Author Archive
Conditions Apply*
The devil’s in the detail.
I hate ‘offers’ whose conditions render them impractical, untrue or even pernicious.
For months I’ve collected samples for a post on this debilitating aspect of human nature.
Then my wife handed me One Offer to Rule Them All.
All That Glitters
The Gold Coin to Join* offer (see above) seems the soul of simplicity. You:
Pay [...]
Building Fences
You may think fence builders are too busy building fences to read blogs.
Having recently learned to challenge my assumptions, I’m not sure.
This post is designed to attract a fencing contractor.
Job
My two neighbours and I need new fences and gates.
We’re 3 km from the CBD, close to a freeway exit, and there are two wood yards [...]
Passing the Baton
Jude is passing her horse sense to Bo. Good for Jude, Bo, horses, clients and the industry.
Once someone becomes a Master in their field, they often feel a desire to pass on their expertise.
This mentoring ‘completes the circle’ of their journey from novice to expert.
It’s good for them and good for humanity.
It’s also very good [...]
Blood Money
Money talks. It sugarcoats unpleasantness and corrodes resolve. But it doesn’t ease guilt.
Action
I’m sacking a client.
Well, letting them die on the vine, really. I’m too gutless to tell them.
They’re bright, polite, appreciative and humble.
Their work is fascinating, they pay in seconds and they write beautiful Christmas cards.
So why must they go?
Uranium.
They don’t deal with it, [...]
Charity Case
I’d rather work and donate money than go and volunteer.
That said, I have optimised a community newsletter and a few immigrant resumes for free.
So I didn’t turn off when I got this direct message from a new Twitter follower:
Hi Paul, would you be willing to help out a young start-up with your experience? Dave*.
I checked [...]
Twitter Truths
Having just clocked one year and 10,000 followers on Twitter, I felt I should report my learnings.
At first I thought I’d just cover basic stuff (e.g. who to follow, how to list, behaviours to avoid).
Then I realised Twitter ‘truths’ were far more important than Twitter ‘tips’.
It seems impossible such a simple (and apparently frivolous) application [...]
Holey Batt Man Batman!
Photo by Sidd Jones of Dragon’s Landing.
Yesterday I had an interaction that was so wrong, on so many levels, I had to report it.
I was editing a State Government document at Empire House.
An agent of Federal Government Environment Policy arrived at my gate and pushed against the brick holding it shut.
He was a very [...]
Can’t Beat The BBQ!
The other weekend, a barbecue gave me a reality check.
I found that all the social media in the world can’t beat yarning with ten real people.
A short chat unexpectedly led to a new client, immediate work and welcome payment.
Once again I’ve learnt lessons.
1. Ivory Towers are Hard to Climb
In studying Web 2.0 for over a [...]
Pain Points – Part 2
Part 1 covered the top eight ‘pain points’ (as ranked by SMEs in MYOB’s Business Monitor).
Here are the lower eight, again with my comments.
9. Doing monthly accounts including tax
I hate bookkeeping so much, I put all my papers in a box and spend one agonising day per quarter sorting them out.
I like words, not numbers!
10. [...]
Pain Points
Part 1 of 2
Megan told me about MYOB’s quarterly Business Monitor.
I’d not heard of it, but when she mentioned ‘pain points’ I wanted in.
Below is the latest ‘league table’ of 16 top business hurts.
1165 SMEs have ranked them from AAARGHHH!!! to meh…
I’ve added my thoughts on 2009-10. I hope you will too.
1. Marketing to get [...]
