If Facebook is doomed, what's next?

Facebook seems to be in trouble (again), if you missed the headlines it lost more than $232 billion in value last weekand I feel this is just the start of a steady decline. 

Perhaps it can rise from the issues it faces using Meta as the 'new thing' but my feeling is that it is the end of social media as we know it. And if I am right, what will take our attention over the next five years?

Before we get into his topic, let me be clear that I am writing this from my place running a social media agency and working in this space since MySpace was the dominant platform. I didn't drive the DeLorean at 88 miles per hour into the future, so I don't really know, it's my best guess based on working in this space with my companies Social Star and CampusLife.

My last prediction that Facebook would fall and LinkedIn would surpass it in 2020 (blog here) was heading in the right direction. People have moved off Facebook to other platforms. However, the traffic got fragmented between TikTok for youngsters, Instagram and LinkedIn for business people (seen any baby pics or engagement stories on LinkedIn lately? yes LinkedIn is social media now) and others. 

LinkedIn still doesn't have the traffic or revenue of Facebook, but it surely owners one specific nice. Plus it was purchased by Microsoft for $26 billion in 2016, not bad for a 14-year-old company, mainly because it continues to grow year in year out.

So without further ado, my prediction for social media over the next five years:

1) Facebook goes from bad to worse. I feel Facebook is at risk (and Instagram) because they are trying to push advertising so much that they are really annoying their core users. 

Their algorithm has been getting worse for years and now people are simply switching off. Kids today don't bother with Facebook, but even scarier is that they aren't even on Instagram. They are TikToking their way through social media, watching YouTube and gaming. 

I don't think the Metaverse will save Facebook either. I think this project will be a massive white elephant. They have spent $10 billion thus far and they have billions more to invest if required. But the issue is money can't buy the attention of the public for long. For those that forgot the lessons from Google + let me remind you. Google, with all the expertise and money in the world, couldn't get people to use their social platform that was meant to be a Facebook killer. So they euthanised it.

Plus, I am old enough to remember Second Life which was good and still has millions of users, but do we really need another virtual world? I really feel that post-pandemic, people will want to return to face to face contact, not more online worlds.

2) Gaming is crushing it. You might have noticed that your kids like games...duh. The rise of high-quality games is gaining the attention of a lot of youngsters and big IT is noticing. They are buying gaming companies flat out. This will continue and I'm sure here is where the Metaverse will try to take advantage of VR to get more attention of gamers. The issue is their business model of advertising doesn't really work in this space. So how do they capitalise on it without interfering with the user experience? 

3) Private social media. My prediction isn't that all social media will fail. More so the domination of Facebook will reduce and more niche products will emerge. Tik Tok for short video, YouTube for long video, Instagram for visual imagery, LinkedIn for business people, Clubhouse for audio, Twitch for gaming, Twitter for news and many more.

My most bold prediction is that there will start emerging a new form of social media that is very niche and private. Just like Facebook groups that are really popular and have tens of thousands of members, but within its own social media where you can share your content freely without risk of being scammed, trolled or hit on. A place where you can feel safe and your privacy is ensured. Everyone is verified, content is moderated and there are no algorithms to push sensational and often incorrect information to the top of your feed because there is no advertising! Imagine that, no ads and seeing your friends content first. Dream :) 

How could this be possible? Where does the money come from? I hear you ask...

I believe people will pay for privacy. Before you tell me that people will not pay for social media remember that LinkedIn makes its money from premium subscriptions. So does Spotify, Amazon, Netflix etc It's possible if you provide enough value. 

I believe this so much that I am banking on it myself with CampusLife, a private social ecosystem for University students but more on that later...

For those in the industry, what are your predictions for the future?

Do university students need a resume to get a job? Or is LinkedIn or something else more important?

Once upon a time, the resume was the king of job search. Resume or Curriculum Viète (CV), those few pages of text were the difference between landing your dream job or returning to the queue of job wannabees. 

But times have changed. Digital has overtaken paper. So the question is, do you even need a resume these days or can we just rely on LinkedIn and other digital media?

Like 90s fashion, ‘old school’ still has its appeal

The answer actually depends very much on the industry youwork in. Having coached hundreds of people through the job search process over the years, I have seen a massive change in the way people apply for jobs in certain industries. Others, not so much.

For instance, if you are in the medical profession or academia. It’s likely your resume is still a key part of your job search process. These very detailed and specific documents capture your key work experience, professional development, training and accomplishments such as published papers. They are quite long and elaborate. 

In those industries, LinkedIn and having a digital brand isn’t quite the thing. So resumes are still key.

The Bold and the Creative

However, on the other side of the fence sits marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, and tech roles. These industries are fast adaptors of new systems and have rapidly moved away from traditional hiring methods. They still expect you to have some type of resume, but it’s not a big part of the process. What matters more is how you position yourself through your online presence and in the interview. Here, personality and character matter as much as previous experience and education.

As an example, a kooky friend of mine was going for a creative role at an advertising agency. The ad agency asked not for a resume, or even LinkedIn; but asked to be tagged in four of his most recent Instagram posts. One of the posts my creative friend chose was a picture of him riding a blow-up unicorn, drinking a cocktail in a fancy pool - as his resume. He got the job. 

These examples are two extremes in the industry and for most of us, we will be in the middle. My advice to clients is to still have a resume with enough detail to satisfy the old school hiring managers. You can’t predict who will be conducting your job interview so the best strategy is to have both resume and digital covered as well. 

Ideally, you’d have your own personal website to send hiring managers to which you can reference in your resume and on LinkedIn. This would be a simple website where you can store all of your greatest achievements and showcase your personality. (We will cover personal websites in another blog)

So let’s explore how to write a killer resume with my top 4 tips to resume gold:

Size does matter but content is still key

Make it 3-4 pages and include the details that you can’t publish online. Some people say keep it under 2 pages but I disagree. The HR person will scan the resume for key points, so take the time to list all of your achievements. But make it clear and easy to find content, not long paragraphs of irrelevant material. 

Include particular grades for courses, specific company achievements that might be slightly commercially in confidence. If you work in sales, you can include specific deals won or revenue targets achieved that you wouldn’t like to publish online. If you are in marketing, you can list your key clients and the campaigns you worked on.

Don’t neglect the often underrated cover letter

Ensure you have a robust cover letter as they read this first. The cover letter isn’t just about you, it should demonstrate how well you understand the company and the role you’re applying for. So take the time to research the company and the role. Your cover letter is where you showcase the effort you’ve put into research and demonstrate your keenness for the position.

The money is in the detail (and spellcheck)

Pay particular attention to detail. Any spelling mistakes or typos can get you disqualified, regardless of how awesome you really are. Remember, the average number of applicants for a job is 250+; and the HR person sorting the applications spends an average of 7 seconds on each applicant when sorting into piles of yes, no and maybe.

Any little thing that makes your cover letter and resume stand out (in a good or bad way) is important, so watch the details. Grammarly is your friend here. If you don’t know what that is, Google it and send me a thank you note. You're welcome.

(This post is not sponsored by Grammarly)

Keep it simple, but significant

Simple formatting is best. I have many friends in the recruitment space - they just want the information and not fancy hard-to-read fonts. Don’t be tempted to show your Canva skills and have a black document with white text because that’s what your iPhone looks like. Simple sans serif fonts on white paper with clear headings and short paragraphs is recommended.

And there you have it! Some simple tips to rock your resume. But this is not the end of the story. Next, you’ll need to ensure your LinkedIn and digital presence is up-to-date, looks professional and not giving off too much amateur-student vibes. But more on that in the next blog…

If this was helpful please hit the ‘like’ button and drop me a comment if you want me to cover any specific items of job search. Happy to help!

My 'Why'​ for starting CampusLife

I will never forget the moment when in year 12 at Ivanhoe Grammar School that my English teacher called me dumb. Not that it mattered too much as I had already given up on school by that time after constant reinforcement that I wasn’t smart and school wasn’t for me. 

I’m sure a few of you out there, at times, might have had something similar. Felt less than appreciated. Told you couldn’t do something or felt like you were not enough.

A few years later I was working on a building site scraping wallpaper off a rich personal house in Kew, 8 hours a day, drinking every night and basically drifting through life when an intervention from my mum changed my life.

She always wanted the best for me and saw me going off course so sent me to a psychologist. I rocked up late and hungover, but this man didn’t judge. Over the next 6 hours he tested my intelligence, both IQ and EQ, plus my personality. 

This was in the times before the internet so he sent the tests off to America and a few weeks later I am sitting in front of him hearing, for the first time, that I was actually quite smart. That I have an IQ of 129, in the top 5% of the population. That my EQ was even higher and that my personality suited leadership. Shockingly he said I could be a CEO, a judge or a Doctor. 

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. But it sired something in me, a belief in myself I had forgotten.

Looking back from my role as CEO of my own business, author of a book, with three business degrees and 10 years of teaching at University, I hardly recognise that dumb boy. But he is still there, I still feel a bit like that at times. It drives me to improve constantly.

That’s why I teach and coach. I don’t want anyone to feel dumb, not good enough or hindered to reach their full and true potential. 

I fully believe that EVERYONE has genius inside of them. If might not be in a scholastic manner like me. It could be in art, music, people, IT or any other niche area that makes the world go around. 

But unfortunately many are not supported and have a mum smart and caring enough to create an intervention to change a life. 

That’s why I am on a quest to change the world, by changing one life at a time. 

CampusLife is more than a social media app for students to find friends when arriving from overseas. More than an app to gain useful and fair paying employment. More than a way to learn about services in their local community.

It is all those things, but the essence is to help lift the belief of all students that they can be more. That they can reach their full potential with an intervention by us if they have no one else.

With 1.6 million students joining University each year, $40 billion impact to our economy and all of the multicultural benefits of more smart and diverse people into our community. It’s a big challenge and a significant business opportunity.

Imagine if the youth of today, who will be the future leaders of our country and the people looking after us when we are old, reached their full potential. What challenges we could overcome, what a great country to live in, what a better world we could achieve. 

I feel blessed to have been given the challenges of my past so that I can stand in front of you today with an almost perfect set of experiences, skills, passion, contacts and team to make this vision a reality.

I believe everyone has genius inside of them ready to be released if they just have some support to do so. CampusLife is that support. I just wish my mum was here to see it come to fruition. 

Thank you for listening, my name is Andrew Ford and I am the founder of CampusLife. 

I believe studying should be useful, fun and free. Who's with me?

Do you know that studying at an Australian University was free? I believe it should be and I will even go one step further and say we should pay students to study, here's why.

"During the early 1970s, there was a significant push to make tertiary education in Australia more accessible to working and middle-class Australians. The Whitlam Labor Government abolished university fees on 1 January 1974. By the mid-1980s, however, there was consensus between both major parties that the concept of 'free' tertiary education in Australia was untenable due to the increasing participation rate." (Source)

Can you believe that? It was 'too successful' with more people wanting to study. Isn't that the point? Don't we want an educated society? I believe we do, as these students will be our next politicians, business leaders, parents and responsible for the care of the generation before. BTW if you want to see the correlation between our politicians and their degrees read this article. It turns out Josh Frydenberg is the most educated and Pauline Hanson is the least educated. 

Think about that for a moment. Your very lives are dependent on the generation now in universities (or not) as they will make policies for your age care, superannuation, health care and fund it with their taxes. So why would we want to keep them from being as knowledgeable as possible? Why would restrict access to education be their best? 

Education is a good investment for all Australians.

When you think of it that way it's actually non-sensical. Saving a few dollars on education now, means we have less money in the future as we compete less effectively on the world stage, reduce overall incomes and thus our tax revenue drops. Three-year savings on paying for a degree for 40 years of tax benefit. Not the right investment. 

"The estimates show that for every dollar the government spends on education, GDP grows on average by $20. When the estimate is run for Australia only, the multiplier is slightly higher: an extra $1 of education expenditure increases Australian GDP by $21". (Source)

You don't need to study to make money.

I know that some out there would say that you don't need a university degree to be successful these days, and I would tend to agree. Some jobs don't require a degree, but there is always a level of education required. My electrician mate spent many long years at trade school before getting his licence, for example. 

But what about the entrepreneurs that we hold in high esteem who didn't complete their degrees? Steve Jobs and Richard Branson for example. Yet Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett did, so I don't really find that a balanced argument. 

Other benefits of education.

You don't need a degree to make money as an individual. But as a society, we know that there is a strong correlation between education and average income. More overall income in society, the more protective services for those less fortunate. Disability services, unemployment benefits and mental health for instance. 

Plus, surely money isn't the only measure of success. How about the ability to critically think. That is the real value of studying. It reduces racism, one-sided thinking and individualism that is the cause of many of societies issues. 

University and the different people and perspectives I met there helped me with this skill. I learnt from people of different cultures and social situations than myself that I would never have met if it wasn't for the melting pot of people brought together for a shared passion in a particular interest. 

I would also argue that critical thinking is far more important than learning how to do a job. For example, I studied marketing and entrepreneurship. But I had to learn how to do marketing for myself as the pace of change in that industry is rapid. The same with entrepreneurship, technical innovation and business systems have changed at an unprecedented pace. Learning how to think enables society to adapt to change and change is one thing we can guarantee will happen (apart from death and taxes...).

Universities should be free.

It's a big vision I know. But one that I have already started working on with CampusLife. 

Universities have lost their way. They don't focus on students learning and it will be their downfall as there will be alternatives. In the USA, for instance, there is a huge challenge of crippling student debt due to the greed of some institutions. "Student debt has more than doubled over the last two decades. At the end of 2020, about forty-three million U.S. borrowers owed nearly $1.6 trillion altogether in federal student loans." (Source) It's unsustainable for their economy and we are heading in the same direction.

It's time for a new model of education and we want to be part of it.

We are starting small, knowing that most people will not understand our mission. We begin with the minimum viable product, helping students connect with each other, which seems reasonable. Then we build the next part and the next, etc. Too much too soon, makes you seem crazy. 

If you read the book on Elon Musk it recounts a story of how he was laughed out of NASA when he said he wanted to build a rocket to go to Mars. Probably still is occasionally. But he persisted step by step and now his company Space X has recently been chosen by NASA to build the rocket to return people to the moon. (Source) Persistence over the long term counts.

Our plan is to pay students for education, making it effectively free.

The way I plan to make this happen is in five stages. 

Firstly, we create a platform for students to connect to each other and get free information on how to integrate into their university environment and assist them with their degrees. We are at risk of losing students, both international and domestic, as it's just too hard and no fun. 

Secondly, we provide them with highly paid employment to create our content for other students. Thereby ensuring they can live well and enjoy their lives whilst studying without the need to sell their time cheaply. This is achieved with an advertising solution.

Thirdly, we will educate them on how to network, find mentors and employment. Once they leave university we don't want international students to return home because they can't find a job. That's very short-sighted. We want their skills and cultural diversity to add to the Australian society, we need their migration to be world leaders.

Fourthly, we begin to provide our own education courses that add to degrees in fast-changing industries. Think TikTok or big data courses for marketing today. Cyber security and AI for technology. Utilising our industry contacts to teach these courses, they will be super practical with the most up to date skills. 

Finally, we will become our own learning institution. Instead of focusing on research first, we will focus on students first. We will still do research, but drive by the market. Operating in multiple locations all at once, we will offer free courses to students in exchange for working for our company. The university will, in effect, be run by the students and not the teachers. The teachers will be employed by students due to their ability to actually teach effectively and their industry skills, not their PhD's.

In this world, we will track the data. What made students more employable. Student satisfaction with teachers, courses and facilities. This data will form changes and improvements. 

For too long, Universities have been insulated from the real world of industry performance. Hidden behind their protected walls of owning degrees industry respects. But change is coming, fast. Disruption always occurs in inefficient industries, you can't stop market forces. Just ask Kodak, Blockbuster or the newspaper industry.

I believe that universities should be useful, fun and free. Who's with me?

Andrew

Let's do more for University students

University students are our future leaders, contribute significantly to the economy and have been struggling over the past year due to COVID and I feel we are not doing enough to help them, particularly international students. 

Imagine, for a moment, that you are an 18-year-old girl from Malaysia and you are fortunate that your parents saved enough money to send you to Australia to study. Your friends think you are so lucky, that you get to spend three years in cosmopolitan Melbourne, 'the most livable city in the world'. You are so excited to get started and experience life away from home. New fashion, food and friends. Awesome!!

You arrive in Melbourne with a buzz in the air waiting to see what your university can offer you and meet some new friends. The apartment you pre-booked through your agent is right in the middle of the CBD, walking distance to Uni and is a great launching pad to experience the city. It's small but cozy. The first day of class is nerve-racking as you are unfamiliar with the language, city and people. But you feel hopeful, even though there is COVID rampaging through the world.

Then lockdown happens. You retreat to your tiny apartment with three other students, no privacy and little room to move. Classes are no all online so you a locked to your laptop most of the day attending online lectures and trying to understand what you need to do to pass. Each class is super expensive for your family so you are desperate not to fail. But it's so hard to hear the lecturer when they talk so fast. 

You don't know any other students so you do mostly solo assignments unless you have to choose a group and join with strangers that you can't really connect with. There is no fun. Joy. Physical connection. You miss home, your parents, your friends, your bed. You are 18 years old and alone and no one seems to care. 

This was the reality for many international students who came to Australia last year and if we want to attract them back to our country we need to do better. Why do we need international students? Consider these three reasons:

1) International students provide a huge boost to our economy directly and indirectly through all the services they spend money on while here. 

In 2019, the ABS estimates 57% of the A$40 billion that international education contributed to the Australian economy, or A$22.8 billion, came in the form of goods and services spent in the wider economy.

2) Cultural diversity. Many international students leave Australia after getting their degree due to a lack of quality job prospects. But the ones who stay bring with them a skilled profession, diverse ideas and experiences to add to the business and cultural community in Australia. 

3) Strong work ethic. May overseas students are supporting their whole family. Parents, uncles, aunties and friends have all saved to contribute to that one bright child getting an opportunity to study abroad and help the rest of the family in the future. They work hard and strive to get ahead. They pay their taxes and appreciate the opportunities provided to them. They are great Australians. 

Being a lecturer in Digital Marketing at RMIT I teach a few classes of 60+ students each semester and have seen some of the issues students have been having. Many are struggling with the lack of community and connection last year, particularly the international students who didn't get a chance to connect with their classmates and missed out on many social occasions which is so much of what University is about.

To help them, I have an idea. It's just an idea at this stage but I wanted to get it out there for feedback and consideration from students and Uni folk. 

What if there was a community based platform that supported students connect with each other and to the University - CampusLife. 

Features we could include are:

• Ability to search and find students at your Uni and your class specifically for group assignments

• Social events and fun stuff

• Find a room mate

• Sell your stuff when you go home, buy stuff when you arrive

• Walk home safety feature

• Help finding mentors in your field of study

I know of a few similar packages but none of them seem to be used very much and I wonder why? Any advice is appreciated!

The mission is to improve life for all university students, but particularly those from overseas to ensure Australia remains the destination of choice to study abroad. 

Andrew

Who are your Social Stars?

Being a middle-aged man, I am partial to an action movie or two. One of my favs is Jason Statham. Perhaps I like him because he isn't huge like The Rock, doesn't have hair like most of my mates or can actually fight. But whatever the reason, he is pretty popular. His new movie is out called Wrath of Man and I was reading about it when a particular statistic stood out to me as a marketing teacher. Check it out...(RelishMix)

“social star power is driving the movie’s social media universe, with 69% of its entire 209.4M footprint. The cast which counts 146M total followers spurred a strong launch over a shortened marketing runway.”

What this means is that of all the millions of dollars on advertising and social media investment that went into marketing this movie, 69% of the audience reach came from the starts itself promoting the movie, basically for free.

So how does this relate to us normal people in business who don't have millions of followers? Glad you asked :)

If you work in marketing for a mid to large organisation do this simple calculation:

number of employees X number of LinkedIn follower = Reach 

Let's use a simple example in a real company, say RMIT University where I work.

11,000 staff X 500 average LinkedIn followers each = 5,500,000 total reach

That's the equivalent of a prime time TV audience commercial. For those MAFS fans our there a commercial during that season has an ad reach of 1.816 million.

Alternatively, footy fans who watched the AFL opening round totalled of 4.53 million viewers of ALL matches. That's still less than the social reach of RMIT.

But the problem is why would the staff promote the company?

That, my dear reader, is the million-dollar question. Literally, millions of dollars in advertising RMIT spends each year attracting students.

The answer is creating content that is actually of value to the intended audience. Who doesn't want to share something that is useful and that they feel involved in? The issue, is most marketing programs don't add any value, they just push a position.

Back to the movie, check this out...

In his film debut, Post Malone is partially activated on Twitter and Facebook with close to 40M followers, and credited as Austin Post as Robber #6.

This is super smart of the movie to include a famous and strong social media star as a bit part actor. It's worth it just for the social media reach! Of course, he likes the movie and wants to promote something he is proud to be involved in. He is engaged.

What could your company do to engage your staff in that they would be proud to share with their LinkedIn followers?

If you could save millions on your ad spend, wouldn't that be worth looking into?

Food for thought to be sure.

Cheers Andrew

Get your referrals to take the next step

When a prospect visits your website or social media, what do you want them to do? Most people don't know and so miss out on referrals because there are no clear bread crumbs to their desired solution.

When someone refers a client to you is it clear to them what the next step in the process is? Does it help them or just you? A great call to action (CTA) should be clear, logical and help the right people move forward in your sales process because it’s of value to THEM. 

For example, if you are a consultant and a previous client refers a friend to you, LinkedIn will likely be the first place they will check you out. We have already discussed the importance of LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise. Do you look great there and is there something else for them to do? It will be useful to direct them to either your website to read your blogs, a podcast to get to know your work or Instagram to see your personality. Do this with discrete CTAs in your profile summary, work history and also in the blogs you write. The more time they spend with you online, the more likely they will become a client. 

Different types of CTAs

CTA’s come in many shapes and sizes to suit different circumstances. The type of CTA you use will depend on whom you are targeting, your clients’ needs and your sales process. It also varies on where the CTA is featured such as email, websites, blogs, social media and so forth. We will explore some of the different usage situations, and give a few recommendations, but remember there is no perfect solution. Your CTA should feel natural to you and your client, don’t force them down a direction. Guide them and let them buy.

Examples of CTAs:

• Blogs: if you are a blogger there are many great ways to create effective CTAs. The most common one is at the bottom of the blog, where you insert a clearly labelled button with the next step such as ‘join us’ referring to an email subscription or whatever is the next step or desired action in your process. You can also embed hotlinks to your website when you reference your company or experience. The other popular CTA is at the end of the blog, after the salutation, in the P.S. section. This feels like a special message just for the reader and receives more clicks than any other links! (see my real example below...)

• Social Posts: Lovers of Facebook and Instagram will be producing regular posts containing pictures, hashtags and messages to grab attention. But where are you sending them? It’s great to get them to your page, but even better to offer links to your website for more quality information. Often people do all the hard work to get the attention and interest but lack the crucial step of getting the prospect to the next stage in the buying process with a CTA.

• Websites: The goal of a website is to take an interested client to the next step in the buying process towards a sale. That could be a phone call, collect an email address with an eBook or fill in a qualification form. To do that you have to insert effective CTA buttons and links that are tempting for the prospect to click on. Think about what the client needs in the interest stage of the buying process. Would an eBook, a video or checklist be helpful? All of these can be offered as value in return for collecting an email address or to build engagement in your CTA.

Effective CTAs are an essential part of the marketing process for your business. It helps people to know what the next step in the process is and gives them the option of buying from you, instead of you selling to them.

Cheers Andrew

P.S. If you are in Melbourne and keen to update your LinkedIn, check out my next Workshop - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/linkedin-live-masterclass-tickets-145608852999

We all deserve to feel safe. How can we help?

Last night a few things happened to make me renege on my promise to not enter the tech dev world again. 

The first was one of my University students asked me to walk her to the tram stop as she didn't feel safe out at night. It shocked me that she was so concerned, but with all the media regarding the Parliament House situation increasing awareness of how common assaults are, I can understand why she would be worried. I was glad to help.

The second was my girlfriend was looking after a grandma that was callously bashed for no apparent reason. No theft, no revenge. Just a random thug attack outside a church. Bloody shameless!

I was on the train home at 10 pm then walking home and reflecting on the safety I personally feel being a guy with a black belt and fighting training in Melbourne and wishing it was the same for all of us. I feel safe and everyone else should too.

It's a blight on our society that women (men, LGBT, people from overseas...) shouldn't feel safe in their home town. I have personally had to stand in and stand up for a couple being subjected to racist attacks on public transport. Imagine how often this is happening. Crazy.

It's got to stop.

Which brought me to think about how could I help? An idea surfaced that I wanted to share and get assistance with. Perhaps it's a poor idea, someone is already doing it or maybe, just maybe it's got legs. If it is helpful I will commit to getting it up and running.

The working title is 'SafeWalk'. 

The idea is to have an Uber-like app where someone who wants some company to walk home or anywhere really, can request a 'SafeWalker' to accompany them. The person would be verified and tracked using the app on their phone.

The technology isn't complicated and the funding could be accessed with corporate partners. Again not difficult. Walkers could be rewarded with vouchers from sponsors and of course good vibes. I'm sure someone like Grill'd would support such a cause with a few free burgers.

The app would be free, there is no commercial model, it's just a helpful tool for those who feel walking with a companion would increase their level of safety. I don't have any research on the reduction in incidences if there are two or more companions, but from my experience, it would be a deterrent and also mental comfort which is sometimes just as important.

Finally, most of the other apps I have found alert your friends if you are not home on time or something actually happens. Far too late. We need to prevent these situations from occurring in the first place.

My question is, do women (or others) think this is a good idea? Would you use it? Or is it patronising? Would people sign up to be a 'SafeWalker'?

I would rather there was no need for this app in the first place, but that isn't a reality right now. So perhaps one thing we can do is provide some support for each other with some simple technology.

I welcome your thoughts.

Do you mentor? Sometimes it has surprising results.

I love mentoring. Perhaps it's my oversize ego enjoying the attention and adulation of a young mind soaking up my apparent wisdom. Maybe it balances my for-profit businesses or maybe it's just hanging with young people so I can better understand the next generation. 

Whatever the reason, I believe there are huge benefits in mentoring and I wanted to share one particularly interesting story. 

About a year ago, pre-COVID, a young man cold called me. If you are anything like me, you generally don't take calls from numbers you don't recognise and are very suspicious of any unsolicited call. But on this occasion, I took the call and was surprised by the young man on the phone requesting me to mentor him. How did he find me? Why me? What does he really want? I really didn't believe that he hadn't been a past University student or had been referred by a client. 

I was a little dubious so I asked him to email me with his information and was greatly surprised by his response. 

He emailed me with a very well written letter, which I could tell he worked on for hours to get it just right. It spoke to his struggles in his community, bullying, racism, and his ambitions to escape the path that some of his friends have taken to crime and drugs. Plus he has a huge ambition to be a world champion boxer.

I'm intrigued by now and researched his online profile. He seemed quite an angry young man by his photos and social media. But I decided to meet him and see for myself. Here is the crazy part.

The moment I saw him (30min early as he didn't want to be late) he broke out in the biggest smile and I knew I had misinterpreted his brand. He is tough, don't get me wrong, you don't win professional boxing matches without grit. But he also has a huge heart that was hidden from the world. 

I learnt that his day job was as a nurse caring for disabled children. His passion is helping school kids in lower socioeconomic areas overcome bullying and racism through inspiring speaking. Wow, not your average fighter.

So we started working together and he is so motivated and honest that I trusted him to teach my kids boxing. In fact, we are so close he is going to train me for my first ever fight! But more on that later...

The point of my story is, take the time to get to know young people as they are not always what they seem. They could appear lazy, disinterested or angry. But this could be concealing other emotions such as shyness, lack of encouragement or fear. 

I am guilty of judging the next generation at times - like I was so much better as a teenager (not!). So let's give them a break. You might be pleasantly surprised by how it helps you and your life in general.

Andrew

P.S. If you are keen to meet my boxing coach, check out Furkan Demirkaya's LinkedIn profile here or his website here.

Four ways to keep connected & productive

With Melbourne (me!) in hard lockdown and the rest of the country starting to enjoy a normal life again but knowing a huge economic hangover is coming, it's more important than ever to stay connected. Especially for business owners working at home by themselves. 

 I write this from my 10-year-old son's room, looking out at the view of the trees as Spencer has the best view in the house! Sometimes I just need some variety of workspace seeing I have been spending 90% of my time in my house for the last 3 months. My trackies and coffee machine is getting a serious workout! 

 Can you relate? 

I'm grateful that I have a place that I can work from. Other business owners aren't as lucky so check in on your mates. Thanks for all those that have been keeping in touch with me, you don't know how much it helps :) 

So a few things to help business owners out there. Some free and some paid...

• Free book. As I start writing my second book (why not...) I am giving away copies of my first book 'Creating a Powerful Brand'. Get it here free (no email required)

• Free Social Club. If you are a business owner and want some company, come join our BYOB Social Club which is now free to join. Stay connected with fellow business owners.  Join the Facebook Group here.

• Grow Club. If you want to build your business and need more support, join the Grow Club for business owners. I will personally coach you through the e-ttraction Leverage techniques that I use with my high profile clients. It's $97 per month limited to 10x people. (free access to my Launch in 12 Weeks course)

• Personal Branding Course. I have partnered with Social Media College to produce a University course for people wanting to build their brand. Check it out here if you are serious about your online branding. 

It's your time to make a difference in the world. Get off the couch, turn off the TV and kick start your idea into reality from your own home.

What am I doing? Yesterday I started Emily Gowor's 30-day book writing challenge, wish me luck! 

Don't waste this opportunity. Grow your own business while you can.

Cheers Andrew

P.S. Be quick as I only have 10x spots for my group coaching.  Join me in the Social Star Grow Club for $97- month.

 P.P.S Have a question? Book a call with me to discuss your specific needs here.

Get a job, get a client, get a niche...

In previous blogs, we have discussed the importance of referrals. Having clients and friends recommend you by name will lead to the best jobs and clients. In this process, being found for your name and business name is the best use of your marketing time and money. However, there are many cases where referrals are not enough to give you the e-ttraction you need. You may have moved to a new country, be just out of university or changing industries. In these cases your name and company won't be enough, you will need prospects to find you for your service. Being found for what you do is a whole different marketing approach. This blog will help you identify your niche and give you some strategies of how to be found for it.

Company niche

If you are running your own small business, the methodology is the same. Think about what problem are you solving for the customer, and what value can you create for them. This isn’t the product you sell, but the solution. An old marketing adage is people don’t buy a drill, they buy a hole. New marketing would argue, they don't want a hole, but to hang a picture.

If you really understand your customer's pain, it is a lot easier to create a product that solves their problem and marketing but communicates this to the right people.

The niche solution you provide needs to be super-specific.

To ensure you have it clear in your mind, follow this simple process. Start by writing a description of your target client. Picture them as a single person and detail their habits, behaviours, demographics, lifestyle and problems. In a job situation, this is the person hiring you. For a business, it’s your preferred client.  Then write the way you can solve their problem with the skills you have and also why they would get you to solve that problem and how valuable it is to them.

Let’s take the example of a real estate agency. You open in a new area and need to stand out amongst the many other competitors in the area. It is an affluent area and so you define the target client as Mary the mum. She is educated, 42, with 2 children at private school, works part-time in a corporate role and very savvy. In this household, she makes the decisions and demands quality service. Mary is wary of salespeople and doesn’t trust agents easily. You decide your niche will be providing advice and education to Mary and her friends to achieve word of mouth marketing. Your business runs monthly sessions in their homes to educate them on property investing and portfolio management. Over time you establish trust with Mary and her friends and receive many referrals for house listings because of this relationship.

Job niche

The first step is to establish what exactly is your niche. If you are reading this to boost your career, a niche is a specific job you are looking to do. It is the service you are providing to the company who is employing you to solve their problem. It is important to realise that the value you provide to the business isn’t in your job title or even your skills, it is based upon what value you can provide to their customers which they can turn into revenue.

When you begin to change your mindset to the employer's problems you can solve with your skills, rather than your own, you begin to open up a whole range of new career opportunities, some of which you might not have even thought of. These are the sort of roles that are created around you, rather than you apply with 1,000 other people.

Let’s use an example to clarify this process. Jim has been working in mining all his life and at 60 is looking for a final senior role for a few years in a large manufacturing or mining company reporting to the CEO. Jim would create a buyer persona for the CEO he most wants to work for. ‘Chris the CEO of X Mining, is a 45-year-old first time CEO who has been an executive in a similar company for 10 years. He is a bit nervous taking on such responsibilities at his relatively young age, but has confidence in his abilities and knows his MBA will help him navigate the role. His problem is he is new to this industry and hasn’t had any hands-on experience so understanding the nuances of the business is tricky so he is advertising for a COO with industry experience.’ Jim knows that his hands-on experience and personal contacts in this specific industry will be of huge benefit to Chris. Now Jim just needs to look for changes in his industry where the CEO requires a more experienced mentor. 

Marketing your niche

Once you have clearly identified your niche, you need to market it in the same ways that you market your personal brand and your business brand. On your social media and website, you need to talk to your target person in the language you use. Highlighting the problem you solve, your solutions and your strengths. Then you need to take action. Connect to your target market in LinkedIn, write content that is useful to them on your blog, share articles that would interest them and answer their questions. Help them solve their problem and they will reciprocate with referrals for your niche.

Google will also look after you if you have a clearly defined niche. In the real estate example, if you were writing about your specific workshops for mums in a particular suburb a search for that would easily find your website. Google is looking for the best match to a search query and a lot of searches are very specific. You can be found for your generic service ‘Real Estate Agent Kew’ with the other competitors or try the niche process and be found for ‘Free Property investment seminars for mums in Kew’, and be the only result.

Once you have your niche defined the real works starts and the psychological battle. Why would they want me, I'm going to go broke as I'm missing out on all the other business opportunities etc etc This is emotional noise. Focus on logic and results. Be passionate but not emotional and this strategy will work.

Cheers Andrew

If you are looking to start a business or grow your current one, building a powerful personal brand can have a massive impact on getting new clients, partners and staff. That's why we partnered with the best L&D company in Australia to build a brand new Personal Branding course - check it out here. (link https://www.socialstar.com.au/personal-branding-course-from-social-media-college)

P.S. For more information about how to turn a niche into a business, grab a copy of my eBook. Fair exchange rules apply - 1x email address for the 20x hours I put into writing the eBook contents :)

EPISODE 38 - SOCIAL STAR FOUR STEP SIMPLE SALE PROCESS FOR INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS

For corporate escapees or small businesses, increasing sales and revenue and getting money into your business is something that we want to achieve. In this episode, I share with you the learnings I’ve had from training over 100 people on how to do sales and marketing as a solopreneur. I developed this and call it the E-ttraction Sales Model. I start off with defining sales and e-ttraction. I then give you a breakdown of the 4 steps of the E-ttraction Sales Process, explain what you need to do in these steps and give you examples you can learn from. You will also learn about the volume you need to be successful and some sales techniques that you can use throughout the process.

You can download the template and diagram here: https://www.socialstar.com.au/ettraction-templates

EPISODE 36 - BYOB SOCIAL CLUB, GIVING SOLOPRENEURS A HOME

What's the best way to launch your own business? Well, to be honest, there are many different ways that will work.

For mature corporate escapees, we believe it's building a small but reliable network working group around you. People who are running their own small businesses and so can understand you. People who might be able to refer you to others. And importantly those who are fun to have a drink and hang out with too!

In the latest BYOB podcast, Andrew explores his ideas on how to build your own network and how we are working hard to build it in our Social Club.

Links mentioned in today’s episode:

BYOB Social Club Website

Andrew Ford Website

Andrew Ford Facebook

Andrew Ford LinkedIn

Andrew Ford Email

EPISODE 32- CEO TO CONSULTANT - HOW TO MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM CORPORATE HIGH FLIER TO LIFESTYLE CONSULTANT

In this solo episode, Andrew talks about the 3 main ways to scale a consultancy business over time. Tips and advice to use your knowledge to make more income than time per hour. We discuss the 3 stages of growing a consultancy business which are personal branding, business branding, and product innovation. Andrew shares his personal experiences with his business and gives us tips on how to improve your consultancy business.

Links mentioned in today’s episode:

BYOB Social Club Website

EPISODE 30 - BYOB SOCIAL CLUB, MORE SOCIAL, LESS MEDIA. HOW TO BUILD NATURAL REFERRALS IN 2019

In this solo episode of the Build Your Own Business Podcast, Andrew talks about his plans for the launch of the BYOB Social Club where aspiring business owners can get involved, catch up with peers and like-minded people to form a community to help each other build their own business. One of the goals of the club is to address issues and the challenges that new corporate escapees face when starting out and provide overall support from social events, advice, to serious business talks. He gives us an overview of how the group will be formed, how it will work and how you can be involved.

Links:

BYOB Social Club Facebook

Real Branding is How You Act Now

I talk and write a lot about branding. Specifically Personal Branding, so I wanted to add my 2 cents on what really matters right now for your brand in this age of uncertainty.

Some people believe their brand is a logo, a website or even their social media. But it's not. Real branding is what your tribe thinks and more importantly feel about you. How you act and the policies you decide upon when things are hard, will be far more impactful than what you say. Particularly in times of crisis, people show their true colours and now is a critical time for all people to put up or shut up.

Live your brand.

The Corona Virus has hit a lot of people really hard. Particularly small hospitality and travel businesses, so what can you do to help? They need your sympathy of course, but they need your money more. Here are some awesome ways to help that I have heard from my clients and friends which we can all apply ourselves to our favourite cafe, restaurant or bar:

1. Offer to buy a gift voucher for the future

2. Order take away from them, even if it's not a normal delivery organisation

3. Go out and sit at their place, we are not all homebound and having people there will attract more people to come

4. Post on social media that you are there, so others might head out of their homes and support the businesses too

5. Buy some stock from them if they have it available. i.e. your local bar might have stocked up on booze and needs to reduce this (of course, check licensing laws)

6. If you are a supplier, offer longer credit terms

7. If you are a landlord, relieve rent so they can keep paying their staff

8. Donate some hard to find goods to them as they can't operate without hand sanitizer, toilet paper and other mandatory items

This is presuming you kept your job or your business is less impacted than others. It may cost you a little in the short term, but you will keep your clients loyal for the long term. Plus it's just the right thing to do.

Of course, we all need to practice social distancing and quality sanitisation which goes without saying.

So what are you going to do? Let's take some action as even the smallest gesture will be well received and lift the pressure off a local small business in your area. If we can lift the mood and add a few dollars to those in need it will go a long way to improving the mental health of small business owners.

I would love to hear of other ideas to help those in need.

Keep well,

Andy

P.S. If you are looking to start a business or grow your current one, building a powerful personal brand can have a massive impact on getting new clients, partners and staff. That's why we partnered with the best L&D company in Australia to build a brand new Personal Branding course - check it out here. (link https://www.socialstar.com.au/personal-branding-course-from-social-media-college)

Rebirth of the Salesman in the digital age (a lesson from my grandpa)

Sales is a much-maligned word. Some people would hate to even consider what they do as sales. Images of pushy people who are inauthentic and smarmy spring to their minds. But sales is a necessary part of business, particularly if you leave the cushy walls of corporate and start your own business, so how do you it and maintain your credibility?

When I was a young lad, all I ever wanted to do was to work for my grandpa. He started a commercial stationery business in High Street, Preston in 1949 after the war and called it RH Grierson & Co. He wasn't one for branding or creativity, unlike his youngest grandchild!

We specialised in importing Pegasus carbon paper from England in huge reams and cutting it down to A4 for secretaries so they could type documents in duplicate. If this sounds like some ancient process, it was. But at the time it was cutting edge entrepreneurship and made my grandparents quite wealthy. He was a hard man, but fair. He imbued the importance of looking after the business by knowing your products, working hard and serving our clients to the best of our abilities. 

I joined the company when my time came and after a few years doing the hard yards in the warehouse, joined the sales team. Armed with a box of catalogues and a cheap suit he gave me all the training of 'go and cold call son'. Being all of 21 and looking about 16 off I went around the industrial areas in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. 

Half a day I lasted until I thought there has got to be a better way. So I pretended to cold call but really just serviced my existing clients. But so eager to please, I was, that I would go over and above for my clients. I knew my industry well and would serve my clients so effectively and with authenticity that they became my friends. I loved visiting them each week had a great relationship - then a strange thing happened.

When Betty would leave one company she would make sure I was well entrenched there and then take me with her to the new company. My business grew. Word of mouth started and I started getting referrals. All of a sudden I was the fastest-growing salesperson in the company without one cold call. Amazing.

Fast forward to life in big IT in the 2000s and I'm in the big league (so I thought at the time). Working for the biggest IT company in the world, Hewlett Packard, so I applied the same principles to my new customer, a computer wholesaler turning over $1m a week. Amazingly the same results. It appeared that if you look after customers and try your best, they will look after you, regardless of the industry and size of business.

"Nice story Andrew but how do we apply this lesson now?" I hear you ask.

In today's fast and furious social media landscape where Gary V says post 64 times a day, it's easy to become impersonal to our clients. We hide behind our computers, do the click funnel courses and believe Facebook ads will make new relationships. Sometimes we forget that it's a good product with genuine value, with quality service and a personal approach that people actually resonate with. If you try your best to help your clients, they will feel that and want to help you. They introduce you to their friends and colleagues and your business will grow slowly but surely.

This is not a story of Internet unicorns, selling for 100x multiples based on a dream, but it's a story of how my grandpa worked hard for 40 years and built a family upon a quality small business. These are most businesses in Australia and ones that I like to work with as they feed most families and teach kids valuable lessons. 

My advice is to slow down, reduce the hustle and focus on your clients. Solve their problems as best you can and act with honour. You can't always fix everything for them and clients will come and go as their business and personal lives change. But if you do your best they will often return or send you their friends when the time comes.

Selling isn't dead, it's just been reborn with a digital edge. My methodology is called e-ttraction, creating digital attraction with authentic storytelling. I believe the same rules of relationship building apply online the same as offline. The difference is, you now have a much more efficient medium to show prospects what you are like as a person and business. 

Remember the energy you bring to your work is felt by all the people around you. Authentic energy is attractive. So stop trying to sell and start helping people and you will do well.

Andrew

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!