Good advice can have a huge impact on you and your business, so off I went off in search of some good advice to share with you. I put a post on our facebook page www.facebook.com/BTMarketing4Biz, asking: What's the best piece of advice you've been given in business? Is there anything that has stuck with you over the years or really made a difference to the way you work?
We’ve had a great reaction and compiled the responses for you below.
Suzannah Butcher "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow", meaning great things may come from small beginnings. This has been so useful to me, so even when times are challenging I keep remembering that it is all the little things (acorns) that can make a difference to the bigger picture. Keeps me ploughing on! Suzannah, www.workformums.co.uk
Joanne Dewberry what brings you success today won't in the future - don't sit on your laurels, keep developing and growing - www.joannedewberry.co.uk
Charles Conway Never be afraid to ask for the order! You can give all the information your customer wants/needs about your products and services but unless you ask for the order you'll never close the deal. www.scam-detectives.co.uk
Bravura London It may sound obvious but listen to your customers, take all feedback as constructive criticism even if it sounds negative. Your customers are the best people to give you feedback, perfecting your business while its small will help it grow in to a good, strong company. Amanda www.bravuralondon.com
Natalie Collinson Behaviour that is REWARDED is REPEATED! When a customer places an order, books a service or expresses an interest - make them feel special, like they are your only customer. Thank them and appreciate them and they will come back to YOU! Who needs some recognition and appreciation today? Go give some! Natalie Collinson, AVON UK from www.thebeautyleader.co.uk
Maria Albertsen Make sure you are doing something you enjoy and have fun with, after all you are going to be spending an awful lot of time doing it! www.ragheroes.co.uk
Liz Beavan The best advice I have been given so far is to mind map my ideas, now whenever I am feeling creative and inspired I take some time out to spend an hour or so just jotting down new product ideas and sketching designs. I don't usually have time to create them straight away but it means as soon as I have a free morning I can simply refer to my notepad and I have loads of ideas I can get to work on. This makes my time much more productive and it is great to be able to look back on a range of ideas. =) Photo Fairy Designs www.photofairydesigns.com
Georgina El Morshdy My top piece of advice is to remember that people buy from people. And that means you can't just focus on your products and services, you also need to harness your individuality and personality when marketing your business. Spend time creating a robust strategy that enables people to know, like and trust you. Face to face and online social media networking are a must, and relationship marketing through useful newsletters and informative blogs will help build your reputation and authority. And to complement all this, think about what you will say to customers to show them how you and your business can add value - and be sure to use the right words! I’m a Freelance copywriter at www.gemwriting.co.uk
Tim Buick One of the best pieces of advice that I tend to regurgitate at tricky decision times is 'rather regret the things you have done than the things you haven't'. Also - something I've worked out myself is that a bottle of wine, a peaceful environment and a sketch book will almost always prove fruitful :) www.Streetpin.com
Mags Hitchman: My 2 top pieces of advice in business are:
1. Play to your strengths! So often we envy others for what we think we should have or do. Begin to love what you do and see all the gifts you have and how special you are. No one else is quite like you or will do things quite like you!
My business, Cake Heaven has benefited so much from this advice because when I baked things that were really not my best, nor was my heart engaged in them, it didn't ever work out. When I realized my strengths then I felt free to be me and express my creativity through cupcakes and cakes - what I was called to do!
If I'm not good at something I can improve however, but if say it's something like accounting or book keeping - I leave that to the experts! 2. My second piece of good advice was via a precious friend - when you get knocked back - dust yourself down, pick yourself up and move on! Focus on the 99% who enjoy your work and do not allow the 1% to drag you down or take away your focus!
Cake Heaven http://www.cakeheaven.co.uk/
If you’d like to share your own advice, you can add it on our facebook post or leave us a comment on the blog.
