Tag: marketing - Page 63

There is a reason why this marketing blog has been neglected and it's not something that I particularly wanted to share.

And, to some extent, I won't.

However, today I received in the mail a book and it was a reminder that 'everything happens for a reason'.

I travelled around the world twice in six weeks for business and when you do such an exhaustive trip like that, twice, you immediately get a feeling that 'it had better be worth it'. Fortunately, it always is. Afterall, its a journey and when we embark on any journey with an open and honest mind, we move that step forward to realising whatever it is that we were meant to realise.

Both trips were different. Other than for the business aspect, they could not have been more different. The first trip was one of adventure, excitement, opportunity and putting in place things for the future that needed to be put in place.

I have a conspiracy theory relating to the latest blockbuster novel "50 Shades of Grey".

If you have spent any time at all reading any of the three novels in the series, you would realize that other than a basic storyline, it is all about porn. Albeit soft.

1.5 million people have already read this book. I have read it. My friends have read it. It is addictive and completely trashy, but let's face it - women love this type of stuff. Look at how successful Mills and Boons was and still is.

My theory though, having read two of the New York Times Bestseller Trilogy series, that the book was commissioned by a large chain or perhaps online sex store. Bare with me as I explain...

It's been a windy road to get to where I am today. Sitting in front of my computer, going through literally hundreds of emails and sending off replies like I am in some kind of maniac rush.

Expansion isn't easy. Don't get me wrong - everyone has been supportive, but I have had to pull inner strength from places I never knew existed. You see, when you start a business at 25, there is no such thing as fear. You have nothing to lose. I had nothing to lose to be more precise. Blessed with a wonderful partner at home at the time, I was fully supported and encouraged to go out there and give it my best. And that I did.

It's time. We are ready. The curtains have been drawn. In 3 weeks, I will be living in America to follow my dream of building a global small business marketing firm.

It's summer over there and winter here in Australia, so the weather is definately a big plus. Cost of living is significantly less which means I can buy more shoes. There is a god after all ;-)

And... the business is ready. Most importantly, we have dotted all of our 'i's' and crossed all of our 't's'.

So, what's next?

Many entrepreneurs believe that if you embrace failure on your path to success, you will succeed. In fact, most successful entrepreneurs have failed many times, but the difference between them and the rest of the world is that they don't internalize failure - instead they embrace it.

Failure sometimes helps us better understand what we are trying to do and how we should go about it. It sets a clearer picture for the direction that we should head.

"I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love, than to be a success at something you hate." George Burns.

Is failure just part of the parcel? Do we need to fail in order to succeed? Bill Gates did. Michael Jordan did too.

In Australia, it's Mother's Day today.

A day that we show appreciation for our Mother's and tell them how important they are to our lives.

My Mother is an interesting woman. She is highly religious, has an incredible sense of resilience and shows compassion to people around her like no-one I have never seen before.

As a child, I remember looking up to her. I loved that she wasn't showy like some other people's Mother's and that she always stood in the background, quiet, yet very supportive. She was the type of Mother that would bake a cake, pop into the school unannounced and give a slice to each of the kids in our class so that they could enjoy her delicious baking for morning tea. Knowing that I had a phobia of eating food out of a lunchbox, she also use to drive 10 kilometres to drop me off fresh lunch, or my favourite fish and chips, on days when the canteen didn't operate - so I would not starve.

Do you have someone or something that is a benchmark to you?

I have a couple; personal and professional.

When it comes to marketing, how long is a piece of string? How long is the right amount of time for a small business owner to spend on marketing? It's a tough question for most small business owners who are faced with running a business, motivating staff, quality control, hiring people, and accounts. But there are some sure ways that you can maximise the time you spend on marketing in your business, and still have time left over to do all the other things that make your business run smoothly and achieve your business goals

A chance meeting today of a singer/songwriter from Yeppoon in Queensland, reminded me of how much the past can influence the future.

While we may learn history throughout our education, as an adult, unless you are particularly interested in historical events and people, knowledge on the past can be somewhat limited.

Today, I was asked to market something that has so much historical significance in Queensland, but is yet unknown by most of Australia. It is perhaps some of the best poetry that I have ever read. Up there, in some ways, with Keats, Shakespeare or Blake.

If you haven't read it already, pick up a copy of Pen Blossoms by Mary Rattenbury, published in 1936. It will literally take you to another place.

Like Nostradamus who predicted the French Revolution, Adolf Hitlers ruling and the death of Princess Diana, Mary Rattenbury predicted an invasion of Australia by the Japanese.

Sometimes the best marketing for the future, is to take a look at the past. Look at past authors, poets, artists and gain insight into their work. You never know what piece of brilliance you may pick up and how relevant it is to today's market.

"Oh, they're just the tech geek in the office. They fix things".

The rise of the tech geek in the world of marketing has been fast and furious. In fact, they have become more important to marketing than marketers themselves. How the world has changed!