It's been a while...

I haven't reached out for awhile because, to be honest, it's been a tough year.

I started the year full of confidence as it was the year of the Pig and that's my Chinese astrology birth year! Time to shine, I thought, well as much as you can being a pig haha (we are optimistic and hardworking in case you didn't know...) 

Work was looking great. I was starting an exciting new passion project BYOB Social Club and Social Star was going strong. Things were going to be awesome, so I thought...however, that wasn't to be.  Sometimes life doesn't work out like that. 

You probably felt the same way at the start of 2019, confident & hopeful right.

My challenges didn't come from work, they were all personal. Not to get too personal, but some of you would know of the sudden loss of my mum, and two good friends at the start of the year. To be honest it sent me into a bit of a tail spin. Grief is a tricky thing, you never know when it will rise up fill your eyes with tears, heart aching and knock the wind out of your sails for a day. 

But we get on with it. Aussies are stoic and good at 'she'll be right'. So I soldiered on. That's what we do.

I believe in looking for the lessons in everything and the challenge made me appreciate the little things in life more than I had before. Especially health, my two boys and close friends. I re-engaged with my business 'Why' to a much greater depth and really dug deep and sorted out who I want to work with and how I can add the most value to the world. Life really is too short to not do what is your best value to the world.

I know I'm not alone in this. Through BYOB I have spoken to many of you that have faced similar challenges this year. We all have our personal sh*^t to deal with.

So what's next I hear you ask?

Well I have many plans for 'the e-ttractionist in 2020', big ideas! If you want to keep on the journey with me, I will just tell you how it is. No tricky marketing, just life and business. 

With that in mind, here are a few things I'm running that may help you set yourself up for success in the new year:

Friday December 6th - BYOB Christmas Party! The last chance to connect and have a bit of fun with our gang. I really believe natural networking is where it's at for our type of business owners. It create more authentic opportunities. Grab a guest ticket here.

Wednesday December 11th - Salami Smackdown! Our favourite wine confidence team are putting on a little event to match salami and Italian wines. I will be there so come along and have a bit of fun and learn more about wine. Tickets here. 

Finally, I am working through Christmas before taking the kids away from January 5th to 16th .  If you would value from a half day 2020 Personal Brand Planning Workshop I have a few dates available. You can read more here or just send me an email.

My big focus right now is being more authentic and helpful to my tribe. Feel free to tell me when I'm not! 

I hope you will join me at one of our events or if these are not a fit for you, just connect for a coffee or chat. I'd like to hear from you :)

All the best,

Andrew Ford

P.S. be kind to your dreams, they are fragile and need nurturing. 

After a challenging 2019 - onwards and upwards in 2020!

If you are on my email list you might have seen an email I wrote on how I had some unexpected ups and downs in 2019. 

I wrote it in a cafe on a Thursday when I chilling out waiting for the kids to finish school. It was actually supposed to be an email about some events I had coming up, but for some reason, this other blog poured out of me. Instead of promoting an event I wanted to be more honest and just talk about what was really going on. 

There was such a huge reaction to the blog, so I thought I would repost for those not on my list and encourage all of you out there to just be real in your messaging. If you have something to sell, sell it. If you want to share, share. I really think it's better that way. People will buy from you if you offer value, not because you 'convince' them in your crafty copy.

Anyhow, here is the post and I wish everyone a wonderful 2020!

Emailed Thursday 21st - 

"I haven't reached out for a while because, to be honest, it's been a tough year.

I started the year full of confidence as it was the year of the Pig and that's my Chinese astrology birth year! Time to shine, I thought, well as much as you can being a pig haha (we are optimistic and hardworking in case you didn't know...) 

 Work was looking great. I was starting an exciting new passion project BYOB Social Club and Social Star were going strong. Things were going to be awesome, so I thought...however, that wasn't to be. Sometimes life doesn't work out like that. 

You probably felt the same way at the start of 2019, confident & hopeful right.

 My challenges didn't come from work, they were all personal. Not to get too personal, but some of you would know of the sudden loss of my mum, and two good friends at the start of the year. To be honest it sent me into a bit of a tailspin. Grief is a tricky thing, you never know when it will rise up fill your eyes with tears, heart aching and knock the wind out of your sails for a day. 

But we get on with it. Aussies are stoic and good at 'she'll be right'. So I soldiered on. That's what we do.

I believe in looking for the lessons in everything and the challenge made me appreciate the little things in life more than I had before. Especially health, my two boys and close friends. I re-engaged with my business 'Why' to a much greater depth and really dug deep and sorted out whom I want to work with and how I can add the most value to the world. Life really is too short to not do what is your best value to the world.

I know I'm not alone in this. Through BYOB I have spoken to many of you that have faced similar challenges this year. We all have our personal sh*^t to deal with.

So what's next I hear you ask?

Well, I have many plans for 'the e-ttractionist in 2020', big ideas! If you want to keep on the journey with me, I will just tell you how it is. No tricky marketing, just life and business. 

With that in mind, here are a few things I'm running that may help you set yourself up for success in the new year:

Friday December 6th - BYOB Christmas Party! The last chance to connect and have a bit of fun with our gang. I really believe natural networking is where it's at for our type of business owners. It create more authentic opportunities. Grab a guest ticket here.

 Wednesday December 11th - Salami Smackdown! Our favourite wine confidence team are putting on a little event to match salami and Italian wines. I will be there so come along and have a bit of fun and learn more about wine. Tickets here. 

 Finally, I am working through Christmas before taking the kids away from January 5th to 16th. If you would value from a half-day 2020 Personal Brand Planning Workshop I have a few dates available. You can read more here or just send me an email.

My big focus right now is being more authentic and helpful to my tribe. Feel free to tell me when I'm not! 

I hope you will join me at one of our events or if these are not a fit for you, just connect for a coffee or chat. I'd like to hear from you :)

 All the best,

 Andrew Ford

P.S. be kind to your dreams, they are fragile and need nurturing. "

Do you need to protect your Intellectual Property for a start up?

When you start a business it's so very exciting! The potential opportunities in the market are huge, exits for millions only a few years away, being on the front cover of a magazine for your amazing disruptive technology is forthcoming. 

So you must register your intellectual property in all areas and countries. Forget the expense, we will be worth millions soon!

Or will you. 

The advantage of being old is that you have experienced the ups and downs of reality. Some startups do are unicorns and grow massively and have huge exits. Most don't. They either fail or turn into regular businesses. Nothing wrong with the latter! The world needs quality regular businesses to help people do what they need to do.

One of the key questions in relations to IP protection is, when and how much do you spend on it? 

My first business idea, just out from the Masters of Entrepreneurship degree from Swinburne University, was heavily protected. Unfortunately, we didn't even get a product to market so the time, money and effort were wasted.

The second idea was far more civilised and we actually launched the brand, Social Star, but the core digital platform that was the million-dollar idea didn't materialise. But the regular business did really well and has been fruitful and fulfilling since the start. So a good investment in the brand IP protection. 

I have had many other ideas and businesses along the way which had various levels of protection and success. So I guess you could say that I have learned when to protect and when to wait until you know better! 

That's why I wanted to run a workshop with my personal IP lawyer of the last 7 years, Mr Gareth Benson, who is such a great bloke he agreed to give his time to help my community learn more about IP. He does this day in, day out and has worked on all my recent ventures.

So if you are running a business and have some of these questions, come along:

• Does registering my business name protect me from competitors?

• If I have my social media and URLs can someone else get them too?

• What does that TM and R symbol on logos really mean?

• Can someone copy my business name in the same industry?

• How can I object if someone is saying they are my business?

• My idea is worth a billion dollars, how can I protect it!!

These are common issues in a startup and we will answer all of them. 

Book a ticket here. 

Cheers Andrew

PS If you do sell your business for billions don't forget the little people!

Flow is a game-changer for your business, but how do you get more of it?

Sitting at a cafe on a lazy Sunday watching all the families wrestle their kids into breakfast and all the other parents escaping for a coffee and paper read. I feel a bit different and unusual with my laptop out, headphones in (Metallica thank you very much), sucking down a large amount of caffeine and finishing my Flow consulting course. But then, I have always felt a bit different...

Anyone with me? Or have I lost those that feel like weekends are for chillaxing and work is confined to Monday to Friday never to cross into 'personal' time.

But this pretty much my routine, it's where I feel in the zone. I do my best work when I have space and time to think and do whatever work I feel like doing, without deadlines and emails pinging every few minutes. It's my time and I love it! I even take holidays to get more of it!

Maybe I need a hobby (or a life) haha But my business is my work and my hobby. I genuinely love it and really enjoy tweaking and improving it bit by bit. Learning something new, implementing it with my clients and seeing how it helps them. I can't help thinking about it! Call me obsessed or crazy (many do) but it's just how I am. My top value is business so duh I like to work.

But why am I addicted to doing this? Why can't I just binge on some Netflix and junk food?

The answer is Flow.

It's my latest fascination. Flow is a peak performance state that is normally reserved for athletes and special forces teams, not spoken so much in business, but it should be. If you haven't read the book 'Stealing Fire' about flow then get a copy, it's crazy good.

The reason it's so addictive is that it gives us physical rewards. Getting into flow releases the big 4 feel-good chemicals - dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. It is literally addictive like a party drug, but free, healthy and even productive!

You will know when you are in Flow when time slides by without you noticing it, everything feels Timeless, Effortless, Richness, Selflessness. You feel great, you want to help everyone, you feel grateful and your work is awesome. Give me some more of that!!

The benefits of finding your Flow are remarkable, yet people don't spend time learning how to get these rewards in their work. So they chase the same feeling in unproductive and sometimes costly habits like shopping, drugs, TV, junk food, social media and more.

But it doesn't have to be that way. If more people understood that EVERYONE could find flow in work, imagine how fulfilled they would be. How their enjoyment of work would improve, their relationships, their finances even their health.

Love your work and you will never work a day in your life is an old adage and it's true. But how? That's the $500 question, which is exactly how much I charge to find your flow haha (excuse my shameless plug).See my website here for details.

But seriously, if you are not loving your work, do something about it. Read 'Stealing Fire', research more on how to find your Flow and start the process of getting more in your work life.

Cheers Andrew

PS Check out Roger Hamiltons video on how to get into flow

Ensure you can be found on Google for the right things

The importance of Google when someone refers you to a colleague is vital to that new client contacting you.

Most people realise the importance of Google when applying for jobs or getting clients for their business, it's pretty obvious right. But from my experience of dealing with hundreds of business leaders, most don't know what Google says about them. So I ask you, have you Googled yourself lately? If you haven't, pause and do that now...

What did you find? Were LinkedIn and your website first and second links? If not, did your brand get confused with someone else with the same name? Perhaps you changed your name when you got married or moved countries or everyone knows you by your nickname. Maybe you can't be found at all!

In all of these situations, someone who doesn't know you, but has been referred for your service is making a snap judgment about you by what they find. So what do they perceive about you? If you can't be found, perhaps your not that good or successful. If there is negative links attached to your name, they might assume it is about you, when it isn't. If they got Facebook as the first link, does it help them make a decision to work with you?

They are likely to have had a few referrals for the service they want to purchase so you get about 5 -10 seconds to impress them. Or not...

You can't control their perception, but you can modify what they find in Google. In this, and the next few blogs, we will piece together a solution to this important problem. Here is the first few tips...

Do great work

Before you start to modify your Google links, it’s important to realise that you will only be recommended if you do great work. You need to delight your current clients, otherwise, they will not talk about you with enthusiasm. Without providing quality work as the basis for your referral, the Google effort will be wasted. So ensure you get this right first.

A great way to measure your referral readiness is to ask the ‘Ultimate Question’. This one survey question called the Net Promoter Score which trumps all others according to the creator Fred Reichheld, who wrote a whole book on the topic!

You can read a review of this book here, but to make it easy for you to adopt this method into your personal marketing, begin asking your clients this question:

‘Out of 10, how likely would you be to recommend me to your friend or client?’

If you score between 0-6, you get a negative point, 7-8 is neutral and 9-10 is a positive point.

Add them all together and you have an easily measurable score on how others perceive your work. This is a very short summary of a complex system, so check their website if you are interested in learning more.

Know what they are searching for

Most people don't realise that there are three ways clients can find you:

1. Your name

2. Your business name, and

3. Your product name.

It's important you can be found for all three but it depends on the type of business you run. For service providers in 85% of cases, they will refer you by your name. e.g. your local accountant, business coach or lawyer. For mid to larger companies it might be a referral to the organisation such as KPMG. For other companies that are more product based it could be the product itself, such as the Key Person of Influence Program (KPI). All of these are service-based businesses, the difference is what emphasis the owners put on which element of their brands.

The most compelling brand arrangement is to be referred and respected for all three! A difficult task to be sure but one worth aspiring too if you have ambitions of building a large business in the future.

The classic example is Steve Jobs, Apple, and iPhone. Or more locally Daniel Priestley, Dent, Key Person of Influence. Jules Lund, Tribe, Tribe Influencer app. (Luckily I have written blogs about all three!)

It's best to understand what Google says about all three brands you have. Furthermore, if you have multiple businesses and many products you will have a lot more searches to be known for.

Let me illustrate what I mean by using my brand as an example. I am a consultant and thus deal directly with clients so get many referrals for my name 'Andrew Ford' so if you Google me, I will come upon page one for LinkedIn, my personal website www.andrewford.com.au and a few other links. There are photos of my image on the page and also a Google Business Listing on the right-hand side. Hopefully, if someone is looking for me, they can easily find me.

I also get referrals for my businesses "Social Star" and "BYOB Social Club". When you Google those words the websites come up first due to natural SEO as they are a direct hit for the search term and not many people have the same names. That is why choosing a name that you can 'own' on the web is so important.

However, when we get to product searches this is where it gets tricky. Social Star provides personal branding services and BYOB Social Club is a business networking group. If you Google those words we don't come up high at all! In fact, depending on the geographic location you search from and your previous browsing history, we might not appear.

Therefore, if we were getting referrals for our products only because we failed to create strong personal brands or business, we have to spend a lot of money to stand out from the competition on Google AdWords or Facebook marketing.

Plus, these referrals don't have a preference for our specific service. They only want a product so they are more price-sensitive and less loyal than someone who really wants Andrew Ford or Social Star.

It’s important that you can be found for all three searches so over the next three blogs we will provide details on how to maximise each one.  

Enjoy!

Andrew

PS Can't wait for the next blog to come out? Love your motivation! Head to our website and grab a copy of the eBook with all the content free here.

How to get a few more Referrals in your business - my top 10 tips

Over the last 10 years, social media and Google and mobile technology have massively changed the way we communicate and do business. No big surprise there. The biggest surprise, however, is the way people get information and network in just the last few years.

If you run your own small business, the best clients are hard to reach out to. LinkedIn is getting super busy, Facebook ads work but are expensive and are not suitable for all markets. So the best way to get clients is a good old fashion referral. But how do you get more of these?

Referrals are gold! They are the free-kick of sales. A pre-qualified connection contacts you to see how you can assist them. They have a defined need, some trust of you from the person who referred you and wants to take action now! If you are not getting referrals, one reason could be your service isn't outstanding. The other reason is you don't have a quality online brand.

The difference today compared to 10 years ago is that the vast majority of people will do their research on anyone recommended to them prior to making contact. That means people are Googling your name; whether you're ready for it or not. The best opportunities start with a referral, and the best way to get more referrals is to have an attractive (or e-ttractive as we call it!) online brand.

How to build an e-ttractive and authentic personal brand?

It’s no longer your choice to have an online brand or not. Whether it’s your Facebook or Instagram page or LinkedIn profile, we all have an online presence. The challenge is how you use it to attract the opportunities you want.

Even if you choose not to be online, that creates a brand impact about you, of being conspicuous by your absence. Are you considered ‘behind the times’ because you don’t have LinkedIn or just a social person who is not serious about business, if all you have is Facebook or Instagram? It’s all about perception and “what Google says about you” is most people's first perception of you.

Luckily what appears in Google can be controlled.

I’m sure many people would be thinking, this is all too hard! Or I don’t know much about digital so how can I manage Google? I understand. However, it’s better to manage your online brand for the benefit of your career and business, rather than leaving it to chance.

We are here to help!

For most people, the starting point is to know what your online brand is right now?

To find out, simply type your name into Google and you will see what others see. Can you even be found?

What is the top link? Does it represent what you would like your potential employers or customers to see? Any photos that you would rather not be there.

Do you like what you see?

If not, don’t panic! We have a solution for you...

Download our top 10 tips to build and manage an attractive online brand for your career success to beat the competition. In it, you will find...

1. How to be found on Google

2. Maximise your personal SEO

3. Optimise your business presence on Google to attract referrals

4. Get found for your niche job, product or service

5. Build a website that performs

6. Using personal social media for your business and career benefit

7. Getting prospects to connect with you online

8. Create a clear call-to-action (CTA) for your personal and business brand

9. Email segmentation for effective communications

10. Leverage your brand with paid advertising

Get it now from the Social Star website and don't worry, we will badger you to buy something. We don't even ask for your email address! If you want some more help, you will contact us :)

Cheers Andrew

PS If you do want some more personal help. Try out 20min free online brand review by clicking here.

Sometimes business works out and sometimes it doesn't!

A few years ago a client approached me to create a 12-week health program as they were on trend. Michelle Bridges was smashing out her program and Kayla Itsines was the new starlet on the block. Both were making tens of millions a year with their body transformation programs. Seriously.

In fact, I heard from a reliable source that a few years ago Kayla was Australia's highest spender on Facebook marketing. That's including all the big companies!

I was excited by the project and loved creating our unique formula. Honest advice, not clickbait promises of rock hard abs in a few weeks with little effort. The strategy was not to tell you what to do, but get people who were like you and show how they maintain fitness and health.

To attract other coaches I filmed my own program as a sample and invited some of my network to join too. My program was for busy dads. Glen Manton for mature athletes post-retirement. Ossie Khan was an extreme athlete from sky diving to wingsuits, showcasing keeping safe and preparing your body for adventure sports. Miss Filly, for those aspiring girls who dance with poles for fitness and so on. We were going to have a niche coach for all segments of the market, backed up by expert advice from a Personal Trainer and Dietitian.

We were attracting a lot of attention but unfortunately, the client ran out of money (passion) for the project and pulled it before we fully launched. I attribute these issues to the core reason most businesses fail - lack of commitment to the goal. If your heart isn't really in it, you will quit when it gets hard.

The lesson for me was to ensure people have a massive 'Why' before starting a project or they will give up when the 'How' gets too hard.

Hence, my focus on a thorough Understand session as the first workshop with my new clients. Once you figure out the deep why people have and tap into that as a resource, the how becomes something they can achieve with some guidance.

Without the why, it's just a money grab and if a better investment comes along, you will pivot or give up completely.

So is your why worth the pain or starting your own business? I suggest answering that before jumping out of your job. If you don't know what your why is, come see me and I will help you figure it out!

To your health,

Andrew

PS You can still see my eBook on my website and download free - https://www.andrewford.com.au/andrew-ford

How we help you create an authentic pitch to get more referrals

To all my solopreneur and corporate escapee friends out there - believe me when I say that creating a compelling business pitch is the MOST important asset for your new business!!

But most people I work with don't have a formal pitch structure, haven't written it down or practice it before they have to deliver it when it really counts, with live clients. 

In fact, most are not able to clearly articulate what their business is about, so fail to use networking opportunities to get referrals. 

Your pitch has to be so compelling that people remember it and want to pass it onto your perfect client when they meet them. 

No pitch clarity, no referral.

That's why we created BYOBx to help new business owners prepare and practice their pitch. Best of all, it's free for BYOB members!

For $50 a month BYOB membership, you get monthly drinks and networking with like-minded people, an opportunity to build your pitch using our system and a pitch video and photos - it's unbelievable value. 

Check out Nicholas de Castella BYOB #009 member delivering a great pitch at last months event. 

BYOBx Nicholas

We started BYOB as a club to support new business owners because we saw how hard it was to get started and scale your own business. It's a social enterprise founded on the principles of Respect, Resourcefulness and Reciprocality. We are there to help each other succeed in business.

If this sounds like your crew and you would like to see what it's all about, I would like to invite you as my guest to the next networking event. Check the website for the schedule. (Being Resourceful, I'm sure you can find it haha )

Cheers,

Andrew Ford

PS we have only a handful of tickets for the May 3rd BYOB Friday Drinks so let me know ASAP if you want to attend as my guest!

Gratitude: thanks for the help Austin Hospital

Last month I was on a plane flight from Melbourne to Sydney and the passenger next to me was complaining about Melbourne's health system. She was upset that she couldn't get elective surgery when she wanted it and had to go private. High expectations indeed!

I didn't debate the topic with her at the time because it was a sensitive topic for me. What she didn't know was the day before I was in the hospital all day with my mum who passed away after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease. As you can imagine it was a challenging time for me and my family and the staff at the Austin Hospital were simply amazing. I had nothing but gratitude for the kindness and respect they showed to me and my family. 

How often do we stop and say thank you?

The day was a blur. After the Ambulance arrived at Emergency and we were rushed right into the ward. Dr Kim was efficient and effective, giving us full confidence in her capability. Once they stabilized her, we were given a room and several nurses to check on her regularly. We were never rushed. They then moved her to a private room in a ward to make us more comfortable and gave us a private outbreak room to use also. The move required several other specialist Doctors and Physiotherapists who were all extremely capable and compassionate. They checked on us regularly and gave us privacy and support. We had a dozen people help us all day and it didn't cost us anything. I was amazed.

A lot of people complain about paying taxes or hospital waiting times, but when you really need these services because you are genuinely sick, they are amazing. 

The reason I write this blog is I didn't get a chance to thank the staff. I didn't even get their names. So to all the staff that helped my family at The Austin Hospital last month - thank you. It was another day at work for you, but your kindness was something I will appreciate ongoing.

Having this experience made me appreciate all of the services we take for granted each day in this country. Police who come when you have a security issue; Armed services who protect us from afar; Fire services who risk their lives putting out fires when we evacuate to a safe distance; Doctors, Nurses, and allied health providers who treat us for free when we are ill or injured and Social Workers who support us when we are most vulnerable. All of which I have been involved in recently. 

It is easy to bitch and moan about waiting in emergency for a few hours, not getting your knee operation when you want it and the complexity of the system. But if you have ever traveled outside Australia you will realise we are so lucky, so be grateful for the health services we have.

Let's be more grateful for what we have.

A solution for the Christmas client slump...BYOB

As a consultant and small business owner, I love a good referral. (thanks to all those who send them to me and keep them coming!)

Referrals become clients 50% of the time, cost virtually nothing and you don't have to do loads of social media to get them, so it's a great business to get. The only issue is they are inconsistent, so if you are not consistent with your networking and branding they dry up.

This especially hits hard after a long holiday over Christmas when you take a break and suddenly the start to the new year isn't a full of appointments as you would like. 

Pondering this issue for myself and my clients this year I recognised that there needs to be a way to have more consistent referrals without all the hassle of a massive social media campaign.

There are two parts to the solution: a quality online brand (for referrals to check out your credibility) and a network of referring partners (to give you the referral). 

At Social Star, we already provide the online branding advice. So I went looking for some networking groups. What I discovered is that most are very formal, cost quite a bit to join, very structured in the way they do referrals and not much fun! 

My version of a referral partner is someone I like hanging out with socially, they know what I do and my target market. They get to know me well and over time establish trust in my business, so I get their referrals. Basically, if I enjoy having a beer with them and we are like minded, it's a match. 

Thus, with my team, we created BYOB Social Club. An addition to the Social Star business to enable my friends, clients and partners to make new business connections in the old fashion way - face to face! Strange coming from a digital dude like myself, but I believe this is the trend for 2019. Not more pushing on social media.

So if a club that focusses on business people getting together socially to talk business, get some support, test your ideas and new pitches and generate a few referrals, then check us out!

www.byobsocialclub.com.au

I would love feedback on the concept as it's brand spanking new and we are open to good ideas!

Cheers Andrew

It's me birthday...and like 50 cent says "We gon' party like it's yo birthday"

Happy birthday to me!! Haha

Turning 40ish for the ninth time makes a man reflect on his situation and what the last year has brought for him. So please excuse the self indulgent post today, but there are several people I want to thank for making this year meaningful.

Firstly, I want to give a shout out to my kids Hudson and Spencer as they light up my life like no other. It’s the simple things that make it awesome: we listen to Aussie rock, shoot nerf darts at each other, go camping, wrestle, watch superhero movies and just do guy things. So much fun!! Bummer they are taller and faster than me now!

Secondly, my sister Petie and Matt her husband have been a remarkable support for me and the boys. Always lending a hand and with a big smile and offering a beer. Their awesome people.

Thirdly, I met a special someone mid last year and she is a remarkable woman. Jin is an inspiring woman with a work ethic I haven’t seen in many entrepreneurs, a deep love of her family and (lucky for me) gorgeous too :) Love you babe x

Finally, there are so many other people that have given me a boost over the last year. All my staff and clients, my mates, my siblings, supporters on social and more. I can’t list everyone as so many!

I believe there is always balance in life so know that for all things that are perceived as good have equal amounts of perceived challenge. Hence the yin & yang tattoo on my left wrist!

This year also brought some tough challenges, especially with a special member of my family being not well. It’s hard, but you got to work through these things and remain positive. Take the blessings from all things.

So with my birthday only a few hours away, I say thank you to each and everyone of you who has made the last 365 days totally awesome!!

Andy xo

PS If you want to catch up for a drink on Wednesday night I’m having a work/social drinks in Fitzroy, all welcome! Here are the deets…BYOB event

PPS…

Go, go, go, go go, go, go, shawty
It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a fuck
It's not your birthday!

50 Cent…