First, the Good News!
On snaring this blogging gig, my first instinct was to discredit every shonky supplier who’d ever crossed me. The question was, what to cover first:
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The sturdy, black hair in my special fried rice?
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The too-thin tin my builder used to gild my roof?
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The gob of machine grease in my pack of sliced almonds?
On reflection, however, I realised these issues should be explored separately and in excruciating detail. To better provide lessons and warnings for you, the reader.
It’s therefore with a light heart that I showcase some of the most useful (free) stuff I’ve found over the years. And no, I don’t get anything from endorsing anything.
Winston Marsh is a dinky-di* marketing guru who’s been in the business-building game for decades. His website is a trove of gratis articles, newsletters and other resources that are immediately and practically useful. He is streetwise, prolific and generous.
Terry Brock is an American business coach and good guy (I’ll cover Seth Godin in another post). Many of Terry’s free, weekly articles come in written, video and audio form, so you can learn as you like. His insight, enthusiasm and flawless presentation make it easy to absorb useful ideas and information.
English is mutating way too fast for anyone to keep track of it all. When faced with a new, unfamiliar or difficult word, my favourite tool is OneLook. It gives free, instant access to 13 million words in 1000 dictionaries. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never touch a Concise Oxford again!
Twitter has generated more traffic to my websites than everything else I’ve tried, times ten! It therefore deserves its own post. Meanwhile, if you don’t know what I’m on about, watch this three-minute, introductory video. Mark my words: used correctly, Twitter is GOLD.
Most business coaches agree that in tricky times, the way to prevail and prosper is to learn and try new things. The above resources have helped me do all that and more. I commend them to you.
Next week: How to Sabotage a Nail Gun.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, www.thefeistyempire.com
* See OneLook!
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Hello Paul,
By way of introduction to you and your readers…. I am a small business owner (IT Services) and a user of MYOB Premier v12. I have been using MYOB for 2.5 years.
I have heard about this twitter business on the radio, and reading your blog prompted me to sign up and have a look. I sort of get it, but I’m not too savvy when it comes to new methods of communication. So I look forward to your future post on how you made it work for you, so that I can hopefully make it work for me!
Best,
Jason.
Thank you Jason and welcome! I have several Twitter posts in mind, dealing with theory and practice. I look forward to learning whether you find them useful and warmly welcome all feedback ‘with both barrels’!
Winston facilitated a strategic planning session for one of my not for profit clients. Very knowledgable and a highly dynamic presenter too (and I don’t get anything from endorsements either (smile)).
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Sally! Objective, unprompted feedback like yours is exactly what we need to make this blog honest and relevant for businesspeople who don’t have time to muck around.
Great blog Paul, I look forward to reading it and commenting on it regularly. One day I will get ’round to exploring ‘purple cows’.
Thanks, Angela! Don’t take this the wrong way, but from what I’ve seen of your highly specialised service, you’re already one of them! Moo!
Paul,
Great to see another Seth Godin fan. Look forward to sharing the trials and tribulations of small business with you!
Hi, Sonia. I’ll be saying plenty about Seth alright. Hold on to your (Six) Hats!
Hi Paul,
I was very interested in your blog and have had a look at all your recommendations… particularly, Twitter. I, too, have heard of Twitter but didn’t know what all the fuss was about and really haven’t had the time (until now) to check it out. My first thought is that Twitter is very similar to the Status component on Facebook pages, although I have to admit that I have not looked into Twitter in more detail, apart from the video page.
I am looking forward to checking back here and reading your blogs… which, I have to confess, are at least interesting to read !!
Thank you for your generous comments, Amanda. Your site looks interesting and I’ll strive to answer all your questions. I found Facebook progressively unsettling, so disabled my account a year ago. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it. Twitter just seems much more suited to my purposes. I look forward to your further visits!
Hi Paul
Again I find you at the head of the pack – leading the way, sniffing out new and innovative things and sharing sharing sharing.
Thank you for inspiring me – again.
Flip Shelton
Hi Paul
Congratulations on this great new project! Thanks for the OneLook link – what a great resource.
I love the way you write and look forward to keeping in touch (both here and on Twitter).
I’ve found Twitter narcissistic, infantile, vacuous … and ultimately educational, useful and amusing. Strange. It has a geniune goodwill vibe … people posting useful information. But of course, having a rope doesn’t make you a cowgirl and there’s plenty (plenty!) of guff there as well. (For instance, you’ll find me at @lifeearthtoons!) It’ll be interesting to see whether it’s a fad or a keeper. Thanks for the post Paul. Provoking as ever.
I have to agree with you on all counts there, Adam! I see Twitter as a huge flea market. Heaps of dross, noise and chaos but also some value and craftsmanship and the occasional priceless find. I’m following you on Twitter and heartily recommend others do likewise. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you Kate, and sorry for the delayed response. It’s great to see you here and I look forward to your further visits. I love your newsletters, so am very pleased you found OneLook useful.
Hi Flip! With your amazing journey to date, you’ve done your fair share of inspiring. I can’t wait for everyone to hear your story. Thank you for dropping by!
Gidday Paul, congrats on this project! Great to see you leading the pack. i’m still not sure about this twittering but i do trust your recommendation Paul.
ciao
H
Adrian, one of my Twitter connections, just made a good point. You need to be logged out of Twitter to see the red video button in the top right corner of the Twitter home page. Newcomers to Twitter, who have no account, will see this button first time. Thanks, Adrian!
Hiya, Helen! So glad you dropped in. I put off Twitter for months because I was scared and suspicious. But I pushed on through and it’s paying big dividends. There’s no harm sitting back and watching it in action, so maybe you’ll feel more comfortable when you see some of my upcoming posts on the matter. Given your fascinating line of work, however, I think you’ll love it once you take the plunge.
Great Blog Paul I am glad I found you on Twitter I look forward to reading more about your adventures!
Thank you, Dusty. Twitter certainly is generating its fair share of valuable contacts. That’s beautiful music on your site, by the way; very calming! We’ve just put a SUBSCRIBE tab at the top of this blog, so you and others won’t miss a trick. Best regards, P.