Monday, 26 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Monday, 19 July 2010
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Friday, 16 July 2010
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Monday, 11 January 2010
AVATAR – What James Cameron Did Right…And How It Can Apply To You
AVATAR – What James Cameron did right…and how it can apply to you.
Have you heard of the latest James Cameron film AVATAR?? If you haven’t you cannot have been exposed to any media in the last 6 months!
I went to see it in 3D in French last week and even though it wasn’t my first language I still GOT IT! It’s an amazing piece of work with an interesting message.
So what are the 5 things Cameron did to contribute to the success of his latest venture?
No 1: Following his passion and vision – he’s been working on Avatar since the 1990’s – he was VERY CLEAR about what he wanted to say, how he wanted to say it and what it would look like when completed.
Q: Do you have a clear plan of action and goals set for next week/month/year/5 years? Can you visualise what you life will be like in 12 months?
No 2: He has built up his credibility as someone who delivers the goods; he is consistent in his quality. Titanic was his last film so when the word started to spread about his latest project, people took notice.
Q: If you asked your clients right now – would they be happy with the quality of services. Is there anything else you can do to be more consistent, raise quality or get testimonials? How else can you increase your credibility in the eyes of your clients, customers, colleagues and potential clients?
No 3: He had a significant Product Launch Cycle starting months ago! There has been excitement around this film with interviews, leaks in the plot, and special reports on the use of new 3D technology to name a few. The film had been released for 7 days when I got into the box office queue to get my tickets. It was a 350 seat cinema, I was there 90 minutes before and I got the last two tickets!! There was already a queue both sides of the cinema to get the best seats! The evening show was already sold out and the rest of the week had little availability. Perhaps it was the added bonus of the 3D element that was part of the excitement – not just the film. In any case it’s worked and it’s generated over $400 million at the box office so far. So I think it’s been a success so far?
Q: What products do you have that are planned that could use an injected blast of excitement and je ne sais quoi? Can you extend any of your product launch cycles to build up the promotion in the eyes of your potential clients!
No 4: The 3D Element – Ok I know we HAVE seen 3D before in the 80’s and a little in the 90’s. Nevertheless there appears to be a huge revival in Hollywood right now. All the cinemas have been charging a premium to ‘hire’ the special 3D glasses and attend the 3D showings. Where I went, it wasn’t the flimsy cardboard one’s with red and green lenses that I had had before – these were the Ray Bans of 3D glasses (well is was a French cinema – you need to be chic daarlin even in 3D). So this wasn’t just an ‘ordinary’ film it was 3D, special, different, more exciting and a ‘change’ from the normal routine films. This again added to box office and queuing children’s excitement!
Q: So are there any products or Work in Progress that you could re-examine and just add the ‘something’ that other people are not doing, or have started doing but not mastered yet? We all know Social Media is going to become (and is) starting to be a huge player in the new way to market and do business. Is there something there where you can be ‘different’ (without being gimmicky!)
No 5: Timing – Avatar was released just BEFORE Christmas when children and families and all ages would be free to attend the cinema without being at school, work etc. When it’s cold outside – Cinema is always a good option and plus it keeps the kids occupied! Due to the nature of the film his ‘audience/target market’ was wide and therefore the timing assisted him in maximising box office attendance, fuelling even more fantastic PR and very happy customers!
Q: Are there any promotions you can launch around a specific event (not your Aunty Dora’s Birthday) but Chinese New Year, Valentines Day/ In France it is a Saints Day most days so take your pick! Can you do a promotion that only lasts a short period of time to enhance customer’s decision making?
No 6: Message – James Cameron wanted to produce something extraordinary but with a strong message – We need to look after the planet, we need to redress what the world is doing and how we behave as human beings. Did you get an element of that message when you watched it? Everyone naturally has their interpretation and James is confident he has opened eyes and effected people emotionally – enough to get them to start thinking about how they could change the planet for the better – and still be profitable. Sounds idealistic I know – nonetheless it has struck a chord with the audiences of today and particularly the next generation.
Q: What is the message you want your customers to ‘get’ about you? Do you have a personal mission? How do you want them to see you, buy from you, and interact with you or your company? What legacy do you want to develop?
These are slightly more probing questions that may take you time to answer. It will be worth the investment!
Amanda Steadman / Connect to Success
http://budurl.com/connecttosuccess
Friday, 28 August 2009
Marketing and Entrepreneurial Cruise almost... SOLD OUT!
SOLD OUT!
Due the last cruise exceeding all expectations (including mine) Our travel partners have informed us we need to fill the last remaining cabins so here is the information some of you have already requested and the short interview I did on the last cruise with Robert Allen (No Money Down and the One Minute Millionaire) See you there!
Any Q's Facebook me!
http://ping.fm/SJz7W
Amanda Steadman / WealthBabes
SOLD OUT!
Due the last cruise exceeding all expectations (including mine) Our travel partners have informed us we need to fill the last remaining cabins so here is the information some of you have already requested and the short interview I did on the last cruise with Robert Allen (No Money Down and the One Minute Millionaire) See you there!
Any Q's Facebook me!
http://ping.fm/7yxJ9
Amanda Steadman / WealthBabes
SOLD OUT!
Due the last cruise exceeding all expectations (including mine) Our travel partners have informed us we need to fill the last remaining cabins so here is the information some of you have already requested and the short interview I did on the last cruise with Robert Allen (No Money Down and the One Minute Millionaire) See you there!
Any Q's Facebook me!
http://ping.fm/ZQZ0O
Amanda Steadman / WealthBabes
SOLD OUT!
Due the last cruise exceeding all expectations (including mine) Our travel partners have informed us we need to fill the last remaining cabins so here is the information some of you have already requested and the short interview I did on the last cruise with Robert Allen (No Money Down and the One Minute Millionaire) See you there!
Any Q's Facebook me!
http://ping.fm/uJI9T
Amanda Steadman / WealthBabes
Monday, 3 August 2009
The Power of PR & Complimentary Business Internet Teleseminar
In July I was lucky enough to speak to the editor of the Hammersmith and Fulham News, Geoff regarding publicising a Business Link London Ladies Event. He was very interested in what we are doing so later got Caroline one of his reporters to interview me. How exciting! Then we had our pictures taken in the office - more excitement!
I noticed she included my 'bread and water' comment - I meant very Expensive bread and High End water of course and a comfortable lifestyle!!!!! But we're gunning for a more luxurious (almost Monte Carlo!) Future too!
Thanks to this article we have received quite a few phone calls and new session bookings! Thank you Hammersmith and Fulham News!
Click here to read the FULL article!
http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Women_in_business_WealthBabes.asp
Amanda, 36, runs WealthBabes from an office just beside Lyric Square. "We have clients all around the world, but 75 per cent of them are in Hammersmith or west London," she said. "I chose Hammersmith because it's reasonably priced, it's very accessible and I also love all the markets in the square - it's just a nice atmosphere around here."
The business offers clients individual 90-minute consultations for £150 and a number of regular seminars and a monthly Millionairess Club, offering business training, motivational tips and practical workshops.
Amanda employs five people at WealthBabes and regularly has between 50 and 120 clients on her books, ranging from struggling single mums to high-flying City executives.
"We have a few male clients, but I would say about 98 per cent of our clients are women," Amanda said. "I think women generally like to have another woman to talk things over with them. We can go through what is most important to them, and I think if you're talking to another woman you can be more open about it and get to the truth more quickly. Then we can draw up a business plan about what they really want. It isn't just about numbers and success - women also want to build on their personal life and spend more time with their children or partner."
Amanda, who is engaged to property buyer and marketer Franck Robert and lives in Chiswick, said she had struck on the idea of running her own business in 2007 after spending several years working in recruitment and training corporate headhunters.
"I spent a lot of time going round the world and training people to run their own business, hire people and make money as fast as possible, and then I decided I wanted to try it for myself," she said. "I left a £68,000 job to start my own business and the prospect of not earning anything for at least the first few months was quite scary."
So two years on, in the midst of a recession, just how successful has the WealthBabes founder been in her own venture? "I've got over a million pounds' property portfolio now, I've got five staff and we have between 4,000 and 5,000 people on our database, receiving our regular newsletters," she said. "I'm not a multi-millionaire yet, but I would like to think that in the next year to 18 months I will reach a point of financial freedom.
"If I stopped working now, I would probably still have enough income to live on bread and water and pay my bills, but to live the kind of lifestyle I enjoy it's going to take a bit longer."
And the entrepreneur believes the most important ingredient in success is incredibly simple: choose a job you really enjoy. "It's so important for people to be doing something they're passionate about - but in London a lot of people really don't like their jobs," she said. "Once people have identified what they enjoy and are good at, the rest normally falls into place. I really believe in doing something you love."
http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Images/45-49_hfbusiness_tcm21-128090.pdf
http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Images/02_60Sec_tcm21-128076.pdf
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Social Media and Networking
Penny Power is the founder of Ecademy, website for Business networking and social networking. She left the corporate world in 1993, then she stared training and recruitment within Schools from 1993 to 1998 and she had two children. In 1998, she started a new venture; Ecademy website. Penny Power and her family lived through very difficult moments because she took risks and doing that has consequences, they lost all their money and they had to live in a caravan for a while. But now, Ecademy has become an international successful website through which they earn money; thanks to connecting people globally, advertising and selling information. They enjoy life by travelling with their children all around the world, according to Penny you shouldn’t separate family from work.
To create Ecademy, Penny Power needed 5 years to develop her website whilst working freelance, teaching and having children. It was difficult to have children and to maintain her previous lifestyle. Financially it was a hard choice – but worth it.
She explains that it’s not easy to make her family understand about running her business and to take risks. Also it takes lot of time at the beginning and we can’t take care and spend as much time with their family as you would like.
The World has changed, The Old World was closed, selective and targeted instead of the New World is opened us. One of the changes is thanks to Barack Obama’a election. There is an openess and transparency that did not exist before. Even if lots of things change, including technology, our needs are the same. At this point, we have to refer to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:
- Physiological needs
- need of security
- need of belonging
- need of respect for yourself
- need of accomplishement of yourself
Starting a business is really difficult but you can be successful. There are two different ways to be a new entrepreneur, you can work at home or at the office. The home-worker should be adaptable for their clients, own values and contribution to success and he has to create a personal branding. Whereas a new entrepreneur should understand the world and its generations, so it’s better for him to collaborate on some projects with competitors instead of making ennemies.
For every entrepreneur, you’ll create an online brand in three steps:
- sharing knowledge with strangers and bringing it into the open
- sharing specific knowledge and making new friends
- creating opportunities with advocates
To conclude, I think the most important thing I learnt during this seminar is that you can be successful even if it’s difficult. It’s necessary to live through hard moments, be aware of the pitfalls and you should take risks, because it could be a real chance for your business to succeed. Penny Power, went from living in a caravan to living the millionaire lifestyle through all those good and bad choices as well as the risks: so go for it!
Friday, 17 July 2009
Women’s Masterclass: Your Work/Life Balance
At the time of Business Link on Thursday, 16th July, Hannah McNamara talked us about work/life balance for women who have their own business. Main reasons to open a business are to earn more money, to spend more time with family, to not have a boss...
According to them, you spend happy days when you work for yourself.
The differences between business and job is: your full time job will be Monday to Friday and will be normally over after your normal hours and business will take lot of time to start up, develop and generate money and it will not allow time off because you have to take care of delivering, administration and dealing with other businesses by yourself.
Furthermore, your company’s image is very important, you should network during events, but while you while you’re doing this you are not taking care of your work priorities and that’s also a big problem when you’re in a meeting, sick or in holidays.
As far as sales and marketing concern, you have to focus on people who want to buy your products/services and after you should continue building a relationship with them, they will feel important and it will be a crucial point for your business. You will need a website, it’s also necessary to save your database, to encourage contracts (clients/affiliates/employee/freelance) and to know how to use your software. The most important thing is to be legal as far as terms and conditions concern, with contract for each employees and a relevant insurance.
Then we did a workshop by group of five people, we determined some activities which can be out-sourced, we concluded there were accountancy, marketing, e-mail responses, website managing, graphic design, etc... It’s necessary to delegate some parts of your business because other people will have skills you don’t have and they can also become a partner in your business. They can also cover your business while you’re in meeting, you have big contract, during your holidays by using freelance. Finally, when you decide to out-source you must create a contract with non-disclosure agreement and without a conflict of interest (you should’nt work in the same field). You should use these steps to delegate i.e: because you will use during the year freelance few time and you don’t want to duplicate your work, you should write a detailed brief (on phone or face to face) and reccord a training video.
Some people who have a business, decides to work at home to take care of their children at the same time, often they are called Virtual Office and they use Virtual Office themselves but an important things to do is not to give home address and also you should separate home and business work and calls with a time line for you and for them. During the day you can commit a PA to manage to recall your contacts, to respond to your e-mails. With a Virtual Office you can rent a meeting room.
Business networking is a marketing method where business opportunities are created through social network. According to Hannah McNamara, networking is the best way to meet people who are interesting by your business and who want to buy from you. It’s an activity which takes lot of time but it’s interesting because you go to some events and sometime it’s a real opportunity. Networking can work for you because it creates opportunities to talk about your company at an event. They are mainly used to meet new contacts and you should be prepared your pitch and to questions we can ask you.
To reach this goal, it’s necessary to be curious and polite, to talk and to include everybody. But you don’t have to be egocentric and sell too much. Some advices if you go to an event where you don’t know anyone, you can forget your main goal, ask to someone to introduce you in a group or to talk to somebody who look lost.
Finally, when you met a personn who is interested by your business, you dropped them an e-mail and/or called them after few days (in the first send out e-mail you should let them know you will be calling in few days) to arrange a meeting. To sign the contract with them, you should ask them questions, to help them first and to learn about they’re need.
My Comment:
I think it was an exciting seminar because she gave us advices about networking and how to open a business. She was really dynamic and funny and her exercises allow us to meet some people and to calm our anxienty.
Justine Bataille
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Validation!
Great content! I watched the video she recommended and wanted to pass it on!
I am training the next four days so will not have access to my blog : ( but will write real soon
Enjoy…some inspiration from an up and coming film maker!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao
