If you don't follow music trends or have been living in Melbourne and waiting on NBN to reach your house (thus no internet for a few years) you might not have heard of the Disturbed version of 'The Sound of Silence'. This Simon and Garfunkel classic from 1964 was recently rebooted by metal band to critical and public acclaim. In fact, it's been their biggest hit to date and opened up their music to a whole new generation. Not bad for a cover of an old soppy song.
Closest Beer iPhone & Android Application: Collaboration Opportunity
5 ways to dominate Google for your personal brand
When I bump into old friends in the street they often ask me the classic question - "Fordy what are you up to these days?"
When I tell them I'm into Personal Branding and creating e-ttraction for small business owners. They sometimes look at me like I just said, "I'm a professional pole dancer, didn't you see the pics on Facebook?".
To some, Personal Branding is some new age thing, but really it's been around for ages. The clothes you wear, your office, your business card are all examples of personal branding. My particular style is online branding - how you look when someone Googles your name. LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and that old MySpace account your forgot about. If you haven't Googled yourself lately, better do it now as your clients sure are!
It's nice to be popular, but the business reason to focus on personal branding is that it's vital for your client referrals to be able to find you online. Just think. A happy client tells their friend about you and when they go to check you out on Google or LinkedIn (because they will) they can't find you. What then? Most times they will give up and you just lost a potential client. I don't know about your business, but I rely on referrals for about 70% of my new business. Therefore, it is critical for my business success to be found online, look credible and they can easily contact me. It's like a 24/7 sales person working in the background.
As you can see by the picture above, I battle with one other Andrew Ford for first page dominance of my name. It's a common name with 25 other Andrew Ford's in Australia, so it's challenge to stay on top. For some of you out there, your name will be uncommon and your challenge is that they can find everything!
So how do you keep on top?
Here are my top 5 ways to dominate Google for your personal brand
Personal Website - the best SEO for your name is a website dedicated to you. Buy the URL www.yourname.com.au or for the country you are in. Google is highly geo-centric so you need to make sure you get a local URL. For more on how to make a personal website check out my other blog here.
Optimise LinkedIn - LinkedIn get’s the best SEO of any social media so this should come below your personal website. Fill in your profile so it is complete. For more on LinkedIn see my post here.
Get on Google Plus - Google plus is a great way to get a huge SEO boost in the sidebar. See the picture above, my face and details can easily be found first all because I optimised my Google plus profile. Check out my G+ work here.
One name - ensure all your social media you want to be found are using the same name. Alternatively, if you don’t want clients to find something use a former name or nickname. Consistency is key in branding.
Alt Tags - When you post pictures on your personal website or business website ensure to name that picture your name and what you do. This way it will have a chance of standing out in the Google picture search area. This features on the All view of Google and also in the Image view tab. This can be important if a referral thinks they have met you and want to confirm if you are the correct Andrew Ford, before messaging you.
There you have it, my top 5 ways to boost your personal brand SEO on Google. If you follow these steps you will be on your way to ensuring those referrals come your way. If you need a hand with these steps feel free to book a complimentary 20 minute brand consultation with me personally. Just click here for the application form.
Andrew
PS Best of luck on building your profile and just don’t Google Andrew Ford pole dancer as there are some things you just can’t unsee...
5 ways to create e-ttraction from Google
Getting on the front page of Google is essential for business. But did you know that if you are a business Professional such as a Physio, Chiro, Lawyer, Accountant your name is what you need to be found in Google. Clients refer you by name to their friends and you need to be found when they search in Google, because they will! Learn my top 5 ways to get your name on top of Google.
Let's talk CRM!
Hope you have had a great start to November!
It's an exciting time of the year and with Christmas approaching in 7 weeks, have you started thinking about sending out 'thank you' notes or surprised presents to delight your valuable clients? It's the small things that count and make a difference in your relationship with your clients that can create a great start to 2017.
On this note, we have recently received a lot of questions about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) from our clients about how to select the best CRM tool for their business & marketing automation and we are excited to run our next webinar on this topic.
CRM is one of the most important tools that helps us manage, centralise and analyse data & helps us understand customer behaviour while avoid having to juggle a number of spreadsheets. The goal of CRM is to improve the relationship with our customers, and ultimately to boost sales. While CRM tools are no stranger to businesses, making the most of the tools and choosing the most suitable one can be tricky for many.
Automation is one of the superpowers of CRM that is often overlooked. Using it right, CRM can free your time and help you grow the business on a bigger scale. Overuse it or wrong application, however, can ruin your relationships with your customers.
At Social Star, we love to learn from the expert, so we are thrilled to have Kylie Harker - founder of Squirrel Hub and CRM system & integration specialist join us on a webinar to discuss CRM on Monday, 14th Nov at 3pm.
We will discuss these topics:Tools in CRM - How do you choose the most effective CRM tool for your business? Does one size fit all?
Implementation strategy - How to change our old habits and make the most of the automated system?
Marketing automation- How to convert prospects into clients using automated programs/email campaigns etc?
Personalisation vs Automation- How do we create personalised marketing campaign to build connections with clients while optimising conversion with automation?
Join us for this webinar on Monday, 14th November at 3pm and have these questions answered.
STOP STRESSING: Three Tips To Stay Stressless While Presenting
Do you love presenting in front of people? Standing in the spotlight, all eyes on you, hanging on every word, just waiting on some universal truth to spill forth from your mouth. Umm, err, ahh....Phew it's enough to make an Eskimo sweat.
If you are like 90% of people who count the fear of public speaking right up there, loosing your smart phone, these quick three tips might be helpful.
Tip 1. Control what you can control:
'Ahhh..deep breath' he says, holding his chin and nodding knowingly! Unfortunately this isn't my line, I got it from Confucius at Content World 2010, who said, "when presenting using a Macbook Air always bring spare VGA and HDMI adaptor cables". Powerful stuff. I know he said it because I was in the audience. He nailed it BTW!
Half the presentation is won before you even enter the room. It's called preparation and it is kinda important to ensure you hit the mark with your material. The best presenter in the world, talking about an amazing topic is useless if the audience doesn't care about it.
Let me illustrate with an example. A speaker friend of mine did a paid gig and thought his material about bucket lists would rock. He had this great part where he would get the audience to draw 80 squares and cross them out for how old they were - making them realise that life was short. Unfortunately, the audience were retirees with an average age of 75. "Add another row" he said! Opps...
Ensure you know who the company is, the main executives in the room, the audience, the objectives, the room set up, AV requirements (always bring your own stuff) and of course build your own slides so you know them backwards. I have a little form on my website (click here) for the people hiring me to fill in. It helps me to get prepared. Feel free to copy it :)
When you arrive on the day, get there super early. Get to know the audience, chat with them about their business and needs. See the room, get a feel for the space and set up.
Nothing is worse that arriving in a rush and having to go straight into your presentation. I once was running late for a University lecture at RMIT. I ran across town and got there just in time, breathing heavy and sweating. Lucky for me they were filming this presentation for their overseas campuses. Imagine this, I walk in and there are 40 MBA students looking at me, lights are beaming heat and highlighting every pore, I have to set up with everyone watching and trying to subtly wipe the sweat from my brow and seem cool. Not! Seemed to go ok but not the ideal situation.
Tip 2. Less is more
Another pearl of wisdom! I know, right. I learnt this from Gandhi who rocked Social Media World in 2014 and said to me "Too much powerpoint killed a good story". Profound.
Visual aids are there to help the audience follow your story, not to tell the story. That's your job. No one remembers all the facts and information from presentations, we might remember 2 or 3 points. But we can retell a story if it is engaging, funny and heart felt. Take your material and make a story from it! It doesn't matter if it is a business presentation, you can still reinforce the points you made with examples and anecdotes.
Remember that every time you transition a slide, the audience is taking their attention off you and looking at the screen. What a perfect time to break their concentration and let them just have a quick peak at Instagram...
Tip 3. It's about them, not you!
This gold came from an unlikely source. Sometimes it's hard to trust Memes on Facebook but this one looked reliable. It was from one of my favourite speakers Abraham Lincoln and he posted that: "To communicate effectively, stand in the shoes of those who listen." Good one Abe!
Remember why you are at the front of the room, it's to share a message with others. Don't stay in your head and follow your own movie reel. Be present with the audience and focus your energy and attention to them. See how they are reacting and adjust your material accordingly. This only comes when you have prepared well, so revise Tip 1.
The measure of a good presenter is how much the audience was impacted. It's emotional impact and recall of the content. Make it about them! Engage them with questions, get them to do activities, encourage them to think and tell stories that make them feel.
Everyone likes to talk about themselves, and they might be interested in your story. But remember to help them apply this learning from yours to their own lives. That's the key.
Well there you have it, twenty years of learning in 500 words. If you follow my quick 3 tips to presenting, you will stop stressing about presenting and embrace it as the opportunity to build your brand and share valuable thoughts when you are next asked to step up the microphone.
As a last thought from my good friend Thor when I was last in Asgard "the power is in your hands" he quipped. I think he was talking about a hammer or something, but you get the idea.
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Tax implications if you rent out a room in your house a la Airbnb (from Nexia)
WOW watch out those partaking in the Airbnb trend to earn a few extra bucks. Remember the ATO has access to the internet too! This blog is from my friends at Nexia Accountants and I wanted to share with my connections as I know quite a few people who are participating in the sharing economy and might not be aware of the implications from the ATO.
"As mentioned in an earlier Top Tax Tips, the ATO is still focusing on money earned through the sharing economy (e.g. by providing ride-sharing services through Uber or by providing accommodation through Airbnb).
In particular, if you have earned money through renting out a room in a house that you have been using as your main residence, such income should be declared in your tax return and you will only be allowed to deduct the expenses that relate to the part of the house rented out. Furthermore, if you were to sell your main residence, you may have a potential capital gains tax liability (because the main residence was also used to generate income).
Please contact us if you are contemplating any such transactions which may affect your ability to claim the main residence CGT exemption on the sale of your property. The loss of this valuable exemption may well outweigh any benefit of renting a room in your main residence.
Please note that the ATO is not interested in taxing board-only arrangements entered into with family members because these are considered domestic arrangements. In such situations you also cannot claim income tax deductions for associated expenses (e.g. interest on your home loan)."
Contact your tax advisor if you need further information or advice on your personal situation.
Source: Nexia Accountants http://www.nexia.com.au/
Three ways a Virtual Assistance save your time and money when Building Your Own Business
Top 5 Tips on Building an e-ttractive Website
First Chapter - "Creating a powerful brand" perfect to Build Your Own Business
Do the laws of e-ttraction work for business? Or is it all BS.
As in the 'Matrix': Everyone Fails the first time. Is this part of Building Your Own Business?
Coaching would help them see the bigger picture, connect the value dots and help them persist and get where they are wanting to go. The dilemma is only when they feel that this activity will reach their goals will they seek and respond to coaching and advice, but they need the coaching to see how it connects to their values! Chicken and egg situation right there.
Entrepreneurship for over 40's - three tips from the last 5 years at Social Star
Happy 5th year anniversary!! That was the tone of 70+ messages of support from my fellow entrepreneurs in my LinkedIn community when I awoke. (The LinkedIn app prompts work anniversaries, even when the person in question forgot this was a special day, kinda like Facebook for birthdays...)
On seeing those messages my first thought - where did the last 5 years go!! Then the slightly nervous self evaluation of 'have I achieved what I wanted' and the down right scary 'where am I going now??'
So what better way to celebrate the last 5 years than to write a blog to recap the adventure so far and what the future holds. If you are over 40 and have thought about starting your own business, these tips are for you!
Getting Started
For the last five years I have been working on building Social Star. We focus on helping people better Understand, Build and Leverage their online brands to get into the careers they have true passion for through out unique e-ttraction process. When I first started Social Star I was working full time at IBM, lecturing at Swinburne University and doing quite nicely, thanks very much. It was a part time business, loads of fun and made some beer money thrown in on top of my wage. Life was pretty good.
But then 18 months later the shite hit the fan - I managed to get myself fired from my last corporate job, get divorced and give my house away. So why not start Social Star full time and drop my income by 70% - YAY! I figured if you are going to suffer, might as well do it properly :) Five years on when I Iook back on those times, I realise all those challenges were 'on the way, not in the way' of chasing my dreams. Tough but worth it.
What did I learn from the last five year? Plenty. For my friends considering the same journey to your own passion business consider these three tips before you jump:
Fordy's 3 tips for over 40 entrepreneurship
Tip 1 - Don't quit your day job...yet.
I know what it's like. You have a billion dollar idea that will change the world and are so passionate about it that you want to do it all day! Not go to that boring day job with a boss like Bill Lumbergh from Office Space. Before you quite your day job remember this, mortgages are not paid with passion. It will likely take 3 years to make sustainable profits enough to pay you a reasonable wage. Most ideas fade. If the passion lasts a few years, you are onto the right idea.
I started heaps of businesses that I lost interest in or discarded after closer examination. Closest Beer, Tribe, MeeTooYoo, Coffee Club and more. Some of these are great ideas, but just not close enough to my passion for me to put all my heart into them.
Tip 2 - Sell something.
I strongly urge you to start your business part time. I'm not talking about planning or discussing your business. I mean actually doing it. Selling real products. It's not a real business until you have paying clients.
Save all that money until you have generated at least six months of your monthly expenses and have it in the bank. Then you could consider the transition out of your day job. If you can't make a product and sell it for a profit on a small scale, it's unlikely to work on a big scale. We generated $80,000 before I I managed to get fired. Unfortunately, we spent most of it on toys and parties, the rest of it we wasted.
Tip 3 - Start your endurance training.
It's tough to find the time to run your part time business with family, full time work and just life. But you will get use to the longer hours over time. It's endurance training preparing you for your own business where you will need to work 12 hour days. As Gary V says 'you work 8 hours a day. How cute, I remember my first part time job'. Find the time.
Finally, for all my friends who feel stuck in their jobs and can't get out due to financial commitments and time. Listen to me - THERE IS MORE TIME - be patient. Get over the hump, stay passionate, learn the skills you need and do it later!
Thanks for all the congratulations on the first 5 years of Social Star and I'm as passionate about helping people in their careers as all those years ago. In fact we are excited to be launching our new Social Star University platform in a matter of months! First part of the dream realised.
Keep passionate and stay tuned...
P.S. If you want to read the whole journey, you can read all about it in my book 'Creating a Powerful Brand'. Get a free copy here.
Business Travel for entrepreneurs without the corporate budgets Published on August 2, 2016
I am passionate about a few things: Helping people get into careers they love at Social Star; helping busy dads get off the couch and healthy with BB12W and also spending time with those close to me with more holiday Travel.
Busy Dad and tired? Over 40 and put on a bit? Fitness is only 12 weeks away...
I believe everyone deserves good health and so created Better Body 12 Weeks with a bunch of like minded people. My goal is to help people like me, busy dads over 40. All of our coaches have their own story which you can read on the website.
Charity begins in your Values - lessons from the streets of Makati
Today I was in the Philippines, Makati to be exact, preparing for a week of work with our outsource provider over hear and had a bit of a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious). I realised that I can and should help more people. But why do I need a shock to get me to realise this obvious fact? In one word, values.
Everyone tries and Fails the first time. But why?
This morning I was talking to a business coach and friend that I respect. We were chatting about some mutual clients of ours who were struggling in their business and wanted to quit so we were exploring solutions to help them. After our chat he sent me a text message that got me thinking, it said 'everyone tries and fails'. What he meant was everyone tries to do it alone and without support and coaching they often fail the first time they try. This got me thinking - why do people not seek help and invest a little money and time in coaching when the difference could be success or failure? I'm hoping that the professional coaches out there can give me some tips.
I know from my own experience that I am reluctant to pay for coaching in certain areas of my life but will happily invest in others. For instance I don't ever get a Personal Trainer at the gym, but happy to pay for running advice. I have never had a life coach, but recently employed a business coach. For my kids I will pay for all sorts of coaches! Swimming, music lessons, sport and reading - basically anything they need. So perhaps I am not reluctant to pay for coaching, it just depends on my values to where I invest the money and time.
Values
In my business coaching I work with clients to analyse their core values. That means prioritising; business, money, family, friends, spirituality, health and learning to discover what is driving their behaviour. It's important to understand where are they are currently investing their time, money and effort. Then we compare that to where they would like to spend their time and look to fill the gaps. Often we find many clients are prioritising their values according to someone else's agenda. Partners, kids, family, work or society can all impose their values on you which creates angst and dissatisfaction. Then we work to change this situation.
Ask for Help
So in regards to coaching and asking for help, I believe people will ask and invest in help when it relates to their highest values, but they don't if it doesn't. I will hire anyone for my kids that will help them for instance, but not for me personally unless it relates to something I find important, like my business.
Therefore, my team who are facing challenge and wanting to give up in their business is not a question of should they ask me or others for help. The real question is does this business matching to their highest values. Sometimes it simply isn't a great fit, but other times they haven't connected how this will assist them in getting what they really want. For instance, working hard might seem to be the opposite of spending time with family, but if the greater goal is a long term better lifestyle, then it is easier to put the time in now.
Coaching would help them see the bigger picture, connect the value dots and help them persist and get where they are wanting to go. The dilemma is only when they feel that this activity will reach their goals will they seek and respond to coaching and advice, but they need the coaching to see how it connects to their values! Chicken and egg situation right there.
Advise from the expert coaches welcome!
Regards,
Andrew
