Pet Pals
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
We’ve spoken about children at work, and the effects of family illness.
How about critters?
What role (if any) do pets have in business?
Free Range
I figure there are three schools of thought:
Corporate environments in which the prospect of pets is laughable.
Home / small offices that consider critters de rigueur.
Places in [...]
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em
Here’s a business tip I learnt the hard way:
If you get a gig, job, order, project, piece of work or commission, do it NOW.
If you don’t, it may not be there tomorrow.
For several reasons.
Unkind Cut
A large IT firm gave me 100 recruitment ads to critique.
I toiled for much of Easter, getting 50 done.
Then I rewarded [...]
Sour Cream & the Metagame
We can reasonably describe business as a game.
There are certainly winners and losers.
Gaming is an important analogy.
These days, it’s not enough to merely play the game.
Because chances are, your customers are playing the metagame.
What’s the Metagame?
The metagame comprises all out-of-game elements that affect in-game decisions.
You’re playing the metagame if:
Having learnt from past poker nights [...]
5 Ways I Messed Up Launching My Business
Today we welcome Sheila Smith, author of The Birthday Dragon, which she proudly self-published this year. Sheila candidly shares her experience of launching her own business, and the mistakes she learnt from along the way. Thanks for joining us, Sheila! Emma
As I prepared to self-publish my first book, The Birthday Dragon, I thought [...]
Should We Tell Them about Nanna?
Disease is visiting my family.
I’ll spare you the details; it’s life and we all must live it.
The question is, do our private lives concern our customers?
Family Feud
Fonnie and I differ on so little, it’s significant when we retain opposing views.
Hers is that family affairs have nothing to do with business.
Mine is that clients appreciate candour [...]
Busy Brains
My subconscious says Hi!
I often say our subconscious is a powerful, problem-solving ally.
Last night mine (let’s call him SC) gave us this blog post.
I’ll be interested to see if you prefer his writing to mine.
Stumped for a good topic, I was awake and worried at 5 am.
I asked SC if he’d help.
He didn’t answer directly [...]
Whistle While You Work?
Now hear this!
Speaking of music, do you use it at work?
Or would that fry your brain?
Below are a few case studies.
Let’s see if one calls your tune.
Trade Mark
Almost every tradie I’ve seen has a battered boom box blasting brash commercial radio.
The station is always slightly de-tuned so the voicesss orrr gorrrbled and the [...]
Sometimes it doesn’t work out, and that’s OK
As you may know, Paul’s undertaking the exciting task of rebranding The Feisty Empire and has been sharing his journey with you. For this he enlisted the help of Angela den Hollander.
After a lot of thought, a few months back, Angela sent the message below to Paul (who naturally completely understands). Angela was more than happy to share this heartfelt communication [...]
The Jury’s Out
Have you done your duty?
Four years ago I was summoned for jury duty.
I’d always wanted to do my bit (and witness a court case).
But when the time came, my business couldn’t afford the income hit.
So I piked.
Testimony
This is what I wrote to the Juries Commissioner’s Office:
I am a self-employed sole trader who does not have [...]
Time In
Do you have hearth-and-home holidays?
As Easter and Anzac Day coincide, Fonnie’s taking three annual leave days for ten days off in a row.
We both sorely need this break, but we’re not going anywhere.
We’re spending our holiday at home.
How about you?
Freedom
We’re so knackered from early starts, long days, big projects and weekend work, we need [...]
