OMG it's Christmas already! How did that happen? It seems like only a few weeks ago I was stressing about my July tax return and recording my ice bucket challenge at the snow (I think that must have worked as I don't see the videos anymore).
Dr Cameron is passionate about eradicating migraines from peoples lives. If you have ever suffered one you will appreciate his lifelong dedication to studying how we humans work and why we get these debilitating headaches in the first place. If you have ever had a migraine yourself or know someone who has, read on. If not, consider yourself lucky!
Just over 21 days ago I started testing out the Lenovo YOGA 2 compared to my trusty Apple MacBook Air. In that blog I mentioned that Lenovo had contacted me and asked me to be an ambassador, they don't pay me but provide me a free laptop to test and flew me to London for the global launch of their new range.
What's the best way to launch a new product and get e-ttraction? Is it a huge mainstream media burst to get awareness, creating a funny video you hope will go viral to generate interest or running a once in a life competition to stimulate desire? In my view none of those works as well as influencer marketing.
Do you ever feel that when you want something really really badly, the more you try to make it happen, the more it moves further away as you push? You might be in your own business trying to grow, pushing your clients for more, selling hard but the more you push the less they want to buy? Or you might be in a job you don't like and want a new one that better suits your values.
Thanks for being a great friend and supporter of me and my business Social Star. As we approach our first birthday (we sent out our invitation last week, so if you missed it connect with us here ), I sat down and looked back at my journey over the past year.
How much do you love your computer?
As Founder and Personal Brand Consultant at Social Star which specialises in crafting peoples online brands, my computer IS my business. I am pretty much always on my computer. It's where I wrote my book, blogs, look at pictures of my kids and work with my clients. Even when asleep it is next to me whilst I dream of writing biographies and building websites - sad but true! Those of you who are digital professionals will understand...
LinkedIn has 300 million members, 6 million in Australia and is the biggest and best social media channel for business. Not convinced? Did you know that 65% of companies acquired B2B leads through LinkedIn or that it drives more traffic to B2B blogs and sites than Twitter, Facebook and Google plus combined! Still need more?
If you were heading across the world to impress 1,800 of your peers would you pack lycra? That's just what I considered before packing my favourite superman outfit and heading off to Social Media Marketing World in San Diego in March 2014.
If you were heading across the world to impress 1,800 of your peers would you pack lycra? That's just what I considered before packing my favourite superman outfit and heading off to Social Media Marketing World in San Diego in March 2014. Lucky for me I had a partner in crime, the super creative Christina Canters, AKA 50% of #hashtagheroes and podcaster master.
Why would we do such a thing? Well there was a strategy in our madness, based on the AIDA sales model. The idea was to make an impact with our craziness at the opening night party on the USS Midway(yes an aircraft carrier, if you don't mind!) to get noticed. The first rule of the AIDA model is Attention - and we got some! People were so impressed they were taking photos all night and posting all over social media.
I'm so glad they took it the way it was intended, as some extra fun. Even the CEO of Social Media Examiner, Mike Stelzner, loved it so much he took a selfie of us! See the selfie he took on my blog.
There were so many highlights you really have to check out my Pinterest board for all the great pics. But why all the effort? Well my dream is to be invited back next year at SMMW15 to present on Personal Branding. The issue I face is that in the USA my brand is not as well known as it is here in Australia, so I have to get known!
The second part of the AIDA model is - Interest. So the next day we wore our #hashtagheroes t-shirts and networked out asses off. Capitalising on the Attention we got the night before. I was getting 100+ twitter adds a day and so many positive comments about the stunt. Business cards were flying at us and loads of quality connections made.
The third part of the AIDA model is Desire. So the final day I became Mr Ford. Wore a suit and handed out copies of my book 'Creating a Powerful Brand'. I'm not all parties and stunts, I have a serious side and wanted to ensure they saw this too. This solidified my brand to the presenters, staff and attendees. I even had a beautiful moment when I was lining up to give my book to Michael Hyatt (one of my heroes), and a guy asked me to buy one! Cash right there on the spot. My first sale as a published author. Bless.
The final part of the AIDA model is Action. Since this conference, I have met with many of the presenters to establish myself as a potential speaker, been interviewed by some and sent my book to others. I even started this blog as a direct result of the knowledge gained there. As the 2015 conference approaches I will ramp my activities and we shall see if my goal is met. Mike if your listening, I'm ready and available!
My advise for anyone trying to break into a new area. Make and impact, put yourself out there and take action. Perhaps not using lycra, but it doesn't hurt either! Which begs the question what crazy stunts have you done to gain attention?
Business in Bali, why would you bother! Why would you want to work? I know Bali is Australia's favourite holiday destination but let's examine why it could make a great business destination too.
I recently ran one of my courses in the Expert in Your Industry series, which I run with expert business coach Maureen Pound, in Bali. We decided early on to offer this incentive to our long term clients as an opportunity to have a break from the day to day work and complete their annual business planning. Situated in stunning Nusa Dua, we enjoyed the Grand Hyatt hospitality, wonderful massages and tasty food. Not to mention the Bintang beer! Lucky I had my trusty Closest Beer smart phone application to find local bars :)
There were many learnings from running this event and I want to share them with you in my top 10 business in Bali tips:
Ensure you have a passport. Seems quite obvious, however we had several customers who couldn't locate their passport before they went and also one which was close to expiration. It plays to check these details at least three months ahead with your event.
Leave a day early. My Sunday night flight was cancelled so I missed the first day of the course on Monday, lucky for me Maureen was already in Bali.
Buy a meal. I purchased a meal on Jetstar, but due to the flight delays on my way back they ran out of food! So if you didn't order a meal there was no food available, not a good look when entertaining clients.
Prepare your currency. The local currency is Indonesian rupiah which I recommend you getting some before you travel. Your local bank or Australia Post will exchange currency for free. You can also use US$ for most transactions.
Pay for priority. You can pay and extra US$20 or approximately 200,000 rupiah to be escorted through the visa on arrival and customs. I recommend buying this for you and your customers. The visa on arrival is US$20 so a total cost of US$40.
Get a Government taxi. On arrival at Dempasar airport there is an official taxi rank located as you exit customs, which you prepay for your journey. It is sightly expensive however reliable and quality service. To Nusa Dua it was 150,000 rupiah with no negotiation.
Book a Room. Most Bali hotels are open to the environment so quite humid. It's ok when you are on holidays but challenging when you are wearing business clothes. I suggest booking a room with air conditioning an regular supplies for your clients. However do review the costs as they can add up. Our room was US$50 per person per day for room, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
Venture out of the resort. Not far from our resort was many local restaurants, shops and bars. All were very reasonably priced, accepted credit card and quality food. It makes for a much more interesting journey when you venture off the beaten track and enjoy the local hospitality.
Bring your own IT supplies. There is nothing more frustrating than when a projector doesn't work! My team couldn't get ours to work day 1 and on arrival I changed over the Mac to projector cable and it worked fine. Never leave home without your own cables.
Leave for the airport early. Nuda Dua is in a fantastic location from the airport. They have built a new freeway which costs US$1 and goes directly to the airport. From our hotel it was 20 minutes total. My last trip to Bali staying near Seminyak was a disaster travelling to the airport. I almost missed my flight as it took over 90 minutes due the horrendous traffic.
So there you have it, my learning experiences from running my first business event in Bali. I plan to run more events in Bali in the future because I love travel and it provides a different space to be productive with clients. All part of my plan to run a Personal Business, one which reflects my own values and maximises clients value. Who says you can't have a business that gives you the life you dream of?
I would love to hear how your tips for business travel so please share on my social media. I also have created a Pinterest board of my favourite adventures in Bali, feel free to review and add if you desire. Enjoy!
