Enjoying my ‘work’ journey – I’ve decided what I’m not going to do!

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Kim

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m interested in planning my life in a way that enables me to better enjoy the journey. Things are going great with my family and social life…and I’m happy to announce that my ‘me’ time is excellent. I’m even sorting out my ‘inner child’! The one area, however, that I need to contemplate is my work life. I’ve been giving this great consideration and I’ve been analysing what I don’t want.

In the past, one of the largest issues I’ve come up against is having to convince people that I know what I’m talking about. Or…shall I say that my issue is having to educate people about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to marketing (over and over again).

For example, thousands of studies and tests have shown that more often than not, long sales copy outperforms short sales copy (on a website). In other words, if you have a website, you’re more likely to convert a viewer to purchase if you present a full (long) sales page and the length of the page doesn’t matter.

What matters is demonstrating that you can solve the viewer’s problem.

You do this by highlighting the problem, explaining how horrible it is, explaining that you have the solution, outlining the benefits and then answering any questions and listing the features. It’s good to throw in social proof (testimonials) and use some urgency tactics (order now before it’s too late)… but selling anything on the web is the same as selling over the phone or in person…You don’t get a telemarketer or sales clerk using a short sales pitch – do you? They use as long of a pitch that is necessary to sell their service/product!

Imagine someone trying to sell to you using only a paragraph or two of words?

Anyway, it’s good to test what works best. The best way to do this is to create a page that has a tiny bit of text and then create another page that has loads of text. There is software out there that will rotate the pages and after a bit of traffic comes to your site you can see for yourself what works best. But even after I’ve tested and proved that the longer text gets more conversions (to sales), I still get people coming back to me saying, “I think we should shorten the text!’

Anyhooooo, where am I going with this? Well – what irritates the heck out of me is that quite a few things that work well (in marketing/lead generation) don’t look that great. Having a page that scrolls for ages doesn’t look very good and most company owners think they need short, concise text that doesn’t scroll at all. This is a massive mistake.

Also…many MD’s/company owners think that they need their logo big and in your face. They think they need some catchy quotation application or flash game or whatever. If a company is trying to generate leads or get business they must look at their site as a tool. And when using that tool there are very specific things that you can do to generate leads. Sadly, most MD’s/company owners are more concerned with the colour scheme or what looks best rather that what works.

So…I’ve come to the conclusion that whatever I do next is not going to involve me doing any sort of consultancy. Enjoying my journey is about me doing what I know works and letting me get on with it. End of story!

Therefore I’ve been contemplating a variety of options. I could sell or create my own products. I could become an affiliate of a company and set up marketing on my own terms (and just take a commission). I could set up lead generation systems for an industry sector, get it working and then sell the system to the highest bidder… Lots of opportunities! I’m going to have to mull over this for a while me thinks, but at least I’m starting to narrow things down to the extent of what I don’t want to do!

Okay – rant over. Thanks for listening.

Smiles, x

The future workplace looks freaking awesome – are you ready for it?

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Kim

Last week I was invited to a series of talks put on by The Stress Management Society. The day was all about taking companies and individuals from stress to de-stress.

I envisioned hearing the usual stuff… like offering a gym membership, buying fruit, making sure that employees take time off when they’re sick and so forth. Well…I was pleasantly surprised because the talks were far more enlightening than I expected. After leaving I felt that the future workplace is destine to be far better than it has been in the past.

Overall, the people that presented explained that the top companies are now looking at employees as a whole – not just their work life. Organisations like Google, FaceBook and Apple want employees to enjoy work, feel healthy and have a great home life. One company offers flexible hours – work any 40 hours you want during the week. Google has several ways for employees to burn off steam – they have something like 15 outdoor volleyball courts at the GooglePlex.

The best companies of the future will be ones that really care about the people – not just in their work hours, but also their outside life.

When I heard this I thought that it sounded not only logical…but the only true way to ensure bigger, brighter, more innovative companies. With the Internet forcing prices to become standardised across brands, companies are going to have to survive through innovation and creativity. And if you want creativity, you need people that are able to function to the best of their ability…that means that they need to have a clear mind, good stress, healthy bodies and a balance between work, home and ‘me’ time. They need to be happy, empowered and eager to go to work…

Organisations that carry on thinking they can crack the whip, cajole people into working more than 40 hours/week, apply unhealthy competitive pressures and make people feel so bad that they come in when they’re sick are going to fall into decline.

I imagine the history books will note that in the 1990’s / early 2000’s the work ethic started to change. The dictatorial MD would slowly be forced out to be replaced by inspirational leaders advocating work-home balance schemes and green initiatives. Not only is it about making the lives of employees better but also looking after the world too!

Getting down to the individual level, the company ‘Inside 80’ presented a very compelling solution to declining energy levels. The presenter explained that over the course of a day/week/month/year we go through natural periods of work and recovery. For example, during the course of the day you’ll work for a bit and then take a break (perhaps get up for a stretch) and then you’ll work some more and then take lunch and so forth.

The presenter explained that most of us fail to recover as much as we need to before going back into work mode. And since we’re not recovering, our ability to work becomes more and more impaired. By the end of the day, we’re exhausted rather than empowered. (I know that feeling!!!!)

In contrast, when looking at how athletes train, we can learn a lot – they work at managing their energy. They work to a peak and then take a well thought out rest and then work again to a peak and on it goes.

Visually, an athlete is on a trend where their energy goes up…they’re always getting better and better. People like us (workers) are on a trend that goes down…we’re always burning the candle for too long and collapsing in exhaustion – either at the end of the day or when we finally take a holiday.

Inside 80 work with people to put them on a routine that is similar to an athlete – they figure out how long you should work (for example, short bursts of 20 minutes or long durations of 3 hours) and then work with you to determine what you need to do for the relaxation bit of your day/week/month/year.

It could be as simple as taking more breaks – just getting up to get a glass of water more often…or phoning someone that gives you energy.

Each person works to a different pace and once you know how you work best, you can ensure you recover in a way that gives you more and more energy…so that by the end of the day you’re not too tired to play with the kids or take your partner out for a nice meal.

Sounds great to me! Since hearing the talk I’ve made a mental note about what gives me energy (drinking water, eating good food, talking to a friend, doing yoga, mediation, taking a walk, etc) and I’m adding more and more of them to my daily routine. I’ve also stopped sitting at the computer when I’m tired or ineffective. Making these changes has increased my energy massively!

Give it a go – start listening to your body and take more breaks! When you do take breaks, do things that give you energy…

If you want more information on Inside 80, check them out at: http://www.inside80.co.uk

The Stress Management Society has some cool tests you can take and some good information on the site. Check them out at: http://www.stress.org.uk/

Right – that’s it for me today. Remember – if you want to get my updates in your inbox, simply leave your email address on the form to the right (and up). Every time I write something you’ll get a little notification letting you know.

Until next time, I hope you are enjoying your journey.

I found the best book about how to do what you love and get paid for it!

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Kim

A book review on ‘Screw Work Let’s Play,’ by John Williams

Being a bookaholic it takes quite a bit for me to really rave about a book. Not only do I think this book is amazing, I’ve already purchased a copy for a few friends and had it sent to them by Amazon.

If you are in a job you don’t really like OR run/manage a business where you’ve lost your passion, this really is a must read.

I don’t think that I can describe what makes it so fantastic – and I don’t want to come across as a cheese ball, but the author must have written this book from his heart. Every word, sentence, paragraph and chapter seems to fit perfectly.

The great thing is that it’s written with a unique perspective – there’s loads of references to other people following their heart but the content, for once, doesn’t seem like a regurgitation of something else.

An issue I’ve had for years is that I know that I can do anything I want…but what the heck do I want? John starts the reader off with an outline on how to work out what you really really want. Most authors seem to assume that the reader knows that they are passionate about… that the reader has a clue about what they’re really good at and would enjoy doing.

The generations before me (and mine) were told that work is hard…and if you’re not miserable doing what you’re doing, you’re not really working. And if you’re not really working you don’t deserve to get paid. I don’t know where it came from or why it exists but things that come natural to us are pushed down and we’re told to ‘live in the real world’. It’s nuts.

Anyway – if you can’t remember what you’re passionate about or what your next step in life should be, I totally urge you to get this book. It will help you to realise what direction you might want to head in.

And if you do have the luxury of knowing where you’re your talents and passion lay, this book is still worth reading as it tells you how to take that passion and make money from it!

The author also discusses what to do next, how to get stared, how to guarantee success and then he brings together what you’re passionate about and how you can get paid to be passionate! Woooo woo! The book also includes practical information on getting your passion out there – sales and marketing. It’s all good.

Seriously…if you need a kick in the butt to get you to enjoy your journey, get this book. I promise you’ll get a return on your money (and time) invested.

It’s okay to be a starter and not a finisher

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Kim

I’m not sure if you’re like me, but I love to learn new things and sometimes I start something and don’t really want to finish it. Heck, I need to be honest with myself – I love to start things but finishing them causes me misery. And what I mean by finishing…is to use or carry on using a new idea, skill, etc. (Read on as it will make more sense below)

As a kid I was criticized by my family about my inability to want to stick to something. I’d learn knitting and would knit one slipper and then never want to knit again. It’s not like I was going to wear them!

I learned how to crochet, quilt, make a teddy bear, sew an outfit and on and on. I’d learn what I needed to know, then I’d make something and once I totally grasped the main idea I felt I could move on. Once I made something (or even a part of something – like one slipper) I really didn’t want to do it again… It’s as if I just wanted to understand how something works and once that craving was satisfied I needed to find something else.

My behaviour followed on with work. I’d join a company, learn everything I possibly could…and I’d like to believe that I made a difference and then once the challenge was gone, I moved on. I’ve had over 35 jobs in my life – waitressing, telemarketing, cashier, sales clerk, manager, director, managing director. I’ve worked in fashion, IT, finance, publishing, auto parts, basement waterproofing, hoovers, accounting, consultancy, property, web design, ice cream cones, and the list goes on…

Sadly – I did this with boyfriends too, but we won’t go there! (Hubby has been around for 13 years now so I’m proud to announce that I have the ability to stick with my happy marriage!).

Anyway…I’ve recently realised that I’ve always had an immense desire to learn and grow – I like new challenges and I absolutely love to learn something, give it a go and then move on. So – what’s the problem with that? Well…there’s not job that will allow for that kind of behaviour. Nor is there a traditional business that would operate on me being a starter and not someone that wants to carry on for the rest of my life… The idea of a career freaks me out – I’ve always wanted to learn whatever it is that interests me – whether it’s astronomy, reiki, spa treatments, internet marketing or astral projection (whatever that is)!

And because of my thirst to learn new things and experience new experiences I was told that:

- You’ll never be happy

- You’ll never settle

- You’ll never get anywhere

- You’ll never stick with anything long enough to make it work

Well…I proved them wrong. With my last companies I stuck it out for 8 years – and boy, the last few years were long, boring and very frustrating, to say the least. I forced myself to be someone I’m not and that’s never a good idea. Hindsight really annoys me sometimes!

So – does this mean that there’s no hope for people like me (and perhaps – you)?

I think not…I’ve discovered that:

- There are tonnes of starters out there and they are usually artists, journalists and/or entrepreneurs (and I’m sure there are starters in every profession)

- Those that know they’re starters can play to that strength and focus on projects rather than jobs/building businesses

- As long as starters know who they are, they can create projects and even businesses that allow them to constantly learn, grow and expand

The key wisdom here is that it’s totally possible to be a successful starter

Half the battle is to simply realise that you are, indeed, a starter. The other half is to figure out what your next passion is and apply some commercial sense to it so that you can make money by learning, growing and experiencing!

This has been a total light bulb moment for me. Not only have I realised who I am but I now know that it’s okay to be who I am (yippie)…and what’s even better is that this new knowledge will allow me to happily create a future doing what I want.

Lately I feel as if everything I learned when I was younger needs to be tossed out the window. Life isn’t about working on your weaknesses – it’s all about doing what you’re good at and outsourcing your weaknesses! Life isn’t about being someone your not…It’s about being YOU.

Hey-ho…with all this new knowledge I’m going to start a new project. Let me get it up and running and then I’ll tell you what I’ve done!

Have a great day and enjoy your journey…if you don’t no one is going to do it for you.

Do you need a bit of inspiration about your work life? Check this out

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Kim

Last week I went to a business club offered off the back of Cranfield University’s Business Growth Programme (of which I’m a proud graduate).

I’ve only been to two meetings but both times I left feeling inspired, supported and excited about the future. The group knows that I’ve decided to leave my companies to figure out how I can follow my heart instead of my head.

It’s interesting as we discuss normal business concepts such as how to get more clients, HR issues, the practicalities of running a business, etc in addition to deep concepts such as:

what is it about running our business that truly makes us happy?
can we encourage more magical moments in our business and personal lives?
how can we make sure we wake up every day with inspiration?

Times are definitely changing in the world of business! It’s not all about making a profit, finding good employees or simply trying to make the Times 100 Best companies list anymore!

It’s much more…it’s about finding a way to love what you do so that the love spreads to everyone you touch.

Anyway – during our business meeting one of the members suggested that we watched the Steve Jobs’ Stanford University commencement speech.

If you haven’t seen this yet, I urge you to take just a few minutes to watch it. I guarantee you’ll feel more inspired about the idea of living the authentic life (or should I put ‘being the real you more often.’)

Have a GREAT DAY! x

How do you spend time designing your life to ensure your journey is a success?

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Kim

“Success is not a set of standards from our culture but rather a collection of personal values clearly defined and ultimately achieved.” Jim Rohn

For years I’ve had this idea about making ¼ page sized cards that represent the key things I want in my life – my core values. And on those cards, I’d have goals at the top, actions to achieve those goals and then some sort of frequency chart along the bottom outlining how often I need to schedule an action in to ensure I meet my goals.

The whole idea is to plan my day or week around the cards. So – perhaps on a Sunday, I can pull out my stack of 5 or 10 cards and then schedule actions throughout the week to ensure that each goal is being worked on. In theory…if I’m working towards something I deem worthwhile the actions should be as fulfilling as the end result (I hope).

This idea springs from a Richard Simmons (work-our guru) eating plan. I didn’t use the plan myself, but I was sucked into one of his infomercials thinking the concept was brilliant. He had some sort of folder full of veg, meat, carb cards and you planned your eating schedule around using up the cards. The whole concept was created to ensure that you were eating a balanced diet.

Right – back to my version of the card system…let me give you an example.

For my health card, my goals are quite generic, but worth striving for:

Feel balanced – my body, mind and spirit are all feeling good!
Have a good supply of energy
Be at peace with myself and the world

Then my actions to plan throughout the day or week to choose from could be:

Eat vegetables, fruit and meat/fish in its natural state (avoid processed food) for at least 2 meals/day
Drink water!
Yoga
Meditation
Exercise
Walks

For frequency, I would state on my card that I must schedule one or more of these actions in daily to ensure that my goals are met.

These things might seem simple to you, but for me they’re not a routine part of my life and therefore I don’t remember to do them!

Even drinking water – unless I am reminded to drink water I can easily spend the day without touching the stuff.

Also – I seem to get wrapped up into projects where I forget about life around me. I forget that my goal is to be healthy and I just grab processed meals and eat them on the go. I forget that Yoga makes me feel balanced and I say ‘Oh – that can wait until next week.’

Same with friends – I often disappear for weeks and people on FaceBook wonder where I went. Or I won’t call my best friend…It’s not that I don’t care, I just get sucked into things and eventually lose the plot. I then resurface and have to remind myself of my values, goals and what I want my life to be.

Getting back to the card idea…For more specific goals I could have more specific cards. For example, me and a friend are creating a website that will sell affiliate products. We choose products that we’re very interested in and want to make an income blogging about them.

For my Internet Product Blog, my goals are to:

To add value to the people that visit the site through education, humour, experience, tips and product reviews.
Earn an income of at least 1,000/month through affiliate sales and advertising
Enjoy planning, discussing, reviewing and creating the site with my friend
Learn how affiliate marketing, blogging and social media all work together

For my actions:

Spend at least 1 hour/day creating valuable content (reviews, videos, articles)
Spend at least 1 hour/day administering the website (new products, better adverts, new features, seo maintenance)
Spend ½ hour/day working on social media
Spend at least 15 minutes/day talking to my friend about what we are both doing
Spend at least a few hours with my friend testing products, planning future website additions, etc.

As you can see, the Internet Product Blog card is much more specific. I’m not sure if my actions will enable me to achieve the goals, but I’m sure those actions are heading in the right direction. Nothing is in concrete either…I’ might find that I need to spend 2 hours creating valuable content and if that’s the case, I just change my card.

Either way this card will help me to ensure I have an inspired business or participate in inspired work!

Other cards that I would produce include:

Quality family time
Time alone with hubby
Social connection with family and friends
Wealth plan
Me time plan

I could also include short-term cards too…perhaps a holiday or vacation plan and so forth.

Yeah…I could just write these down on a piece of paper, but for some reason the whole idea of cards seems to work. Every day I can start it by looking at my cards ensuring that I remember all my goals/values.

Maybe it’s just me…but I go off track so easily. I need some sort of device to remind myself that designing my life is in my hands! Perhaps I can test this out and if it works, I’ll create a ‘Journey Tool,’ and add that to the site.

I’ll keep you posted.

Is it possible to niche yourself in a role that you enjoy?

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Kim

My head is still digesting all the great information in the book, “The Business You Were Born to Create”, authored by Nick Williams. I’ve been mulling over what my strengths are and thinking hard about what I really enjoy doing (work-wise).

(Read my book review on Nick Williams book here)

I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t fit into a specific box – I can’t just say I enjoy marketing because that could mean a whole host of things. Some people think ‘marketing’ is all about advertising, brand awareness and spending lots of money and not knowing if it’s working!

That’s definitely not the kind of marketing that I enjoy.

What I do enjoy is the ability to create lead generation systems (or in other words, ‘cash-flow’ systems). I love to set up the technology, write the sales copy, create lead magnets (free educational ebooks/guides, video’s, presentations), craft compelling landing pages, set up or improve the website, create communication elements (autoresponders & broadcasts) and then turn the system on by using pay-per-click, PR, social media, email marketing and on and on.

I really enjoy going into companies and saying ‘hey – I can help you to set up a system that will allow potential clients to come to you. And the best thing about the system is that if it’s maintained, the amount of leads you get will increase exponentially.’ Furthermore, the way that I set things up is totally geared to adding massive value to the end client. It’s a win-win. The company gets more clients and the client gets and even better service. And I suppose there’s one more ‘win’ – I enjoy what I do while making money! Woooooo woooooo wo!

Geez – I sound like a walking sales pitch, don’t I?

For some reason I kept thinking that I needed to fit into a box, but one thing in Nick Williams book really stood out. He was at a networking event and asked a woman what she did for a living. The woman replied that her job was to get massaged. Can you believe that? What a dream job. It just so happens that this woman grades masseurs before they get licenced (or whatever they get to achieve some certificate).

If someone can make money getting massaged, I can surely make an income focusing on creating bespoke lead generation systems. Or perhaps narrow it down even further?

But let’s pause for reflection here. Kim – do you really enjoy setting up these systems? Or is it something you want to do because you know how to do it well?

Good question – eh?

[I’m pausing to think]

Yep – I’m certain that I not only like to set up these systems…I know I’m really good at it too. One of my companies turns over 1/2 a billion GBP/year and one of the biggest problems we have is too many leads! When you get too many leads it’s often difficult to qualify or priorities them…but that’s more of an operational issue. I’m sure that many companies would like to have the problem of too many leads!

So…what would be my ideal line of work as my head stands now? I think I’d enjoy consulting for a handful of companies to set up systems and then help to maintain them. It would give me variety, enjoyable work, new connections and an income.

Let me digest all this.

What about you? If you could niche is something that you really love to do, what would it be?

Enjoying The Journey

To demonstrate that it’s possible to make your journey through life more enjoyable

Tag Archives: Inspired work