Amongst all the doom and gloom of the past few years fuelled by Brexit, the COVID pandemic and challenges to democracy a fundamental paradigm shift has taken place: There has never been a better time to be a small business owner. Technology means you can create and launch new ideas, products and services quickly. There has…
Category: Marketing
The worst is yet to come – are you ready?
With the easing of the lock-in, long days and sunshine and the promise from government that everything will be ‘back to normal by Christmas’, you could be forgiven for thinking that the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are over. Soon there will be a vaccine, and everything will get back to normal. Unfortunately, nothing…
Have you applied for your Bounce Back Loan yet?
If you run your own business as either a sole trader or limited company there won’t be many days when the government gives you something for free. But today is one of those days. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) went live on this morning. Businesses can borrow up to £50,000 (or 25% of their annual…
When do you think things will get back to normal?
I’ve heard this question a lot recently. My answer is simple: they won’t, at least not as we understand the ‘old’ normal. After the Covid-19 pandemic is over – which doesn’t of course mean the virus has gone away – things, at best, will return to a ‘new’ normal that we must all start to…
“My customers don’t go on Facebook” she told me.
I was chatting with a successful businesswoman this week who has an in-demand service in a well-defined niche. In fact she targets females within that niche. Clever. I asked how she generated leads and found new customers to which she replied “Networking, but its time consuming and I’m not growing as fast as I’d like”.…
Are you becoming a dinosaur?
I have supported Liverpool FC for a long time. I can remember the heady days of the 70s and 80s when they were European champions. For nearly a generation, between 1975 and 1990, Liverpool were dominant. They won 10 titles in England’s top division. They won the European Cup, which preceded the Champions League, four times…
You just can’t get good staff any more.
‘Really?’ I said. ‘It can’t be that hard’. ‘It’s almost impossible’ he replied. ‘There are so few people on the market and none of them are any good’. It wasn’t a conversation I wanted to continue with. After a couple more questions I said: ‘Thank-you for your time, but on balance I don’t think we…
The results so far
In a recent blog I explained why your website is your most important marketing asset. At the time my site ranked very badly in Google for the keywords someone would use to search for an accountant in Chester. So with the help of Will Robinson (who gave my website a thorough MOT) I started a exercise to improve my…
Is your website due for an MOT?
Your website should be your best marketing asset. Having an online presence is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for entrepreneurial business owners it’s an essential item to include in your marketing toolbox. And it has one big advantage over most of your other tools in that you own it rather than rent it. Unlike…
What is your digital strategy?
Entrepreneurial business owners could be forgiven for thinking that the ‘digital revolution’ only applies to larger businesses and that they can continue in their old ways and still remain competitive: nothing could be further from the truth. All businesses need to adopt a digital strategy that’s supported by a clear digital implementation roadmap. The…
