Too much is going through my mind. I toss and turn all night long and wake up in the wee hours desperate to fall back asleep again, but not able to because I am thinking too much.

It's a problem that many small business owners face time and time again. I am no different.

When you have some down time, it is always good to use it well. Afterall, it's not often we have time up our sleeve, but at this time of year, many entrepreneurs and marketers take time off. I'm an avid skier, so I always head off to Colorado. Aspen and Vail are my two favourite spots, mostly due to the mountains and the great atmosphere both resorts tend to foster.

After sitting in the kitchen of a friend's home in Vail, I find myself spending literally hours trawling through websites on marketing from around the world. I am interested in what people have to say, their opinions and their advice. Sometimes the advice is game-changing and other times it is a little waste of effort. 

With entrepreneurs surrounding me, I constantly ask them what they read online, what apps they download and what is the best marketing campaigns that they have seen. Its an interesting conversation and everyone seems to have a number of websites they love that is consistent with the others and a few have a some 'pearlers' that are untapped by the average entrepreneur that is a must-have resource.

If you read my blog regularly, you may recall that travel is something that I am not only passionate about, but I take fairly seriously.

I have travelled the world-over with friends, on conferences and for business, visiting the most amazing places including Turkey, Dubai, Barcelona and more recently Amsterdam.

Each year I embark on a journey to rediscover myself, my business and my world. It may seem a little philosophical, but it's true.

I do this, not in a traditional way of going into a zone where you are by yourself and you spend time thinking and analysing, but by going away to conferences. In particular, entrepreneurial conferences.

A group of Queensland Entrepreneurs and myself travelled to Nashville 2 weeks ago to see local businesses and innovation in the region.