Have you heard of the Conscious Competence Ladder? It’s a model that highlights two contributing factors that affect our thinking as we learn a new skill, those being our awareness (consciousness) and skill level (competence). According to the model, we move through 4 levels as we build proficiency in a new skill. The level on this ladder I want to draw your attention to is No.3 which in my opinion is the hardest! It’s often when you know you’re capable of something, and you’ve figured out/learnt how to do it, but it just feels harder than it should and you’re wondering if it will ever get easier!

When do you know it’s time to start outsourcing some of your business? Regularly during Strategy Session cllients talk to me about an aspect of their business they’re really struggling with. When I question whether they’ve considered outsourcing it, they usually respond with: “Yes… but how do I know when is the right time?” Good question. And here’s my thoughts on that.

Hands up if you’ve said / heard / read this statement? “What’s up with the Instagram algorithm lately? It’s killing me!” Firstly, if you have thought this, you’re not alone. But more importantly… what if I told you the algorithm didn’t matter?

“People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 62 to 90 percent of the assessment is based on colours alone.” If colour is one of the strongest influences in determining the likability and familiarity of a brand, we’d be crazy to not pay attention to it! So, here’s a few questions you can consider to determine whether you’re using colour to your marketing advantage?

How many times as a business owner have you been afraid to “tell the truth”? You’ve bitten your tongues, or said a censored version of what you were really thinking, or downplayed a situation that involved a tonne of work, or deflected, or answered an email or text at 9pm even though it was outside “business hours”, or said yes when you really should have said no…

By being clear on what your brand story is and therefore being consistent with the key themes in your messaging, you are going to give people a reason to believe in you and your business, and ultimately need you and your business. Here’s how to achieve that.

A brand story is a critical piece of any marketing strategy that communicates the mission and vision behind your business through storytelling. In short, it’s your “why”. By communicating your “why” you should be able to increase the perceived value of your business, gain loyalty and engagement from your ideal client, effectively communicate your vision and purpose. Here’s how to write your brand story.

In previous posts I’ve talked a lot about individual social media platforms and paying attention to where your target client would “hang out” online. Because it’s hard to process all of this information individually, here I’ve synthesised the key points across the 4 most popular social channels; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

I don’t consider myself your “traditional” business and marketing strategist. I don’t create 50+ page reports. I don’t advocate the use of multiple social media channels. I don’t spend hours designing org charts for the future. All of these things are valuable, but they’re not the way I do business, and here’s why.

Having built a career out of being the one asking the questions, I knew I was going to be pushed well out of my comfort zone when I was approach for a feature on Medium’s The Mompreneur blog. I also knew it was an opportunity I was not going to pass up, so here’s how it went.