When you’re a small business owner, it’s important to not only build your business brand but your personal brand as well. After all, you may not want to run your coffee shop, boutique, software company, or franchise one day. And if you have a strong personal brand then that’s going to help you in your next venture.

However, if you are a key provider of services – such as a chiropractor, mechanic, lawyer or accountant – then your personal brand is often synonymous with your business. You want to be the “go to” person when people are thinking about getting help with their back pain, car, legal affairs or finances. You want to position yourself as the expert in your field.

So what is your personal brand anyway? I’ve previously written that: “Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not around”. It’s essentially what you’re known for.

You can read the full Enterprise article here.

Any business owner worth their salt knows how important it is to not just attract customers the first time but to keep them coming back. It is a critical part of any entrepreneur’s strategy and yet many businesses struggle with how to effectively engage their customers.

The key is to know as much as you can about them – what they like, how often they buy from you, why your products appeal to them, and so on. All those insights lie waiting in the data you have accumulated interacting with them but too often it isn’t as effectively used as it could be.

If you’d like to know how to improve the quality of the data you acquire, and how to manage it  and use it for your business’s long term benefit then you should come along to the next Let’s Talk Business event on 29 May 2012 where I will be moderating a panel featuring the following dynamic experts who will discuss how your customer data can drive new business:

William Scully-Power, Managing Director of Datarati, a leader in analysing and using your data effectively for more effective marketing campaigns.

Emma Robinson, Head of Marketing for Google Enterprise, whose duties include oversight of all of the company’s direct and online marketing efforts.

James Thomson, editor of Smart Company, which provides free news and information for the small and medium business market.

When: Tuesday 29 May 2012
Event location: Lower Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney (enter via Druitt Street). Click for map
Event time: 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Cost: $55 (includes networking drinks and canapés)
Book here!

SPECIAL OFFER: Register for this event and you will be in the draw to win 1 of 10 Regus Businessworld Gold memberships.

I look forward to seeing you at this informative event. 

In this continuing series, “3 Business Books that Changed My Life”, my aim is to provide you with some guidance. I have asked some of Australia’s top business bloggers and business owners to nominate the books that have made an impact in their life.

In this post, I feature the choices of Bernadette Jiwa, whose blog, The Story of Telling, recently won the Business category of the Best Australian Blog’s competition 2012. She has been likened to a female Seth Godin (with whom she has collaborated), and her blog was praised by category judge, Robert Gerrish of Flying Solo as follows:

“Here’s a blog that succeeds brilliantly in balancing the expertise of the blogger with valuable, original, engaging 
content. Arresting headlines, considered imagery and a 
clearly nurtured and active readership make The Story of 
Telling a blog that’s easy to get into and hard to escape.”

She describes herself as a “writer, idea catalyst, brand strategist, brand naming consultant” and specialises in helping the entrepreneurs behind nascent brands get a clearer sense of their business’s identity and what they want to say to customers in today’s noisy, crowded marketplace.

Here are the three business books that changed her life:

“Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Purple Cow was my introduction to Seth Godin back in 2005. Having read it I couldn’t help but be compelled to subscribe to his blog, which I’ve read every single day since.

The premise of Purple Cow is that you can transform your business by being remarkable. Seth forces us to rethink the old ways of marketing and encourages us to be brave, stop advertising and start innovating. There are lots of great examples in the book of businesses that are thriving by being different.

In Purple Cow Seth explodes traditional marketing theories and creates the roadmap for a new way of doing business. This easy to read volume weighs in at just 137 pages. It’s a book you can read in an afternoon, which will change the way you think about marketing forever.

Lovemarks by Kevin Roberts
Kevin Roberts CEO of worldwide advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi first described his Lovemarks theory in 2000. He boldly said that if they wanted to survive, great brands needed to create ‘loyalty beyond reason’ and that this was the only way to differentiate in the future.

Lovemarks: the future beyond brands, published in 2004 explores what the brands of today and tomorrow will look, sound and feel like and how they will differentiate in an increasingly noisy world. As Roberts explains, the secret to differentiation is a passionate commitment to three powerful concepts in everything the brand does and represents.

It turns out that we, the new consumers, are no longer willing to passively accept whatever comes our way. We have so many options that price, packaging and performance of products and services are pretty much guaranteed with any product on the shelves. Consumers are searching for something more. We are looking for ways to differentiate and connect. Enter the Lovemark, which inspires loyalty beyond reason using mystery, sensuality and intimacy.

Lovemarks is a visually stunning, sensual book and the design accentuates the book’s message. What hooked me was the way Kevin codified what defines the truly great brands we love, and how he inspired business to think about what the world needs now.

It’s Not How Good You Are It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden
The inspired cover design and text is enough to make this book worth the purchase price. The subtitle, ‘The world’s best-selling book by Paul Arden’, illustrates the genius of the author and leaves you in no doubt that you’re going to learn something in the pages that follow.

It’s the kind of book that you can open at any page and be inspired to be better tomorrow than you were today. The combination of beautiful typography, clever use of images and the genius of one of the world’s greatest ad men, is hugely inspirational. This is not just a business book; it’s a book of mantras and ideas that teaches something on every single page. If there is a book I wish I’d written, it’s this one.”

If you’d like to learn how to write your own business book, our course How To Write a Business Book is the perfect place to start.

I attended this event last year and it was awesome. I loved the sessions, the networking – everything about it. This week, other speakers were also announced include the inspiring Chris Guillebeau, author of “The $100 Startup”. His blog “The Art of Non-Conformity” is a diary of his travels through 150 countries – and counting.

Other speakers
I went to Chris’s session when I was in Texas for SXSW and loved it. So I’m so excited he’s heading to Melbourne to keynote at this event. I’m also always keen to hear from @problogger himself, Darren Rowse (pictured with me here).

I’m especially excited about the panel I’m on because it’s with two dynamic women, Allison Tait and Kerri Sackville. I’ve known Allison for 13 years, ever since we shared an office when we were both at CLEO magazine. That seems like a lifetime ago now! Allison is now one of our online tutors at the Sydney Writers’ Centre, teaching Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers.

Kerri Sackville is a prolific blogger, Tweeter and author. Her latest book is The Little Book of Anxiety, which was released this month. It follows hot on the heels of her hit debut book When My Husband Does the Dishes … Kerri is also a presenter at the Sydney Writers’ Centre and teaches our seminar From Blog To Book, covering her journey on how her blog landed her a book deal. Well, now two book deals!

There are a host of other fabulous speakers at the two-day event. You can find full details here.

If you’re thinking about going, make sure you register your interest so you find out when tickets go on sale. Last year, they sold out very quickly.

Eating:

The beautiful selection at The Victoria Room Tea Salon

Reading: Also in the weekend, I went to the book launch of Patti Miller’s latest book “The Mind of a Thief”. Patti is one of our most popular presenters at the Sydney Writers’ Centre and has been teaching here for six years. Her beautifully written book is about how important a sense of place is to everyone.

Patti writes about returning to the place of her birth, Wellington NSW, where the first post-Mabo ruling Native Title claim was made. She ponders how you can truly belong to what amounts to a stolen land. It’s a wonderful book that I simply cannot put down.

Here I am with the lovely Patti Miller

Excited by: At the Sydney Writers’ Centre, we’re thrilled to run the Best Australian Blogs Competition each year. It’s fantastic to see how many amazing blogs there are out there. This week, we announced the winners. The overall winner is the talented Eden Riley for her blog Edenland. Congratulations!

The talented Eden Riley

Thank you to our wonderful judges:
Robert Gerrish, founder of Flying Solo
Angela Meyer, Literary Minded
Greg Jericho, political commentator at Grog’s Gamut
Marina Go, publisher at Private Media
Brenda Gaddi, community manager at Digital Parents

Inspired by: Simon Sinek, author of “Starts With Why” at this week’s Business Chicks workshop at The Hilton in Sydney. I’m always impressed with the speakers and events run by Business Chicks and this one was no exception. If you’re not familiar with Simon, here’s his TED talk.

Editing: Now that I’ve finished writing my own business book about “storytelling for entrepreneurs”, I’m knee deep in editing. So just when I thought I had time to watch some trashy TV, I’m still at the computer getting intimate with the “track changes” function on Word.

Preparing: My keynote speech on “How to boost your business by building your profile”. I’ll be delivering this keynote during Vivid Sydney’s Etsy Success conference on Saturday 2 June. If you’re coming to the event, come and say hi!

Loving: And of course, a gratuitous shot of my kitty Rexy, photobombing this wine shot.

But, sometimes, you might need to adopt the approach: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. How do you know when you are truly innovating, or when you are changing your products just for the sake of it? That inspired this week’s Enterprise post.

The old saying is that “familiarity breeds contempt”. While that might be true of an old lover that’s starting to annoy you, in business the opposite can be true. People are creatures of habit and when they’ve discovered a product or service they like, that sense of familiarity breeds loyalty – and ongoing revenue for your business.

That’s why McDonald’s works. Customers know exactly what they’re getting, every time, and at every outlet. But it doesn’t just apply to big chains. My friend Alistair goes to the same restaurant every Friday night. He walks up the road, orders the same dishes and drinks. He knows what to expect from the owners: Tony will be flirting with the girls; and George will be holding court with his mates. Sometimes, Alistair will try one of the specials, sometimes he’ll bring friends and family. But it’s a routine he knows – and a ritual he loves. And that’s what keeps him going back.

However, in a business world that’s constantly emphasising the importance of innovation, you can sometimes feel pressured to change it up a bit. You feel like to need to add new products, incorporate bells and whistles and move with the times.

You can read the full Enterprise article here.

The trouble is that when you are busy creating and developing your online persona, it can be easy to forget that real life is totally different.

Lately, I’m seeing a lot of mistakes being made when business owners speak at networking events or conferences. Speaking gigs can be much sought after among entrepreneurs. I’ve written about this before.

These gigs are particularly valuable because you can showcase your expertise in front of a captive audience, and if you wow them enough they will tweet salient points from your speech to their collective armies of followers, thus promoting you in the process. In addition, you (and your business) are featured on the event organiser’s website, sometime for months before an event. It’s powerful free advertising.

However, this can all come undone if you don’t actually deliver. This happens when business owners accept speaking engagements that they simply aren’t ready for. So what should you be aware of?

Have you got the goods?

I’m a big believer in getting out of your comfort zone and stretching yourself. So if you’re scared of public speaking then you should definitely scare yourself from time to time and accept speaking engagements that challenge you. But when you say yes to a speaking gig, you need to deliver. Sure, challenge yourself – but work damn hard to be good at it.

If you don’t, you simply do incredible damage to your reputation. Remember, you don’t want to be the speaker that everyone’s talking about the next day – for all the wrong reasons.

So how can you leave a good impression on your audience?

1. Provide useful information, don’t sell
Obviously, one of the key reasons for you to take on a speaking gig is to get exposure for your business. However, no one wants a sales pitch – especially if they are paying to attend the event. They want useful, practical information, so make sure that your speech is full of tips and ideas they can use. If you spend half of it showing the audience a bunch of slides of the various products and services offered by your business, this is a sure-fire way of losing their interest.

2. Don’t read your speech
I don’t know how else to say this. If you’re going to read your speech, don’t accept the speaking gig. It’s a speaking gig, not a reading gig.

It’s perfectly fine to have notes. And it’s equally fine to refer to them when you’re on stage. This is totally normal. But if you’re going to have your eyes downcast for 30 minutes while you’re reading word for word, then just don’t accept the gig.

You might have the best content in the world. But most people won’t remember it. They’ll just remember that you as “that speaker who read from her notes the whole time”.

If you’re too nervous to do a speech without reading word for word – which is normal if you’re a total newbie – then practice until you can. If you don’t have time to practice, then don’t accept speaking gigs. I don’t say that to be harsh. I’m saving you from embarrassment.

3. Respect your audience
Where possible, tailor your message to your audience. Find out as much as you can about your audience beforehand so that you can tailor your message accordingly. This is your chance to connect with people in the audience, so make the most of it.

Also, ensure that you respect your audience in terms of the time you take. If the audience expects that you’re speaking for 20 minutes, don’t disrespect them by speaking for 40 minutes.

4. What if you are really nervous?
I don’t want to scare you off speaking, particularly if you are a total newbie. And your first few gigs are bound to suffer from some challenges especially if you’re nervous. That’s totally ok. But then you should seek out smaller events, with nurturing and forgiving crowds. Think friends and family, service clubs, local chambers of commerce, local libraries, small lunches.

Once you get some practice, you’ll have more confidence and be able hone your skills so that you can really connect with your audience. You don’t want your very first gig to be a crowd of 100 influential people who will be left with a bad impression of you.

Speaking at events can be a wonderful opportunity for your business. But just make sure that you serve your audience and deliver the goods – or you’ll end up doing untold damage to the reputation you’ve worked so hard to build.

This article first appeared on Nett.com.au.

Admittedly, she was joking. (Well, I HOPE she was joking.) I realised that her attitude is fairly common with some business owners. That is, they won’t give themselves a chance to understand finance. And it’s an attitude that drives me bonkers. That inspired this week’s Enterprise post on “How to understand your accountant”.

In my experience, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who understand their accountants – and those who don’t. If you’re in the former category, move along. There isn’t a whole lot else for you to see here. But if you’re in the latter category – and I know there are a lot of you out there – read on.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me how much they wanted to change their accountant, I’d be super rich. And, surprisingly often, the conversation always seems to go like this …

Them: “I’m looking for a new accountant. Do you know one?”
Me: “What’s wrong with the one you’ve got?”
Them: “Oh, you know, there’s nothing really wrong with them. But they’re not really proactive.”
Me: “What do you want them to do?”
Them: “Well, they just give me these reports every month and I don’t understand them. I just want them to tell me what to do. Not just give me a bunch of options.”
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This is a classic case of abdication. And it drives me freaking nuts.

You can read the full Enterprise article here.

Regular readers will know that I’ve recently submitted the manuscript for my own business book to my publisher. Writing a book is a bit like giving birth and you need support every step of the way. These tips may not suit everyone but here is what kept me sane during the process.

1.  Get divorced
No, just kidding. Think of it more like a temporary separation. My partner was very understanding when I suggested that he stay away (far away) during the final stages of writing my book. I was so fully focused on the process that I didn’t have time for any distractions, let alone having to deal with another person in the house.

Fortunately, we have a rural property in a whole other state. So my partner kindly ensured he stayed there. This give me the opportunity to dedicate all my time and energy to making the book the best it could be. He flew back the day I submitted it to the publisher.

2. Frozen food
In the final two weeks, I’ll admit that I was a bit of a hermit. I did make a point of getting dressed properly everyday, including doing my hair and makeup because it put me into “professional mode”. But the grocery shopping sure as hell went out the window.

I know that nutritonists around the world will let out a collective scream at this – but the only thing that got me through the final period was frozen food. I had no time or inclination to buy groceries or cook – so this is what kept me fed during this period. Alas, until I have the luxury of a personal chef, this is my only workable option.

Thankfully, I’m back on the fresh stuff!

3. I bought a new chair
I was shocked at what a difference this made. When you’re writing a book, you’re sitting down for long periods of time. And I was starting to get back pain. I told myself that I would buy a fancy chair when the project was over – as a reward for my effort. Then I realised this was totally arse-about.

My fancy new Aeron Chair, saviour of my back

So I splurged on a fancy ergonomically designed chair and guess what? The back pain went away. The chair might have cost a small fortune but I think it’s saved thousands in chiropractic bills!

So there you go. Three little secrets that underpinned my book writing process. If you want to learn the nuts and bolts of “How to write a business book”, see you at the seminar.

Scott Stratten has worked in many fields in life including time as a music industry marketer and a national sales training manager. Moving into marketing, he established the Unagency, which he ran for close to 10 years. His new company, Unmarketing was set up in 2002, with the aim of guiding blue chip companies through the new viral/social media and relationship marketing landscape.

Unmarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging, which was one of the top business books of 2010, continues to sell very well and I think that’s largely because of the message it contains. Scott says that your first priority in business should be building relationships with prospective clients. Once these relationships are in place, people will be predisposed to consider any offers you might put to them. It’s a philosophy that aligns very much with my own and it was great to hear Scott’s thoughts in person.

]]> http://valeriekhoo.com/2012/05/video-interview-with-scott-stratten-author-of-unmarketing/feed/ 0 Video interview with Scott Stratten, author of “UnMarketing” Scott Stratten Unmarketing FEATURE