Is your business your child?

I never thought I’d have to explain typos in emails because I was “typing one handed”. Don’t get me wrong – I’m talking about the fact that while one hand is in email mode, the other seems to be in constant motion settling, feeding, playing with or just simply looking after my newborn daughter at the moment.

It’s brought an interesting dynamic to my “work life”. In that, I’m finding it hard to have one! My lovely little girl has been born with an innate knowledge of when she’s not the centre of attention, and frankly, she’s not a fan of it.

It’s show me that there are some really striking parallels between having a child and starting a business from infancy.

Both are completely depending upon you in the beginning, but depending on how you choose to raise them, both should learn at some stage to make decisions and to act in appropriate ways without you.

At what stage is your business at right now? Does it cope when you’re away or are there tears abounds? Can the organisation (other staff members) make decisions without you or do you need to hand hold them through all decisions?

Is your business an infant or independent?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Billy Joel: rockstar or business mentor?

A very cool day for me once involved me being interviewed for a half hour on a state-wide radio show. I thought it was cool for three reasons:

1. My future husband heard the interview and thought, hey I might like to meet that girl one day (he did a few weeks later and the rest is, as they say, history).
2. I got a whole heap of air time on radio! The publicity hound in me loved that.
3. I also got to program the music for the half hour.

My friends thought it was uncool for just one reason:

I got to program the music for the half hour.

You see, my choice of Billy Joel they say left a lot to be desired.

But I like Billy Joel! Is he cool? Maybe not to my friends, but I think he’s timelessly brilliant, and while I was thinking about my favourite songs I also noticed there’s some fairly relevant business lessons to be derived from some of his greatest hits too (double the Billy bonus!)

Tell her about it
When you make a mistake, own up to it straight away (hiding it only ever damages your reputation and your state of mind in the long run)

Uptown girl
How do you alter your communication style when you’re dealing with people from different social settings to you? The richest person I ever dealt with never showed it in his dress, so don’t think I’m saying that the “uptown girl’s” of the world deserve to be treated “better”. Everyone should get your respect and service, but how do you mirror or match your behaviour to best suit each client you deal with?

The longest time
Service is a marathon, not a sprint. Does your service plan continue on… for the longest time or just until you get paid?

Just the way you are
Managers – this one’s for you. How often are you praising your team for who they are, not condemning them for who you want them to be? Find our what they’re brilliant at and make sure your recognise it.

You may be right
I don’t believe the customer is always right. But I do believe that the best way to end conflict or an argument is for both parties to put themselves in the other party’s shoes and find out why they “may be right”. Understanding speeds reconciliation.

We didn’t start the fire
And one final Joel-ism not to follow to finish up with, amounting to “it’s not my problem, it’s someone else’s”. The biggest rock stars in the workplace find solutions and fix problems and don’t buck pass when the customer comes to them.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

What am I most proud of…

I’m often asked what I’m most proud of from my career in real estate. Well we won lots of lovely awards, sold tonnes of houses, had lots of clients… but the thing I always think to when I’m asked what I’m most proud of is what the people who were part of our team have gone on to do since that time. Many are still with the company, some have gone on to new adventures and some have ventured out on their own entrepreneurial paths.

So I thought in this post I might just make mention of a few of them who have gone on to starting up their own businesses and give them a little plug at the same time.

The youngest 21 year old real estate business owner – Emma Matheson – who proudly told me when she took my title of youngest real estate business owner in the State! You go Ems!

http://www.sthelens.harcourts.com.au/

Sharyn Crack, Maureen Lacey and Andrew Michieletto have all gone on to co-own two real estate agencies each – sensational stuff.

http://www.tamar.harcourts.com.au/
http://www.northeast.harcourts.com.au/
http://www.northernmidlands.harcourts.com.au/

And there’s even been excitement elsewhere in the business world with the always inspirational Bella Fountain opening up her own online bridal boutique http://catchthebouquet.com.au/. They’ll custom make the most stunning wedding dresses for you and the prices are so affordable.

And that’s my answer to what I’m most proud of. I’m proud to have worked with an exceptional team and to have watched them grow and fulfil their own potential in whatever way has worked best for them.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Book Review - Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson

To me, this book is a perfect follow on from Losing my Virginity and I enjoyed it more than Screw it, Lets do it. Yes, it’s a not so thinly veiled sales pitch for all things “Virgin”, but it’s also a fabulous insight into one of the more interesting business minds on the planet. Being Australian I was surprised at how much of an Australian focus there was with the tales about Virgin Blue and I think US readers would get the same feeling with the parts on the mobile networks there. There were times I cringed (Branson conducting a job interview from under his sheets in his bed) and others when I was super envious (mainly at the mentions of Necker Island) and more when I was in awe (this book conveys a far more philanthropic side to Branson that in his others). Easy reading and a great insight.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Business Lessons A Budgie Can Teach You

So… I’ll share something personal with you: I’m afraid of birds… there, I said it. And to try and wean me off my fear my husband and I got ourselves a baby budgie a few months ago.

After bursting into tears the first time he flew too close to my head (and then into a window) I can proudly say I’ve grown some, and am now slightly less afraid of birds in general. In fact our new little blue-grey budgie Walt is a constant companion of mine these days so I thought I’d use him as inspiration for this (albeit light hearted) post on the business lessons a budgie can teach you:

Preening is important
You only get one chance to… that’s right, make a first impression. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m at my happiest in Peter Alexander PJ pants and ugg boots and while (much to Walt’s disgust) I’ll sometimes wear them to the supermarket each of us has to know when it’s time to put on our fancy feathers. Whether it’s the job interview you really want to rock, the client you’re looking to impress or dinner with the future parents in law, there’s a time and a place for some good old fashioned preening.
Walt suggests: that you should also remember not to go overboard on the preening (a full face of makeup at the gym is just kinda strange).

Sing a song
If you’re happy and you know it… sing a song. Walt’s singing along to some very dodgy pop music at the moment and he’s as happy as Julius*. People love to interact, work with, promote and generally be around happy people. No, you can’t be happy all the time, but when you are, project it and get it out there.
Walt suggests: limiting the actual physical act of singing to your car, cage or shower (singing in busses, busy office places and elevators is also kinda strange but not as strange as this.

Get what you want
Don Burke tells me that budgies have feathers on their cheeks and the crowns of their heads which reflect ultraviolet light and the little critters use these to find and attract mates. In the business world, what are your ultraviolet feathers? I think they’re your skills and talents and the parts of your service that mean that you go that extra centimetre further than your competitors.
Walt suggests: that while budgies use these gorgeous feathers to court and flirt, humans may want to try finding out a girl’s shoe size and buying her a pair of Manolos (Walt watches too much Sex and the City).

Sometimes someone who loves you may have to poo on you
It’s true, my lovely little Walt leaves fabulous little deposits on me every now and then (which is why my head is no longer an approved landing post). In your life you’ll encounter people who will leave their own deposits on you, some are doing it, because they’re simply full of “deposits”, but others do it for you own good. The boss who pushes you outside your comfort zone is one example. It may be tough right now, but eventually you’ll be a bigger and better person for it.
Walt suggests: that if you can learn business lessons from a budgie – where can’t you learn them!

* Julius is a friend’s budgie and a happy little man indeed

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Is It An Asset Or Just Making You An Ass?

What’s not an asset in your business?

1. Your systems (if they’re only in your head)

2. Your written systems (if they’re rigid, inflexible, un-personalised and can’t be changed with influence from your team and customers)

3. Your number one customer (if your business is too dependant upon having their custom)

4. The customer you’re dealing with right now (if you don’t have a service plan in place to nurture the relationship into the future)

5. Your best salesperson / employee (if they believe that they’re indispensable, worst still if you believe they are)

6. Your longest standing employee (if they can’t embrace change)

What could be a hidden asset?

1. Your customer complaints (they should scream to you: fix or implement a system here)

2. Your outgoing emails (many could serve as a blog post, an answer to a frequently answered question and a reason never to have to type that same email answering that same question ever again)

3. Your current customer when you only have a few (One delighted customer (if you do it right) can talk about you ten times more than 10 moderately satisfied ones)

4. Your suppliers (if there’s a hidden customer hiding there)

5. That plucky (translation: sometimes annoying) employee who just won’t shut up with all their great ideas (find a way to channel their creativity so that you don’t get frustrated, and so that you can farm any brilliance that may occur)

6. That employee you know has dreams and desires of leaving you and starting their own company (figure out a way to encourage, challenge and inspire them, utilising the best they have to offer while they’re with you – who knows you might also end up with a dedication in their book once they’ve gone on to further greatness)

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flickr photo credit

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Book Review - Rules For Renegades by Christine Comaford-Lynch

Finally - an author who uses "rock" as a verb as much as me!

That said, this is definitely one of the strangest business books I've read in a long time - and this is the genre I read about 95% of the time. About half way through the book I was saying to my friends "can you believe she's writing about sleeping with Bill Gates in this book?" - but you know what, I was talking about it, I was creating buzz for the book and I certainly couldn't put it down. I don't know if you'd describe the author Christine as likeable, nor would I say she's trying to be: she's flawed, but she knows it (and aren't we all), she's a character (wait a minute, she's a monk, a geisha, a burnout, a tech-head, an investor, an entrepreneur - make that she's multiple characters), but by the end of the book I really connected with the message that she was trying to put out. Interesting and slightly shocking reading, definitely not predictable.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with 2 comments

What’s In A Name?

“Hello Crusty” read the first line of the email sent to me from a senior exec last week. Now – I’m used to (and can fairly readily excuse) the odd “Kristy” I get via email (my name is Kirsty, not Kristy, Kristen, Kirsten, Kirsti or the litany of others I get called). But “Crusty”!! That was a first and a typo that cracked me up.

But while I was chuckling away at my new name (I’m printing up new business cards as we speak) it reminded me that you can read as many business blogs about the most complicated and exciting business concepts in the world, but if you can’t get the basics right (like: spelling someone’s name correctly, adhering to a client’s preferred method of contact, displaying your opening hours on the front of your retail store, responding to emails within a specified period of time) what’s the point?

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By Kirsty Dunphey with 3 comments

Book Review - The Bear Necessities Of Business by Maxine Clark

Putting The Magic Back Into Business

Let me start this out by saying that I’m biased. I love the Build a Bear concept and have done ever since I saw my first store about 3 years ago. The cool thing about this book though is that you don’t need to have a business similar to Build a Bear, you don’t need to love Build a Bear in fact you don’t need to know anything about Build a Bear to gain some really important business lessons from this highly enjoyable book. From getting your staff to find ways to say yes to the red pencil award Maxine highlights business gems from the minute to the stellar. Un-bearably good reading.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Is Your Culture Infectious?

At a conference in gorgeous Hamilton Island this morning I asked a packed room of around 400 people a question of opinion. I told them that the morning before I’d take two flights - one with Jetstar and one with Virgin Blue (both Australian domestic airlines). My question to them was which flight did they think I’d had more fun on? Their answer overwhelmingly that they thought I’d had more fun on the Virgin flight.

And they were of course right. When I hopped on the Virgin Blue flight I was called by my first name – off to a good start. And then because someone in that company a long time ago gave them permission to have fun and show their personality I got a little comedy routine as well as my flight.

Was the Jetstar flight in any way bad or did I get poor service? No (not this time). The flight was fine, but unmemorable in every way.

When Virgin Blue tell a plane load of people that we can’t bring fish products, fish fingers or mullet haircuts back home their culture infects people on that plane and leads to this overwhelming feeling that Virgin Blue are the “fun” airline such that a room full of 400 strangers know it instantly.

I’d love to think that in the companies I work with I’m constantly working towards a cultural state whereby a room with 400 strangers would be able to overwhelmingly pick my company as the one they’d had fun with too.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Want Inspiration?

My motto has always been that if you want inspiration, “pick up a book”. After today’s experiences I may have to change it to “talk to the parent of an entrepreneur”.

I met the very proud parents of two young entrepreneurs who gave me new inspiration today. One couple told me about their nine year old (no, that’s not a typo) who started her own card making business.

And then another proud Dad told me of his ingenious 12 year old who took her cute pets down to their local council market and started charging the other kids $1 to pet and play with them! How bloody creative is that! To top it off, they expanded their business and started doing parties on request!

Suffice it to say I left those conversations thinking I’d started OLD at 15 and sufficiently inspired to keep on innovating.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Best In The World Or The Best You Can Be?

I’m about half way through reading a great book at the moment: The Masters of Success. It’s a compilation of works from heaps of amazing people like Mark Victor Hansen, Lou Holtz and Brian Tracy. I always say when I read a book, attend a conference or go to a networking event – all I need is that one spark, one gem, one nugget of gold to have made the entire thing worthwhile. I didn’t have to look far in this book - I got my first nugget on page 20 (of 260 odd!).

The nugget was in Erin Brokovitch’s section. She talked about a janitor not striving to be the best janitor in the world – but the best janitor he could be.

I must admit, I’m a pretty competitive person, some would say diabolically so (but usually only when they see me play a board game). I’ve always thought that the aim to be the “best in the world” was a fabulous one! Until I read and then re-read this passage and realised that striving to be the best I could be at whatever I do was a far more practical and important aim for the following reasons:

1. Practically speaking, most people can’t be the best in the world. So why have an aim that will, in the most part, lead to disappointment?
2. Let’s say you can be the best in the world! Striving to be the best you can be will still get you there, and won’t allow you to stop once you’ve achieved it.
3. Even if you substitute “best in my company”, “best in my office” or “best in my circle of friends” for “best in the world” – aiming to be the “best you can be” will still eclipse that if you push yourself and focus.
4. You can still use the accomplishments of others as motivation, as milestones – but we all know when we’ve given an endeavour our all. Celebrate that.

Now that I’ve read this passage by Erin and changed my mindset a little I’m noticing examples everywhere of people striving to be the best they can be – rather than the best there ever was.

On that note, let me take the opportunity to wish my friend Candice all the best in her first marathon, coming up next month! I know the elation she’ll feel when she triumphantly crosses that finish line won’t be shadowed by the fact that it doesn’t come with a first place – because she’ll have rocked that marathon and been the best that she could be.

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Why Send A Handwritten Card?

1. People keep them - I’ve seen plenty of handwritten cards lovingly saved on the fridge, desk or a mantle. I’m yet to see too many emails, faxes or text messages souvenired like this.

2. Hand written envelopes are more likely to be opened – because people then know it’s not going to be a bill, some lame business letter or a speeding ticket.

3. It’s different - in this day of email, texting, IMing, facebooking and myspacing – a handwritten card harks back to an gentler era where people cared more – ok, I agree that’s a bit lame, but it shows that you were prepared to spend 2 minutes of your time and a stamp rather than just firing off some ill thought out misspelled email.

4. Why send a handwritten card? Cos the ones written with your feet just aren’t as neat.

How to send a handwritten card:

1. Find a groovy card that says what you want and stands out. I’ve had my own line done up www.unleashedknowledge.com/cards.html with quotes that reflected the type of message I want to get across like: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible – Walt Disney”

2. Make it stand out. Use a marker instead of a pen, again – it’s different to what people usually get. Different makes people look. Your message will keep them looking.

3. It’s a personal form of contact so take the time to write a personal message! This goes for your Christmas and birthday cards as well – there’s all that blank space inside the card so that you can actually write something. Dear Kirsty, from Kirsty aint gonna cut it.

4. Attach a business card. It’s personal sure, but a business card means the person can easily get in touch with you afterwards – to thank you, to do business with you, to get a coffee – whatever.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

True Or False: Companies Lie To Their Customers

Take a major international credit card company I’ve recently reluctantly been communicating with.

They launched a new card in America – I thought it was cool, I went to their website to submit an enquiry to ask when / if it would be released in Australia. I wanted this card and I wanted to give them more business.

To follow was their response (which to read I had to click on a link in an email, log into a website and click twice more to read):

Dear :

Thank you for taking your valuable time to e-mail us. Your association with (XYZ) is highly appreciated.

I would be glad to assist you with your inquiry regarding (the new) card however, please be advised that you have reached the e-mail center in the United States. I am unable to assist you with your inquiry as your account is a Australia based account and we do not have access to your account records, nor we are trained to navigate your account. Therefore, for immediate assistance, please contact us at (insert American phone number) and a trained representative will provide you immediate assistance.

Please be informed that you are a Valued Cardmember, we are sensitive towards your concerns. Therefore, please be assured that we will do our best to most effectively understand your needs and more quickly handle your request.

I apologize for any inconvenience this matter has caused you and appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

We look forward to hearing from you so that we may effectively resolve your inquiry.

Sincerely,
XYZ staff member

This company’s lie? Saying I’m a valued or appreciated customer! If I actually was a valued cardmember:
• Perhaps their communication might have said “Dear Kirsty” instead of Dear blank
• Perhaps knowing I was in Australia they wouldn’t have sent me American phone numbers
• Perhaps they may not have sent me another equally useless communication after I responded to this one
• Perhaps instead of telling me how valued I was, they might have shown it by actually finding out the information I required and letting me know it

Tell your customers they’re valued all you like. But if your communications and your actions don’t scream it in every single way they’re not going to feel valued.

My gym makes me feel valued when I walk in and the check in counter is busy and they call me by name, wave me through and tell me they’ll fix up my sign in for me.

My post office makes me feel valued when they’re frantically upset that they don’t have my phone number on file to let me know about an express post parcel that arrived a few minutes after we collected our mail.

And yet neither my post office nor my gym have ever felt the need to sent me correspondence telling me I was “valued”. I feel it because of their actions, day in and day out.

Which would you prefer? Customers who can read that their valued or customers who feel valued?

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

10 Simple Ways To Save Money In Your Business10 Simple Ways To Save Money InYour Business

1. Throw out those fancy pink duplicate phone message pads that everyone loved so much (in the ‘80s) and email phone messages through your organisation.

2. Don’t mail out tax invoices – email them. Why pay for printing, paper, a stamp and an envelope when you can just mail the invoice?

3. Set up a blog with an RSS feed as the memo board for your staff, if this sounds too techie – set up a facebook fan page and do the same thing.

4. Ban overseas phone calls and have everyone use skype instead. If it’s a business call it’s probable that whoever they’re calling is going to have skype anyway.

5. Throw away your cheque book (well as much as you can). Pay everything by credit card or direct deposit (save the stamp, envelope and time).

6. Teach your staff the difference between using express / overnight delivery envelopes just ‘cos they’re fun and pretty and actually needing to. Also teach them that when sending a letter in the same post code – it’ll get there tomorrow anyway!

7. If you send out a printed newsletter – stop! C’mon who doesn’t have email these days – it’s cheaper and you’re killing less trees.

Ways to spend money that’ll still save you money in the long term

8. Subsidise staff member’s gym memberships. Healthier, fitter staff have less sick days. If you were to subsidise $100 from an annual gym membership and it results in 2 less sick days a year – you’re way in front.

9. Get rid of the charity choccies and biscuits (sorry!) and have fresh fruit available for your staff to munch on. See point eight about healthy staff being better staff.

10. Get a decent coffee machine in your office. 3 trips to the Starbucks a day ‘aint cheap (on your business – forget about on their pockets). If your staff are gone for 15 minutes a time for each coffee break, that’s 45 minutes a day more productive they could be if the coffee were easier to get to. Also (considering my rant on health), get a water cooler and make it much easier to get to than the coffee pot.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with 2 comments

Ship Shaping Your Partnership

Things to consider when starting a business with anyone other than the person that stares back at you in the mirror:

1. People change.
You and your partners will (not might – WILL) change in some way given the new responsibilities of your business. Stress levels, staff issues, budgeting and all the other fun things that can drive business owners to distraction will play a part in the type of people you grow to become within your business. The saying “nothing is constant but change” is definitely applicable in a business – and if you don’t expect it from your partners (and yourself), watch out.

2. What do you do again?
It’s all well and good to set up a business with the innate knowledge that everyone will work their butt off just as much as the next person, that all partners will put in equal hours and that everything will just be la-di-dah because that’s “what we agreed to”. In my experience however, not having set job descriptions can be one of the major areas in which partnerships come undone. Take the time to plan this aspect of your business to the degree that everyone has a detailed job description which outlines who does what and who has responsibility over what areas.

3. Who decides what?
In an ideal world when there’s a decision to be made within a business – the partners put their heads together, take into consideration all appropriate information, and then – presto, they all agree on one way forward. In reality, this may happen a lot of the time, but there are going to be occasions where you don’t agree. What sort of a plan do you have in place for when there are two directions (or even three or more) and you have different people wanting to go down different paths?

4. Who is the one?
Might I suggest that you break up your business – no matter how small it is now – into divisions such as marketing, product, human resources etc? Work out amongst the partners who is the best fit to manage each department (it doesn’t have to be an even split – decide based on who is best qualified). From there, agree that discussions will be had about all large decisions. However, if there is dispute over direction, the final decision will be made by the head of that division. That failing – decide amongst the group who is most qualified for an over arching CEO type role and have them as the final decision maker. Trust me, it may seem harsh now to appoint one person as the grand decision maker but it will solve so many problems in the long run. Note for the CEO: although you get the glory when things go right, remember your neck is also on the line if the decision you make goes pear shaped!

5. Friends and family.
I’ll keep it short and sweet here, but just think long and hard about whether you’re willing to jeopardise your relationship with your friend or family member by going into business with them. I’ll talk more about the fun and games of employing family members later!

6. More on family.
If there are frustrations at work, or cracks in a partnership, the partner who goes home upset will naturally vent to their family. As we know, there are always two sides to any disagreement, but family usually only ever hear one side (and probably would still be very biased even if they heard both). Be prepared for the impact on a partnership that outside family members can have. The wife saying to the stressed husband “I can’t believe he doesn’t put in the same hours as you” or the husband saying to the dejected wife “She just doesn’t value your input!” can have a huge unseen impact. In some ways, family input can be like a cheer squad for the breakdown of a partnership.

7. Get me out of here!
Before you go into business with anyone, I cannot stress more highly the vital need to have some sort of a contingency plan in place, in case the partnership doesn’t work out. Who leaves, how it is decided, how the business is valued, how a pay out structure will be composed if needed etc. Working it out early can mean you’ll miss out on a lot of sleepless nights and a huge dose of drama. It is definitely worth it for the hour or so it’ll take to sort it out… early!

As complicated as partnerships can be, setting up a business with people who possess complementary and opposing skill sets to you, has many great advantages. Just remember to protect yourself in the ways mentioned above.

Excerpted with permission from Kirsty Dunphey’s new book – Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

The Eyes Have It

In the TV show Friends, massage therapist Phoebe is accused of flirting with one of her clients because she got a pedicure, new toenail polish and a toe ring. Obviously – as a massage client, looking down through the hole in the table, Phoebe’s feet are the only part of her he can see.

My husband would be relieved to know that my masseur yesterday was definitely not foot-flirting with me! As I peered down through the hole in the table all I saw were some scuffed shoes and a very plain boring floor. As someone who has the attention span of a goldfish I must admit I was a little bored (not by the massage – just the view).

As I sat there peering at beige linoleum I was reminded of my firm belief that as many people as possible within a business should experience the business from the client’s perspective.

If the masseur had been in my place, perhaps next time I went back there might be a bowl of water with lilies or even goldfish as a friend of mine once experience while getting a massage in Vietnam.

If all dentists sat in their own chairs once in a while (and felt the terror that many of us do), perhaps they may all have the very groovy television on the ceiling I’ve heard one Sydney dentist has where you can watch a TV show or movie and pick up from that point next time you come in.

Where do your clients eyes go? If you run a gym, what is there for your clients eyes to go to while they’re on the spin bike or on a treadmill. My gym has little motivational quotes on the equipment. What about when you’re flat on your back doing a chest press – your client’s eyes are on the ceiling – what’s there for them?

My eye’s always go to the bathroom with me (shock horror) when I’m in a restaurant. If you work in one, head on in there and look around with your client’s eyes on (metaphorically of course!).

If you’re in retail, perhaps it’s your dressing rooms you need to study (see Interaction Enhancement for more ideas on client service and being a dressing room superstar). In real estate the eyes may be focussed on your car (what is that smell?) or the insides of your client’s cupboards (the buyer’s eyes will almost definitely go there).

Take a moment and be your client for 10 minutes today and change what doesn’t delight the eyes.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

The A-Z Guide For The Future Entrepreneurial Superstar

Want to be an entrepreneur? So do a lot of people! And a lot of people go to their grave saying “I wish I’d…” and “If only I’d…”. If you’re determined not to be one of them, run through the A-Z and see if you’re on track.

Action – nothing starts without it. What are you doing today, right now (not tomorrow) to get you closer to your goals?

Bare yourself… (to yourself). Ask what it is you really want, what are you passionate about and what are you prepared to do to get there. More importantly, what are you not prepared to do to get there.

Care – Any entrepreneurial endeavour that has clients who care about the company has one leg up. Who are your raving fans? Who cares about what you do? What can you do to further cultivate that?

Dare – Risk doesn’t necessarily have to mean risky, but any entrepreneur dares where others don’t. Are you ready to be daring?

Eat up knowledge – anywhere you can and do it daily.

Friends – know who your real ones are and keep them close to you as you rise to the top.

Get up and go. No-one can train this into you. If you get up in the morning and want to go back to bed rather than off to pursue your entrepreneurial visions – get new visions that inspire you to get up and going.

Hug it out. Thank often and sincerely. Clients, staff, mentors, friends, parents and even your garbage person if they’ve helped you.

Individuality – what makes you special, unique and individual? How can you harness your special talents

Joke – keep laughing and smiling, you’ll need it for those less than perfect days.

Kill them with kindness. There is only one type of revenge you should ever enact on people who’ve slighted you in the business world, or said you couldn’t make it. Become amazingly successful! Nothing else you can do would make their stomachs turn even half as much.

Leverage – get the most talented people you can around you (people who are a heck of a lot smarter than you in their field). If you want to be all and do all yourself you’ll never have a saleable scaleable business.

Motion. Stay active in your mind and in your body. You’re no good to anyone if you’re not fit and healthy.

No. Learn how to say it. You can’t get to the top being everything to everyone.

Off switch. Find yours. Whether it’s yoga, gazing into your partner’s eyes or a marathon xbox-ing session, learn how to turn it off when you need to.

Passion! Even if your business is cleaning toilets, find something you can be passionate about within it. Whether it’s the systems, the service, the clients or even the relaxing sound of toilets flushing!

Questions – ask heaps! Find people who have done what you want to do, who drive the car you want to drive, whose staff think of them the way you want to be thought of and ask them questions.

Rough, tough and ready for critics. Got your tough outer shell on? The ride won’t always be easy and the comments about you won’t always be pretty.

Systems. Put them in place early and assess often. If your business can’t work without you – it’s not a business, it’s just a job for you.

Toxic people – get them out of your life! If you work with them, are friends with them or even have them in your family – stop hanging around them all the time. Strive for associations with positive, fabulous people who make you a better person.

Ubercool. Can you and your business be übercool? Are you setting in place the things that will make people one day say “I want my business to be just like ”

Voice. Find yours and make it heard. Publicity, press releases, media schmoozing – it’s all out there for free if you can make your voice heard.

Want a lot of stuff (success, things, travel, lifestyle, to be able to be philanthropic). Want it badly. And then get out there and get it.

X-ray like vision – use yours to stay on top of the latest trends, movements and shifts in your industry and in others. Challenge the status quo at every opportunity!

You are the CEO of your own life. What are you going to do with it?

Zorbing – do it or something you think is as much fun (skydiving, ride a roller coaster, travel to the pyramids, join the mile high club) as often as you can – why do you want to be an entrepreneur if not to do amazing things with your personal life as well.

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By Kirsty Dunphey with 1 comment

17 Reasons Why You Should Always Carry A Book With You

1. As someone who used to spend a lot of time waiting for real estate clients to show up – I know that clients / appointments / people in general are often late. If you’ve got a book with you, the time can be wisely used.
2. Books can be heavy and if necessary, a large book can be used as a weapon of self protection.
flickr photo credit
3. Doctor’s can’t tell time. OK – so I‘m sure they can, but they’re not usually too fussed with sticking to it when you have an appointment. While away those hours reading a good book.
4. Waiting room magazines are usually from at least 5 years ago do you really want to see pictures from Fergie’s wedding (the Duchess of York variety, not the Black eyed Peas’ Fergie) again? Read a book instead. And also - do you really want to be fondling something so many sick people have held and spluttered over?
5. Books can save your life. Baghdad, Iraq - A US soldier serving in iraq believes his Bible saved his life after it stopped a sniper's bullet. 22-year-old Army Private First Class Brendan Schweigart had his Bible tucked in a pocket beneath his bullet proof shield when he was shot with a high powered rifle while on a mission in Iraq. The bullet missed his vital organs, came out his chest, and lodged in his Bible before it could do more damage.
6. Having a book on public transport makes you less of a target for the chatty grandma type or that guy who just can’t seem to observe personal space
7. Kids play sport, sometimes not well, read a book instead. Also consider using a calming book as the antidote to being one of those crazy sidelines parents!
8. We all have an unreliable friend. Rather than roster him or her off the social calendar. Tell them your lunch date is 1.30 (when it’s really 1.45) and take a book just in case.
9. Books are ideal when you’re stuck in the car with boring company. Discard this tip if like me, the motion makes you a little queasy (books + vomit = a little hard to read).
10. Your computer crashes, read 5 pages, there’s power outage, read 15 more.
11. Handbags are so big now anyway – you may as well have a book (or an entire library in there). Guys, get a satchel or a man-bag, I think they’re hot.
12. I remember when a trip to the hairdresser took half an hour, these days with the shampoo, head massage, colour, foils, trim, layering, complimentary choccies and beer, blow dry, straighten I’m out for half a day. Read a book instead of listening to the gossip.
13. Speaker Pat Mesiti’s (www.mesiti.com) on board. He offers $1,000 to anyone who catches him without a book in his bag. Apparently his teenage daughter asks each day.
14. Books make you look intellectual (glasses, a pencil in your hair and a good solid pocket protector also add to the geek-chic).
15. I love a good airline magazine, but they tell people to take them home, people take them home and then I rarely get to read one! Take a book as a back up.
16. If you don't know what the person you're mean to meet looks like (this happens to me way too often) arrive 20 minutes early, read your book and then it’s up to them to find you.
17. And finally – if even Paris can do it, surely you can too!

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Is 2008 Going To Be A Year Of Growth For You?

I’ll make this short and sweet. If you want 2008 to be a year of growth for your business, here are 2 things you can do to help you achieve that. In actual work time they could take as little as ten minutes, in thinking time – perhaps a little longer.

1. Draw up a growth matrix.


Plug everything you do in a work week into one of these four boxes.

If you love doing it and it is helping you grow your business plug it in the top left hand quadrant. Note here that something that makes money in your business may NOT necessarily be helping you grow your business. The business owner who still sees all their own clients isn’t growing their business, they’re growing their job. Growth comes from leverage and you can’t leverage one on one time with yourself.

If it helps you grow your business but you don’t love doing it – it goes in the bottom left hand box. Love it but it’s not about growth, right hand top. Don’t love it and it’s not about getting growth, bottom right hand side.

I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to go back over a week’s dairy / schedule and just start plugging things in. Mark my words: your first instinct for where something should go may not always be right. Keep asking yourself is this really helping to GROW my business.

Once you’ve got your matrix sorted, this is what I recommend you do with each area:

2. Read this post by Scott Ginsberg

http://hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/2007/12/34-questions-to-keep-yourself-growth.html

Short, sweet and done. Now I’m off to grow my business!

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments