new blog 1

  I want to introduce you to https web security because it is about to become an important part of your website in the not too distant future. What is http and https? Whenever you visit a website it will always begin with http:// – whether you type in the www or not, what shows up at the beginning of a domain name is the hypertext transfer protocol (http). The http is used to help deliver a web page to a visitor on your website. It links your web server (the server hosting your website) to the web browser (e.g. Chrome or Internet Explorer) that the visitor is using. Here is something you may not know. Sites that only use http:// make it difficult for the privacy controls on  a computer to work. So while you, and your visitors, may think your privacy controls are protecting you from getting access to your computer and/or personal details, chances are they are being restricted and you are exposed. That means while you are happily reading the content of a website and putting in y...

  If you believe your local business doesn’t have to concern itself with developing web presence for the digital future you are very much mistaken. Us Brits are the most engaged European internet users spending 37.3 hours per person per month online (page 13) and if that wasn’t enough there is more, as outlined in the 2013 European Digital future in focus put together by  comScore Here are some stats to consider: Online audiences/internet uses increased by 5% in the UK to 39,357 (page 11) When it comes to what people are using to search, in the UK 68% are using a computer, 24% a mobile and 6.8% a tablet. 14% of smart phone users in the UK purchased goods or services via their device Nearly 1/3 of UK page views are from mobiles and tablets (page 23). Why video marketing is important for local business owners 158.9 million online video views and 48.1 million mobile video users Video viewing on a mobile grew by 162% in Europe in a year Google sites, Facebook and Vevo were the top...

 I’ve been excited lately – very excited – about adding a new service to my list.  Suffice it to say that it has the potential of creating a very good situation for both me and the buyer. A win / win, as they say; and we’re all up for those! So I began spending a little time in my head, putting together scenarios for reaching and delivering my new service my current client base (always start at home first, unless there’s a very good reason not to do so). In effect, I was putting together my sales funnel. Note however, that I do this in my head FIRST – before ANY work is carried out. And no, of course I haven’t always done it this way. I also heard that ‘if you build it they will come,’ crap and wasted ample amounts of time and effort (and money too) putting together something that nobody wanted. I learned from that. Some things to remember when you next start working on your own big idea, is that YOU are your number 1 fan. Nobody else cares, or they care very little, at least ...

 I’ve always been of the opinion that you should keep your personal opinions out of your business, for the simple reason that we only buy from people we like. An interaction can very quickly start to plummet when your prospect discovers that you’re a die-hard fan of the football team he or she most hates. Or when it becomes evident that your taste in music is offensive to them in some way. Or that you vote for the enemy. Or that you think certain government policies are good, or bad, when they’re busy trying to convert their own friends as to the failings of those very same policies. Or that you’re religion, if you have one, gives them heartburn. We’re humans. We build anchors and attach feelings to them. A particular piece of music may remind your client of his dog’s passing away. Don’t bring it up if you’re trying to sell something. When I’m being payed as a consultant, they’re paying me for my knowledge and expertise, so I keep it professional. Yes, I share some stories with the...

  Are you dealing with new and changing information constantly to keep abreast of your industry? Are you trying to replicate somebody else’s system, or various systems, and tweak them until the work for you? If this is you, then you’ve probably hit the information overload wall several times before today. I’m talking about that feeling of total overwhelm that grinds your thoughts to a halt; that feeling you get just when you thought you were getting the hang of things and then a new piece of information pops up and suddenly you convince yourself that you know very little about what you do, about where you’re going, and about the things you need to know. That’s information overload: the affliction of knowledge workers. How to cope with – and manage – your learning curve I heard something really clever in a pddcast recently. Clever and beautifully simple. Unfortunately, the speaker couldn’t recall the name of whoever came up with this idea, or at least whoever told it to him, but her...

 Last year I came across a small business owner in a big industry full of competition, and what he did took me completely by surprise and won him my custom hands down. This is a very important lesson for every business owner: one that you can’t afford to miss. So let me tell you what this man did that impressed me so much… Whatever your business, it’s likely that you have competition. And whilst competition is a good thing for the consumer, it makes things harder for the business owner. Especially the small business owner who is competing against big corporates. And so, with this in mind, one of the only ways to survive against the Giants is to distinguish yourself. And you do this by delivering excellence. But how do you outperform the big corporates? Well, on a global basis you probably have no chance (unless you really do have something unique that appeals to everybody, like iboprofen). Small business owners operating in a local market don’t have the resources that a big corpora...