How to do small business planning… in spring!

I’m not going to do an end-of-year review and business plan in 2024. Instead, I am working on a spring clean, an exercise in seasonal renewal.

Ever since I’ve been running my own business, I’ve taken a holiday in December and done my annual review and planning exercise either before or after that holiday.

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How not to hate marketing (part one)

For many people who run small businesses, marketing is hard. I’m no exception. I’ve been researching why we hate it so much…

I’ve been doing a lot of marketing recently.

I’ve been making connections on LinkedIn, sending emails to people who might need my skills, applying for freelance gigs I see online– a round of cold calling, in the sense that I am writing to people who I don’t know and who don’t know me.

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A 21st century business value – honesty 

An interview with Jack Seddon, bottler of honey and breaker of business models. What if we all went for total honesty in business?

When you buy something in a supermarket, how much do you know about it really? Say it’s a bottle of honey – where did the honey come from, where was it bottled, how did it get to that shelf?

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Small business tips: the power of outsourcing

The blog post you are reading was written by me, but uploaded to my website by someone else. That’s because I have finally learned the power of outsourcing some of my work.

I crossed the Rubicon on this when one of my clients asked me to give her more hours of my time. At first, I quailed – I wasn’t sure where those hours might come from. But I thought about it and had a good look at how I was actually spending my time.

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Software I can’t live without

I’ve discovered something amazing – a use of the ChatGPT AI software that I will use again, and again.

The tip comes from a post on LinkedIn by Conor Grennan, Dean of Students, NYU Stern School of Business, who urges people to move beyond asking ChatGPT to “Write an email to my boss!” or “Create 25 taglines for my business!” Continue reading

Technology I can’t live without

Knowledge workers everywhere have been shaken and stirred by the advent of ChatGPT – a new bit of software that has already made my life as a writer easier, though I am not sure yet if it qualifies for that elite list, called “technology I can’t live without”.

Because there is such a list!
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My calm 2023 business strategy planning

When I worked as a full-time journalist, annual reviews and strategic planning for the coming year were not high on the agenda – we were always too busy dealing with the immediate issues in front of us. But now that I am entering the seventh year of running my own business, an annual review and business strategy planning session are vital.
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