Managing expectations is a grey area because sometimes, some people expect too much.

This morning, after forgoing breakfast at a cafe in Townsville where you had to serve your own coffee and toast, I walked across the road to another cafe that came highly recommended.

It pains me to remember when the business was just me. Even though I have always had staff, I remember when they couldn’t make decisions without me and I worked 16 hours a day just to ensure that everything was 100% perfect.

How many of you receive telemarketing calls on your mobile and feel like someone’ s intruded on your personal space?

What about when a machine from Vodafone rings you up and starts giving you a recorded message about the fact you should move from your current service provider to them?

The year end is near and I personally can’t wait. It has been one of the most exciting and exhilarating years ever from a business perspective and from a personal front, one of the most challenging.

In the business I have learnt a lot, launched new products, entered new markets and been inspired continually by the people I work with – in particular, the small businesses that I call ‘friends’ but may also be called clients to the outside world.

Small businesses around the world suffer from many different things, but one of the worst would have to be getting stuck in a rut of ‘just getting by’ or being ‘stagnant’.Working ‘in’ the business and not ‘on’ the business is a very normal trap that many small business owners fall into and then after years of working long hours they wonder why the business isn’t in the position that they thought it would be.When you are an entrepreneur, you tend to have ideas. In fact, it is what you lay awake at night thinking about and wonder why the next day you feel a little worse for wear.

Do you ever want to run out into nature and scream from the top of your lungs ‘YES’?

Feeling empowered to be the person you always dreamed you would be is something that every person should take very seriously.

Eat, Pray, Love… the New York Times Bestseller authored by Elizabeth Gilbert has just hit the screens in Australia – and it couldn’t have come soon enough.

The David Jones saga continues and I have to say, that I probably am of the opinion that David Jones and Mark McGuinness are being played just so some young girl can make a few million. More than she ever would have made in her entire career.

Like it or not, a good business does not just rely on good products or services. The success of your start up will be built on whether people know about you, like you and trust you enough to part with their dollars. The key to achieving this is how effectively you communicate your products or services to your customers – and that’s where Marketing Eye comes in.

At Singapore airport last week, I picked up a book written by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur named Business Model Generation.

If you are a small business owner, you would have had many occasions where you were ready to tear your hair out. There is so much to think about; finances, staff, customers, your product/service and of course marketing – bringing in the business!

I stayed up late last night, thinking about my clients companies, what value they bring to the market and also about Marketing Eye.

Steve Jobs does everything with 3 sound bites. So think about your company and write out a list of 3 things that people need to know about your company that is all encompassing.

Marketing Eye is in franchising phase 1 and as such, when we talk to potential franchisees and describe our view on them taking up a localised franchise we explain it like this:-

1. We don’t except industry standard – if we are not better than that, then we shouldn’t be consultants advising clients what to do
2. We focus on small business growth – end of story
3. Our experienced team will remind you why owning your own business (a Marketing Eye Franchise) is the greatest reward for having a successful career in marketing.

A Marketing Eye Franchise is…the great reward to a successful marketing career – now doesn’t that have a nice ring. Ding Ding.

Join Marketing Eye on Twitter and Facebook today!

I am sure you have heard many times before my issues with Optus. I can’t believe the bad service continues. They take no responsibility for anything yet again, I have gone 1 month without a mobile phone. Twice in one year – now that’s a record. Last time was 7 weeks thanks to Optus.

I had a dream and it wasn’t to run the biggest company. It was to run a company that recreates the expectations of an industry and that is exactly what I am doing.

Knowing where you want to go is easier to say than do. Many company owners have big dreams, but they are dreams that lack details or direction and therefore often go unrealised.

Now, it certainly isn’t for everyone, but my oh my…