Julian’s Business Tips

Julian’s Business Tips: Business is Blooming! Spring is a time for growth, and if your small business is growing, you may be thinking about recruiting new staff. Here’s a really useful exercise you might want to try before you start recruiting seriously. Small businesses are usually based around a few people, and as they grow, […]

Julian’s Business Tips: Fishing for Customers Marketing is a huge subject – so I’m going to try and sum it up in 250 words for you. Marketing is letting customers know that you have a product they want. And doing it in such a way that they are persuaded to buy it. Simple. Marketing is

Julian’s Business Tips: Your Business Journey Last month’s homework was to think about your long-term objective, your vision. I describe running a successful business as going on a journey – and you need to lead your team to the right destination. Do you know where you’re going? That destination is your vision. Once you have

Julian’s Business Tips: Just You? Or a Team? This month, I want you to think about whether your new business is just you, or do you see yourself employing a team one day? Working on your own is great – freedom from interference and staff problems, but it’s also lonely, and everything falls to you.

Julian’s Business Tips: New Year, New Business Idea? I’m going to begin this year with a series of articles, aimed at startups, but also thought-provoking for established businesses. Lots of people review their lives at this time of year, and many will be toying with the idea of starting a new business. Is that right

Julian’s Business Tips: Swim to Win I watched an interview with Adam Peaty today, a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. He said that it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done – because it involved working with someone else – you relying on them, them relying on you. Business is like that, many

Julian’s Business Tips: To Finish First… ‘I prefer to run as fast as I can,’ I overheard the 10 year old say to his father, ‘Rather than j ust jogging along like them.’ He’d just been watching the last stages of a half marathon, and was unimpressed by the pace of the runners. As one

Julian’s Business Tips: Did You Hear What I Said? As August’s article pointed out, listening is a really important skill. We use listening to do lots of key tasks: to understand things, to gain information, to learn, for enjoyment, and plenty more. But you need to distinguish between hearing things, and listening to them. Research

Julian’s Business Tips: Running a Business? Or Jogging Along? As some of you know, I do a bit of jogging to get some exercise and to enjoy the great countryside around Royston. An article I saw recently asked the question, ‘What is the difference between running and jogging?’ The author suggested that runners measured what